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July 31, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The rebel umbrella Sudanese Revolutionary Front led by Malik Agar (SRF-Agar) Sunday said it wouldn't take part in any dialogue that preserves the current regime and doesn't meet aspiration of the Sudanese people to establish a state based on equal citizenship rights for all Sudanese.

Members of the sudanese opposition groups meet outside the French capital Paris on November 12, 2015 (ST Photo)

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Sunday, the SRF-Agar said its political committee has received a report from the umbrella's delegate to the Sudan Call meetings, Yasir Arman.

From 18 to 22 July, the opposition groups of the Sudan Call umbrella held crucial discussions in Paris on the African Union Roadmap Agreement and political structures of the opposition umbrella.

They tasked the leader of the National Umma Party (NUP) al-Sadiq al-Mahdi to write a letter to the chief African mediator Thabo Mbeki demanding to meet him in order to discuss their reservations on the Roadmap Agreement before its eventual signing.

On Saturday, al-Mahdi announced that Mbeki will meet the Sudan Call forces on the 7th of August in Addis Ababa.

Last March, the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) proposed a Roadmap Agreement to the Sudanese government and some Sudan Call groups including the NUP, Sudan People's Liberation Movement North, Justice and Equality Movement, and Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi.

However, only Khartoum government signed the text while the four groups declined the text saying it would reproduce the regime. They later proposed a supplemental text to the peace plan including their demands.

The political committee of the SRF-Agar pointed to positive developments contained in the letter that Mbeki sent to al-Mahdi, saying the chief mediator promised to take into account the Sudan Call reservations on some items of the Roadmap Agreement.

It stressed that the SRF-Agar would work alongside the Sudan Call forces to engage in an equal dialogue to be preceded by implementing measures to create the conducive climate including stopping the war, delivering humanitarian assistance to the needy population in the war areas, allowing freedoms and releasing political detainees.

The rebel alliance vowed not to participate in a dialogue that keeps in place “the state of corruption and tyranny”, saying it wouldn't be part of a dialogue that doesn't meet aspiration of the Sudanese people to establish the state of equal citizenship.

“There is no power in the world that could force us to do something that is not acceptable by our people and their revolutionary vanguard” the statement read

The statement pointed the political committee meeting has reviewed the details of the correspondence between the Sudan Call leadership and the AUHIP, saying it included proper and transparent procedures.

The SRF-Agar added that it would develop a strategic view to participate in the upcoming meeting with Mbeki to achieve the objectives agreed upon, saying it endorsed the structure of the Sudan Call which was approved in the Paris meeting.

It is noteworthy that the Paris meeting has approved the structures of the executive bodies and leadership of the Sudan Call.

The Leadership Council which is made up of 20 members representing the five blocks will take the major decisions of opposition umbrella. Its president will be selected by consensus.

The Executive Council will be tasked with the mass mobilization besides, political and diplomatic activities inside and outside Sudan. It will be headed by a chairperson and his deputy, and consists of eight sectors.

(ST)

July 31, 2016 (JUBA) – Heavy fighting has continued in the bushes around the South Sudanese national capital, Juba, with opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA-IO) claiming to be closing in on the capital with the aim to take it over.

The fighting is reported to have been taking place inside deep forests in different locations on Juba-Yei road, Juba-Mundri road and in the northwest of the capital between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and opposition forces loyal to the relieved First Vice President, Riek Machar.

“Heavy fighting has been going on for the past three days. President Salva Kiir's forces have been on offensive against our forces. They are hunting for the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, with the aim to eliminate him. However, our forces have been fighting back in self-defence,” said James Gatdet Dak, Machar's spokesperson.

He said their forces have been repulsing the attacks and have inflicted heavy losses on the forces loyal to President Kiir with “several hundreds of them killed in the forests” and a number of areas captured in Lanya county and Katigiri.

He also claimed that the opposition forces have captured up to 21 military trucks and logistics, including bull dozers, urols [big trucks] and small pickup trucks, in addition to different types of rifles.

Dak added that the opposition forces have besieged Juba from different directions and will be forced to move on to the capital to take control of it and restore law and order.

“My leadership has been calling for prompt deployment of a third party force to separate the two forces so that the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, can return to Juba and continue with the implementation of the peace agreement without threats of return to violence in the capital. But if this does not happen and President Kiir's forces continue to attack our forces with the aim to eliminate Dr. Machar, our forces will be forced to capture Juba,” he said.

He further said that their forces have closed both the Juba-Yei road and Juba-Mundri roads and are closing in on Juba.

Dak said taking control of Juba by the opposition forces would put to an end the ongoing attacks on their forces and restore peace and security in the capital and beyond.

Sudan Tribune could not independently verify the level of casualties involved in the ongoing fighting in the thick forests as it is difficult to know what is happening and no official statement has been made by the government.

A military official loyal to President Kiir told Sudan Tribune that he believed there have been “heavy losses” on both sides, more than the losses incurred at J1 and Jebel Kujur's two days of fighting.

South Sudan's government on Friday in a cabinet meeting chaired by President Kiir resolved not to allow a third party force to deploy in Juba, saying the current 12,000 peacekeepers of the United Nations are enough and only their mandate can be negotiated and reviewed.

However, on Sunday, there were unconfirmed reports that the government's security officials held a security meeting with the aim to review the Friday's decision in the wake of the threats by the opposition forces to take over Juba.

Meanwhile, civilians have continued to flee from the capital in fear of imminent fighting in Juba, with dozens of government troops fleeing into the United Nations camps in the outskirt of the capital.

(ST)

Mi-28N with MMR
(click to view full)

In August 2012, Russian Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev pledged that the state would buy 60 Mi-28UB attack and training helicopters by 2020. That would be good news for the VVS, as well as the Rosvertol plant at Rostov on Don.

Russia is slowly modernizing its military, and its attack helicopter force is one of the areas being given priority. New Ka-52 Alligator and Mi-28N Night Hunter machines are beginning to replace the VVS’ 240 or so old Mi-24 gunships, but training has been an issue for the nascent Mi-28 fleet.

The Mi-28 Attack Helicopter Aerobatics video

Flight International’s World Air Forces 2013 places the VVS’ Mi-28N inventory at 51 machines, with another 19 on order. The new Mi-28UB model, introduced in 2013, includes an enlarged cockpit for the instructor, and a larger canopy for the pilot. It can be flown from either the pilot’s cockpit or the second seat, and it retains full attack helicopter functionality.

Implementation of Bondarev’s promise would give Russia 130 Mi-28s by 2020, alongside 140+ Ka-52s. That would more than replace the current Mi-24 Hind fleet, and Russia has also ordered 60+ modernized Mi-35M Hinds to help fill in the gaps.

The Mi-28N is most often compared to the American AH-64, as it shares the same basic heavily-armed attack helicopter layout. The specifications above illustrate some of the basic differences between the 2 machines, but the bigger differences relate to concept of employment, and are reflected in harder to see areas like onboard electronics.

Russia is the largest Mi-28 operator, with 70 machines delivered or on order. Flight International’s World Air Forces 2013 also lists 16 Mi-28s ordered by Kenya, with 5 delivered, and Iraq is reportedly in the process of buying about 30 Mi-28NEs. If a deal is done, the Iraqi helicopters’ configuration may serve as a proxy for assessing the state of the platform’s development.

Rosvertol stated in a June 6/10 investors announcement that Algeria had expressed interest in up to 42 machines, and that became a contract in December 2013. Iraq has also purchased 15, and a Rostvertol report cited serious prospects in Egypt, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

India trialed the Mi-28N against the AH-64D, and chose the American helicopter in 2011. Indian media reported that the AH-64D displayed better maneuverability, more multi-role capability, and better capacity to accept upgrades.

Contracts & Key Events Mi-28UB, 1st flight
(click to view full)

The Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant developed the Mi-28N Night Hunter, and they’ve been produced at the Rosvertol aviation plant since 2005.

August 1/16: The latest version of the Mi-28NM has been spotted at the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, with pictures capturing the attack helicopter on its first hover. In development since 2008, a prototype first flew in 2015 with further tests to continue before delivery to the Russian Defense Ministry later this year. The improved version comes equipped with surveillance radar, an advanced suite of optical-electronic sensors mounted in the new nose turret, and a dual control system which allows the navigator-operator to operate the machine if required.

April 26/16: Russia has placed an order for 24 Mi-28UB attack and two 26 transport helicopters. Contracts were signed between Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Berisov and Director General of Russian Helicopters Alexander Mikheyev. The Mi-28 are to be the first procured to come with dual controls and improved flight crew ergonomics. Improvements to the helicopter come as the Russian military aims to improve combat training speeds for crews alongside increasing the helicopter’s operability, safety and combat capabilities.

June 12/14: Rostvertol report. Rosvertol’s 2013 annual report contains a number of interesting details regarding its orders. Deliveries to Russia are confirmed at 14 Mi-28Ns and 1 Mi-28UB. Evidence is conflicting, but the report also cites a 2013 prototype launch for the of Mi-28UB OP-1, and the helicopter and its and its mast mounted radar enclosure are photographed.

Iraq [foreign customer K-8] has its October 2012 order confirmed at 15 machines, and Algeria [foreign customer 012] is confirmed to have ordered 42 Mi-28NE attack helicopters on Dec 26/13. That Mi-28NE order makes them the type’s 2nd export customer after Iraq (15), but they are the largest. Other serious prospects include Egypt [customer 818], Turkmenistan [customer 795], and Uzbekistan [customer 860].

The report adds that Mi-28s have been having problems with increased vibration in the main gearbox. They decided to continue operations with an upgraded set of main gears in the 1st stage. Sources: Rostvertol PLC, “Annual Report ‘Rosvertol’, ZA2013 Year | LiveJournal bmpd [in Russian, incl. photos].

Dec 25/13: Russian Helicopters JSC announces that:

"The Mi-28N Night Hunter combat helicopter, made by Russian Helicopters a subsidiary of Oboronprom and part of State Corporation Rostec, has officially entered into service with the Russian Defence Ministry under an order signed by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu."

This is a formality. The Russians have of course been flying them for several years now, and the Mi-28N has served as the mount for Russia's Golden Eagles (Berkuty) helicopter aerobatics team since 2012. Sources: Russian Helicopters, "Mi-28N Night Hunter helicopter enters into service with the Russian Defence Ministry".

Aug 10/13: Mi-28UB. Russian Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev says that they intend to buy 60 Mi-28UB helicopters by 2020, with a dual training and attack role. The intent is "4-6 [Mi-28UB] helicopters for each unit that has Mi-28N in service," allowing in-unit training while retaining combat power. Source: RIA Novosti, "Russian Air Force to Get 60 Mi-28UB Helicopters by 2020".

Aug 9/13: 1st flight. The Mi-28UB training and attack helicopter conducts its official maiden demonstration flight at the Rostvertol subsidiary in Rostov-on-Don. That plant manufactures Mi-28NE and Mi-35M attack helicopters, as well as Mi-26T super-heavy transport helicopters. The Mi-28UB model is distinguished from the Mi-28N by its dual pilot controls, in order to allow for training.

The Mi-28UB's next destination will be the Zhukovsky airfield near Moscow, for its public unveiling during MAKS 2013. Source: Russian Helicopters JSC Aug 9/13 release.

Dec 26/12: Mi-28NM. A Russian air force (VVS) official says that draft tactical and technical specifications for a modernized Mi-28NM have passed preliminary approval by VVS General Command. A commission on modernization of the Mi-28N had been set up in 2009.

The question is what might be in that modernization. The VK-2500-02 engine could be switched for the VK-2500-03 used in the Ka-52K, which has slightly higher maximum power. There have been some external questions regarding the operational readiness of the type's Arbalets mast-mounted radar, which is seen very rarely on photos of deployed helicopters, so improvements in that area are another possibility. Another obvious improvement area would involve communications technologies, and there's always room for improving an attack helicopter's weapons array. It will be interesting to see what choices they make. Source: RIA.RU [in Russian].

Nov 15/12: Deliveries. Interfax-AVN reports that Russia's Western Military District received 20 Mi-28N helicopters this year, and expects about 20 more in 2013. Deliveries are clearly picking up. Source: Russian Helicopters JSC.

June 2012: Radar. Take-off magazine reports that the helicopter's Arbalets radar may have appeared in pictures for over 7 years, but it's still a work in progress:

"The mast-mounted radar being developed for the Mi-28N by the Ryazan State Instrument-Making Plant cleared a number of test hurdles this spring. In March, the radar's interdepartmental performance tests were completed... April 2013 saw the completion of the radar-equipped Mi-28N's preliminary trials in the Moscow Region and the release of the acceptance report recommending the radar's employment as part of production-standard helicopters of the type. The last hurdle remaining is the joint special flight tests of the helicopter equipped with the radar. Depending on the outcome of the tests, a decision will be made to launch the radar's production.... Concurrently, the radar's export version, designated as N025E, is being developed to equip the Mi-28NE export model..."

Feb 15/11: Grounded. The VVS reportedly grounds its Mi-28 fleet after a crash near Starvopol kills the pilot. Source: Washington Post [dead link].

Additional Readings Background: Helicopter

• Russian Helicopters JSC - Mi-28N

• Take-off (June 2012) - New Mi-28N versions in the pipeline. Also deals with the state of the Arbalets radar.

• DID (July 20/06) - Russia Commits to Multi-Year Buy of 67 Mi-28 Attack Helicopters

• DID - Baby Come Back: Iraq is Buying Russian Weapons Again. Including Mi-28NEs.

Competitors

• DID - Russia’s Ka-52 Alligator Scout-Attack Helicopters

• DID - AH-64E Apache Block III: The Once and Future Attack Helicopter

• DID - Turkey Finally Lands Its Attack Helicopters. The T129 ATAK, formerly the A129 Mangusta.

• DID - Tiger, Tamed? Eurocopter’s New EC665 HAD Helicopters

South Africa's ANC party, which took power at the end of white-minority rule in 1994, is facing its toughest challenge - and not just from opposition parties in Wednesday's local elections, writes the BBC's Milton Nkosi.

The US Navy, Marine Corps (USMC) and the Republic of Singapore Armed Forces have concluded the 22nd annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT 2016) exercise at the Changi Naval Base.

The US Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) has conducted a successful demonstration of a flight critical aircraft component, which was built using additive manufacturing (AM) techniques.

The M21 Class patrol boats are being built by Marsun Company, for the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The patrol boats are intended for deployment in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Thailand.

BAE Systems Australia has selected Evoqua Water Technologies to design and deliver the Chloropac system, which will be installed on Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Anzac-class frigates.

Berufliche (Umwelt-)Bildung und integrierte ländliche Entwicklung waren zentrale Themen des Subforums der Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung während der Eco Forum Global (EFG) Annual Conference 2016 in Guiyang.

Das Land ist in einer schwierigen Situation: Schwaches Wirtschaftswachstum, ANC-Dominanz, Konflikte zwischen Schwarzen und Weißen sowie gewalttätige Proteste.

By Stephen Par Kuol

Skilled diplomats and students of international relations would contend that there is no single country on earth whose foreign policy has more successes than failures, and that certainly includes the United States, which by nature of its role in the world takes on the most daunting diplomatic challenges. Success or failure in Foreign Service often depends on the resources capacity (human and material) of the nation in question. The stark irony in the case of the United States is that it has a huge leverage over others in term of material and human resource capacity but its diplomatic performance leaves a lot to be desired. The diplomatic history of United States is littered with costly foreign policy failures with far reaching and dire consequences. The United States Foreign Policy after World War II often failed to accomplish its objective and produced counter-productive results. From Vietnam to Angola, Korea, and Afghanistan, the Americans either prescribed wrong solution or failed to study the grime nature of the problem at hand. During the cold war, the United States foreign policy was guided by cold war against communism. As that receded, the United States confronted global terrorism. This war does not recede; it grows and as it grows, the United States is getting it wrong every day. As the history repeats itself, the diplomacy of this war is still myriad with a lot of strategic mistakes. In Iraq for example, the United States used some wrong intelligences to take a decision that defeated the very ultimate goal of combating terrorism. The unilateral military action taken by Bush Administration in violation of the United Nations Charter brought about permanent turmoil that has eventually produced ISIS.

A comprehensive review of American foreign policy towards Africa exposes a consistent lack of statesmanship, double standards, lack of preventive diplomacy and a disposition to defeat the very core values of American freedom and democracy. The irony of all ironies is the tragic fact that the United States has a long history of building dictators and terrorists that often cost more to oust once the policy makers in Washington realized that they are hazardous to the vital interest of the United States. By then, the permanent damage is done. From Sadam Hussien to Ben-Laden, Mumbuto Seazeko and Emmanuel Noriga, the United State has always been ripping what it has sawn at the expense of American lives and taxpayers' dollars. For whatever mind-boggling reason, the United Sates often pays dearly to contradict what it values the most as a nation (freedom) and it has done that more in Africa than anywhere else in the world. Successive American leaderships have been maintaining that there is no American strategic interest in the continent. The United Sate Foreign Policy in Africa has thus been dubbed as constructive engagement with Africa. This policy subtly resolves that Africa is a different place with its own human right and jungle political standards that must be left alone to evolve without heavy hand from the outside world. This has terribly worked against the cause of human right and the protracted war against terrorism in the second largest continent on earth.

The Democratic Administrations in particular have done more disservice to humanity in this continent. Even the two terns of Obama Administration have done nothing to deter the despotic behaviour of these dictators in this war-ravaged region. Until today, Washington has been talking the talk without walking the walk. In Washington's best traditional practice, things are practically done about Europe and the Middle East but African affairs are just talked about.

The intelligence of the profession (diplomacy) teaches that, you don't send your best to strategically none essential places. That is why the Obama Administration deployed two incompetent diplomats in the persons of Donald Booth and Molly Phee to South Sudan. These two diplomats have been approaching their assignment in a very fallible manner. The negotiation between the SPLMIO and Kiir's regime took that long in Ethiopia simply because Donald Booth has totally failed to educate himself of the root causes of the conflict and resigned to bashing both sides for failure to implement the peace agreement which has been unilaterally violated by Salva Kiir and his Jieng Council of Elders in open defiance of all western empty threats. Those of us who worked with Ambassador Phee in Juba to implement ACRISS have known first hand that she has been miserably defeated by Kiir's regime. As we witnessed during the recent evacuation, the malleable diplomat succumbed to Kiir's hoodlums who humiliated American citizens in a broad daylight at Juba International Airport. Where on the planet -earth can you subject evacuation of your citizens to scrutiny by the same government they are escaping death and rape from? Only in Juba where the Ambassador of the United States is Molly Phee ! South Sudanese Americans will not forget that dreadful experience in which they were left to fend for themselves amidst turmoil. In any case, whatever the two diplomats represent in this region, we are terribly embarrassed as proud citizens of the United State. Beyond any reasonable doubt, this South Sudan conundrum is beyond their punch and capacity. Having failed the United States and the people of South Sudan, it is widely recommended now that the two should just pack their suitcases and go home. In the mean time, the United States must take quick and practical action to reverse this costly foreign policy fiasco in the Horn of Africa. In truth, it makes fool of the United States to appease fascist dictators who are purchasing lethal weapons from Russia and China to kill their fellow citizens while yearning for western financial aid at the same time.

In one of his usual undiplomatic blusters, Yoweri Museveni , the darling of the United States and number one recipient of USAID in the region uttered that, “Africa is not prepared for full blown democracy during our life time”. This notion has been driving the western foreign policy toward Africa for decades. This has been done in disregard of the fact that Yoweri Museveni has been fanning insurgencies in DRC and the genocides in Rwanda and South Sudan while practising the worst brand of African dictatorship at home in Uganda. For the worst part, Museveni is also supporting notorious Islamic terrorist organizations like Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) of the Sudan using Kiir's regime as a conduit. This project of arming rebels with well known affiliation with international terrorist network does not only complicate resolution of the conflicts in the two Sudans but also poses eminent threat of breeding another brand of terrorism in the region. This background verified that Yoweri Museveni does not have a track record of being a stabilizing factor in this region. If any thing, he has been the gent of destabilization. Unfortunately, Washington has been and is still putting its biggest bets on strong African men who give false sense of order while in reality sowing the seeds of future destabilization at home and in their surrounding regions. Yoweri Museveni is in a long string of fascists with whom Washington has disastrously waltzed. With the weight of the United States behind him, Yoweri Museveni has bullied every political force at home to servitude while coaching other inept dictators like Salva Kiir to destabilize South Sudan. Presently, the American love affair with the Ugandan dictator is based on his opportunistic vow to fight Alshaba in Somalia and protect South Sudanese dictator Kiir who has committed genocide and practising Idi Amin brand of tyranny in the nascent nation. So the strategic line pursued by Washington in South Sudan and Uganda is deeply mistaken. This policy is crowned with utter failure as it has stooped low to supporting these red –handed fascists in both countries of Uganda and South Sudan. In the process, the United States has become an accomplice in commission of war crimes, crime against humanity (genocide) and violation of the international law on prohibition of weapons of mass destruction like cluster bomb they used on our civilian White Army in the year 2014.

The records must also be informed that through undeterred behaviour of the two fascist dictators (Kiir and Museveni), the United Nations Mission in South Sudan has been weaken and it is becoming a fiasco in its own right. As a result of its failed operations under Chapter 7, the UNIMISS will leave the country in worse chaos. That is why we are calling for higher mandate instead of this one that has failed to even accomplish its prime goal (protection of civilians). The United Nations Mission in South Sudan has been partly weaken by American impotent diplomatic engagement with Kiir's Police State, which is now resisting a robust regional and international intervention to save lives in whatever is left of South Sudan. It is understandable that the world is not governed in the light of human right but the unfolding crisis in South Sudan will soon embarrass both the supper powers in the United Nations Security Council and the regional powers who have also been appeasing Kiir's regime in the same manner. Hence, the word has been said that any cosmetic project to save Kiir's face will back fire and cost more in term of human lives, material resources, humanitarian assistance and the economies of the neighbouring states including Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and the Sudan. Hence, the downtrodden people of South Sudan are urgently calling for a robust and independent hybrid mission of the United Nations and the region in South Sudan to compel this fascist regime to implement the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ACRISS) or face radical regime change as the only way to rescue the people of South Sudan. Do that or do as per Princeton Lyman's recommendation (life support solution). Any thing short of that is what I call Another US Foreign Policy Fiasco in Africa in general and in South Sudan particular.

The author is a former Deputy Ambassador of Sudan to Tanzania and a freelance writer. He can be reached by email through :kuolpar@yahoo.com

Trente ans après la catastrophe nucléaire de Tchernobyl, l'Etat ukrainien cherche à exploiter ces terres irradiées pour y installer une des plus vastes fermes solaires du monde. C'est le quotidien britannique le Guardian qui révèle le contenu d'une présentation du projet envoyé par le gouvernement ukrainien à plusieurs grandes banques, pour attirer les investisseurs.

A Erevan, les opposants qui occupaient un commissariat depuis deux semaines se sont rendus dimanche 31 juillet, mettant fin à une crise qui aura fait deux morts et de nombreux blessés. La police, prête à lancer l’assaut, leur avait donné un ultimatum samedi. Vingt personnes ont été arrêtées.

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