Africa

February 16, 2017 (JUBA) - The South Sudanese army (SPLA) said Thursday it had gained control of Yuai, a key rebel town in located in eastern Jonglei region after clashes during which some rebel fighters allegedly joined pro-government forces.

SPLA soldiers are seen at the airport in Bor January 19, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Andreea Campeaunu)

Yuai, the Bieh state capital, used to host the rebel-appointed governor.

The clash took place on Wednesday after a group of rebel defectors declared their allegiance to the government on Tuesday. The defection generated mixed reaction from the local population, resulting in clashes which government forces based in Pajuet military outpost exploited and used it to gain control of the area.

The deputy SPLA spokesman denied there was fighting, saying they took over the town after the rebel faction allied to former first Vice President, Riek Machar deserted it.

The military spokesman of the armed opposition did not make any statement about the development.

Multiple military sources in Bor, however, told Sudan Tribune, that the SPLA were forced to fight back after the rebels attacked their soldiers at the nearby village of Patuet, not far from Pajut.

“After rebels attacked our soldiers at Patuet, they were not only pushed back, but also given a hot pursue. So we ended up in Yuai today”, a junior military officer, said.

Although the army headquarters in Juba concealed information regarding the clashes that occurred in Bieh state, rebels on the side confirmed the fighting, but claimed that SPLA forces were repulsed by the white army, claims Sudan Tribune could not easily verify.

There are also reports that civilians in Uror county, displaced as a result of the fighting have been moving towards Akobo on the Ethiopian border.

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February 16, 2017 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese army has vowed to investigate reports of rape, which allegedly occurred in villages along Juba-Nimule road last week.

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

Anglican Bishop Paul Yugusuk of the Lomega Diocese in Eastern Equatoria claimed that pro-government soldiers raped several women and detained 47 men over the weekend.

Five young girls and women, the Bishop said, are being treated at Juba hospital.

“We don't know the exact number of women who were raped but we have five [women and girls] here in Juba Teaching Hospital. Most of them are underage girls and women,” Yugusuk told reporters after visiting the victims in Juba on Monday.

The 47 men arrested after the ransacking of the Kubi village, some 50 km on Juba – Nimule highway, have been released, according to local news report that quoting George Ladu, the Commissioner of Lokiliri County in Jubek State.

But the South Sudanese army spokesman Brig. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang said the military will form a committee to investigate the report, identify the suspects and take action.

“The chief of general staff has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the reported rape incidents in Kubi, identify the suspects and arraign them before the military court,” Koang told Sudan Tribune over phone on Thursday.

The military official further said all church groups and any other “interested” parties are invited to help in the investigation to dispel any fears of bias during the process.

The SPLA, despite promises to take measures, has been accused by advocate groups of doing little to end sexual assaults on women and girls during military operations.

In the past, however, human right organizations have accused both the government forces of carrying out atrocities, including gang rape and mass killing of innocent civilians when taking over a territory held by rebels.

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February 16, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement- North (SPLM-N) Thursday has set up a commission to investigate a recent armed robbery on cattle keepers in South Kordofan, and accused the government of seeking to incite local Arab tribes against the group.

Undated picture released by the SPLM-N on 16 October 2015 showing the SPLA chief of general staff Gen. Gagod Mukwar speaks in a meeting in a rebel controlled area

Unidentified gunmen on 10 February ambushed cattle keepers from the Hawazma tribe near Al-Hujairat area, some 30 kilometres west of Kadugli, South Kordofan capital killing seven herders and stole 1500 heads of cattle.

The government accused the SPLM-N of the attack, as local sources said the marauders deliberately followed a pathway leading to the rebel-controlled area of Galad. Also, the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) of Sadiq al-Mahdi called on its political ally to probe the attack.

SPLA-N Chief of General Staff Gen. Gagod Mukwa "issued a decision to establish a higher commission from the SPLA-N leadership in the region to deal with this situation the utmost sensitivity, to detect and foil plans of National Congress (Party) for proxy wars and cause discord between the region's components," says a statement extended to Sudan tribune.

Gen. Mukwa who signed the statement further said they noticed that the NCP and its local allies continue beating the drums of war with the hope to rally the Hawazma tribe in their war against the SPLA-N.

He further praised the refusal of the Hawazma and Misseriya to join the government forces, saying "despite the resources spent by the regime, the Arab tribes did not participate in the second war of the regime which has lasted six years now".

The rebel general further welcomed the NUP call to probe the bloody attack and expressed readiness to work with the opposition party, tribal leaders and intellectuals who want to achieve peaceful coexistence in the region.

He further pledged to publish the findings of the investigation panel and invited opposition leaders, civil society groups and opinion makers to visit the SPLM-N held area.

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February 16, 2017 (EL-FASHER) - Government troops and a group of local gangsters fought a gunbattle in the east of North Darfur capital El-Fasher on Thursday, following what the authorities announced the killing of a lieutenant officer in the latest spate of shootings this week.

The North Darfur government said gunfire erupted when a Sudanese government force chased the members of a gang suspected of being behind several armed attacks in the town during the past days.

In press statements, Governor Abdel Wahid Youssef Ibrahim said that the State Security Committee formed a joint force including security and military elements after receiving information about the presence of the gangsters in the Boursa neighbourhood east of El-Fasher, on Thursday morning.

A Sudanese army Lieutenant was killed in action and four other soldiers were wounded during the fire exchange.

Youssef further said the government forces are continuing the hunt for the gangsters, adding they identified their names and their position. He indicated that the gang is led by Issa Mohamed Ibrahim.

Three people had been killed during armed attacks this week in El-Fasher. One was shot in the centre of El- Fasher on Wednesday, another one was murdered in the Boursa neighbourhood Tuesday, while the third died in Al-Thoura area south of El-Fasher.

Sudanese officials say they government is preparing to launch a disarmament campaign in the region, but criminal gangs continue to get arms easily and drive vehicles without number plates despite an official ban.

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February 16, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan has deployed more troops in preparation for the resumption oil production in areas where activities were halted as a result of the December 2013 outbreak of conflict, which badly affected production in Unity state and parts of the Upper Nile region.

A worker walks through an oil production facility in Paloch in South Sudan's Upper Nile state, on 5 May 2013 (Photo: Hannah Mcneish/AFP)

The head of Nilepet, the country's national oil company, disclosed Thursday that government hopes production resumes after preparations are fully completed.

“The government is doing the best to ensure that there is adequate protection at the sites where oil production would resume soon in unity. Preparations are underway,” said Machar Ader Achiek.

“The security forces are on the ground to provide adequate security and to ensure the safety of the oil workers and operators”, he added.

Local authorities, Achiek said, have started sensitising communities around the area to embrace peaceful dialogue and to help government at their level to bolster security at oil installations at Tharjiath field and other sites.

“Oil is a national resource and it is when it is extracted that the government can now be able to provide services to the people. If extraction is affected, the delivery of the basic services is also affected. So the resumption of the oil production is in the interest of both the government and the communities from where it is extracted,” explained Achiek.

He added, “This is why protection of oil sites requires cooperation from the communities”.

The Sudanese government, according to the head of the state-owned oil entity, agreed to provide electricity from Heglig and to work collaboratively with the south Sudanese authorities to protect oil workers engaged in production.

Northern Liech state information minister, Lam Tungwar said the state government will do its best to help the national government provide protection to workers in the oil fields as requested by the minister of petroleum, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, when he visited the newly-created state last month.

Since its independence, South Sudan has relied on oil for all income—a situation that has significantly compounded ongoing political and economic instability due to fall in crude oil prices.

According to South Sudanese officials, production in the past reached as high as 350,000 bpd but fell after a dispute with Sudan over fees for pumping South Sudan's crude through Sudan's export pipeline, which led Juba to halt production in 2012.

South Sudan got the lion's share of the oil when it split from Sudan in 2011, but it's only export route is through Sudan, giving Khartoum leverage and leading to the ongoing pricing disputes.

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February 16, 2017 (JUBA) – The U.N Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Thursday expressed concern about the safety of up to 20,000 civilians said to have been displaced in the western bank of the Nile River in Upper Nile state, describing their stay in the wilderness as “real problem.”

The map of Upper Nile state

The head of the U.N peacekeeping mission in the country, David Shearer remarked this when he visited Malakal in Upper Nile state.

“We want to find out what has happened to those people and provide them with assistance if they need it,” Shearer said Thursday.

According to the world body, fierce fighting between pro-government forces and armed opposition forces in the west bank of Nile River recently escalated, leading to further displacements.

“UNMISS believes that the 20,000 people have fled towards Kodok from Wau Shilluk, a town eight miles north of the UN base in Malakal on the west bank of the River Nile,” partly reads UNMISS's statement.

The clashes, it said, indicates further escalation with no “signs of abating.”

“On Thursday, UN peacekeepers attempted to carry out a foot patrol to Wau Shilluk, but were prevented from doing so by government SPLA soldiers located at Wau Shilluk,” it further stressed.

The latest fighting, UNMISS said, led to abandoning of Malakal town by an estimated 33,000 members of the Shilluk tribe who took shelter at the protection of civilians sites managed by peacekeepers.

The opposition forces fighting the government west of Malakal, a territory of the Shilluk tribe, are largely commanded by Gen. Johnson Olony, a Shilluk, who is loyal to the armed opposition leader and the country's ex-First Vice Presdient, Riek Machar.

Some 4.9 million people, aid agencies say, are facing severe food insecurity in South Sudan, while 1.84 million are displaced internally, in addition to approximately 1.2 million who have fled to its neighbouring countries.

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February 16, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) Thursday said the recent discovery of a terror hideout in the Sudanese capital sends a “disappointing message” to the international community over Khartoum cooperation on counter-terrorism.

Last Sunday, police authorities confirmed an explosion at a residential building at Arkawit suburb, south of Khartoum. There were no human or material causalities but the small blast led the police to uncover an artisanal laboratory and ingredients for fabricating a bomb.

Also, the police source confirmed the arrest of 26 foreign nationals from Arab countries mainly from Egypt and Syria, besides a Sudanese national.

Commenting on the blast, the SPLM-N Secretary General, Yasir Arman told Sudan Tribune the incident, confirms that "Khartoum remains a base for international terrorism".

"The incident also confirms that Khartoum continues its double-dealing in the market of terrorism, especially given that terrorism has become a profitable trade for the regime. It sells out old and inert terrorist networks to counter-terrorist agencies, in order to set up new and fresh ones," he said.

"The world and especially the U.S. should realise there is an umbilical cord that links this regime and the terror that issues from it. That is why the regime has information on terror networks to pass on," Arman added.

Last January, the former U.S. President Barak Obama partially removed sanctions on Sudan pointing to Khartoum's good cooperation in counter-terrorism.

He further pointed to the blackout imposed on the imposed on the information about the explosion, adding that they also have learnt that the (NISS) ''has delivered a strong rebuke to the police. It accused them of interfering in a matter not part of its responsibility''.

The Security services banned the local media from publishing news about the incident until the end of the ongoing investigations especially since the three main suspects are still on the run.

CRACKDOWN ON REFUGEES

Arman also blamed Sudanese security services for the launch of a crackdown on Arab refugees and migrants in the Sudanese capital saying they seek to cover up the disclosure of terrorist presence in Sudan.

The regime seeks to cover up what happened through a crackdown on refugees from Arab countries as if they ignore the presence of terrorist elements in the country, he said.

He further warned that “What happened incites hatred against refugees and Sudanese should not allow this because the terrorist is the regime, not the refugees”.

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Somalia's landscape is littered with dead animals and there are warnings of a full-blown famine.

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