Africa

With the continuing success of Black Panther, "afrofuturism" is now more important than ever.

More than 3,000 Nigerian migrants who failed to reach Europe have been flown home by the UN - leaving many unsure how to face their families.

At just 13, Nigerian tennis player Marylove Edwards is being tipped for future international success.

The higher cost of vanilla is proving chilling for an industry that relies on the exotic spice.

After years of study, it turns out a secret burial chamber of Queen Nefertiti does not exist.

A gang of what are said to be former cattle rustlers kills 51 adults and children, razing homes.

Nigeria defender Leon Balogun says it is crucial his fellow international team-mates stay injury-free ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

African Champions League holders Wydad Casablanca of Morocco draw 1-1 away to Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in their opening match of Group C.

Twenty years ago, a fight for control of a dusty town on the Ethiopia-Eritrea border began - and continues to this day.

May 5, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan's foreign ministry Saturday summoned the Central African Republic (CAR) Ambassador to protest the killing of a Sudanese security agent killed by the local police inside the residence of its ambassador in Bangui.

The security agent was mistakenly killed by the members of the Central Office for the Suppression of Banditry (OCRB), who thought he was a member militia member as the situation remained tense in the CAR capital on Friday after the death of some 24 people on Tuesday in attacks on a church and a mosque.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Gharib Allah Khidir said they handed over an official protest note to the CAR Ambassador Abdel Rahim Abdallah demanding to arrest the perpetrators of te attack and bring them to justice.

Also, Sudan requested to provide the needed security to protect the mission, the ambassador and its team members.

The AFP on Friday reported the attack on the South Sudanese embassy in Bangui.

The Sudanese foreign ministry said the slain security agent was the guard of the ambassador's residence.

Ambassador Khidir said CAR Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadera paid a visit to the ambassador's residence to offer his condolences and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice.

(ST)

May 5, 2018 (NIRTITI) - The higher committee for the collection of illicit arms would meet with Darfur's states governors in Central Darfur to assess the outcome of the disarmament campaign.

In August 2017, the Sudanese government launched a six-month disarmament campaign to eliminate illegal weapons in the conflict-affected areas in Sudan, particularly in Darfur region.

The Sudanese authorities say the spread of weapons among the rival tribes in the region is one of the main causes of Darfur's instability.

Speaking at a meeting of the committee in Nirtiti County on Saturday, Sudan's Vice-President and head of the higher committee Hassabo Abdel-Rahman said the meeting with the governors aims to assess the response of the residents to the disarmament campaign.

He said the committee would listen to reports prepared by the security committees in Darfur's five states about the collection of weapons, stressing the disarmament campaign will continue until collecting all illegal arms.

Abdel-Rahman added the proliferation of illegal arms has led to the burning of villages as well as killing and displacement of innocent residents.

He pointed out that the collection of illicit arms has positively impacted on the security situation in Darfur which requires the continuation of the campaign.

Last March, the governor of South Darfur state Adam al-Faki said the disarmament campaign would continue until the year 2025.

The Sudanese army has been fighting a group of armed movements in Darfur since 2003. UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in the conflict and over 2.5 million were displaced.

(ST)

Governor El Faki is Determined to in Darfur against All International Conventions.

By Abdullahi Osman El-Tom

A week, or so, ago, Governor of South Darfur, Adam El Faki stunned the IDPs of Darfur in general and those of Kalma camp in particular with his decision to forcibly dismantle all IDP camps in Darfur within the year 2018 and Kalma camp within a fortnight. Kalma camp, 17k east of Nyala houses over 130,000 inhabitants. The IDPs are yearning to go back to their original villages, now occupied by new settlers. As expected, and indeed affirmed by all international conventions on refugees and IDPs, Darfur IDPs maintain legitimate demands. These consist of security arrangements, the removal of Janjaweed and other hostile settlers and, of course, provision of basic services. It is to be noted that public amenities in the area including clinics, wells and schools have been deliberately destroyed by government forces and their Janjaweed allies.

El Faki's decision comes as no surprise to the IDPs and Human Rights activists. That is so because it has been abundantly clear that the Regime is bent to dismantle the IDP camps which remain as a symbol of its atrocious crimes in Darfur. To implement its decision, the regime is determined to use all means, including violence, and in complete disregard to the International Humanitarian Law and the other conventions that protect IDPs and refugees against forced return.

Governor El Faki's history is dotted with massacres, ethnic cleansing and blatant breaching of human rights. Prior to his appearance in South Darfur, he worked as a senior security agent, second only to the Governor, in South Kordofan and was credited with atrocious assaults on Nuba villages, in addition to those who were accused of being sympathetic to the SPLM. His aptitude for brutality comes from his mentor Ahmed Haroun, the previous Governor of South Kordofan. Haroun must have found it easy to mentor his already half-baked, El Faki, for the latter is a graduate of one of the many Wahabi colleges of Saudi Arabia. In the name of Jihadist ideology of the Wahabis, he is attuned to massacring the Christian and Pagan Nuba opponents, and the Muslims of Darfur are not spared either. His mentor, Haroun, is one of four Government personnel who were indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity in Darfur. To this day, he is still at large, a trusted confidant of Al Bashir and retains the post of Governor of North Kordofan.

El Faki endeared himself to Al Bashir by organizing a presidential visit to the State of South Darfur in September 2017. The botched visit was a disaster for Kalma residents who had resolutely refused to welcome Genocidaire Al Bashir at their camp, the very man who had orchestrated their ejection from their lands in the first place. In a punitive mission, El Faki unleashed his notorious forces against Kalma protestors, killing six on the spot, with four dying later, not to mention the additional injury of more than 30 others. UNAMID, located within eye-sight of the attack, released its usual lukewarm “Deeply Concerned” statement shortly afterwards. It shamefully described the assault as a “CLASH”, presumably between two equal parties. It was as though the violence was not one-sided!

The Governor's decision to dismantle Kalma and other IDP camps by force is yet to draw a strong response from UMAMID, Rights groups or other agents of the international community. If these bodies are still duped by previous agreements with the Khartoum government, we urge them loudly to wake up. As we all know, Sudan has concluded an agreement with the UNAMID, the UN and leaders of Kalma IDPs to opt only for voluntary repatriation, without the use of force or disguised pressure. The history of Al Bashir and his government is telling and can hardly escape anyone who is willing to learn and understand. If the Khartoum government is good and consistent in anything at all throughout its close to 30-year history, it is in their utter disregard for any accord or agreement they sign with other parties.

Additionally, El Faki did not mince his words regarding his intent to dismantle Kalma and other IDP camps. His plan is to remove the camps either way, voluntarily or otherwise. He told the IDPs that he has already reserved 300 cells in Sawakin prison in Eastern Sudan for camp leaders who oppose repatriation and the planes have already been commissioned to transport any uncooperative chiefs to their new destination.

As far as safety fears of the IDPs are concerned, Governor El Faki has his answer ready. He gave them a chilling example of his response to an earlier appeal of IDP returnees for protection against Janjaweed atrocities stating:
“A couple of days ago in the morning, returnees from Marla area came to me in Nyala, complaining about someone who had his leg broken. I asked them if they were reporting any death to which they said no. I then told them not to come unless they have a minimum of ten persons killed because the government cannot protect everyone” (Radio Dabanga).

The message is then clear, for the IDPs, UNAMID and the international community. Kalma returnees should be ready to expect, and even sustain, the killing of less than ten people in each village, alongside looting, rape and other forms of oppression, without bothering his Excellency, El Faki. The ceiling for justified complaints is now set at the loss of ten lives or more. That is the minimum security protection the governor can offer Darfur IDP returnees, full stop.

The UN has also assured Kalma IDPs of the government's commitment to provide a stimulant of public services back home, but, a careful examination of El Faki's words indicates otherwise. Focussing on killings of ten or more, before he deems it fit to intervene, El Faki is simply too dumb or perhaps too inhumane to contemplate the more lethal killers such as the lack of health care, potable water and education services. The IDPs simply have to do without such services and at their peril.

The international community must act and do so as fast as it can. Global leaders in the UN, EU, USA, Human Rights and UNAMID must rush to prevent Governor El Faki and the Regime in Khartoum proceeding along with this catastrophic plan. I concede that this is a tall order but it has to be voiced and as loudly as possible. The fate of Darfur IDPs depends on the resolve of such global leaders; their humaneness, civility and the very willingness to protect the weakest among us, such as the IDPs of Darfur.

The author is the Secretary for Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation. He can be reached at : Abdullahi.eltom@mu.ie

Ghana defender Baba Rahman returns to Schalke's squad for their game at Augsburg on Saturday, more than a year after suffering a serious knee injury.

May 4, 2018 (NAIROBI) - Delays in peace talks originally scheduled for 26 April, 2018, should not excuse ongoing detentions and inaction on enforced disappearances, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.

SPLM (IO) deputy chairman for justice and human rights affairs, Samuel Dong Luak, pictured after his return from hospital, Nairobi, October 13, 2015 (ST Photo)

In a statement, the two human right bodies said South Sudan's leaders should act immediately to impartially investigate the enforced disappearances of two men, and release or charge everyone in their custody who has been arbitrarily detained.

“South Sudanese leaders should demonstrate their commitment to basic human rights and take concrete action on enforced disappearances and unlawful detention,” said Jehanne Henry, a team leader in Human Rights Watch's Africa division.

“They should investigate the shocking forced disappearance of two prominent men and make good on their pledges to release wrongfully held political detainees,” he added.

Dong Samuel Luak, one of the forcibly disappeared men, is a human rights lawyer and outspoken critic of the government who had refugee status in Kenya. Aggrey Idri, also a critic, was a member of the armed opposition loyal to the country's former first vice-president, Riek Machar.

The two men were reportedly abducted from the streets of Nairobi, Kenya on January 23 and 24, 2017, respectively.

On January 27, 2017, a Kenyan court ruled against their deportation to South Sudan. However, credible sources told both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that they had seen Luak and Idri in National Security Service detention in Juba on January 25 and 26.

The men were then removed from the facility on January 27 to an unknown location. Their abduction is widely viewed as the result of collusion between South Sudan and Kenya, but both governments have denied having custody of the men, or knowledge of their whereabouts.

The disappearances of Luak and Idri are part of a larger pattern by the South Sudan government to silence its critics by harassing, intimidating, arbitrarily detaining, and forcibly disappearing them, the two groups said.

Both organizations have continuously documented how government agents arbitrarily arrest and detain perceived opponents in official and unofficial national security and military detention facilities across the country.

“South Sudanese authorities continue to show their total disregard for human life and dignity by appearing to condone or turn a blind eye to unlawful detentions and enforced disappearances,” said Seif Magango, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and Great Lakes.

He added, “They must take concrete steps to promptly, effectively and impartially investigate the disappearances of Dong Luak and Aggrey Idri, and charge, or release all remaining political detainees in line with South Sudan's domestic and international legal obligations.

In November 2016, they said, Kenyan authorities unlawfully deported the former opposition spokesperson, James Gatdet Dak, from Nairobi to South Sudan, despite the fact that he had refugee status. He has been sentence to death by the High Court.

(ST)

May 4, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudan said it has established a working committee with Uganda to settle ongoing tension between border communities that have involved the military from the two countries.

South Sudanese SPLA soldiers are pictured in Pageri in Eastern Equatoria state on August 20, 2015 (Photo AFP/Samir Bol)

The spokesperson for South Sudan's foreign affairs ministry, Mawien Makol to resolve misunderstandings between the Acholi people of Magwi county and those who hail from Lamwo district of Uganda.

“It has been communal disagreement among the communities on both sides over land. There was an encroachment on the side of South Sudan,” Mawien was quoted saying.

In August 2015, more than 200 gunmen from Magwi county entered into Uganda and were later driven out by the Ugandan army.

The two countries are yet to resolve the land dispute in the Moyo area of Uganda, bordering KajoKeji area of South Sudan with especially the Gbari area being contested by both the Madi and Kuku ethnic groups.

The outbreak of conflict has compromised South Sudan's security along its porous border points as millions of refugees have fled into neighbouring Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar led to split within the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), before the conflict took an ethnic dimension.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced in South Sudan's worst outbreak of violence since its independence.

(ST)

May 4, 2018 (BANGUI) - An aide to South Sudan's ambassador to the Central African Republic (CAR) was shot and killed in the country's capital, Bangui on Friday.

The unnamed official, AFP reported, was shot by men from the Central Office for the Suppression of Banditry (OCRB) who mistook him for a bandit.

The incident reportedly took place after the OCRB men spotted aide with a weapon in his car and pursued him till his residence in Bangui.

The Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera has reportedly apologised for the shooting of the embassy official.

South Sudan's foreign affairs ministry is yet to comment on the incident.

At least 24 people were reportedly killed and about 170 wounded in an attack targeting a church and a mosque in Bangui.

(ST)

May 5, 2018 (JUBA) – South Sudan government on Saturday accused the armed opposition (SPLM-IO) forces allied to the country's former first vice president, Riek Machar of attacking Pagak in violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement.

South Sudanese rebel troops loyal to former vice-president Riek Machar stand on guard in Unity state capital Bentiu on 12 January 2014 after recapturing the strategic town from government troops (Photo: Reuters)

“Machar's SPLA-IO attacked our position in Pagak through Jekow river and Pagak bridge,” said Col. Dickson Gatluak, a spokesperson for the SPLM-IO faction loyal to first Vice President, Taban Deng Gai.

He added, “Our forces had to strike back heavily in order to end the assaults and repulsed them [rebels] back to where they came from and we rejuvenated back to our barracks at 6:00AM this morning,”.

The Governor of Maiwut state, Bol Ruach Rom confirmed the attack, but details of the casualties involved could not easily be established.

“As the top leadership [of] SPLM [Sudan People's Liberation Movement] in Juba is working for the lasting solution, rebels need to refrain from any harmful act, which will hinder the achievement of everlasting peace in South Sudan,” further said Gatluak.

Last week, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) condemned the increase of violence in the country in violation of the ceasefire agreement signed in December 2017.

The two bodies said fighting had intensified in Unity, Jonglei and Central Equatoria pointing to the devastating impact on thousands of civilians and humanitarian agencies.

JMEC requested the ceasefire monitoring body (CTSAMM) to investigate the attack and hold accountable the perpetrators, citing the need to respect the ceasefire deal.

(ST)

May 4, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan will hold a new round of talks on the Renaissance Dam on Saturday in Addis Ababa at the level of irrigation ministers, amid unconfirmed reports about the participation of French consulting firms n the meeting.

The US$1.5 billion Gibe III project dam is expected to generate 1870 MW of electricity.

Last month the three countries discussed the impact of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the water share of Egypt and Sudan and agreed on how to resolve the outstanding issues but the meeting wrapped up without an agreement. Egyptian officials refused to include a disposition providing that the 1959 agreement is a bilateral deal between Sudan and Egypt despite their initial agreement that Ethiopia is not a party to the pact.

Sudanese Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity Friday said a new round of talks on the Ethiopian dam will begin in Addis Ababa on Saturday.

The press release further said the talks will be at the level of ministers of water resources and the tripartite technical committee, adding that the two French firms would take part in the meeting.

"The consultants are expected to participate in the meeting," said the ministry.

In September 2016, French engineering consultancy Artelia and BRL groups have been selected to undertake the dam impact studies. The U.K.-based law firm Corbett & Co was selected to manage the legal affairs of the tripartite committee.

The consultancy office will study the environmental and ecological, social and economic consequences of the dam.

The multi-billion dollar dam is being constructed on the Blue Nile, about 20 kilometres from the Sudanese border, and has a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, and is expected to generate electrical power of up to 6,000 megawatts.

Egypt is concerned that the dam could reduce its quota of 55.5 billion cubic meters of the Nile water, while the Ethiopian side maintains that the dam is primarily built to produce electricity and will not harm Sudan and Egypt.

(ST)

The series of photos tells the story of a fictional creature breaking free from African stereotypes.

The series of photos tells the story of a fictional creature breaking free from African stereotypes.