Africa

April 11, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan Liberation Movement of Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) Wednesday called on the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to the civilians recently displaced by clashes in Jebel Marra.

Since last March, reports emerged from Central Darfur state about the resumption of clashes between the government's forces and the rebel group which is not part of the regional and international efforts to end the 15-year conflict in Darfur.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Wednesday, SLM-AW spokesperson Mohamed Abdel-Rahman al-Nayer said thousands of civilians affected by the recent fighting in eastern and southern parts of Jebel Marra are in dire need for humanitarian aid.

"Civilians in Fina, Sawani, Gurbal and Bahr Kru, and other areas burnt by the regime's militias in eastern and southern Jebel Marra need urgent international humanitarian intervention to save them from the spectre of famine threatening them after they have lost all their possessions," said al-Nayer.

"We call on the Sudanese benefactors around the world and humanitarian organizations, to act urgently to save the lives of innocent civilians who are threatened by hunger and disease," he further said.

The UNAMID didn't report recently about the humanitarian situation in Jebel Marra following the recent clashes.

For their part, the Central Darfur authorities last March spoke about limited clashes with SLM-AW fighters saying they came from the top of Jebel Marra to "loot the residents".

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April 11, 2018 (JUBA) - IGAD special envoy for South Sudan discussed with the civil society groups the outstanding issues in the peace revitalization process as part of the ongoing preparation to resume the process by the end of this month.

The IGAD mediators suspended the second phase of the High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) last February and worked on new proposals on the security arrangements and the power-sharing during the transitional period.

The process is scheduled to resume on 26 April, but through these separate consultations meetings, the mediation team hopes to narrow the gaps between the HLRF parties, prior to the next reconvening of the Forum.

In a statement released after the meeting, the IGAD said Special Envoy Ismail Wais met the representatives of the South Sudanese Civil Society Stakeholders to the HLRF to discuss key outstanding issues at the Forum, including positions of the various parties and possible compromises.

"The consultations meeting tackled the key areas of disagreements on governance and security arrangements at the HLRF," said the statement.

Under governance, the meeting discussed: the composition of the transitional government; structure of the government; responsibility sharing; number of states and size and composition of the Parliament.

On security arrangements, the two sides examined: timeframe for reintegration/unification of forces and approach to the formation of one national army; security for Juba during the Transition; demilitarization of civilian centres; cantonment of forces and Security sector reform or establishment of new security services.

At the end of the meeting, "the representatives of the Civil Society and stakeholders at the HLRF made recommendations for considerations by the Parties at the HLRF".

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April 11, 2018 (RABAK) - The government of the White Nile State Wednesday said it has formed a technical committee to arrange for the reopening of three border crossing points with South Sudan.

The Secretary-General of the White Nile State government al-Tayeb Mohamed Abdallah stated that the three crossings include Godat al-Adal, al-Tuboon and the river crossing linking Kosti to Juba.

He added the technical committee would hold a meeting with its South Sudan's counterpart during the next few days to discuss the arrangements pertaining to the zero-line and the demilitarized zone between the two countries.

Abdallah pointed out that the reopening of the border corridors would contribute to enhancing trade exchange and flow of the basic goods as well as facilitating movement between the two countries.

The African Union last week said the construction of 3 out of 10 border crossings between Sudan and South Sudan have been completed, saying the move comes in implementation of the cooperation agreement signed between the two countries.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan on July 9th, 2011 following a referendum on whether the semi-autonomous region should remain a part of the country or become independent. 99% of the southern voters chose independence.

In September 2012, both Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements, which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, border trade among others.

In March 2013, the two countries signed an implementation matrix for these cooperation agreements. However, the execution of the agreements didn't go according to plan.

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April 11, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said the second phase of the normalization process between Khartoum and Washington would begin in the next few days.

In October 2017, Washington decided to lift economic sanctions on Sudan in line with a five-track framework reached by the countries in December 2016. Khartoum, accordingly, authorized humanitarian access to civilians in Darfur and unilaterally declared a cessation of hostilities in Darfur, the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

The two countries agreed to resume talks on the normalization of bilateral talks and the lift of remaining sanctions particularly its designation as a state sponsor of terrorist groups. The measure is crucial to get a debt relief and allow Sudan to get international aid to build its economic infrastructure.

Sudan's State Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdallah Idiss told the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) the lifting of the U.S. sanctions has led to positive steps that will pave the way for the removal of Sudan's name from the U.S. list of states sponsors of terrorism.

He stressed that Khartoum is ready to resume the dialogue with Washington according to the priorities and tracks agreed upon between the two sides.

Idriss added the Sudanese negotiating team that has achieved the lifting of the economic sanctions would also manage to remove Sudan's name from the terror list.

He pointed out that the negotiating team is ready to cooperate with Washington on issues of counter-terrorism and combating human trafficking.

Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, State Minister of Finance said Sudan didn't benefit greatly from the revocation of the economic sanctions because its name is still on the terror list.

Following a meeting between Foreign Minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan on the sidelines of the 54th edition of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) last February, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said the two sides agreed to begin discussions on Sudan removal from the list of terror.

In November 2017, Sullivan was in Khartoum to launch the second phase of the normalization process and pointed to the need for reforms on human rights and religious freedom. Also, the two countries also agreed to engage in written exchanges between the two countries for Sudan's removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Different sources say the lawsuits filed against the Sudanese government over the attack on USS Cole may be one of the issues raised in the bilateral talks as the families of the Cole sailors sued Sudan and courts condemned Khartoum to pay over 300 million dollars for them.

By Tor Madira Machier

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the rest of the international community seem to be investing in two rival projects: One is the Machar project and the second is the so-called High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF).

The IGAD, on one hand, seems to be exerting efforts to revitalize ruins of the dead peace agreement (as it is known to Machar and the entire leadership of the SPLM-IO) signed in August 2015 by the SPLM-IO rebel group and President Kiir's SPLM-IG-led government. Preceding this initiative was an admission by the region that the 2015 peace agreement, the ARCSS, has failed just after the release of a UN confidential report in September 2016 which accused the government of having the highest hand for the collapse of the peace and the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) in July 2016.

The regional bloc on the other hand invests in targeting of Machar who is a party leader on the false accusation that the SPLM-IO leader is interested in pursuing violent means to unseat the regime in Juba attaching to the planned release of the rebel leader a number of conditions including but not limited to the IGAD's demand that Machar first “renounce” violence; something which doesn't make sense and which also contradicts the reality on the ground.

Having signed the Cessation of Hostility Agreement (CoH) along with various armed groups fighting the government in December 2017 in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Machar had automatically renounced violence since it doesn't have to be like saying “I renounces violence” because ceasing fire with the enemy means giving peace negotiation a chance which literally means one is not interested in violent means to solve political issues.

Now, although the IGAD has stated recently that the negotiating teams representing each party in the peace talks are given until April 30 to agree on a peace deal, clashes between these two projects being run by the IGAD threatens to kill the peace process and to once again set forth a very bad precedent for the regime in Juba to assume that there will be no risk as usual and would again try to derail peace efforts in the watchful eye of the regional and the international communities.

With the IGAD unwilling to bring to account government officials which are to blame for 90% of the ceasefire violations, other armed groups will not respect the regional bloc as a neutral body and a faithful mediator, but will instead label it as a business force investing in the South Sudan conflict. Although Ambassador Ismail Wais recommended that the IGAD should release Riek Machar citing numerous proposals by opposition groups in Addis Ababa, IGAD acted friendly to the Juba government's thoughts that Machar should be excluded from any future peace agreements and implementation. The government in Juba stated clearly that it won't accept Machar again in Juba as part of any peace deal implementation which also contradict IGAD's supposed will to pressure each party to live to peace agreements they inked.

To be frank, with the IGAD decision to relocate Machar to another country, rather than releasing him, the recently cited opposition concerns about Machar's exclusion are not addressed and this will shed on the unfolding IGAD investment interests in the Machar project which is not friendly to the so call HLRF.

To this extent, the IGAD dateline set forth by the mediation recently for the negotiating parties to reach a deal is expected to past without any deal, unless the IGAD suspend the Machar project and focus on pursuing the HLRF in order to avoid a clash of interests.

Tor Madira Machier is a South Sudanese columnist and journalist living in Cairo, Egypt. He can be reached via tormadira2013@gmail.com

Farmers around Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa say they are paying a high price for the city's expansion.

While Malians must ensure the successful holding of elections this year, their priority should be the implementation of the 2015 peace agreement, a senior United Nations official said Wednesday.

by Jehanne Henry

Today, Sudan president Omar al-Bashir ordered the release of “political detainees”, welcome news for 60 or so men who have languished behind bars for weeks. But it is also a grim reminder of a defining feature of Sudan's political landscape: the periodic mass arrest and detention of opposition leaders to silence them whenever they threaten to speak out.

These latest detentions – in a long history of similar detentions – were part of a crackdown that started in January to stifle opposition-led protests over new budget and austerity measures. Police and national security agents arrested hundreds of people, during protests or from homes, offices, or off the streets, and held them without charge or access to lawyer or family visits.

While authorities released some in following weeks, they kept many dozens locked up for weeks, mostly in Khartoum. Many of the detainees, like economist Sidqi Kabalo, are elderly, life-long leaders in Sudan's Communist Party; others belong to other opposition parties and movements or, like lawyer Salih Mahmoud, are known rights activists. Mahmoud has received the European Union's prestigious Sakharov prize, and an award from Human Rights Watch, for his work on Darfur.

Al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Darfur, might hope this move will appease international onlookers. The UN Human Rights Council's Independent Expert on Sudan is due to visit the country later this week. A well-timed prisoner release could help burnish his image.

Sudan has done some clever politicking on the international stage recently. Along with promises to cooperate on counterterrorism and downshift its civil wars, it succeeded in convincing the US to lift economic sanctions last year. In addition, through cooperation with the EU, it received hundreds of millions of Euros for projects to stem migration – support which frankly further empowers the notoriously abusive Rapid Support Forces, who committed grave crimes in Darfur and elsewhere.

Beyond insisting on the release of everyone arbitrarily detained, onlookers should insist on the radical reform of Sudan's national security body, the National Intelligence and Security Service. With broad powers of arrest and detention up to four-and-a-half-months, NISS's ill-treatment and torture of detainees is well documented. We have repeatedly documented harsh conditions of extreme heat or cold, beatings, electrocution, verbal, and other abuses.

Whatever his motivations, al-Bashir does not deserve congratulations. The release of political detainees is not a gift or a political concession, but a basic obligation of respect for fundamental principles of human rights and rule of law.

Jehanne Henry is a team leader in Human Rights Watch's Africa division.

Two university students had to sit their final exams on their wedding day after a rescheduling clash.

The lives of six guards and their driver were taken Monday during an attack on the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation in the Virunga Park, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – drawing condemnation from the UN agency.    

Thousands attend a memorial service in South Africa to pay tribute to anti-apartheid activist.

Thousands attend a memorial service in South Africa to pay tribute to anti-apartheid activist.

The United Nations chief has condemned the latest killing and wounding of the world body’s peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR) during an exchange of fire with armed groups on 10 April.

More than 250 people have been killed after a military plane crashed in Algeria, local media report.

Soldiers and their families perish in the deadliest plane crash in years, near the country's capital.

Cameroon forward Christian Bassogog tips Henan Jianye for success after signing a contract extract extension with the Chinese Super League side.

April 10, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudan wants the regional bloc (IGAD) and the Troika member states (Norway, United States and Britain) to exclude ex-army chief, General Paul Malong from the next round of peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Addressing reporters in the capital, Juba on Tuesday, the Presidential Press Secretary, Ateny Wek Ateny said the participation of Awan, a former ally of President Salva Kiir, would affect the ongoing peace process.

Ateny accused the ex-army chief of being a believer in violence rather than peaceful means.

Awan announced the formation of the South Sudan United Front (SSUF), which he claimed was the only means through which he would work with compatriots to "arrest the carnage" in the country.

“Our movement is a just an urgent call to our compatriots and a struggle to first arrest the carnage that has befell our country and secondly to steer us towards democracy and development, which are the cornerstones of nationhood, an African nationhood of democracy, development, equal citizenry, justice and freedom”, he said in a statement issued on Monday.

He accused Kiir of building a nation where total impunity is the order.

“Our movement seeks to reverse this. We must build our nationhood around strong institutions and not strongmen. Strong institutions will outlive all of us and guarantee the prosperity of our nation. This is what we yearn for in our country”, stressed the ex-army chief.

Malong said his new rebel group would strive towards fighting what he described as "systemic corruption, stop the ongoing carnage, steer the country toward democracy, justice, equality and freedom."

He also vowed to respect the cessation of hostilities agreement signed in December last year by the various warring parties and he urged the regional bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to allow his new group to be part of the high-level revitalization forum meeting scheduled April 26 in Addis Ababa.

Ateny, however, said the former army chief of staff is a “corrupt” individual already been sanctioned by the international community.

"Malong was sanctioned by the same international community for the role they thought he played as part of the government when he was the Chief of General Staff of the army," Ateny told reporters.

In February this year, the European Union imposed sanctions on Malong and three South Sudanese officials implicated in human rights violations and obstructions of their country's peace process.

He accused the ex-army chief of destroying the August 2015 peace deal that forced rebel leader Riek Machar out of Juba last year.

"Malong was against the peace agreement on the resolution of the conflict in South Sudan. That is why he staged almost three attempted coups against President Kiir between 2015 and 2016,” said Ateny.

Relations between Awan and President Kiir deteriorated after the former was sacked from his post as army chief of staff in May 2017 and placed under house arrest for fear he would start a rebellion.

The ex-army chief was freed in November following mediation led by the Jieng Council of Elders. The agreement refrained him from going to his home-town of Aweil in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal state but was allowed to travel to any East Africa country.

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The White House says Chad has improved the sharing of information about "suspected terrorists".

Cameroon officials say they have reported the missing weightlifters and boxers to police.

April 10, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - South Darfur Governor Tuesday urged an assessment team of the African Union and United Nations to consider the closure of a UNAMID site in Mukjar area.

Governor Jaafar Abdel-Hakam expressed his demand in a speech before a joint meeting between Central Darfur Security Committee and the African Union-United Nations Strategic Review Team which visits the state to assess the mandate of the hybrid peacekeeping operation.

"If the criteria for the closure of UNAMID team sites is the effectiveness of civilians' protection and stability in the concerned areas, Mukjar comes at the forefront where there is a great security and stability," Abdel-Hakam said.

He further said the state is witnessing a stability as a result of the government's decision to collect weapons, adding the security situation encouraged a large number of displaced persons to return to their areas of origin and now participate the production cycle, as he said.

"They are no longer in need of relief as much as they need services and development," he stressed before to call on the UN, African Union and humanitarian groups to support the Voluntary Return Program through the funding of development and services projects.

On Monday, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, announced the imminent closure of a camp for Chadian refugees in Mukjar after the departure on Friday 6 April 2018 of 500 Chadian refugees representing the last batch of nearly 4,000 refugees settled in the area since 2006.

However, In the past Mukjar witnessed tribal clashes between the Misseriya and Salamat tribes. In October 2016, UNAMID organised a dialogue meeting to promote the culture of peace and reconciliation among the local communities.

The UN and the African Union excluded Central Darfur State from the first and second phase of a plan to reduce the number of troops to be finalized by June 2018, due to the existence of rebels in the mountainous areas.

Instead, it decided to establish a new base in Golo to boost the protection of civilians in Central Darfur and to be prepared for probable displacement as a result of new military operations in the state.

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