Sudan Tribune

August 31, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government said on Monday that Uganda will not withdraw all its troops from the country as stated in the recently signed peace agreement with armed opposition, claiming the former was in the country at the behest of the latter on bilateral arrangement between two sovereign states.

An unidentified man sits in the gun turret while leading a convoy of armoured vehicles from both the South Sudanese government forces and the Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF) in the streets of Jonglei capital Bor on 19 January 2014 (Photo: AP/Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin)

In some of the security provisions under transitional security arrangements of the new compromise peace deal signed between president Salva Kiir and armed opposition leader, Riek Machar, all foreign forces are required to leave the country within 45 days from signing of the agreement.

But Mawien Makol, South Sudanese spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation confirmed reports attributed to senior officials in the Ugandan government as saying their government and the country will instead continue to support and maintain some of its troops in the country as part of a bilateral agreement between the two countries.

“Of course in the agreement Ugandan People Defence Forces (UPDF) are supposed to leave after 45 days but before that, there was a bilateral agreement between Uganda and South Sudan. This agreement allows UPDF to come here and do the other works which is to pursue and cut down the activities of Lord Resistance Army (LRA). That thing stands there. It is not going anywhere,” Makol told reporters on Monday reiterating earlier comments asking when the Ugandan troops would withdraw.

The diplomat confirmed that reports quoting officials at the Ugandan ministry of foreign affairs were correct.

“If they leave within 45 days given in the agreement still we have to hold on [to] some of them. Not all of them will go. Some forces will have to remain in the country in accordance with the bilateral agreement. So the Ugandan officials are correct, their troops will be here to do the things that they have been doing before the war,” he said.

He explained Ugandan troops were in the country way back before the country descended into civil war, but many believe more troops were deployed in the country following the events of the December 2013 when political debates within the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) turned violent.

Ugandan senior officials made contradicting statements when their deputy foreign minister, Okello Oryem, reportedly said UPDF will not withdraw from South Sudan as it had no part in the agreement, but later on an explaining statement from the Ugandan ministry of defence said the deputy minister was misquoted and that UPDF will leave South Sudan within 45 days with exception AU contingent in Western Equatoria state.

The Ugandan contingent deployed to Western Equatoria state before the war broke out in December 2013 will remain per a previous arrangement under the African Union to hunt for the LRA.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

August 31, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudan's armed opposition leader, Riek Machar has accused President Salva Kiir's government of allegedly "slaughtering hundreds of political prisoners" in the country.

Riek Machar answers questions during a press conference in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on July 9, 2014 (Photo AFP/Zacharias Abubeker)

Speaking at a press conference held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa Monday, Machar alleged that the South Sudanese government killed nearly 600 political prisoners on 25 August, the day before president Kiir signed the final peace deal to end the conflict.

Those allegedly slaughtered, he told reporters, were political prisoners in custody under the government's military intelligence.

He said members of his armed opposition movement were concerned over “mass slaughter” that allegedly happened in the capital, Juba.

The rebel leader demanded for an immediate probe into the alleged incident, further stressing that the mass killings that took place against the political detainees undermines the peace accord.

“We question the political will of the government. Is the government serious to implement the agreement or do they have divisions?” he asked.

Machar urged the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-Plus and the international community to look into the matter.

Sudan Tribune could not immediately verify the rebel leader's allegations on the killings.

Both warring factions have, despite signing a peace deal, accused each other's forces of violating the agreed permanent ceasefire.

The rebel leader, however, reiterated his commitment to respect implementation of peace accord and that his group held talks with South Sudanese in Ethiopia asking them to back the peace process.

He said a rebel delegation was dispatched to Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Egypt to galvanise minds of South Sudanese to support the peace deal and its implementation.

(ST)

August 31, 2015 (JUBA) – A South Sudanese opposition movement has demanded that the East African regional bloc (IGAD) to initiate fresh peace talks aimed at resolving the conflict in the young nation.

South Sudan's former vice president and opposition leader, Riek Machar, signs peace agreement together with SPLM SG Pagan Amum in Addis Ababa, on July 17 2015 (ST)

In a statement issued Monday, the Revolutionary Movement for National Salvation (REMNASA) asked IGAD to consider the views of the people of South and instigate negotiations between the unified South Sudan ruling party regime and other armed opposition fronts in the country to achieve lasting peace to the suffering population.

“The called “Compromised Peace Agreement” signed by the SPLM-IG of Salva Kirr, SPLM-IO of Dr. Riek Machar and SPLM-FD of Pagan Amum is not worth to bring peace as it has been rejected even by the key members of the conflicting parties that signed the agreement,” partly reads the statement signed by its spokesperson, Col. John Sunday Martin.

The opposition group also castigated South Sudan's main rival factions of violating the signed agreement less than 24 hours after they both declared a permanent ceasefire in respect to the accord.

REMNASA said it was worried the peace agreement concluded last week in Juba may remain on paper without effective implementation, thus making it a “dead” peace deal of IGAD-Plus.

“Peace cannot be brought full in any nation by small portion of warring factions, and never will any peace be sustainable while others warring factions are not involved in sustaining it”, stressed the group.

“REMNASA has disowned this peace agreement and so is Federal Democratic Party (FDP); and therefore, without inclusiveness of REMNASA and any other revolutionary forces, IGAD-Plus must not expect any peace, but full scale war”, further added the statement.

Failure by IGAD to initiate fresh talks, the group warned, could provoke “military” options and full scale war against the Juba regime.

They accused the regional bloc of a selective approach in choosing parties to continue ruling South Sudan, which was allegedly against the will of the ordinary citizens in the world's youngest nation.

FAILED LEADERS

Meanwhile, the revolutionary movement described both President Salva Kiir and opposition leader, Riek Machar as “failed” leaders allegedly responsible for the problems the nation currently faces.

“In fact, they (Kirr and Riek) worked perfectly together to loot our national resources, and failed to work as a team to offer constructive political leadership to this nation, as well deliver services to meet the expectation of the suffering people of south Sudan,” the group further said in their statement, which was also extended to Sudan Tribune.

“We are therefore calling for the two leaders to be excluded from the Transitional Government of the National Unity and should they need to come back to lead, they should wait for the general election, and seek it through popular vote of the people,” it added.

The opposition group, however, says it was willing to seek for alliance with every excluded faction such as FDP to ensure IGAD responds positively to their national calls for fresh peace talks with unified SPLM or else launch full scale war as an option for peace in the nation.

(ST)

August 31, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – A number of foreign ambassadors in Khartoum asked the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) for more details on steps undertaken to ensure the success of the national dialogue progress that is scheduled to formally convene on October 10th.

3rd meeting of the national dialogue national assembly in Khartoum on Thursday 20 August 2015 (Photo - SUNA)

The NCP political sector secretary Mustafa Osman Ismail held separate meetings with the ambassadors of Japan, Sweden and Italy at their request for an update on the dialogue initiative.

Ismail said in press statements on Monday that the three ambassadors stressed their strong support for national dialogue and expressed their desire to see the dialogue make a positive leap that would contribute to bringing about stability and development in Sudan.

"We conveyed to the ambassadors the steps undertaken so far in the dialogue process and the keenness of the government and the parties especially the 7 +7 mechanism to make it a success so that it would address the country's problems and lead to the opening up of Sudan's foreign relations," Ismail said.

He went on to say that he conveyed to diplomats his assurances that the dialogue aims to stop the war and create political consensus and addressing all the problems facing the country.

The NCP official said that consensus in the upcoming dialogue conference will contribute and help in drafting a new constitution for the country that would improve Sudan's foreign relations that would eventually reflect on the people's livelihoods.

"The Sudanese are keen on a dialogue that would bring about a positive shift in light of the tension that the world is witnessing, and a positive shift in security, stability and development in Sudan," Ismail said.

In a speech before the general assembly of the dialogue process this month, the Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir expressed readiness to declare a two-month ceasefire in Blue Nile, South Kordofan states and Darfur region and renewed his offer of amnesty for the rebel who are willing to join the national dialogue.

(ST)

August 31, 2015 (NYALA) – Security committee at three localities in South Darfur state met on Monday to assess the security situation against the backdrop of the ongoing tribal clashes between Salamat and Falata tribes.

Sudanese tribal leaders attend the Darfur talks at the venue of the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria on 2 May 2006 (AP)

Members of security committees of Tulus, Buram and Damso localities met in the headquarters of Tulus locality, 90 kilometer south of South Darfur capital, Nyala to evaluate the security danger posed by conflict between the two tribes.

The commissioner of Tulus locality, Ibrahim Abakar Shamna, told Sudan Tribune that security committees of the three localities besides the local administration discussed in an expanded meeting ways for achieving lasting solution to prevent renewal of clashes between Falata and Salamat.

He pointed that the security committees developed strict security measures to arrest any individuals or groups seeking to wreak havoc particularly robbers and looters who drag tribes to bloody clashes, noting that specific groups became known for stealing cattle.

Shamna stressed that security organs are now equipped more than ever with military gears which allow them to curb any security threat in the area.

The commissioner emphasized that security organs wouldn't hesitate to arrest anyone who seeks to create tensions among tribes residing in the three localities, pointing to coordination among security committees, local administration and ordinary citizens to clamp down on the outlaws.

He noted that a mechanism to heal the rift between the two tribes has been developed, saying it would tackle issues of blood money and reparations in a way that preserves the rights of the victims.

Clashes between the two Salamat and Falata erupted last March following theft of cows in Rajaj area. At the time 67 people were killed. Also, seven people were killed in renewed clashes between the two tribes last month.

The central government admitted the failure of traditional reconciliation approach and decided stop these bloody tribal conflicts by bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attacks and through the massive deployment of troops.

(ST)

August 31, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Four Sudanese female students have secretly flown to Turkey to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to local media reports

FILE - Two ISIS supporters hold flag (ABC News)

Khartoum newspapers reported that the group which includes twin sisters have left the country to join ISIS while other media reports claimed that there five in this group.

ISIS presence in Sudan has made the headlines last March after British media outlets confirmed that nine medical students from Sudanese origins entered Syria via Turkey to work in hospitals under the control of ISIS.

Also, last June 18 college students ran off to join ISIS in Syria including the daughter of senior diplomat.

Security cameras at Khartoum airport have captured images of Aya al-Laythi al-Hag Youssef, a third year medical student at the University of Medical Sciences and Technology (UMST) besides the twin sisters Manar Abdel-Salam, a UMST graduate and medical doctor at Garash Hospital in Khartoum and Ibrar Abdel-Salam, a medical student at the National College.

Cameras also captured images of a fourth female student by the name of Thoraya or Sumaia Salah Hamid.

However, aAl-Sudani daily newspaper on Monday quoted the student affairs official at the UMST as saying the two students are not enrolled at his college.

According to the reports, names of the female students were among the list of the departing passengers on the al-Arabiya airlines heading to Istanbul via Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, saying that security officers at Sharjah airport sought to stop them but to no avail.

It has been reported that the students might have used Somali travel documents.

Meanwhile, Turkey has pledged to intensify efforts to prevent the flow of ISIS sympathizers crossing its border into Syria.

Turkish deputy undersecretary for foreign affairs, Ali Kamal, stressed importance of the international cooperation to fight against this security threat.

“In order to ensure success of Turkey's efforts to prevent flow of people from 100 countries seeking [to join ISIS], we need the support of the international community by providing information and close coordination,” he told reporters in Khartoum Monday.

Kamal further urged the Sudanese authorities to take the necessary measures to curb activities of those extremists groups.

Earlier this month, Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) re-arrested the Salafist Jihadist preacher and supporter of ISIS, Masa'ad al-Sidairah along with several of his disciples.

Also, On 30 June NISS arrested the general coordinator of the far-right One Nation Movement group and the openly supporter of ISIS, Mohamed Ali al-Gizouli.

Last May, Sudan's minister of Higher Education Sumaya Abu-Kushawa accused unnamed circles of actively recruiting students to join ISIS.

At the time, Sudanese second vice-president Hassabo Abdel-Rahman blamed internal and external parties as well as international intelligence agencies for the phenomenon of extremism in the Arab and African communities.

Last Month, Abdul-Ilah, the son of the late leader of Jamaat Ansar al Sunnah, Abu Zaid Mohamed Hamzah, was killed in armed clashes in the ISIS stronghold of Sirte in Libya.

One week earlier, a Sudanese Jihadist nicknamed Abu Ja'afar al-Sudani blew himself up in a car bomb in the Libyan city of Derna last week, killing 9 people and injuring dozens others.

Also, in June ISIS announced that one of its Sudanese fighters nicknamed Abu al-Fida al-Sudani was killed in their stronghold of al-Riqa.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

August 31, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA/KAMPALA) – Leader of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), Riek Machar, on Monday commended Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni, saying he has noticed positive approach to ensuring peace in South Sudan.

Riek Machar prepares to address a news conference during the peace signing meeting in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, August 17, 2015. (Photo Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

“When president Museveni was here during the summit I saw a shift in his attitude and his commitment to support the peace agreement,” said former vice president, Machar in a press conference he held in Addis Ababa on Monday.

He said he had dispatched a high level delegation of 11 members to Kampala who met president Museveni last Saturday in a bid to engage the authorities in Uganda on the implementation of the peace agreement he signed with president Salva Kiir to end the 20-month long civil war in the world's youngest country.

“We want to read the mood in Kampala on the implementation of the peace agreement,” said Machar.

“We are satisfied that the Ugandan government is behind the peace agreement which is very important to us because it is part of the conflict and they have troops which they will have to withdraw,” he said.

The Ugandan troops were deployed in South Sudan in December 2013 at the invitation of president Kiir shortly after fighting broke out between forces loyal to Kiir and those allied to Machar.

The latest peace agreement signed between the two rival leaders in general states that the troops of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) must pullout from South Sudan with the exception of those in western equatoria state who came under a different arrangement to hunt for the Uganda rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

According to the peace agreement, UPDF will withdraw from all locations in South Sudan including Bor and Juba, but a number of their troops will remain in Western Equatoria start per the arrangement made with the African Union (AU) as a regional task force to battle the LRA rebels.

Earlier, Ugandan minister of foreign affairs, Henry Oryem Okello, said on Saturday that the UPDF will not withdraw from the South Sudan despite the internationally backed and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediated peace agreement which demanded their withdrawal.

“We are not pulling out. Uganda is not part of the agreement. We have a bilateral arrangement with South Sudan government like U.S. has troops stationed in Japan,” Oryem was quoted as saying by a number of regional media outlets.

Following Saturday's statement by the Ugandan foreign minister the rebels have requested explanation and other Ugandan officials including from the ministry of defense said their deputy foreign minister was misquoted, saying their troops will withdraw within 45 days in accordance with the peace deal.

“When we heard of it we inquired and we were told that the minister was misquoted,” said Machar.

NO GRUDGE AGAINST UGANDA

The spokesperson of the rebel delegation to Kampala, Stephen Kuol told Sudan Tribune he was optimistic of Uganda's positive contributions in implementing the peace agreement.

"Let is be known that the SPLM/SPLA under the able leadership of Dr. Riek Machar does not hold any grudges against the Republic of Uganda and its leadership. We are saying for us to implement this peace agreement, we must everything behind us," said Kuol.

"Let bygones be bygones," stressed the armed opposition official on Monday.

The main focus, Kuol further said, was on how to effectively implement the new peace accord.

"We need the support of the Ugandan leadership, the leadership of the region, African Union, United Nations, the Trioka and all people of goodwill who made it possible for us to get another opportunity for peace in the country," said the rebel delegation spokesperson.

Rival forces in South Sudan conflict have issued statements counter-accusing each other of violations of the permanent ceasefire hours after it came into effect on Saturday midnight as declared by president Kiir and armed opposition leader, Machar.

Meanwhile the rebels accused government forces of continued attacks despite the signed peace agreement which calls on both warring factions to take into effect a permanent ceasefire.

In a separate interview with Sudan Tribune, acting spokesperson of SPLM-IO army, Colonel William Gatjiath Deng, alleged that government forces have launched bombardments on Saturday in Unity state's Leer, Koch, Mayiandit, and Rupkotni counties.

“They are today on their way going to Jonglei state in Fangak county in the river. They have also started bombardments on the river bank in our controlled territories,” he said.

Deng added that the rebel forces did not retaliate but remained standing in their defence positions.

The military official further alleged that the Ugandan troops were fighting against them along side the government even after the peace deal was signed.

The spokesperson of the government forces, Colonel Philip Aguer, on Saturday and Sunday similarly accused the rebels of launching attacks at government controlled territories in Malakal town in what he said was to gain more territories.

“Their intention is to gain more territories. This is the purpose of these attacks. That was why they attacked the positions of our forces in Malakal yesterday (Saturday) and again today (Sunday),” said Aguer.

“For us, our forces will not attack them but they have the right for self-defence,” he added.

(ST)

August 31, 2015 (JUBA) – The newly appointed caretaker governor of the oil-rich Upper Nile state, Chol Thon, has announced readiness of his administration to support president Salva Kiir in the implementation of the peace agreement he signed with former vice president, Riek Machar, the leader of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO).

Troops from the South Sudanese army (SPLA) have been engaged in an armed struggle with rebel forces loyal to former vice-president Riek Machar since mid-December last year (Photo: Reuters)

Governor Thon, according to Upper Nile state's information minister, Peter Hoth Tuach, was the first senior official in the state to welcome the signing of the agreement and sent his congratulatory messages to the head of state on behalf of the people of the state.

“The new governor and the government of Upper Nile state was the first to welcome and sent congratulatory message to the president on the signing of the peace [agreement]. The governor on behalf of the people of Upper Nile state affirmed readiness of the leadership of the state to stand behind the decision of the president and pledged unwavering support in the implementation because signing the peace is one thing and the implementation is another thing,” minister Tuach told Sudan Tribune on Monday.

He accused the opposition forces of allegedly launching attack on the position held by government in and around Malakal in violation of the permanent ceasefire which the rival leaders declared and came into force midnight, Saturday.

“The rebels are claiming that they were attacked by our forces. It is not true. It is just propaganda to cover their behaviours. You know that rebels are always very fast to come out and accuse our forces even when they are known to have carried out the attack,” he further claimed.

The question remains, is Malakal under whose control, the government or the rebels? Malakal has been in the hand of the government and it is being known by IGAD. The rebel claim is baseless and unfounded because if Malakal is being attacked, who is attacking it? Can the government attack itself,” asked Tuach.

Rebels however dismissed claims that their forces attacked Malakal town, saying it was the government forces in Malakal that shelled their positions on the west bank of the River Nile.

South Sudan's military spokesman, Colonel Philip Aguer, told reporters that government forces were attacked by opposition fighters on Monday in Unity and Upper Nile states.

SPLA-IO REFUTES ALLEGATION

Opposition forces under the leadership of Machar refuted allegations by the government and said they were only fighting in self-defence, blaming the government for violations of the permanent ceasefire.

The newly appointed military spokesperson for the rebels, Colonel William Gatjiath Deng, in a press statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday said the opposition forces came under separate attacks in Upper Nile and Unity states.

He also claimed that one of the government's barges carrying troops and mounted with heavy weapons has been destroyed by the opposition fighters.

“The government troops have attacked our forces in Tonga county [Upper Nile state] this late afternoon [Monday]. One of the government's barges has been burned by our forces and the fighting is still going on now,” Deng said in the statement.

He said in Unity state, government troops moving in the river with three barges and 7 gunboats shelled Wathkech payam, accusing the government of carrying out offensive despite peace deal.

“We want to inform the people of South Sudan that government is sabotaging the implementation of the peace deal,” he said.

Deng called upon the IGAD Plus, AU and international community to take action by investigating what was going on as the government continued to violate the ceasefire.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (JUBA) – The Japanese ambassador to South Sudan, Kiya Masahiko, concluded a visit to South Sudan's Upper Nile state last week to show solidarity with the refugees and appreciate the impact of Japan's aid contribution to their living conditions.

Sudanese refugees wait to board a truck heading to Batil refugee camp in South Sudan's Upper Nile state on 15 July 2012 (Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

A delegation of local authorities and partner organisations, including the country representative of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), Ahmed Warsame accompanied Masahiko.

During the trip, the Japanese envoy reportedly visited some of the projects funded by the government of Japan in Doro camp, including classrooms at the Nur primary school, a solar-power borehole and the mud-plastered transitional shelters for vulnerable refugees.

Masahiko, UNHCR said, also visited Maban county hospital, which has been equipped with a X-ray room, two operating theatres, three paediatric wards and a pharmacy over the last two years, courtesy of funding from donors, including Japan.

"This hospital serves more than 200,000 people from the refugee and host communities and remains the only functioning hospital in the entirety of Upper Nile State since the start of the conflict in December 2013," UNHCR said in a statement.

Japan, UNHCR's second largest donor globally has reportedly contributed more than $16 million since 2014 to support UN refugee agency's efforts to protect and assist refugees and extend a helping hand to host communities in the world's youngest nation.

"Japan's support has been key in improving the living conditions of tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees who have found shelter in camps in Upper Nile and Unity states as well as many South Sudanese living within and around Maban camps," said Warsame.

"We were able to build better shelters for families and ensure higher standards in health, water, sanitation and education," he added.

The Japanese envoy reportedly met the refugee leaders to hear the concerns of their community. Access to higher education, health care, food and shelters were said to be top priorities for the refugees as do Internet connectivity for education and access to labor-saving modern farm technologies like tractors to increase agricultural production.

"Resources are limited, but we are committed to continue our support for refugees and host communities in South Sudan," said ambassador Masahiko.

"It is important that the contribution of the people of Japan reaches the most needy refugees and makes substantive improvements in their livelihoods," he stressed.

Currently, South Sudan reportedly has some 265,000 refugees of which nearly 90% are from South Kordofan and Blue Niles states and live in Unity and Upper Nile state camps. The remaining 10% are refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia who live mostly in Central and Western Equatoria state.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (RUMBEK) – Two former Members of Parliament (MPs) in South Sudan's Lakes state, called for peace and reconciliation among rival communities after they were released last week in the state capital, Rumbek, after 10 months in prison without charges.

Marik Nanga Marik at the right and Isaac Makur Buoc Apac at the left speaking to press at Rumbek airstrip upon their arrival from Yirol west on 25 August 2015 (Photo ST)

Thousands of people including relatives and friends on Sunday gathered in the house of Isaac Makur Buoc, one of the released MPs, to thank South Sudan's president Salva Kiir for having instructed state authorities for their release.

MP Isaac Makur Buoc, representing Rumbek East county constituency number 13, was released with his colleague, Marik Nanga Marik, representing constituency number 2, on 22 August, 2015 in the county.

The two lawmakers spent over 300 days in jail and released without charges after president Kiir intervened late.

Speaking during the thanksgiving event, Buoc urged Rumbek East population to advocate for peace and reconciliation within their family members. Buoc He said talking for peace was the best tool to wed for peaceful future.

He encouraged his supporters to work hard for putting platform for peace instead of allow revenge and counter-revenge in the community.

Marik Nanga Marik, flanked his colleague and urged residents to be valiant in putting peace first than supporting personal interests that divide state inhabitants.

He described his arrest as normal and urged his supporters to support national government to implement the peace deal signed by South Sudan's president Kiir and the armed opposition leader, Riek Machar.

“Work in support [of the] recent peace signed by president Kiir – your goal now must be to build peace if you really supported me- supported national government with your heart and soul. We need peace so that our children could harvest nice future,” he said.

The thanksgiving ceremony was attended by top government officials.
Lakes state has been in cycle of revenge killings and unlawful arrests of civil activists and politicians with public losing interest in the current state administration led by military caretaker governor, Major General Matur Chut Dhoal, who also survived the recent reshuffle.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir on Sunday issued a decision to form a fact-finding committee to investigate the circumstances of a brawl between members of two factions of a former rebel group signatory of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

The chairman of Darfur Regional Authority and NLJP leader Tijani El-Sissi (Reuters)

On Wednesday 26 August members of the Liberation and Justice Party (LJP), led by Bahar Idriss Abu Garda fought with members of National Liberation and Justice Movement (NLJP) led by Tijani al-Sissi during the launch ceremony for Phase II of development projects in Darfur in the Sudanese capital.

The LJP supporters came to contest the legitimacy of the attribution of 640 development projects and reiterated accusations of corruption for the NLJP led Darfur Regional Authority (DRA).

The presidential decree provides that the committee should investigate with the official and non-official persons involved in the incident, the circumstances and motivations of this unprecedented development in the conflict between the two parties.

LJP and the Justice and Equality Movement -Dabajo (JEM-Dabajo) call on president Bashir to appoint a new chairman for the regional authority and to be equally represented in the DRA which controlled by al-Sissi's pary.

The decree appointed the minister of justice Hassan Awad, as chairman of the committee and the minister of the federal affairs Faisal Hassan Ibrahim, and the deputy chief justice Idris Awad al-Majid as members.

The three member investigation body had to submit its findings to the president within a week from the date of the presidential decision.

BOYCOTT OF RDA

In a related development, LJP and the JEM-Dabajo ministers in the DRA decided to boycott the meetings of the regional body till an expected reshuffle takes place.

The two political groups are expected to hold a press conference to explain their decision.

The DRA chairman Sissi on Sunday headed a meeting of the regional authority at its headquarters in Khartoum with the participation of the five governors of Darfur states.

DRA information minister Abdel Karim Musa told reporters that the meeting stressed the government's determination to enforce all the 1071 development projects in Darfur.

Musa disclosed that the federal finance ministry approved 900 million pounds for the implementation of the second phase of recovery and development projects.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (JUBA) - A group of defected rebel officials in South Sudan conflict have rejected a recently signed peace deal between the government of President Salva Kiir and the rebel faction under former vice president, Riek Machar, demanding that peace renegotiations between warring parties should take place inclusive of their group.

Gabriel Changson Chang (ST Photo)

The group calling itself Federal Democratic Party (FDP) with it military wing South Sudan Armed Forces (SSAF), an army pending name they borrowed from the South Sudan's transitional constitution is led by former national minister of youth, culture and sports, Gabriel Changson Chang.

The group called upon the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to adopt a new strategy in the peace negotiation.

“We in the federal democratic [party] and South Sudan armed forces believe that the IGAD must adopt a new strategy in the peace negotiation. We believe that in order to bring a lasting peace to South Sudan, all parties and stakeholders in the conflict must be included in the peace talks so that any agreement reached by [parties] must [be] owned by South Sudanese,” the statement dated August 29, 2015 reads in part.

The statement criticized IGAD, an east African bloc, which mediated the end to more than 20 months conflict in the country, for allegedly restricting negotiations “to a few favoured clients are contrary to the spirit of peace.”

IGAD, according to the statement, must allow open discussion of the root causes that triggered the conflict. It expressed doubt whether president Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar will be able to work together after “failing to gain trust despite working for eight years in the same government.”

“Both president and Dr. Riek Machar worked with each other for eight years and could not trust each other. It is doubtful whether these leaders will invent or generate any trust between them in the short period of transitional period,” he Changson said.

“Due to this mistrust between the two leaders, it remains to be seen whether the Juba massacre will not repeat itself,” he further predicted.

He claimed that the peace agreement between Kiir and Machar failed to recognize the Juba massacre and this “is very disappointing to the Nuer ethnic group in general and the families of the massacred people in particular.”

However, the peace agreement provided for compensation and reparation of the victims of the massacre in Juba and in other areas. A report by the African Union's Peace and Security Council also addressed the Juba massacre and to hold those responsible to account once it is released during the implementation of the peace deal.

But Changson further predicted that rivalry between the two major communities of Dinka and Nuer may continue.

“This shows lack of respect for the dead and this can heighten the sentiments that can threaten reconciliation and healing between the Nuer and the Dinka ethnic groups,” he argued.

The statement further added that imposed peace hardly changes the attitude and behaviours of people involved in the conflict, thus demanding the need to involve all the stakeholders in negotiations.

“In condemning this agreement, we are aware and convinced that this imposed peace will not alleviate the suffering of our people. We have learnt from the history that imposed agreement do not change attitude and behaviours of people previously in conflict. It is only when agreement and reconciliation are concluded through free wills of the people that commitment and respect for those agreement is upheld,” he added.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – President Yowerei Museveni of Uganda has held unexpected high profile meeting with a high level delegation from the South Sudan's armed opposition faction under the leadership of former vice president, Riek Machar, days after a peace deal was signed by two warring parties in South Sudan.

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni chairs a meeting with SPLM-IO delegation (R) in Kampala, August 29, 2015 (Photo ST)

The SPLM-IO said the meeting took place in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Saturday following an invitation extended to the former rebel group after signing of a final peace agreement with president Salva Kiir, which was brokered by the East African regional bloc, IGAD, and its international partners.

“Our Chairman and Commander-in-Chief, Comrade Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, dispatched a high level delegation to Kampala and met with President Yoweri Museveni,” Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

“They met President Museveni on Saturday and the meeting was cordial,” Dak said, but declined to provide details of the outcome of the meeting.

He however said the high profile interaction discussed a wide range of issues on implementation of the peace agreement and relations between Kampala and the opposition group.

South Sudan's opposition has since last year opened an office in the Ugandan capital and dispatched a representative based in Kampala to deal with humanitarian issues and build on mending relations between the two.

The 10-member opposition delegation was led by the deputy chairman and deputy commander-in-chief of the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement/Army in opposition, General Alfred Ladu Gore.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (RUMBEK) – A renowned youth activists have been killed in Rumbek East county of South Sudan's Lakes state, relatives and officials told Sudan Tribune.

Map detail showing South Sudan's Lakes state in red

Makuer Bol was reportedly killed last Saturday night in Cueicok payam.

A Criminal Investigation Department said a team was dispatched to probe the incident

“Although Makuer was the most influential youth member, he never took sides in all cycles of revenge occurring in Lakes state,” the officer, who preferred anonymity, said.

Meanwhile, unknown gunmen reportedly killed a primary eight pupil along with his father in Mabui village near Rumbek airstrip on Friday night.

Dut Makat's father, Makat Moon was a soldier in the army's division six headquarters.

The state government has intensified the search for the suspected gunmen believed to be from Rup section of Rumbek Central county.

Lakes state has experienced waves of violence following the unsolved murder of paramount chief Apareer Chut Dhuol, an elder brother of the embattled caretaker governor, Matur Chut Dhoul.

There have been growing demands among Lakes state residents for Dhuol's removal, but President Salva Kiir has overlooked these calls.

Local police say state authorities have become increasingly isolated, with the public refusing to share information with law enforcement officers, making it difficult to maintain law and order in the region.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

August 30, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudanese musicians in Ethiopia stage a concert in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa to celebrate the final peace agreement signed by the two warring factions in the world's youngest nation.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir (seated) signs a peace agreement in Juba, August 26, 2015. (Photo Reuters/Jok Solomu)

South Sudan peace ambassador, Gatwech Koak Nyuon, who chief guest, opened the concert held on Saturday at Gerji community hall in Addis Ababa.

Gatwech made presentations on truth, reconciliation and healing and also awarded top artists.

The Chairperson for South Sudan Artists Association in Ethiopia (SSAAE), Khor Deng Jang, welcomed the signed peace accord to end 20 months long conflict in South Sudan.

"I welcome the peace signed by the president [Salva Kiir] and Dr. [Riek] Machar" Jang elaborated at the closed ceremony.

Khor urged the IGAD-Plus and the international community to help implement the peace process.

In a joint communiqué, the South Sudanese called on IGAD-Plus, the international community as well as on all South Sudanese in the diasporas and at home to keep working together and help the leaders of the parties on implementation process.

They also urged leaders of the two South Sudanese warring factions to quickly establish truth, healing and reconciliation commission as it was done in South Africa.

The musicians further stressed a need for the religious communities to preach for peace and love to bring all South Sudanese communities together as one united family.

The South Sudanese artists planned to compose new songs which are noble to peace so that war affected South Sudanese hurt in this ongoing crisis are healed from trauma.

Over 800 people attended the concert organised by South Sudanese artists in Ethiopia.

Although the two rivals inked a final peace deal which brought hope for permanent ceasefire, some South Sudanese in Addis Ababa, however, still doubt on its implementation citing at least seven ceasefire agreements which were broken quickly.

But thousands of South Sudanese residing at refugee camps in Ethiopia are still hoping to return back home soon to rejoin their families. Since conflict in South Sudan erupted in December 2013, over 200,000 South Sudanese crossed borders into Ethiopia.

The international community has threatened to impose tougher measures on any party that fails to implement the peace agreement initiated by the IGAD-Plus mediators.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (KHARTOUM) -Sudan's president Omer Hassan al-Bashir has officially rejected the call of the African Union (AU) to hold a pre-dialogue meeting in Addis Ababa, saying he wants the dialogue to be an exclusive Sudanese process.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir (TIKSA NEGERI/REUTERS)

Last week, the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) reiterated its call for an urgent pre-national dialogue meeting of all Sudan's relevant parties, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, to discuss and agree on procedural matters relating to the dialogue.

Bashir, who addressed the army officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers at the Wadi Siedna military compound on Sunday, said his government refuses to hold the dialogue abroad, stressing that the AU, United Nations and the United States can't force the Sudanese government to hold the national dialogue abroad.

He said that doors are open for all parties to discuss ways for resolving Sudan's problems without foreign tutelage, warning rebels groups against insistence on resorting to arms to resolve outstanding issues.

Bashir said the coming year would be the year for achieving a decisive peace, pointing they offer the full opportunity for all parties to engage in the dialogue.

“We are authorized to wage war against those who refuse to engage in the dialogue,” he added.

In the same context, Sudan's foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, told the Swedish ambassador to Khartoum, Mette Sunnergren, that his government would not accept to hold any dialogue conference abroad.

In a meeting held on Sunday, Ghandour informed the Swedish diplomat that his government wants the dialogue to be "an exclusive Sudanese process", pointing that Sudan coordinates with the AUPSC and the AU High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) only as partners who offer opinion and efforts to ensure the success of the process.

In September 2014, the peace and security body endorsed a roadmap aiming to facilitate the national dialogue. It provides to hold a national dialogue preparatory meeting in Addis to agree on issues related to the process.

But before they have to negotiate a cessation of hostilities immediately followed by security arrangements.

Bashir launched the national dialogue initiative more than a year and a half ago in which he urged opposition parties and rebels alike to join the dialogue table to discuss all the pressing issues.

But the initiative faced serious setbacks in wake of the government's refusal to create suitable atmosphere in the country leading several major participants to pull out.

OPPOSITION CONDEMNS GOVERNMENT STANCE

RNM leader Ghazi Salah Eddin Attabani speaks in a press conference held in Khartoum on 30 August 2015 (Photo ST)

Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition Reform Now Movement (RNM), Ghazi al-Attabani, described the government refusal to participate in the pre-dialogue meeting as “irrational and unsustainable”.

Attabani, who spoke in a press conference held by the Alliance of National Forces (ANF) including the political forces which withdrew from the government-led dialogue on Sunday, said the government would be forced to change its position sooner or later, wondering why it drags its feet on accepting the pre-dialogue meeting while it engages in external negotiations on its entire affairs.

He called on the Sudanese government to stop political manoeuvring on the issue of holding the dialogue inside Sudan, accusing it of trying to portray the opposition forces as seeking to hold the dialogue abroad.

“On the contrary, all political forces are committed to hold an exclusive Sudanese dialogue inside the Sudan”, he added.

RNM leader pointed that some opposition forces agreed to initiate the dialogue by holding a preparatory meeting abroad, describing the AUPSC call for the dialogue as “historic and unprecedented”.

He said the government will be the losing party if it insists on rejecting the AUPSC call for holding the pre-dialogue meeting, warning against underestimating the African support for Sudan.

Attabani further pointed if Africa withdrew its support for Sudan, the government would be exposed to international pressures and would be forced to engage in the dialogue at a higher cost than any genuine dialogue among the sons of Sudan.

He pointed that the recent AUPSC communiqué shows that the regional body was visibly irritated by the procrastination of the Sudanese government in taking the right steps to conduct a genuine and comprehensive dialogue.

“[The AUPSC] is standing one step away from declaring that the ongoing dialogue is worthless because it doesn't meet the minimum standards of political dialogue that have been implemented in similar experiences,” he said.

Attabani demanded the government to immediately respond to calls made by the “Sudan Call” forces for stopping the war, urging it to engage in serious talks to achieve a cessation of hostilities that leads to a comprehensive ceasefire.

“It would be futile to talk about political reform or national dialogue or to address Sudan's economic or regional and international relations crises while the war is ongoing,” he added.

ANF spokesperson, Taha Abdallah Yassin, for his part, said that failure of the government to put the dialogue in the right track would force them to resort the alternative dialogue project which they had agreed to launch with the rebel umbrella Sudan Revolutionary Forces (SRF).

He added the alternative dialogue will be based on the consensus of the entire Sudanese people, saying its outcome would form the basis of the national constitution.

NFC CALLS FOR UPRISING

In a related development, the opposition alliance National Consensus Forces (NCF) issued a statement saying that past and current developments prove they prove right their long-standing position that the government is not serious in its call for a negotiated solution for the country's issues.

"As the regime has rejected all the requirements and objective conditions for dialogue, the choice of the National Consensus Forces (...) is to overthrow the regime through a popular uprising, political strike and civil disobedience, and total rejection of any settlement aiming to maintain this system," the alliance of the left forces said.

The statement underscored that in line with Berlin Declaration, the opposition forces have to stop seeking a negotiated solution and to work altogether in a popular uprising to topple down the regime of President Omer al-Bashir.

RNM DENIES CONTACTS

RNM deputy chairman Hassan Rizq denied they were being contacted by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) to resume participation in the ongoing dialogue, accusing NCP leaders of turning a deaf ear to other political forces.

It is worth mentioning that the RNM pulled out of the dialogue last year blaming the NCP for its refusal to implement a number of confidence building measures aimed at creating a conducive environment before the start of the process.

Rizq called on the Sudanese government to listen to the voice of reason and avoid any confrontation with the AUPSC in order not to prevent transfer of the dossier to the UN Security Council.

“It is the duty of the wise men (within the government) to rein in those who seek to drag Sudan to this confrontation (with the AUPSC) ,” he added.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - At the end of a five-day visit to Khartoum, the United States Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Donald E. Booth, has expressed regret for not being able to visit Darfur, saying he hopes to visit the restive region soon.

Sudan's FM Ibrahim Ghandour (R- center) meets with the visiting U.S. special envoy Donald Booth in Khartoum on 26 August 2015 (Photo ST)

“I was regrettably unable to make my planned visit to Darfur, but look forward to re-scheduling that visit soon”, Booth said in a statement released on Sunday at the conclusion of his first visit to Sudan since nearly two years ago.

“Instead we engaged with leaders of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), humanitarian actors, and other Darfuri officials on issues of security, inter-communal conflict, and crime, as well as delivery of life-saving assistance, and reconciliation efforts”, he added.

The American envoy didn't mention the reasons that have prevented him from visiting Darfur and whether the Sudanese authorities refused to allow him to visit the region which has been the scene of a deadly conflict between the government and rebel groups since 2003.

Following his arrival in Khartoum on Tuesday, Booth held talks with Sudan's foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, on Saturday but a wall of secrecy has been dropped around it.

The American envoy welcomed the government of Sudan's stated intent to implement a two-month cessation of hostilities and encouraged it “to extend the timeframe and couple it with a negotiated and mutually acceptable mechanism for humanitarian access in order to develop confidence in, and an environment conducive to, an inclusive political dialogue process”.

He further said they will likewise engage opposition actors on these critical issues.

The US envoy pointed they engaged the government of Sudan on the full range of issues that frame the bilateral relationship , adding that the visit also included constructive discussions with civil society representatives, business leaders, political parties, humanitarian actors, and other Sudanese citizens.

He said that discussions with the Sudanese government addressed the need for an open national political dialogue to address the root causes of Sudan's persistent internal conflicts, and to realize more inclusive governance arrangements.

“We exchanged views on security concerns, protection of civilians, and improving humanitarian access to conflict-affected populations,” he added.

Booth pointed out that discussions also covered economic issues such as Sudan's outstanding debt, sanctions, and ways of utilizing the important sanctions exemptions that have been granted for the benefit of the Sudanese people.

The American envoy expressed hope to return to Sudan to advance dialogue on issues of mutual interest and concern.

Sudan has been on the U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism since 1993, even though the two countries have strengthened their counter-terrorism cooperation since the September 2001 attacks on Washington and New York.

Washington also imposed economic and trade sanctions on Sudan in 1997 in response to its alleged connection to terror networks and human rights abuses. In 2007, it strengthened the embargo, citing abuses in Darfur which it says constitutes genocide.

The resumption of dialogue between the two countries come after an agreement reached last February with the then presidential assistant Ibrahim Ghandour on the framework of discussion over normalisation of bilateral relations.

Khartoum in the past said talks should be based on mutual interests and refused Washington's approach linking between the resolution of internal conflicts and lift of sanctions.

DISCUSSIONS WITH BUSINESSPERSON ON SANCTIONS' EFFECTS

One of the events that marked the visit was a meeting held on Thursday 27 August by an American technical team accompanying the U.S. special envoy with Sudanese business community to discuss the negative impact of sanctions on the goods exempted from sanctions.

The vice-president of Sudanese Businessmen and Employers Federation (SBEF) Youssef Ahmed Youssef who took part in the workshop told reporters that the meeting comes in line with the dialogue that Sudanese private sector engaged since several years with American embassy to consider ways to relieve them from the impact of the embargo.

"The workshop discussed the complexities inherent to financial and banking transactions in the sectors exempted from the American sanctions, which now impact the banking dealings with Asian and European banks that were dealing with Sudan," he said.

Sudanese businessmen say that international banks systematically block their transactions because they fear to be prohibited by trade embargoes and sanctions rules. They add that the foreign and even American banks ignore the list of exemptions granted by the OFAC during the past years.

The members of the visiting technical team vowed to exert the necessary efforts to facilitate the implementation of exemptions decided for the benefit of Sudanese people.

In 1997 when the American Administration decide to punish the Sudanese regime for its support of terrorism. The original bill terminated all commercial activities with Sudan but it exempted only one product, Gum Arabic as result of pressures exerted by American industrial groups who wanted to secure their access to this natural product .

Ten years later in 2007 , Washington strengthened the embargo, citing abuses in Darfur which it labelled as genocide. However to ease its negative impact on the ordinary people, the United States Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) since 2010 amended the bill several times and added more exemptions to the list, including agriculture equipment, educational exchange programs and scholarships, personal communications hardware and software including smart phones and laptops.

August 30, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudanese opposition faction of the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) said their leader, Riek Machar, who is a designated first vice president in accordance with peace deal with president Salva Kiir, will have bodyguards in the capital, Juba, contrary to what some media outlets said to the contrary.

Riek Machar gestures as he speaks to rebel General Peter Gatdet Yaka (not seen) in a rebel controlled territory in Jonglei on February 1, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, said what was reported in the media was a misinterpretation of Article 5 of the Transitional Security Arrangements in the accord which the two leaders signed on 17 and 26 August 2015, to end the 20-month long civil war in the country.

“That is a misinterpretation of Article 5.1.1. of the Peace Agreement. Presidential guards which are provided for in the Transitional Security Arrangement means guards for top leaders of the two parties,” he told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

Article 5 of the Transitional Security Arrangements stipulates that forces shall be redeployed by a radius of 25km outside Juba, but with exception of presidential guards and forces to protect military barracks, bases and warehouses as well as joint integrated police drawn from the two sides.

This was a revision from the first IGAD Plus peace compromise proposal of 25 July which gave president Kiir 265 bodyguards and Machar with 195 bodyguards in the capital.

But Dak explained that Article 5.1.1. which provides for presidential guards in the capital meant the combined guards for the two rival leaders and not exclusively for president Kiir.

He further said the IGAD Plus compromise agreement removed the proposed size and composition of the presidential guards for the two leaders and left it to the two parties to determine it in a workshop that will be organized in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in September in implementation of the security arrangements.

He also said the two parties will determine the size and composition of military forces that will remain in Juba to protect military barracks, bases and warehouses as well as joint integrated police to be deployed in Juba, Malakal, Bor and Bentiu in addition to other unspecified areas.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (JUBA) - Rival forces in South Sudan conflict have issued statements counter-accusing each other of violations of the permanent ceasefire hours after it came into effect on Saturday midnight as declared by president Salva Kiir and armed opposition leader, Riek Machar.

Soldiers from the South Sudan army (SPLA) patrol the streets in the Upper Nile state capital, Malakal, on 21 January 2014 (Photo: AFP/Charles Lomodong)

The spokesperson of the government forces, Colonel Phillip Aguer, issued a series of statements on Saturday evening and again on Sunday, accusing forces loyal to the former vice president, Riek Machar, to have carried out attack on positions held by forces allied to president Kiir in Malakal town.

The intention of the rebels attack on the government forces, according to Aguer, was to gain more territories which they were seeking to use as assembling points in the event peace deal is implemented.

“Their intention is to gain more territories. This is the purpose of these attacks. That was why they attacked the positions of our forces in Malakal yesterday (Saturday) and again today (Sunday),” said Aguer.

“For us, our forces will not attack them but they have the right for self-defense,” he added.

However, the military officer revealed that the government had dispatched troops using river transports for delivery of military supplies to Malakal town, capital of the remaining oil producing Upper Nile state.

Spokesman of the leader of the armed opposition leader, Machar, on Saturday and Sunday said government forces moving with barges and gunboats from Juba to Malakal along the river Nile have been attacking their bases.

“Government forces have been attacking our bases along the river Nile. They attacked Tayer port on 26 August, the day President Kiir signed the peace Agreement. They attacked our base at Adok port on Friday as they continue to move northwards towards Malakal. Government forces in Malakal also shelled our base on the west bank,” said Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak.

Government spokesman, Philip Aguer, admitted that government forces were moving along the river Nile through territories controlled by the rebels, warning that they will fire back in self-defense should they come under attack from the rebel forces.

Peter Adwok Nyaba, one of the leading figures in the armed opposition faction led by Machar confirmed separately that government forces on Sunday shot at one of their speed boats while traveling between Wau Shilluk and Watbajwok around Malakal, wounding one passenger.

“The information we have is that the government forces continued shelling Ditang, Bukieny, Obuwa and Lelo. Our forces did not return fire respecting the orders of the commander-in-chief Dr. Riek Machar to cease fire,” said Nyaba.

Dak also said their forces came under separate attacks on Sunday morning in their bases in Koch, Leer and Mayiandit counties, just hours after the ceasefire went into force.

NEW ACTING SPOKESMAN FOR SPLA-IO

Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, who has been handling both political and military issues as spokesman after defection of military spokesman, Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang, to government, said there is now an acting military spokesman to handle military issues.

“I want to take this opportunity to introduce to you my colleague, Colonel William Gatjiath Deng, who has become our acting military spokesperson,” Dak said on Sunday while distributing to the media Colonel Deng's first press statement on the military situation after violation of the permanent ceasefire.

Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang, who was military spokesperson for the rebels' military defected to the government this year. His deputy, Colonel James L. Thichot Ngundeng, who became the acting military spokesperson also defected from Machar with the group of Major General Peter Gatdet Yak and Major General Gathoth Gatkuoth.

Dak urged journalists to also establish contacts with the acting military spokesman, Deng, as he may be dealing mainly with political issues.

(ST)

August 29, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The Speaker of the National Assembly and his parliamentary delegation have got their visas for the United States to attend the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament from next Monday.

The Conference will be held from Monday 31 August to Wednesday, 2 September 2015 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. It is convened by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

A member of the Sudanese parliament from the ruling National Congress Party Mohamed al-Hassan al-Amin, on Friday complained that there was a delay in their visa, pointing that the U.S embassy in Khartoum told them that their application was under process in Washington.

However the head of external relations committee at the National Assembly Mohamed Mustafa al-Daw confirmed on Saturday that the eight members of the Sudanese delegation have obtained their visas denying reports that Washington declined to issue it.

Daw said the U.S. embassy in Khartoum attributed the delay in the visa issuance to the complicated procedures used by the American authorities. He said there is a positive change in the bilateral relations and ruled out that there was a political decision to deny them the visa.

The parliamentary official was alluding to the presence since last Tuesday of the U.S. special envoy Donald Booth in Khartoum where he is conducting discussions with the Sudanese officials on bilateral relations.

He said that the Sudanese Parliamentary delegation will leave for the United States on Saturday evening.

The delegation is headed by the speaker Ibrahim Ahmed Omer, and includes former speaker Ahmed Ibrahim al-Taher, deputy speaker of the State Council Ibrahim Habani, three other MPs and administrative staff members.

The world speakers conference will be will be opened by UN chief Ban Ki-moon and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) president Saber Chowdhury.

The three-day conference is expected to adopt a draft declaration, titled "Placing democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development: Building the world the people want".

The conference will call to deploy greater efforts "in solving conflicts through political dialogue and negotiations, with full respect for international law"

SST)