Africa

Despite a history of tension and violence, some Fulani herdsmen and Berom farmers in Nigeria now work together.

Mohamed Salah was named England's best player at the weekend. On Tuesday, he established himself as one of Europe's finest. Next step: the world?

April 24, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) has called on the opposition forces to escalate peaceful resistance in order to overcome what it described as “quagmire of crises”.

Since January, the economic conditions have deteriorated significantly as prices reached high levels and the Sudanese pounds hit historic low against the US dollar leading to an unprecedented rise in the cost of living. Also, since last week, the East African nation has suffered a severe shortage in gasoline.

Last week, President Omer al-Bashir fired his Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour after the latter complained to the parliament about the central bank's failure to pay the salaries of Sudanese diplomats for seven months.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Tuesday, the SCoP called to overthrow the regime through peaceful protests and establish a transitional authority to achieve stability, end the war and address the economic crisis.

The statement pointed out that the sacked foreign minister revealed the regime is bankrupt and government organs are suffering from the failed policies.

The SCoP called on the Sudanese people and the opposition forces to build on the recent experience of peaceful protests and continue to coordinate in order to escalate resistance and form a unified opposition front.

The opposition party added the regime is making every possible effort to draft a new constitution to allow President Omer al-Bashir to run for a third term in 2020 elections.

“We renew our refusal to amending [the 2005 constitution] or drafting a new one to allow al-Bashir to continue to hold power. We also reject the policies of starvation and impoverishment,” read the statement.

Following the increase of bread prices earlier last January, opposition groups staged several protests against the austerity measures and called to overthrow the regime of President al-Bashir.

Secretary-General arrested

In a Separate development, the Secretary-General of the Sudanese Congress Party, Mastor Mohamed Ahmed was arrested upon his arrival to Khartoum from London on Monday.

Mastor represented his party at the meeting of the Sudan Call alliance in Paris in mi-March. After the meeting, President Omer al-Bashir warned that he would no longer tolerate any alliance of registered political parties with the armed opposition groups.

The security services arrested leaders of the opposition groups and dozens of activists, sometimes, even before an announced street protest last January.

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April 24, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Commissioner of Al-Fashaga County Mohamed Adam said joint committees between Sudan and Ethiopia have been formed to tackle disputes over borderland, particularly during the rainy season.

Speaking during a visit to Upper Atbara and Setait dam on Monday, the commissioner said preparations are ongoing for the 2018 growing season.

He revealed that a number of Kuwaiti companies have made requests to invest in Al-Fashaga area, saying his county is well connected to Port Sudan and Sheikh Zayed airport which give it a preferential exportation advantage.

Adam added Al-Fashaga County has developed a plan to build tourists resorts during the next period.

Ethiopian and Sudanese farmers from two sides of the border dispute the ownership of land in Al-Fashaga area located in the southeastern part of Sudan's eastern state of Gedaref.

In the past years, Sudanese authorities accused Ethiopia of controlling more than a million acres of Sudanese agricultural land in the area of Al-Fashaga, saying the area has been completely isolated from Sudan.

Al-Fashaga covers an area of about 250 square kilometres and it has about 600.000 acres of fertile lands. Also, there are river systems flowing across the area including Atbara, Setait and Baslam rivers.

The current borders between Sudan and Ethiopia were drawn by the British and Italian colonisers in 1908. The two governments have agreed in the past to redraw the borders and to promote joint projects between people from both sides for the benefit of local populations.

The joint Sudanese-Ethiopian High Committee announced in December 2013 that it reached an agreement to end disputes between farmers from two sides of the border over the ownership of agricultural land.

In November 2014, the former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and President Omar al-Bashir instructed their Foreign Ministers to fix a date for resuming the border demarcation. The operation had stopped following the death of Ethiopia's former premier, Meles Zenawi.

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The country where a blogging permit costs $900. Some accuse Tanzania of muzzling critics.

Former France midfielder Henri Michel, who coached eight countries during a 30-year managerial career, has died aged 70.

April 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - French Ambassador to Khartoum Emmanuelle Blatmann and the French Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Stéphane Gruenberg Monday paid a visit to Kassala to inspect Eritrean refugees camps in the State.

Kassala state, which borders Eritrea, is a transit point for illegal immigrants from Eritrea who seek to reach Europe through Egypt and Libya.

Eritreans made up the largest group of people from Africa making the perilous voyage to Europe last year. The trend continued during the first three months of this year according to the UNHCR.

The French delegation visited Shagara and Wad Sherifai camps near the Eritrean border, and the premises of the France-backed local humanitarian group, Zenab which support Eritrean migrants victim of human trafficking.

The two camps, supported by the French government, provide Education and protection of minors, professional training for women and men, health care and nutrition for children.

During a meeting with Governor of Kassala State Adam Jama'a, the two sides discussed ways to enhance relations between Sudan and France and particularly Kassala besides the situation in the eastern state.

The governor welcomed the visit of the French diplomats to Kassala. He briefed the delegation on the situation in Kassala as well as the efforts being exerted to combat various types of cross-border crimes, expressing hope for continued cooperation between his state and France in all fields.

For her part, the French Ambassador said that the meeting discussed ways to promote future partnership between the two sides, saying the discussions were fruitful and yielded a number of understandings to support joint cooperation.

France, like other European Union countries, seeks to stop the flow of illegal migrants and refugees from the Horn of Africa region who take deadly sea crossing to Europe.

Besides the European Union, Germany and Italy have already provided support to the Sudanese government efforts to stop illegal migrants from reaching Libya.

Sudan is the main transit country for the Eritreans and other east African countries.

However, human rights groups criticised EU support to Sudan to curb migrants saying such support would bolster repressive capacities of the abusive security forces. But, they encouraged projects to provide direct support to refugees and local host communities.

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April 23, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudan president Salva Kiir said his country was being punished by western powers for not paying for their support in the long civil war against neigbouring Sudan.

President Salva Kiir addresses the nation at the South Sudan National Parliament in Juba, November 18, 2015. (Photo Reuters/Jok Solomon)

The South Sudanese leader said it is a culture among African people to pay back without being reminded of the support they received from those who provided needed support and the time of need.

“The country is suffering today because of the punishment we are getting from western countries. They think they support they gave during the war of liberation struggle is not being returned,” Kiir told members of the African Union Peace and Security Council last week.

He added, “And they [western powers] have asked me several times in private meetings with their business representatives that whether we still remember those who stood by our [South Sudan] side during the war and how we intend to recognize their role”.

The president did not, however, name any of these western powers he hinted on.

Kiir, a former rebel commander, said he and his colleagues are aware of the support the western powers and African leaders had given the people of South Sudan during different times, but stressed that the continuation of ongoing civil war did not necessarily mean his government does not recognize and appreciate western support.

“We know countries in the west and in Africa which stood by our side during the war. We have mentioned them in our functions and through formal engagement and when writing to them on official and private matters. We do this because we value the support they gave us but this does not mean they teach us how to recognize and appreciate the support,” further stressed the South Sudanese leader.

“It is an African culture and traditions that one returns what he received from the giver without being told to pay back. Because of this, we tell our friends in the west to not take side in a dispute between the same people, brothers and sisters”, he added.

The South Sudanese civil war is an ongoing conflict in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d'état.

The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions of the country's about 12 million population.

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April 23, 2018 (NAIROBI) – Threats by South Sudan government to hold elections should peace talks fail is a plan to interfere in the peace process mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Pagan Amum, a member of the former political detainees said.

Former SPLM secretary general Pagan Amum (AFP/Getty)

Last month, the South Sudanese government warned it would conduct elections to avoid illegitimacy and a power vacuum if the IGAD-mediated high-level revitalization forum with the country's opposition groups failed to reach a deal.

In an email to Sudan Tribune, the former secretary general of the country's ruling party (SPLM) said it will be a “sham” election process.

South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), an alliance of nine South Sudanese opposition groups formed to accelerate efforts to end the conflict in South Sudan had demanded that the IGAD mediation team deals with them as one political entity in the peace revitalization meeting, which was pushed to May.

The alliance comprises of the Federal Democratic Party, National Salvation Front, National Democratic Movement, People's Democratic Movement, South Sudan Liberation Movement, South Sudan National Movement for Change, South Sudan Patriotic Movement, South Sudan United Movement and United Democratic Alliance.

Amum said IGAD consulted SSOA as one entity and it will deal with it as such.

“Of course the nine parties are invited individually to the talks,” he said.

He accused the Juba regime of obstructing the high-level forum revitalization process, stressing that is was the coalition government's forces continuously violating the cessation of hostilities agreement.

“It is the government that refused to sign the declaration of principles,” the former SPLM secretary general told Sudan Tribune.

Last week, IGAD announced that it said had postponed South Sudan peace talks aimed at securing the implementation of the country August 2015 peace accord to an undisclosed date in May.

The talks were scheduled for 26 April in Addis Ababa, but the regional bloc postponed it, but gave no reasons for their decision.

Amum said the IGAD's move will not affect the outcome of the talks.

“The IGAD postponed the talks for a week to continue their shuttle diplomacy. I do not think that this delay will affect the outcome in anyway,” he observed.

The South Sudanese civil war is an ongoing conflict in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d'état.

The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over two million.

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April 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Foreign Ministry on Sunday said arrangements are underway to hold the second phase of the strategic dialogue between Sudan and the United Kingdom this week.

On Sunday, Sudan's acting Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdallah Idriss has received a copy of the credentials of the new British Ambassador to Sudan Irfan Siddiq in order to present it to President Omer al-Bashir.

During the meeting, the Sudanese minister stressed his government's keenness to cooperate with the new ambassador in order to facilitate his mission.

For his part, Siddiq conveyed greetings of the UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to his Sudanese counterpart.

Meanwhile, the UK embassy in Khartoum said a senior British delegation would arrive in Khartoum on Tuesday to participate in the meeting with the Sudanese side.

In a press release extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday, the UK embassy said the delegation would be headed by Neil Wigan, Director for Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom.

According to the press release, the dialogue would include meetings with the Foreign Ministry as well as other Sudanese officials, saying it would cover a number of issues including bilateral relations, migration, Sudan's peace talks, human rights, trade, cultural relations and the situation in the region.

Since 2015, Sudan and the UK have started a dialogue upon request from Khartoum to push forward bilateral ties.

In March 2016, Sudan and the UK held the first strategic consultations meetings between the two countries in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. The meeting was considered the first talks of its kind at the ministerial level in 25 years.

The two countries agreed to exchange visits at the level of senior officials from the two countries along with increasing cooperation in the fields of economy, investment and culture.

The UK Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Chris Trott last year visited Khartoum several times to discuss ways to develop bilateral relations and encourage Khartoum efforts to reduce the illegal immigration from the Horn of African countries towards Europe and Britain especially.

The dialogue also was seen within the framework of the after-Brexit policy aiming to develop trade relations with the former British colonies.

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April 23, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudan's government on Monday received the body of army chief of staff, Gen James Ajongo Mawut, who died on Friday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo after a short illness.

South Sudan president Salva Kiir pays views Gen. James Ajongo Mawut's body at Juba airport, April 23, 2018 (ST)

Mawut died in a military hospital in Egypt and preparations to take his body to his ancestral home in Bar-Mayen village are underway.

Top army officers and government officials upon arrival on Egyptian military on April 23, 2018 at Juba international airport from which it was taken to St. Theresa Church in Hai Kotor area, in Juba for prayers before taken to the residence for family viewing prior to being taken to the military headquarters on 24 April.

The program shows Mawut's body would also be at the national legislative assembly for viewing by legislators before it is taken to the grave yard of John Garang de Mabior, founding leader of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) where speeches eulogizing him would be delivered by the various speakers.

President Salva Kiir would address the mourners before the body is finally taken to his ancestral village. Preparations are underway to receive the body at home. Top military officers and high ranking government officials would accompany the family and stay with them until when the body is laid to rest at designated site at home.

The South Sudanese leader earlier described the fallen army chief of staff as a “remarkable” man and committed founder member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).

“He [Mawut] served this nation with dedication and honour and shall be remembered as [a] hero,” Kiir said in a statement issued Friday.

Although it still remains unclear what caused the general's death, a family member said he spent months in Kenya before he was relocated to a Cairo-based hospital.

Meanwhile the government has declared three days of official mourning of Mawut and ordered that all flags be flown at half-mast.

Mawut, who joined the southern-based rebel movement in 1983, became army chief of general staff in May 2017 after President Kiir sacked General Paul Malong Awan.

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April 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - United Nations Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Aristide Nononsi, Monday called to ensure freedoms in Sudan and end the state of emergency in Darfur region.

Nononsi concluded a visit to Sudan from 14 to 24 April to assess the implementation of recommendations made to the Government by human rights mechanisms. Besides the government officials, he met with UN officials, UNAMID and civil society groups.

In a press conference held in Khartoum at the end of his five-day visit to Sudan, the independent expert said he raised the arbitrary detention of political opposition leaders and activists following a series of protests in January and February 2018.

"I also call on the Government to lift restrictions on freedoms of expression and association and allow civil society actors, as well as political activists, to demonstrate peacefully, and engage in public action. The National Security Service should cease using prolonged unlawful detentions to silence human rights defenders, journalists and political activists".

During his visit to the capital of North Darfur El-Fasher, Nononsi visited the Shallah Federal Prison were several opposition figures had been arrested after January-February protests.

During his visit to the notorious prison, the visiting expert said he met with men and women detained for several months without trial on the basis of Emergency Laws

"I call upon the Sudanese authorities to repeal Emergency Laws in Darfur and to review all cases of 117 men and women currently detained in the Shallah Federal Prison in relation to Emergency Laws, with the aim of ensuring compliance with due process and fair trials standards," he said.

"Should it be found that these cases were not compliant, I appeal for the immediate release of these individuals," he further added.

Sudanese president declared the state of emergency in Darfur since 2003 following a rebel attack on the El-Fasher airport.

The government and UN reports say the security situation in the region is now calm expect some rebel pockets in Central Darfur mountainous area of Jebel Marra.

On the technical assistance to the Government in the field of human rights, Nononsi said this support can be provided after the deployment of an Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' technical assessment mission to discuss and agree on areas for possible technical assistance.

He added that some funding to key government bodies was made by donor States and that technical assistance provided by various United Nations agencies will continue.

"I would like to reiterate my call on the donor community to increase its financial and technical support to the Government and civil society in order to improve the human rights situation in the country," he added.

The Independent Expert will present his findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2018.

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April 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The German Ambassador to Khartoum Ulrich Klöckner said his country would continue its efforts to facilitate peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebel movements.

In an interview with the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) on Monday, the German envoy said his government is working with the African Union since two years to facilitate Sudan's peace talks and bring the holdout political parties to the negotiating table.

He pointed out that they have invited the various opposition parties and the rebel movements and the Sudanese government to Berlin at different occasions for consultations during the last four years.

The German diplomat said his government doesn't want to force the parties to the Sudanese conflict to reach an agreement saying such a move could lead to the collapse of talks.

He added they are optimistic that the warring parties would reach a peace agreement, hoping this to take place “very soon”.

The African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki proposed a holistic process to end the armed conflicts and produce political reforms in Sudan.

Last week, the delegations representing the Government of Sudan, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi ended two-day discussions in Berlin without signing a pre-negotiation agreement.

The two sides say willing for a negotiated settlement but failed to agree on how to proceed. The government put on the negotiating table the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, but the armed groups say they want a new process on new bases, not this framework text signed in July 2011 with other former rebel groups.

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Kenya's prisons are beset by violence, but deep breathing brings some inmates and guards closer.

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West Brom defender Ahmed Hegazi will not be charged after appearing to punch Liverpool's Danny Ings during Saturday's 2-2 draw.

April 22, 2018 (JUBA) - A sexual minority activist has fled South Sudan after facing threats from the country's national security operatives.

Asan Juma, the executive director for Access for All [AfA], said she ran into trouble for championing the rights of gays and lesbians.

She claimed his community-based organization is being targeted by the South Sudanese security operatives, who have accused her of promoting the rights of sexual minorities in the war-torn nation.

Asan said it is hard to talk about same-sex marriages in South Sudan.

Juma claimed about six members of their community-based entity were arrested last year, but released after three months in detention.

“Four members were arrested at Intra-Health office in Kokomo, these four members are peer educators of AfA who usually do access some of the health services from Intra Health offices,” she narrated.

According to Asan, AfA office was closed by national security operatives on 6 December 2017 after authorities accused their organization of promoting gays and lesbians in South Sudan.

“The national security froze our bank account which had the organization funding and took office's furniture, which included, tables, chairs, solar panels and batteries donated by the USA [United States of America] embassy, documents that include the stamps, registration Certificate and other valuable documents,” she said.

Most of the organization's staff members, Asan further disclosed, have since fled to Uganda, Sudan and Egypt for fear of being killed.

AfA is a community-based organization that was founded in 2015.

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The system was "polluted" with bad laws but things are improving, says the country's president.

April 22, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's gold production has reached 36.5 tons during the first quarter of this year, said a report released Sunday by the Sudanese Minerals Resources Company (SMRC), the monitoring arm of the Sudan Minerals Ministry.

The SMRC performance report revealed that the "production of gold for the first quarter reached (36.5) tons with a performance rate of (162%) while the revenues during the first quarter reached 778.548 million Sudanese pounds ($43 million) with a performance rate of 104%," said a statement released by the minerals ministry.

During a meeting chaired by the Minister of Minerals Hashem Ali Salem, SMRC Director General, Mujahid Bilal, said that the production of traditional mining represents 88% of production during the first quarter of 2018.

Gold production is now Sudan's main source of hard currency after the secession of South Sudan where are the two third of its oil reserves before 2011.

However, restrictions on the hard currency by the Central represents a big challenge impeding the development of the mining industry but also encourage traditional minors to smuggle their production to neighbouring countries.

Sudanese officials said they hope to increase gold production to more than 140 tons during this year and make Sudan the first gold producer in Africa by 2018.

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April 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Military chiefs of staff from Chad, Niger and Sudan held a consultations meeting in Khartoum on border security following the increase of transnational crimes in the sub-Saharan region.

Took part in the meeting Lt. Gen. Kamal Abdel-Marouf Chief of the General Staff of the Sudan Armed Forces, Lt Gen. Ahmed Mohamed Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Niger, and Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Saeed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Chad.

"The meeting tackled ways to enhance solidarity and joint action to confront the challenges of border control and security, combating transnational crime, combating terrorism and rampant groups and achieving security and stability," says a statement released by the official news agency after the meeting.

Earlier this month, military from the three countries and Libya discussed in the Niger's capital Niamey, ways to enhance cooperation to fight jihadist and rebel groups and to stop human trafficking.

The political instability in Libya after the collapse of Muammar Kadaffi's regime impacted negatively the whole region and particularly, Niger, Chad and Sudan. al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and Boko Haram pose a serious threat to Niger and Chad while Sudan seeks to prevent trafficking of arms to Darfur and migration of mercenaries to Libya.

The statement said the three countries agreed to hold an expert-level meeting in Ndjamena next month to draft a framework document for the mechanism of monitoring and securing the common border between the three countries.

Sudan is not part of the multi-national military force in Africa's Sahel region dubbed " G5 Sahel force" which includes Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.

The UN-backed force is tasked with policing the Sahel region in collaboration with 4,000 French troops deployed there since intervening in 2013 to fight an insurgency in northern Mali.

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