Africa

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Officials agree to review ban on women travelling without a male guardian after a public outcry.

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The UN has declared a famine in parts of South Sudan, the first to be announced anywhere in the world in six years. So why has famine returned?

A state of famine has been declared in parts of South Sudan, the first globally since 2011. Alastair Leithead reports.

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An albino hunted for her body parts tells the BBC she lives in fear after surviving a kidnap attempt in Malawi.

February 18, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - More than 300,000 people have arrived in Sudan since the beginning of the South Sudanese crisis in December 2013, said the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)..

South Sudanese refugees cook on an open fire at a camp run by the Sudanese Red Crescent Society in the western part of Sudan's White Nile state on 27 January 2014 (Photo: AFP/Ashraf Shazly)

"The number of South Sudanese refugees in Sudan "has surpassed the 300,000 mark and as of 13 February and stands at 305,000 people," reported OCHA in its weekly news bulletin.

Nearly the half of South Sudanese refugees, 131,000 refugees, arrived in Sudan during the past year 2016.

49% of 2016 influx arrived between February and April in East Darfur State from the Bahr El-Ghazal province fleeing food shortage and famine.

29% crossed to the White Nile state from through the Upper Nile state, a small percentage also arrived from the Unity region through the South Kordofan State.

"Over 65% of the refugees are children, with many of them arriving with critical levels of malnutrition," said the report.

UN agencies have noticed also the return of Sudanese refugees to their homeland in South Kordofan or the White Nile states.

Before the December 2013 crisis, there 350,000 South Sudanese who remain in Sudan and didn't return to their areas after the independence of South Sudan.

Also in December 2014, the Sudanese government agreed with the UN to deliver residence permits to South Sudanese refugees enabling them to circulate and to work in the country.

The failure of the peace agreement mediated by, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the continuation of clashes in different parts of the country pushed the UNHCR to anticipate the arrival of more refugees across the 2000 km long border between the two countries.

"The planning figure for 2017 is an estimated 60,000 additional refugees, with the corresponding response outlined in the South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan for 2017," said OCHA.

Following the resumption of armed clashes in Juba last July, IGAD leaders agreed to give President Salva Kiir the time to implement the content of the August 2015 peace agreement and to keep his rival and former First Vice President Riek Machar outside the region in South African.

However, the continuation of the war in different regions in the country and the absence of prospects for a viable settlement, push aid agencies to consider long-term humanitarian plans for the internally displaced people and refugees in neighbouring countries alike.

(ST)

February 17, 2017 (JUBA) - The international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said fighting in Yuai town in South Sudan's Bieh State between the country's warring factions has had major impact on the civilian population in the area.

The area of Yuai that remained largely peaceful throughout the three years of civil war, is now witnessing clashes between government and rebels.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the international medical charity said the recent surge in fighting in Yuai town, has left those forced to flee cut off from healthcare.

The medical aid charity pointed out that its national staffs in Yuai town have fled together with the civilian population after the clashes in the area.

"MSF is extremely concerned about the humanitarian consequences of the fighting,” says Liz Harding, MSF's head of mission for South Sudan.

The organization called on all warring parties to ensure that civilians are protected and that medical and humanitarian facilities as well as staff are respected and protected.

(ST)

February 18, 2017 (ABU DHABI) - Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir Saturday has held talks with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, focusing on bilateral ties as well as regional and international issues of common concern.

Al-Bashir, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday in an official visit, was received at the airport by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and several members of the diplomatic community.

According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the meeting between the two sides discussed ways to enhance cooperation on political, economic, development and cultural fields besides regional and international issues of common concern.

The Sudanese President stressed his country's keenness to promote ties with UAE for the benefit of the two nations, expressing appreciation for the role played by the UAE in support of the Arab issues and on preserving security, stability and identity of the region.

For his part, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi expressed his delight for the recent development of fraternal ties between the two countries in light of the growing attention from President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his keenness to support and develop these relations to serve common interests of the two countries and the two brotherly peoples.

He underscored UAE's strong ties with Sudan, pointing to the historical and economic relations between the two countries besides their cooperation to defend interests of Arab nation against foreign aggression.

The Sudanese President was accompanied by the Minister of Presidential Affairs Fadl Abdalla Fadl, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour, Minister of Investment Mudathir Abdel-Ghani, Minister of Social Welfare Mashai'r al-Dawalab and Minister of State and Director of the Office of the President Taha Osman al-Hussein.

It is noteworthy that Al-Bashir will attend the inauguration ceremony of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2017) that will kick off in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Sudan managed to achieve a breakthrough in ties with UAE after a long period of strained relations over Khartoum's close ties with Tehran.

UAE is in a long-standing territorial dispute with Iran over the three Gulf islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb.

Iran refuses international arbitration over the dispute and insists that its sovereignty over the islands is non-negotiable.

In 2014, Sudanese authorities ordered the closure of Iranian cultural centre in the capital Khartoum, and other states in a move which was seen as a gesture to the Arab Gulf states.

The estimated size of UAE investments in Sudan is $11 billion approximately, of which about $5 billion are projects in progress while the rest are still in pre-execution phase.

In May 2015, Sudan said it offered UAE's companies $59 billion investment opportunities mainly in agricultural projects.

(ST)