Africa

August 13, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Foreign Ministry Under-Secretary Abdel-Ghani al-Naim discussed on ongoing efforts to improve bilateral relations with a senior professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Relations.

President Donald Trump's administration last July postponed until next October its decision on the permanent revocation of the 20-year embargo saying more time is needed to consider Sudan's commitment to UN sanctions on North Korea, human rights and religious freedoms.

In a statement released on Sunday, the foreign ministry, al-Nai'm received Heather D. Flynn, Senior Professional Staff of U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations who was accampaigned by the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Steven Koutsis.

During the meeting, he stressed Sudan keenness to develop bilateral relations with the U.S. pointing to the "positive dialogue which led to the excellent implementation of the five-track plan"

He further said his country not only hopes to lift the economic sanctions and the removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism but also to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation in regional and international issues.

For her part, the US official praised the close cooperation between her country and Sudan in the fight against terrorism, pointing out that the U.S. Congress is also following the five tracks and looks forward to supporting peace and stability in Sudan, said the statement.

Flynn visited Kutum locality in the North Darfur state and inspected the humanitarian situation at Ain Siro camp for displaced people.

She also met with the Governor Abdel-Wahid Youssef Ibrahim to discuss the security and humanitarian situations in North Darfur.

In statements to the official SUNA, the governor stated that the visiting American official requested to allow unfettered access to the humanitarian groups.

He said he explained that there is no any restriction on the humanitarian activities.

However, he further explained that purpose of the permission imposed on the humanitarian groups is "to coordinate and ensure the safety and security of aid workers during their movements within the state".

Last June a bipartisan group including 53 U.S. lawmakers strongly urged President Donald Trump to delay the permanent lifting of U.S. sanctions on Sudan.

“We write to request that you delay lifting these sanctions for one year or until your Administration has been able to fully staff the Department of State and National Security Council, and you have named a Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan,” said 53 Congressmen in a letter sent to President Trump on June 30.

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August 13, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Security authorities Sunday released the former leader of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) Ibrahim al-Sheikh and another leading member after nearly a month of arbitrary detention without charge.

Al-Shiekh and the SCoP Secretary General Abu Bakr Youssef Babikir were arrested by the NISS on July 19 as they were returning from Sheikh Yaghout village, White Nile state, to support Darfur students who resigned from the university to protest the detention of their colleague.

The release of the SCoP leading members was announced in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune by the spokesman Mohamed Hassan Arabi saying that Sheikh and Babikir were released on Sunday evening, "without trial or any other judicial proceedings."

"The arrest came after a solidarity visit to Darfuri students who resigned from Bakht Al-Ruda University who were in Sheikh Yaghout area to protest against the systematic discrimination against them."

Arabi stressed that the arrest did not have a reason, but "clearly reflects the regime's rejection of any genuine political action from the (opposition) parties to reach out the masses".

He further pointed to the lack of freedoms and continued repression in the country saying that their release is a temporary measure "because we will not stop to be with the masses and among them".

The opposition party organises regularly awareness campaigns and protests in the country. last June the security service arrested nine of its members conducting an information campaign to raise awareness about preventing the spread of cholera.

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August 13, 2017 (JUBA) - The Centre for Peace and Justice (CPJ), a South Sudanese human rights entity has welcomed the release of political prisoners by the Juba government, stressing that the move fulfilled the amnesty pardon President Salva Kiir earlier declared.

President Salva Kiir addresses the nation from the State House on September 15, 2015, in Juba (Photo AFP/Charles Atiki Lomodong)

South Sudan released at least 30 political prisoners since President Kiir declared an amnesty in May this year to facilitate national dialogue and help end the civil war, a senior security official said last week.

Jalban Obaj, director of legal affairs at the Internal Security Bureau told the state-owned television (SSBC) on Thursday that the prisoners were set free at different times since the declaration of the amnesty.

CPJ's coordinator, Tito Anthony, said the decision by government showed goodwill towards the revitalization of the 2015 peace accord.

"The releasing of political prisoners is a good step, but the government should consider releasing SPLM-IO [South Sudan's armed opposition] spokesperson James Gatdet Dak because he is too is a political prisoner,” Tito told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

The outspoken official urged South Sudan government to open its arm in order to bring lasting peace to the civilians in the young nation, through engaging the armed opposition for peace talks.

"The next step should be ending the war in country and negotiation with the armed opposition of Dr Riek Machar and the newly formed movements like NDM [National Democratic Movement], NSF [National Salvation Front], among others,” he further stressed.

The rights body called on South Sudanese authorities to reconsider their stand against individuals detained in the country, while stressing the need for government to respect peoples' rights as well as end illegal detention of those accused of supporting rebellion.

"Detention is a violation of the human rights of the individual [and] therefore the government must consider compensating the prisoners because of their rights to remedy,” Tito further told Sudan Tribune.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the presidency, Ateny Wek Ateny said the release of political detainees demonstrated Kiir's good will.

Freeing of the detainees without any precondition also demonstrated that Kiir was determined to resolve the country's civil war, Ateny was quoted saying last week.

South Sudan's civil war is a 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.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and over two million displaced in the country's worst-ever outbreak of violence since the young nation seceded from Sudan in 2011.

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The United Nations and the Security Council today condemned the attacks against camps of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali in Douenza and Timbuktu on Monday, which resulted in the deaths of one UN peacekeeper, a Malian soldier and a member of the Malian gendarmerie, along with six Malian contractors.

August 13, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir has sent a congratulatory message welcoming the re-election of the incumbent Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, saying the victory was a testament of trust the coalition government has earned from the Kenyan people.

“Under your leadership, Kenya has remained key regional economic, peace and security partner. The people of South Sudan are particularly grateful for your contribution to restoring peace in our nation”, said president Kiir in a congratulatory message dated August 12, 2017, to President Kenyatta.

Kiir assured his commitment to continue to extend collaboration and deepen historic relations for mutual benefits of the citizens of the two countries.

“Your victory is a testament of the trust that the Jubilee coalition has earned from the people of Kenya and their appreciation of the efforts made toward the development of your country during the last five years,” the congratulatory message read.

On Friday, Kenya's electoral commission announced that President Uhuru Kenyatta had won the election by 1.4 million votes. Also, international observers said the vote on was fairly fair, as the local observers supported the results.

But Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga contested the results and called for a strike to protest it. He further accused the ruling party and security forces of "spilling the blood of innocent people".

In a related development, Kofi Annan Former U.N. Secretary General, who Annan mediated during a post-election crisis a decade ago, called on Kenyan political leaders to be "careful with their rhetoric and actions" and urged opposition leader Raila Odinga to pursue any complaints about the vote in court.

Odinga has rejected the results, claiming massive fraud, and said he will not go to court to challenge them.

Press reports say the death toll from the electoral violence reached to at least 24 people

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August 13, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Tuesday will head a high-level delegation on a three-day official visit to Khartoum, said the Sudanese Presidency.

In a press release on Sunday, the presidential press office said the Ethiopian premier would discuss with President Omer al-Bashir ways to promote bilateral ties between the two countries as well as the regional and international issues of common concern.

Desalegn will also meet with Sudan's First Vice-President and Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Salih.

According to the press release, the visiting premier on Thursday would deliver a lecture on the situation in the Horn of Africa at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum.
He will also attend a cultural display and visit some industrial installations in Sudan.

The delegation accompanying the Ethiopian Prime Minister includes Minister of Government Communication Affairs Office, Negeri Lencho, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, Sileshi Bekele, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Berhane Gebrechristos, and State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hirut Zemene.

Sudanese-Ethiopian relations have witnessed remarkable development in the various political, economic, cultural and military fields in recent years.

The two countries are engaged more and more in joint economic projects particularly in the border areas for the benefit of the people from the two sides.

Last April, the two sides signed a number of joint agreements to promote economic relations and strengthen ties between the two countries. Also in February, they signed multiple agreements to further boost up cooperation on a range of development activities.

Also, Khartoum provided support for the Ethiopian government which constructs a dam on the Blue Nile.

In October 2016, the two countries signed in Addis Ababa a memorandum of understanding providing to enhance joint security and military cooperation between the two neighbouring countries to fight terrorism.

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August 13, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir has unveiled that for him peace and political stability should be achieved through two tracks, saying the situation in the young nation has become embarrassing.

Kiir developed his vision for peace during a meeting with the Dinka traditional leaders from his home state of Gorgrial where over 30 people were killed during inter-communal clashes.

The head of state said he and the First Vice President Taban Deng Gai have developed two ways to end the conflict and return the country to peace.

"The national dialogue was one way to end the war. The other, he adds, is the reconciliation and reunification of the SPLM leaders while the regional revitalization forum provides a supplementary role."

He further urged the armed opposition groups to stop fighting and join the national dialogue, saying the country and the people deserve peace, security and stability in order to rebuild their lives after years of destruction.

“When you look at the current situation and look at the cause of the liberation struggle, you wonder why people should continue to suffer after fighting to gain independence. These are the questions we get and this is the reason why this senseless war should stop. And indeed it must top,” he told the Dinka elders at his residence in Juba.

He stressed that his government is implementing the peace agreement and the current situation will be overcome.

“The formation of the government has been completed and the cooperation of the ministers in the government has been encouraging. We want this spirit of cooperation to extend to all the states so that peace and harmony are realised at the grassroots level," he said.

He further pointed to the recent clashes among the Dinka Youth groups in Gogrial saying "There should not be fighting among communities like you are doing in the state."

"It has to stop," he stressed.

He urged the tribal leaders to promote peace among their communities and to brief their people about the government efforts to end the war and bring stability in the whole country.

"As you go back, help the state government in sensitization and mobilization efforts to enlighten the people about the importance of peaceful dialogue. As the transitional government of national unity, we have decided that stopping this war is the priority and we have clear plans to stop it," he reiterated.

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August 13, 2017 (EL-FASHER) - The Border Guards Force (BGF) in Darfur's five states has refused to be merged with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) saying it wouldn't cooperate with a government plan aiming to collect illegal weapons.

Last month, Defence Minister Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf announced a plan to reorganise the “forces supportive” of the Sudanese army. The step means to implement the recommendations of the national dialogue providing to integrate all the militias to the Sudanese army.

Also, Vice-President Hasabo Mohamed Abdel-Rahman and head of Darfur Disarmament Higher Committee on Friday winded up a five-day visit to Darfur's states to implement a government plan to collect illegal arms from individuals and tribes.

Haroun Medeikhir, the spokesperson for the Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council (SRAC) in Darfur headed by the tribal leader, Musa Hilal, told Sudan Tribune Sunday that traditional leaders and BGF commanders in Darfur's five states have met Saturday in Misteriya area in North Darfur to discuss the two issues.

He said the meeting, which was chaired by Hilal, has categorically rejected the merger with the RSF, pointing it also refused to hand over arms unless the collection process is carried out through a committee agreed upon by everyone.

Medeikhir added the proposed committee should include the interior and defence ministries besides the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), saying the committee must then sit with the traditional leaders to discuss the implementation of the plan.

“Those who have been delegated to collect the weapons are unqualified [to carry out the task],” he said.

The SRAC spokesperson said the meeting called for holding reconciliations in Darfur, demanding the release of the detained leaders from Rizeigat and Ma'alia tribes.
He described the ongoing arrest campaign in the region as an attempt to “dismantle the Arab tribes”, calling for unity of the latter to face these challenges.

Medeikhir stressed the BGF is on high alert in anticipation of any emergencies, denouncing the intimidating rhetoric used by the Vice-President during his visit to Darfur.

The BGF consists mainly of the notorious Janjaweed militia members that fought Darfur rebels along with Sudanese army. It was drawn mainly from the nomadic Arab tribes of the area and blamed for much of the killing in the Darfur conflict.

Later, the government also formed the SRF from the same Arab tribes. However, the Sudanese parliament last January passed the RSF Act which integrates the militia in the Sudanese army and provides that its commander is appointed by the President of the Republic.

Hilal has been hostile to the RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, (aka Hametti) who was one of his lieutenants and tribal followers before to be the appointed commander of the RSF.

He fears that Hametti contests his tribal leadership as leader of Al-Mahameed tribe, a branch of the Rizeigat ethnic group.

The border guards include some 3,000 militiamen from Al-Mahameed.

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In our series of letters from African journalists, veteran Ghanaian journalist Elizabeth Ohene reflects on her lack of passion for dogs.

August 12, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The White Nile State government Saturday said it plans to bring back into refugee camps some 46,000 South Sudanese living in the residential neighbourhoods in several towns.

The head of the technical coordination committee for refugee affairs in the White Nile State, Tayeb Mohamed Abdallah said they plan to relocate to the refugee camps near the border areas some 46,000 refugees living in Kosti, Rabek, Ad Douiem and other towns. by refugee law.

The state official further told the semi-official Sudanese Media Center (SMC) that any refugee refuses to comply with the law will be deported from the country.

last Sunday, Sudanese interior ministry decided to divide a camp for South Sudanese refugees in the White Nile State into three camps, together with a number of measures to control the security situation.

The measure was taken after the eruption of violence at Al-Waral Camp where a group of refugees set fires to tents before to looting stores and humanitarian services buildings. The refugees are also accused of raping four Sudanese female teachers working in the camp.

Abdallah said that the state of White Nile hosts more than (150) thousand refugees in several camps established on areas owned by individuals and cooperative societies and agricultural land.

He further regretted that the refugees didn't appreciate all the efforts done by the Sudanese people and their government.

Last week, the White Nile State Governor Abdel-Hameed Musa Kasha accused officers of the Sudan People's Liberation Army of being behind the riots in the camp. The local authorities announced also they will try the perpetrators of violence soon.

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By Mahmoud A. Suleiman

As a Sudanese people who long for stability, peace and security, we have no objection to the decision to collect unlicensed weapons throughout Sudan, but our reservation is about trying to collect weapons and selectively confiscate of arms from opponents of the regime and allowing illegal possession of weapons for the government supporters. The latter scenario is likely going to be the outcome of the alleged campaign. Moreover, as a Sudanese person, I have doubts about the objectives of this regime in putting forward this project 16 years after the outbreak of the proxy war by employing the Janjawid militias in the Darfur region and committing the heinous crimes against unarmed civilians.

The regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) announcement of weapons collection in the region of Darfur and the confiscation of unlicensed Boko Haram vehicles continue to generate widespread reactions in the States of the Darfur, the political forces and Sudanese civil society organizations. Such concerns have also been expressed by the Sudanese opposition factions among them the National Umma Party (NUM) who questioned the government's ability to carry out the task of collecting weapons and dismantling the arsenal of allied tribal institutions. It is worthy to bear in mind that the heavy proliferation of weapons in the war-ravaged region has contributed to the fragmentation of the social fabric along with the never-ending intertribal warfare. Sadly, the continuous tribal fighting between the Rizeigat and Maaliya tribes is a vivid example. Unfortunately, the dreaded war and the tribal conflict between the Rizeigat and al-Maaliya renewed. Without a doubt, responsibility lies in the NCP government, which does not want stability for the people of Sudan in Darfur. Furthermore and according to the Political Bureau of the National Umma Party (NUP) indicated that , 151 tribal conflicts have taken place in the Darfur region since the ill-fated arrival of the military coup of the ruling regime of the National Islamic Front (NIF) and its successor the ruling regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) which contributed to fueling and feeding the factors of conflict and division among the tribes, in the wars of ideology and endless absurd civil wars of attrition.

According to the Sudan Tribune electronic Journal on Sunday, 23 July 2017 reported that al-Bashir's Vice President Hassabo Abel Rahman announced that his government would launch a campaign to collect weapons in Darfur and reorganise the government militias before the end of the year 2017. Hassabo was reported to have announced that the government would start to implement its plans to collect weapons from civilians unauthorised groups to and called on the religious leaders incite the population to hand over their arms and to contribute to the efforts to stabilise the region. We must leave weapons only for certain purposes," said the vice president and stressed that this plan is a "strategic project" for peace in Darfur. http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article63065

Furthermore, in press statements, the governor of North Darfur state Abdel-Wahid Youssef, said Abdel-Rahman, who chairs the higher committee tasked with the collection of illegal arms in Darfur and Kordofan, would visit El-Fasher on Monday. Abdel-Wahid was reported to have added saying that the committee was formed to collect illegal weapons not only from Darfur and Kordofan but from all Sudan's states. https://www.middleeastobserver.org/2017/08/07/38932/

And in the state of central Darfur, the Vice President of the Republic, Hassabo Mohamed Abdel Rahman, head of the Supreme Committee for the collection of arms and the legalization of cars, stressed on the need to impose the prestige of the state and the rule of law. He added and said that Sudan has become a conduit for weapons that are used in the looting and tribal conflicts. He was also reported to have said during his address to the meeting of the Council of ministers of the central Darfur State government and the Security Legislative Council mandate: that the collection of arms and licensing of Four wheel vehicles SUVs campaign comes in order to eliminate the negative consequences of the war, the psychological, social and economic impact, and added that the first phase of the weapons collection began in Darfur states five Kordofan, Including the whole Sudan, and said: The plan is based on the collection of weapons and vehicles, which have become very negative and destructive of the economy, and is a war machine used in tribal conflict and the transfer of arms and the drug trade.

In general, the availability of fire arms in the hands of tribal militias loyal to the ruling National Congress Party, which seeks to engage citizens in self-conflict away from the main issues of concern to them, is the most important cause of the conflicts and the tribal war in Darfur.

With regard to the decision of the ruling regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) to collect weapons from the hands of citizens in the Darfur region at this particular time and after 28 lean years of its arbitrary dictatorial rule that characterised by crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of genocide, it is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction or spilling ashes in the eyes as the saying goes.

The first and the most people concerned with this decision are the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the Darfur region. Thus, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and other Sudanese citizens consider the decision of the National Congress Party (NCP) to collect weapons in Darfur is nothing but propaganda of lies because the arms in the region are only in the hands of the government and its militias and mercenaries. As the saying of the Sudanese people goes, their protector is the thief himself! It is a laughable and raising tear at the same time; of the scourge that stirs up laughter.

The paradox is that the weapons that are now being collected from Darfur are essentially handed over by the government of Sudan (GoS) to the Janjawid militias, which turned into the so-called Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which continues supporting the government's army to fight the Darfur Movements, killing unarmed civilians and robbing and stealing the unarmed citizens' property.

In the end, the government will only find weapons in the hands of its militias and mercenaries. Because the (GoS) wants them to be carrying arms day and night to protect it and intimidate citizens so that Security which is paramount for the regime so as security should not turn into lawlessness and out of control as they believe. The NCP ruling regime has been saying it all the time.

The Paradox of Confiscation and Collection of Weapons in Darfur is nothing but a lie Propaganda. The Displaced people and citizens mocked at the collection of weapons propaganda.

As part of the reactions to the government decisions to collect weapons, the Darfurians mocked the decision as propaganda, since there is no Darfurian citizen carrying a weapon or owning a land cruiser with a Dushka, wearing a skullcap, walking around the market carrying weapons, looting and cutting roads without accountability other than the government Itself and its allies.. An activist for Radio Dabanga from El Fasher said the other day that all those who carry weapons in Darfur are the militias that were formed by the government and supplied with weapons and called them with many names such as Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Border Guards and Popular Defence Forces (PDF) other names. The Darfuris said that the government when it says it will collect weapons from citizens is nothing but a falsehood prevailing par excellence. The (NCP) regime seems to have lost the compass and failed to call things by their names. The correct name was the government's collection of arms from the hands of its militias and the groups that provided them with arms, not citizens. Moreover, the people in the Displaced Persons Camps stressed that the process of collecting weapons does not need to be talked about too much. The weapon, as one of the activist said, can be collected by reference to the leaders of these militias and the civil administrations associated with some of the senior officials who stay with the government in Khartoum. The General Coordinator of IDP camps for displaced person described the government decision of collecting weapons as a disinformation for local and global public opinion. He stressed that all the weapons in Darfur are in the hands of militias linked to the regime through the security services directly or through the delegates in the executive authority in Khartoum and Darfur but not the victim, and citizens of Darfur. He stressed that the collection of arms from the hands of citizens depends on the National Congress Party (NCP) regime in Khartoum and the restoration of the prestige of the state and reconciliation in Darfur and the enactment of clear and deterrent laws governing the state systems and bodies entrusted with the collection of weapons and arms carriers.
Other commentators on the aforementioned subject say that opportunity to investigate Darfur chemical weapon attacks must not be squandered and should take the priority now. Member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) must take this opportunity of weapon collection by the (GoS) to demand a proper investigation into alleged chemical attacks by Sudanese government forces in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur.

The decision of the ruling National Congress Party to collect arms from Sudanese citizens in Darfur is like the decision to hold a referendum to abolish the Darfur region and to keep only the five states, which was a random decision in the interest of the government of the genocidal fugitive from international justice Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir.

Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir plans by all his capabilities to be president of Sudan for life so as not to leave a gap or the scope for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to be able to arrest him and take him to The Hague for the trial for the crimes he has committed against the people of Sudan in the Darfur region. He believes strongly that his survival in power in the rule of the Sudan would protect him from the gripping hand of that fearful court. For this reason, his regime works tirelessly to create specialized projects to distract the Sudanese citizen and the Sudanese opposition together to keep them away from the basic issues of concern to the Sudanese people. He employs all the energies of his rule and his entrusted entourage for that end.

The Paradoxes in the (NCP) regime's arms collection in Darfur centres squarely around the fact that the supervisor of this task is a person who was at the top of the government officials who recruited and armed the notorious Janjaweed militias in their various names, including the current infamous Rapid Support Forces (RSF). As the Sudanese popular proverb goes :( Its Guard is its Thief), So to speak!
Thus, the decision of the ruling regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) to collect weapons in Darfur is a project in the face of it seems good but in the midst of it carries evil Seeds of old sedition renewed.

Before the end of this article, we pray asking for the mercy of God in the spirit of the late First pioneer of the Sudanese women's movement Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim, who moved to the Hereafter this morning Saturday the twelfth of August 2017 in London. The departure of the pioneer feminist movement activist Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim tells the long history of the struggle of the Sudanese women as well as the glorious history of the Sudanese people through Eras and Epochs. Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim represents a milestone in the Sudanese political history.

George S. Patton the senior officer of the United States Army who commanded the U.S. Seventh Army in the Mediterranean and European theaters of World War II, but is best known for his leadership of the U.S. Third Army in France and Germany following the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 has been quoted as said: "Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who

Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/

August 12, 2017 (NYALA) - South Darfur security services arrested the head of the Falata tribe Shura Council Abdallah Mohamed Arshu, in front of the Al-Jabal Mosque after he left the evening prayers. after protesting against the search operations for some individuals people accused of stealing cattle.

A member of the Falata tribal body, Mohamed Ahmed Saleh told Sudan Tribune that a force of the military intelligence Friday arrested Arshu, in front of the Al-Jabal neighbourhood mosque after the evening prayer.

"He was arrested because of his vitriolic criticism for search operations conducted by the army in his tribal areas (in Tullus locality) during a meeting of the Native Administration leaders with the Vice-President Hasabo Abdel Rahman who visited the state recently in a campaign for weapons collection".

Two weeks ago, security forces carried out large-scale searches in Rajag Serqaila and Damsu areas of the Falata tribe in South Darfur for weapons and individuals accused of stealing cattle belonging to the Salamat tribe.

At the time, another Falata tribal leader, Youssef Abashar, accused the security forces of exceeding their mission and stealing the belongings of civilians and conducting search operations for women in a humiliating manner.

Sudanese government directed Darfur authorities to deal roughly with the tribal leaders who encourage attacks on the other tribes. The orders come within the framework of a new policy to stem the intercommunal violence.

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August 12, 2017 (JUBA) – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says rapid responses are critical to stemming a cholera outbreak that has afflicted South Sudan for more than a year, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation that has left approximately four million people displaced by the ongoing conflict.

“In a country with mass displacement and severe levels of food insecurity, the effect of the continued cholera outbreak on the health of vulnerable populations is acute,” Beldina Gikundi, IOM's migration health emergency officer in South Sudan said in a statement.

According to the migration agency, since 18 June 2016, over 18,000 cholera cases, including 328 deaths have been reported in South Sudan as the organization's health and water, sanitation and hygiene teams continue to respond to the outbreak through case management and preventive measures across the country.

Disease outbreaks are particularly dangerous for displaced and vulnerable populations, such as children under five years of age, who account for over one-in-five cholera cases reported in 2017.

Many of the locations experiencing outbreaks are in proximity to the Nile River, increasing the rainy season's impact on the cholera outbreak and threat of spreading further, the migration agency said.

“As we saw the outbreak continue, even during the dry season in 2017, we expect to see the trend persist throughout the rainy season, which leaves as much as 60 per cent of the country inaccessible by road,” said Gikundi, adding that “sustained and flexible responses are crucial to stemming the continued transmission of the disease in this extremely challenging context.”

Since the outbreak began, IOM teams have reportedly been deployed to cholera-affected areas across the country. Teams, according to the agency, have continued to conduct hygiene promotion, core relief item distribution and borehole repairs in Bentiu and Rubkona towns, and Wau town and surrounding areas, as well as in UN protection of civilian sites across the war-torn nation.

In collaboration with the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health, IOM health teams are reportedly conducting oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaigns across the country.

Meanwhile, in an effort to reduce cholera cases in outbreak areas, IOM said it recently managed to reach more than 39,900 people in parts of Jonglei and Unity and is currently on the ground in Warrap, preparing to lead an upcoming OCV campaign targeting more than 189,000 people in Tonj East county.

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August 12, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The veteran Sudanese communist and feminist leader Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim died at the age of 84 in London on Saturday morning.

In Khartoum, the opposition Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) leadership met to decide on arrangements for flying her body from Britain. Hundreds of mourners flocked to her home in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman upon hearing the news.

Several political parties and armed movements have mourned the late Communist leader pointing to her long struggle for women's rights and democracy.

Also, the Sudanese Presidency mourned Fatima's passing describing her as a pioneering figure in the political, parliamentary and feminist work in Sudan and at the regional and international levels.

Further President Omer al-Bashir directed to transport to Khartoum her body at government expense and to organise an official funeral for her as a national figure who served her country with sincerity and devotion.

Fatima is said to have been born in Khartoum in 1933. Her grandfather was one of the pioneer headmasters in Sudan, while her mother attended formal schools under the British colonial authorities.

She founded the Union of Sudanese Women in 1952. She joined the Communist party in the mid-50s. She was a vocal opponent of the then military regime of Gen. Ibrahim Abud that ruled Sudan between1958-64. She became a member of parliament in 1965 following the collapse of the Abud regime the previous year.

In 1969, Fatima married Al-Shafei Ahmed al-Sheikh, who was then one of the country's prominent trade unionists. In 1971, her husband was arrested and later executed by Numiri's regime over an alleged coup plot.

Fatima was held under house arrest for two and half years and for the next two decades remained a target of subsequent authoritarian governments.

In 1990, she fled to exile in the UK where she continued with her human rights efforts.

She won a UN award in 1993 for her human rights campaigns. She returned home in 2005. The following year she won the Ibn Rushd Prize for her struggle for women's rights and social justice in Sudan and the greater Arab world.

Fatima has published two books – “Our Path to Emancipation” and “Our Harvest in Twenty Years”.

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By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

August 12, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO) Saturday disclosed that Nile Basin Commission will be established to enforce demands of equitable utilization of the Nile river's resources.

The commission will be established soon after three additional Nile Basin member states approve the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA). Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Rwanda have ratified CFA for the mandatory legal framework for the use of the Nile River in a fair and equitable manner.

According to ENTRO, the Nile Basin Commission will help contribute to fair and equitable utilization of Nile River.

Six upstream countries Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, and Burundi signed the Nile Cooperation Framework Agreement that establishes the Nile Basin Commission for fair utilization of Nile water resources in 2010 and 2011.

Egypt which depends totally on the Nile and Sudan are opposed to this agreement which will modify a treaty signed during the colonial era between Egypt and Britain in 1929 that gives Egypt 66% of the Nile water.

Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO) Director-General, Fek-Ahmed Negash told the state-run Ethiopia News Agency that only three riparian countries need to approve the agreement to establish the Nile Basin Commission.

The four countries, namely South Sudan, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda, have accepted the agreement and are in the process of ratifying the agreements; and if three countries ratify the agreement the commission will be established, he noted.

The failure of DR Congo to sign the agreement is accepted but the rejection of Sudan and Egypt could not. Therefore, It hinders the establishment of the Nile Basin Commission," stressed Director-General Negash.

Elaborating the significance of the agreement, he said "Nile Basin countries have no legal framework. This will make the countries use the water as they like and this may lead the countries to enter into conflict."

According to him, the legal framework will enable the Nile Basin countries to utilize water in a fair and reasonable manner and strengthen their relations.

Addis Ababa University Lecturer and Cross-border Rivers Researcher, Dr.Yaqob Arsano said Sudan and Egypt will not benefit from rejecting the agreement, rather than being harmed as a result.

He added that countries that do not sign the agreement will face problem to use the water in a fair way, while the countries which signed will have national and sovereignty rights to develop it in ways that benefit them.

(ST)

August 12, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North led by Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu said it enjoys the support of the Movement's army describing any attempts to ignore al-Hilu's leadership as “great betrayal” for the New Sudan project.

The SPLM-N is now divided into two factions: one in the Nuba Mountains led by al-Hilu and the other in the Bluee Nile State led by Malik Agar. The rift emerged several months ago over the right of self-determination and other issues.

On Tuesday, al-Hilu issued decisions to restructure the army leadership and appointed a committee to organise an extraordinary national convention. He further reinstated all the former leading members who had been sacked from the group or their leading positions.

Responding to these decisions, SPLMN-Agar accused al-Hilu of undermining ongoing efforts to reunite the group and announced they would build a separate structure.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Friday, SPLMN-al-Hilu official
spokesperson Arnu Ngutullu Lodi said his faction's leadership “derives its legitimacy from the decisions of the representatives of the people who enjoy full support from the Movement's army”.

He added any attempt to ignore the people's decisions is considered a great betrayal of the New Sudan project and the principles of democracy.

Lodi pointed out that the “interim decisions” came to fill the vacuum created by the absence of national regulatory institutions.

“These decisions will pave the road to holding the extraordinary national conference mandated to approve and adopt the basic organizational documents (the manifesto and the Constitution) and the election of leadership and the formation of organizational structures at all levels,” he said.

He warned that SPLM-N base against what he described as “existing plan” that has been developed long time ago by some members to build “parallel institutions” and take the movement into a different direction that is against its vision, goals and means.

“This group continued to describe the corrective path of the revolution of the marginalized people which is led by the SPLM-N as racist and regional in an attempt to ignite tribal and religious sedition among the various components of the Sudanese society,” he said alluding to the SPLMN-Agar faction.

Lodi added the members of the Movement adopt the New Sudan project on individual and voluntarily not ethnic or regional basis in order to achieve its noble visions and objectives.

He said the decisions taken by the Nuba Mountain and Blue Nile Liberation Councils have met aspirations of the marginalized people and supported their legitimate right for self-determination.

The Sudanese army has been fighting the SPLM-N in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, also known as the Two Areas since 2011.

Talks between the two sides for a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access are stalled since last August.

The Sudanese government called on the SPLM-N factions to resume peace talks before the end of next October. But the two factions, however, said the African Union mediation didn't approach them to discuss the resumption of peace talks.

Al-Hilu's group just announced a six-month cessation of hostilities nevertheless it has frozen any talks with the government for the time being.

SPLMN-Agar, for its part, said they are only ready for talks on the humanitarian assistance but refuse any discussions on the political agenda.

(ST)

August 12, 2017 (TEL AVIV) – The Israeli government has defended sale of arms to South Sudan, arguing that there was no evidence showing that either an individual or entity committed a criminal offence by exporting weapons to the war-torn East African country.

Arms and light weapons have been used by both warring parties in South Sudan to commit abuses (Photo courtesy of SSANSA)

The assertion, Haaretz daily reported, follows a petition seeking a criminal investigation into Israeli arms sales to South Sudan and the suspicion that it constituted war crime and crime against humanity.

The petition, filed by 54 Israelis, concerns the sale of Israeli-made Galil ACE rifles sold to a militia associated with the South Sudanese government. The petitioners, through their lawyer Eitay Mack, reportedly claimed Israeli officials who dealt with the issue should have understood that there were risks associated with the rifles' export.

In 2015, a United Nations Security Council report about the conflict in South Sudan said photographs showed South Sudanese officers and soldiers using the Ace, an advanced version of the Galil assault rifle.

The rifle, the report said, were produced by Israel weapon industries.

The civil war in South Sudan has gone on for nearly four years amid allegations of human rights violations, including the use of child soldiers. According to the UN report, all branches of South Sudan's security forces are using the Ace, in its battle against local rebels.

Both sides involve in the conflict have been accused of human rights violations, in the two-year war, in documented claims of ethnic cleansing, systemic rape, recruitment of child soldiers and more.

In response, however, the state reportedly requested that the petition regarding the sale of weapons to South Sudan be dismissed.

“No evidence has been found of any defect in the judgment of the relevant parties,” Rachel Matar, head of the criminal division in the state prosecutor's office wrote in a letter the Haaretz daily obtained.

“The acts of any Israeli party whatsoever constitute suspicion of the commission of a criminal offense,” further added the letter.

The Isareli defence minister, Matar said, provided information to the state prosecutor's office on exports to South Sudan, and that military exports are to be judged on “considerations of the protection of human rights and the political situation in the relevant region.”

Data on arms sales to specific countries are kept secret, but overall sales to Africa reportedly increased dramatically in the years following South Sudan's formation.

In 2009, Israel reportedly sold just $71 million worth of weapons to the continent. In 2013, that number more than tripled to $223 million, and it reached $318 million in 2014.

South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. Two year later, a civil war broke out after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy, Riek Machar and ten others of planning a coup. The conflict has since killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over two million civilians into neighbouring countries.

(ST)

It comes after presidential candidate Raila Odinga rejected provisional results favouring the incumbent.

The UN says the group were forced off a boat into the sea by a smuggler who feared being arrested.

Botswana's Isaac Makwala joins South African favourite Wayde van Niekerk in qualifying for the World Championships 200m final.