June 9, 2017 (KAMPALA) - The International Youth for Africa (IYA), a South Sudan-based human rights entity has strongly condemned the killing of civilians along Juba-Nimule road and urged the country's rebels and pro-government forces to desist from attacking civilians.
Over 20 people were killed and dozens injured during the attack, which the armed opposition forces claimed to have carried out.
IYA's executive director, Ter Manyang Gatwich accused the armed opposition of violating the recently agreed upon unilateral ceasefire.
“IYA condemns [the attack] in strongest term possible. Those who claimed the responsibility need to be taken to the court. Both SPLM-IG and SPLM-IO committed a lot of human rights abuse this including arbitrary detention, torture, killing, forced and disappears,” he said.
The official, however, appealed to the country's two main warring factions to sort out their differences through a peaceful dialogue.
“A political agreement should be the first to stop the war and then followed by the national dialogue in the context of reconciliation, forgiveness and accountability,” further stressed Gatwich.
Any dialogue, he said, should involve the country's political parties and main stakeholders like church leaders, the youth, women and community leaders who are both within and outside the country.
Gatwich also urged regional leaders and the international community to put pressure on the country's leaders to end the war that has displaced millions.
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La police marocaine a procédé à quatre nouvelles arrestations dans le nord du Maroc, où le mouvement de contestation populaire se poursuit.
June 10, 2017 (EL-FASHER) - Government forces managed to kill two commanders from the Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) during a recent military confrontation this week in North Darfur state, a military official said on Saturday.
"The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) last Thursday have killed Commander Khater Shata and Commander Adam Bakheit in a battle in Aru area, northeast of Ambro, North Darfur State, a military source told Sudan Tribune under the cover of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
The RSF troops also "captured four rebels and seized four Toyota vehicles including three Land Cruisers and one Hilux," he further said.
Shatta is the SLM-MM's logistics and supply officer, while Adam Bakhit is the Movement's deputy commander for North Darfur operations.
A joint rebel force from the SLM-MM and SLM- Transitional Council fought the government troops in North and East Darfur in a series of attacks that began on 20 May 2017 in order to reach the mountainous area of Jebel Marra.
While the force that penetrated into East Darfur from South Sudan was quickly crushed, the rebels who reached North Darfur from Libya clashed first in Wadi Hawar and continued to move towards Jebel Marra before to be defeated by Ain Siro.
Since, the RSF and the army have launched pursuit operations to hunt those who fled Ain Siro battlefield.
The military source said the authority tracked the phones of fugitive rebels and determined their positions, adding it was the last group to escape after the battle of Ain Siro.
Following Ain Siro battle, government forces captured a number of rebel senior leaders, including the Chairman of the SLM- Transitional Council Nimir Abdel Rahman and the SLM-MM spokesperson Ahmed Mustafa Adarop.
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June 10, 2017 (WANYJOK) - The leadership of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and South Sudan has no Saturday officially inaugurated and installed the new bishop of Wanyjok, marking the spread and expansion of the Anglican faith in the country to areas predominantly Roman Catholic.
Bishop Joseph Mamer Manot, was on Saturday enthroned at a religious function attended by the Episcopal Bishop of Aweil, Abraham Yel Nhial and the new bishop of Nyamellel, Peter Garang.
The new Speaker of Aweil East state Santino Deng Deng Maluil also attended on behalf of the state administration. He appealed for unity and religious guide in service delivery.
He pointed out unity and collaboration between different institutions of the government and religious establishment was the only way through which peace and stability could be achieved.
Maluil told the gathering that South Sudan was a secular state without a control of the religious practice, emphasising the importance of separating politics from religion.
"We need to share a common vision and a common work to defend secularism and religious plurality, where no space should be left to ambiguity. As the government, we will work to promote peaceful coexistence and free choice of association.
He called for religious to find a balance between citizenship and religious coherence, away from bigotry and extremism.
Bahr el Ghazal region was initially predominantly Catholic Verona Fathers, in accordance with the colonial regulations, until 1942 when Anglican missionaries from the Christian Mission Service (CMS) arrived in Wau and established a school in 1950 at Gel River.
In 1988 Wau became a Diocese with the Rt Rev John Malou Ater being the first Bishop of Wau Diocese.
Today, with the increase in the population of an Episcopal congregation in the country, the church is growing tremendously from a few members scattered around the Western Bahr el Ghazal, Northern Bahr El Ghazal and the Warrap States.
Under the leadership of Bishop Moses Deng Bol, the church has established new dioceses including Aweil Diocese under Abraham Yel Nhial in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State with two more Area Dioceses of Wanyjok Area Diocese under Joseph Mamer Manot and Nyamlel Area Diocese under Peter Garang Akuei.
Abyei Diocese under Michael Deng Kutpiny, Gogrial Diocese under Abraham Ngor and Tonj Diocese under Peter Yuol Gur have been established.
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June 10, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The secretary-General of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) Ali al-Haj Mohamed has rejected terror list issued by Saudi Arabia and its allies praising Qatar's support for Sudan.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar, saying Doha is harbouring a multitude of terrorist and sectarian groups that aim to create instability in the region.
The four nations on Friday issued a list of 59 individuals and 12 entities they say are linked to Qatar over terrorism. The list includes the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader, Yousef Al-Qaradawi, and the 12 entities include the Qatari-funded charities Qatar Charity and Eid Charity.
Al-Haj, who addressed a meeting of his party's Shura Council in Khartoum Saturday, has criticised the list of terror issued by those countries, denouncing the criteria by which these persons and entities have been classified.
He stressed that he does not accept the designation of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) as a terrorist organisation, wondering “how can someone like Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradawi be a terrorist.”
“We reject this classification, we don't beat the drums of war, despite the presence of its signals, and we confirm that we are in permanent contacts with all embassies and our single message to them is that what is happening is not in the interest of all of us,” he said.
The PCP is an Islamist group that shares strong ties with other Islamist groups in Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen. Its former leader the late Hassan al-Turabi travelled regularly to Doha where he was received by the Qatari officials.
The PCP secretary general pointed to Sudan's participation in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, saying Khartoum would work alongside the Kuwaitis, Americans, Europeans and the others to resolve the crisis.
He added the PCP and the Sudanese people appreciate the significant role played by Qatar in Sudan's affairs, saying it is the only country that supported Sudan in the Darfur issue.
Al-Haj also pointed to the Qatari ruling family delegation that came to Sudan to offer condolences on the death of the PCP leader Hassan al-Turabi, saying these are historical stances that we mustn't forget.
In the wake of the crisis, Khartoum called for self-restraint and announced its support for Kuwait's efforts to prevent further deteriorations of the situation and engaged efforts to reach a compromise ending this crisis between the sisterly states.
However, in a debate on Wednesday on the Gulf crisis at the National Assembly, Sudanese MPs called on the government to voice its support to Qatar saying the tiny Gulf state supported Sudan politically and economically when the country faced an international isolation.
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June 10, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government Saturday said differences within the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) would obstruct peace talks and exacerbate the suffering of residents of the Two Areas.
The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-N rebels in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan, also known as the Two Areas since 2011.
Sharp differences have emerged within the SPLM-N since last March when the Movement's deputy chairman Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu tendered his resignation and criticised SPLM-N's chairman Malik Agar and Secretary General Yasser Arman.
On Wednesday, the Nuba Mountains Liberation Council (NMLC), an SPLM-N regional body, decided to install al-Hilu as temporary chairman of the Movement, to relieve Agar from the leadership of the armed group together with Arman, and to prevent them from entering the SPLM-N controlled areas.
However, Agar rejected the move describing it as a “coup d'état if it succeeds will pave the way for other coups to come after”.
The semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) Saturday quoted the government's spokesperson Ahmed Bilal Osman as saying they are fully ready to resume peace talks after it has accepted the U.S. proposal to deliver humanitarian assistance to the affected in the Two Areas.
He pointed that the timeframe given by the African mediation to the SPLM-N is sufficient to resume the talks within the coming days; calling on the Movement to resolve its internal differences, which he said represent the greatest obstacle to achieve peace in the Two Areas.
The African Union is brokering peace talks between the Sudanese government and opposition including the armed groups in Darfur and the Two Areas. Last April, SPLM-N announced they agreed with the African Union chief mediator, Thabo Mbeki, to postpone peace talks to next July.
Osman further said the Movement continues to stick to its negative stance towards peace despite efforts exerted by the regional and international community, adding “the government is ready to resume negotiations at any time so that the people of the Two Areas could enjoy full security and stability”.
Talks between the government and the Movement for a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access are stalled since last August. The SPLM-N demands to deliver 20% of the humanitarian assistance through a humanitarian corridor from Asosa, an Ethiopian border town.
But the government rejects the idea saying it is a breach of the state sovereignty and a manoeuvre from the rebels to bring arms and ammunition to their locked rebel-held areas in the Two Areas.
The SPLM-N last November declined an American proposal to transport humanitarian medical assistance directly to the civilians in the rebel-held areas in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
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June 10, 2017 (JUBA) - A South Sudanese official has denied media reports of an alleged diplomatic row with Qatar, amid unconfirmed reports that the East African nation was reviving relations with Egypt and other Gulf states.
"There is nothing like that. Our relations with Qatar are on the basis of mutual benefits just like we do with other countries in the world and with which we do not have any problem. We enjoy strong political and economic relations with all countries with which we have established diplomatic relations", South Sudan's Foreign Affairs Minister, Deng Alor Kuol told Sudan Tribune Saturday.
There were unconfirmed reports saying that Juba decided to back the decision by three Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Barbarian and UAE as well as Egypt to severe diplomatic ties with Qatar and to impose an economic embargo on the tiny state.
Kuol said he was unaware of any diplomatic row between South Sudan and Qatar before, during and when he was removed from serving the government in 2013.
A former cabinet affairs minister, Kuol was removed by South Sudan's President Salva Kiir in a cabinet reshuffle but returned in 2016 as part of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).
The foreign affairs minister said he is aware the two nations signed a special agreement to establish a team specifically tasked with strengthening bilateral trade ties.
In March 2012, following a difference with Khartoum over oil fees and the shutdown of oil production, Juba received a 100-million dollar loan from the Qatar National Bank (QNB).
Qatar was one of the nations that recognised South Sudan's independence in 2011.
Over the past two decades, however, Qatar has grown its international profile and punched above its weight in international affairs and is currently a member of numerous international organisations and maintains bilateral relations around the globe.
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