Africa

December 17, 2016 (JUBA)- A South Sudanese rebel commander has dismissed as untrue allegations that they received guns from the United Nation Mission in South Sudan in the oil-rich Unity state, prior to the mid-December 2013 outbreak of civil war.

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

In an interview with Sudan Tribune on Saturday, Gen. James Koang Chuol, denied any knowledge about alleged delivery of UN weapons to the opposition forces.

The said report, Choul stressed, also failed to mention how the guns were sent to the armed opposition territories, as it was earlier alleged.

The rebel official strongly denied allegations that their forces targeted and raped civilians in the Unity state capital, Bentiu after they recaptured the town from pro-government troops in April 2014.

“I would like to clarify that this report is not true. We haven't killed any civilians, not even a single civilian in Bentiu town. This is not true, it is a real fabrication of lies from those who have reported it”, he said.

Choul said when the fighting started in the heart of Juba on 15 December, 2013, he was at the time in charge of the fourth division headquarters in Unity state and that he protected all civilians.

The killing of civilians in the oil-rich Unity state, he further said, were carried out by the Justice for Equality Movement (JEM), a Sudanese rebel group operating in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

Sudan Tribune was unable to independently verify the rebel official's claims.

A senior United Nations official recently warned of possible genocide in the young nation, should the international community fail to address the ongoing conflict between South Sudan's warring factions.

(ST)

December 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's opposition umbrella Sudan Call on Saturday has participated in a training workshop on conflict resolution organized by the Carter Center in Nairobi.

On 7 December, the Carter Center, on Wednesday, said a delegation of experts would conduct unofficial meetings with the Sudanese stakeholders to explore ways to bring peace in Sudan, pointing the meetings “are not part of the official mediation that the African Union is conducting, but rather supplemental, exploratory gatherings designed to begin to identify points of common ground among all key Sudanese parties”.

On Saturday, the Carter Center organized a training workshop for the opposition umbrella Sudan Call in Nairobi with the participation of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) led by Minni Minnawi, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), National Umma Party (NUP), a splinter faction of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Civil Society Initiative (CSI).

It is noteworthy that the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) boycotted the workshop, saying the movement decided to stop all political contacts with the regime.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Saturday, the participants said the workshop focus was on conflict analysis and resolution, pointing they learnt about peacemaking and transitional justice experiences in various countries including South Africa, Philippines, Northern Ireland, Tunisia and Yemen.

According to the statement, the participants in the workshop included Mariam al-Mahdi from the NUP, Ali Trayo from SLM-MM, Ahmed Mohamed Tugud from the JEM, Al-Tom Hago from the DUP and Babiker Mohamed al-Hassan from the CSI.

Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-N rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states since 2011 and several armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

The African Union has been seeking to end the conflicts for several years. However since last August the peace talks are deadlocked over cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access deals

CIVIL DISOPEDIENCE

Meanwhile, the participants in the Carter Center's training workshop have expressed support for the December 19th civil disobedience calling on the Sudanese to actively engage in the general strike.

Sudanese activists have launched a wide electronic campaign to mobilize the Sudanese to engage in a second civil disobedience action on December 19th to protest recent austerity measures.

The statement described the civil disobedience as the “appropriate means to confront the regime”, stressing the need to continue the general strike until the Sudanese people achieve their objective.

The participants further called on Sudan Call leadership office to hold an urgent meeting to follow the course of events during this crucial time of struggle against the tyrannical rule.

They also praised the brave stances of all political prisoners and hostages of war and called for their immediate release.

The Sudan Call, which was established in Addis Ababa on 3 December 2014, includes the NUP, the two factions of the rebel umbrella Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), and the CSI.

Sudan Call internal groups include the Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP), Sudanese Baath Party (SBP), Center Alliance Party (CAP), Sudanese National Party (SNP) and Sudanese National Alliance (SNA).

(ST)

December 17, 2016 (JUBA)-The Jieng (Dinka) Council of elders on Saturday denied reports claiming there was a possibility genocide could occur in South Sudan, equating such claims to another regime change strategy from "people with personal interests".

President Salva Kiir Kiir with members of the Dinka (JIENG) Council of Elders. Its chair Ambrose Riny Thiik apprears to his right (Photo: Larco Lomayat)

Joshua Dau, a leading member of the group, claimed the whole thing about claims of looming genocide is another strategy for regime change.

“They have re-branded the strategy by resorting to the old game of pitting the same people against their own in order to achieve their own objective. They were talking about targeted killings and when it was proven that nothing of sort was taking place, they changed their strategy and are all over claiming a possibility of a potential genocide and ethnic cleansing, which is not true," Dau told Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

"All this is an attempt to find a way to implement their regime change agenda," he added.

He claimed there were some South Sudanese leaders were spearheading regime change agenda on behalf of people whose prime objective is to destabilise the young nation.

“There are people who have forgotten their responsibility under the constitution to protect the country. They are only looking after their own interests and they are willing to give away the country any at price, including the loss of sovereignty, loss of the lives and properties of their own people. They are the people you find day and night running their mouths about the efforts of the council to end this senseless war and reconcile the country”, he explained.

He claimed the group of South Sudanese leaders being used to advance foreign agenda to advance their own interest , primarily to extract natural resources like oil, gold, copper, tin, zinc, cobalt, uranium and arable fertile land which they have failed to get under the administration of president Salva Kiir.

“The people of South Sudan should appreciate the council and the president of the republic for remaining steady fast to protecting the rights and sovereign”, he stressed.

(ST)

December 17, 2016 (JUBA)- South Sudan has cautiously welcomed the United Nations Security Council's decision extending the mandate of its mission in the country (UNMISS) until 15 December 2017.

Daniel Awet Akot (ST)

The new mandate will increase number of its troops from the existing 13,500 to 17,000 including the 4,000 regional intervention forces.

The core elements of the mission include “protection of civilians, monitoring and investigating human rights, creating the conditions conducive to the delivery of humanitarian assistance”, and “supporting the implementation of the agreement”.

It also authorized the Regional Protection Force to “protect routes in and out of Juba, take over the Juba International Airport and key infrastructures around Juba and fight any party that attacks or is ready to attack the UN, non-governmental organisations, their staffs and civilians, but it did not include arms embargo and targeted sanctions.

It remains unclear whether the government would accept to handover key infrastructure and installations to be under the control of the regional protection force as most officials initially expressed deep concern at the security situation in South Sudan and the possibility of an outright ethnic war.

Speaking during an interview on Saturday, the presidential advisor on military affairs said the government has not yet received any official briefing from the United Nations about the new mandate

“I have heard from the media yesterday of the renewal of the mandate of UNMISS (United Nations Mission in South Sudan) but we have not yet received an official briefing from the leadership of UNMISS here. May be this would be the work of the coming week”, Daniel Awet Akot told Sudan Tribune.

He expressed disappointment at the Council for what he described as the continued unilateral action on issues of peace and security without adequate consultations with the government and the African union.

“Issues about peace are supposed to be coordinated since the objective one. They are not supposed to be unilateral. The council should indeed work with the government to implement the peace agreement rather than using threats of sanctions and punishment. What is needed now is a positive and constructive agenda that included the return of security and stability”, he explained.

(ST)

December 16, 2016 (JUBA) - Holocaust and genocide memorials across the world Thursday called on the international community to prevent "what could become the 21st century first major genocide".

In a joint statement to mark the on the third anniversary of South Sudan's war, seven genocide museums and memorials for genocide of Armenian and holocaust of Jewish in Armenia, Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Germany and South Africa joined calls by UN officials on the need to stop violence on ethnic basis in the troubled country.

The statement pointed to the UN reports speaking about attacks on atrocities and war crimes committed in South Sudan, saying "the signs are already there".

"The government and military of South Sudan is already dominated by the Dinka ethnicity, stoking tension and grievances among other ethnic groups. Polarizing propaganda is being used to stoke the fires of hatred on social media. Killings are happening ever more frequently along ethnic lines and no one is being held accountable," said the statement mentioning statements by UN officials.

The signatories who described themselves as "the custodians of humanity's darkest memories" further called on South Sudanese and East Africa leaders to work with a "determined resolve" to end the conflict stressing "genocide is never inevitable".

"And we will need leaders in the broader international community to use every means of political leverage they have – stopping the flow of weapons, holding perpetrators of violence accountable – to avert yet another genocide from happening on our watch".

Last November in a press conference held in Juba, U.N. special adviser on prevention of genocide Adama Dieng warned that South Sudan violence risks spiralling into genocide.

"Throughout the week, conversations with all actors have confirmed that what began as a political conflict has transformed into what could become an outright ethnic war," he said at the end of one week visit to South Sudan.

(ST)

December 16, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese leaders bear the primary responsibility of betraying the people's trust and bringing the country to ruins and more misery, Ban Ki Moon, the outgoing United Nations Secretary General said on Friday.

Ban Ki-moon (Photo UN)

“President Salva Kiir has pursued an ethnically-based strategy to suppress dissent, muzzle the media, exclude significant South Sudanese actors in the peace process and unilaterally implement an agreement to reach elections,” Ki moon wrote in an op-ed article.

He added, “Fighting has now spread across the country”.

Ki moon said actions by South Sudanese leaders, including rebel leader Riek Machar and other armed opposition actors were intensifying the conflict and manipulating ethnicity for political gain.

Since the conflict broke out in December 2013, tens of thousands of people have been killed and over two million displaced in the country's worst-ever outbreak of violence since its independence.

“The social fabric of South Sudan has been shattered. The economy is in ruins. Millions have been displaced from their homes. Hunger and poverty are rampant,” said the outgoing UN Secretary General.

“Today, more than 6 million people in South Sudan require life-saving aid. As the conflict intensifies, that number is rapidly growing,” he added.

He decried what he described as the restrictions imposed by the Government of South Sudan on the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and humanitarian organizations continue to tighten.

He said risks of mass atrocities, which include recurring episodes of ethnic cleansing, escalating into possible genocide is all too real.

“Yet while the people of South Sudan suffer, the Security Council and the region stand divided. This has merely allowed time to mobilize resources to continue the slaughter,” he further stressed.

The outgoing Secretary General urged the Security Council to impose an arms embargo and targeted sanctions to change the calculations of the parties and convince them to choose the path of peace.

“In addition, accountability is crucial so that those responsible for these despicable crimes face justice—from the highest levels to the foot soldiers following orders,” said Ki moon.

“Time is running out as the warring parties ready themselves for another vicious cycle of violence after the end of the rainy season. The responsibility for restoring an inclusive dialogue is squarely on all the leaders of the country,” he further added.

Meanwhile, the outgoing United States president, Barrack Obama said he felt responsible when millions of people had been displaced. I feel responsible for murder and slaughter that's taken place in South Sudan that's not being reported on partly because there's not as much social media being generated from there.

“There are places around the world where horrible things are happening, and because of my office, because I'm President of the United States, I feel responsible. I ask myself every single day, is there something I could do that would save lives and make a difference and spare some child who doesn't deserve to suffer,” said Obama.

(ST)

December 16, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan's President Omer al-Bashir on Friday criticized without naming him the leader of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP), Sadiq al-Mahadi, while the latter has postponed his planned return to Khartoum.

FILE - Sudan's President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir (R) talks with opposition's National Umma Party leader and former Prime Minister al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi on 24 March 2011 (Reuters)

“Do not listen to the speech of the deceivers who are living (abroad) in the hotels, sold the country for dollars, play tennis and celebrate their birthday," said al-Bashir in a public meeting held in Al-Managil, Al-Jazirah State.

''And (do not forget that) our people say do not try what you have already tried,'' he further said without naming al-Mahdi who served twice as Sudan's prime minister.

The second mandate of the elected prime minister was interrupted by al-Bashir who toppled his government in a bloodless coup d'état backed by the Sudanese Islamists on 30 June 1989.

Lately, social media users shared photos of Sadiq al-Mahadi playing tennis. Also, he used to celebrate his birthday.

The opposition leader is residing in Cairo since August 2014 after sealing a political alliance with the armed groups in Paris when he signed the 'Paris Declaration'.

Nearly three months ago, he announced his return to Sudan on 19 December, citing the need to be with his party and to fix some internal problems.

Khartoum was hoping to persuade him once he is at home to abandon his alliance with the rebel groups and other left parties gathered under the umbrella of the 'Sudan call' alliance.

But, in a statement released on Friday, al-Mahdi delayed his return to 26 January, saying he does not want to disturb calls for general strike on 19 December.

"Lest my return disturb the determination of the civil disobedience," he wrote in a short press statement.

Al-Mahdi underlined that his return will coincide with the "Khartoum Liberation Day" when his grandfather Mohammed Ahmed al-Mahdi captured Khartoum on 26 January 1885.

The National Umma Party intends to organize a popular reception for its leader when he returns from his self-imposed exile.

Al-Mahdi party was part of the internal national dialogue process but it suspended its participation in the process in May 2014 following the arrest of its leader. After what, the opposition group called to ensure freedoms, and to hold inclusive negotiations with rebel groups.

(ST)

By Ban Ki-moon

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the world's newest country, South Sudan. I attended the 2011 independence celebrations in the capital city of Juba. Hopes were high that the long-suffering people of the oil-rich country would finally see the fruits of a peace dividend after a prolonged civil war.

Instead, the people of South Sudan now face a more dismal anniversary. This week marks three years since the country plunged into fighting with a terrible and mounting toll.

Tens of thousands have been killed. The social fabric of South Sudan has been shattered. The economy is in ruins. Millions have been displaced from their homes. Hunger and poverty are rampant.

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Today, more than 6 million people in South Sudan require life-saving aid. As the conflict intensifies, that number is rapidly growing. Meanwhile, restrictions imposed by the Government of South Sudan on the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and humanitarian organizations continue to tighten.

The people of South Sudan held out hope after independence following decades of war. Yet their leaders bear the primary responsibility of betraying the people's trust and bringing the country to ruins and more misery.

President Salva Kiir has pursued an ethnically-based strategy to suppress dissent, muzzle the media, exclude significant South Sudanese actors in the peace process and unilaterally implement an agreement to reach elections. Fighting has now spread across the country.

At the same time, actions by South Sudanese leaders including Riek Machar and other armed opposition actors are intensifying the conflict and manipulating ethnicity for political gain.

The risk of these mass atrocities, which include recurring episodes of ethnic cleansing, escalating into possible genocide is all too real.

Yet while the people of South Sudan suffer, the Security Council and the region stand divided. This has merely allowed time to mobilize resources to continue the slaughter.

Given the scale of this disaster, the United Nations Security Council, regional organizations and the international community must step up to their responsibility.

Key actors, such as former Malian president Alpha Oumar Konaré—the African Union High Representative for South Sudan—have made significant efforts. But we must all do more to end this crisis.

I have taken a number of decisions to improve the performance of UNMISS itself. Yet simply reinforcing this peacekeeping mission to better perform and protect civilians will not end the conflict. There must be a political solution.

This means there must be a cessation of hostilities, followed by a genuinely inclusive political process. If this does not happen immediately, the Security Council should impose an arms embargo and targeted sanctions to change the calculations of the parties and convince them to choose the path of peace.

In addition, accountability is crucial so that those responsible for these despicable crimes face justice—from the highest levels to the foot soldiers following orders.

Time is running out as the warring parties ready themselves for another vicious cycle of violence after the end of the rainy season. The responsibility for restoring an inclusive dialogue is squarely on all the leaders of the country.

If they fail, the international community, the region, and the Security Council in particular, must impose penalties on the leadership on both sides. We owe this to the people of South Sudan, who have suffered far too much, for far too long.

The author Ban Ki-moon is the outgoing U.N. Secretary-General.

Marking the one-year anniversary of the signing of the Libyan Political Agreement, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today commended all Libyans who engaged in the &#8220milestone&#8221 process, but cautioned that while much progress has been made, &#8220the road to peace is long&#8221 and the Libyan people have not yet achieved the stability and security they deserve.

The United Nations human rights chief today said he is &#8220deeply alarmed&#8221 at a planned Government shutdown of social media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from Sunday evening, ahead of the end of President Joseph Kabila&#39s mandate, coupled with a continuing ban on demonstrations by civil society and the opposition.

December 16, 2016 (NEW YORK) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), while approving a one-year extension of its mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), demanded an end to the fighting in the country, and decided that the mission shall “use all necessary means” to deter and prevent sexual violence within its capacity.

The UN Security Council votes unanimously to impose sanctions on those blocking peace in South Sudan (Photo: UN/Devra Berkowitz)

The mission will, in accordance to the new mandate, also “monitor, investigate and report incidents of hate speech,” in the country.

The 15-member Security Council unanimously adopted on Friday a resolution, extending the mandate of UNMISS to 15 December 2017.

Over the next one year, however, the UN mission in South Sudan will maintain its core functions, while also maintaining a troop ceiling of 17,000, including a 4,000-strong Regional Protection Force (RPF), and increasing the police ceiling to 2,101 police personnel, and 78 corrections officers, and requesting the Secretary-General to take the necessary steps to expedite force and asset generation.

South Sudan has been in turmoil since December 2013 when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir clashed with those allied to his former deputy, Riek Machar displacing thousands of the nation's population.

The crisis, according to the world body, has produced one of the world's worst displacement situations with immense suffering for civilians.

However, despite the August 2015 peace agreement that formally ended the South Sudanese civil war, conflict and instability have also spread to previously unaffected areas in the Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr-El-Ghazal regions of South Sudan.

The Security Council, during its meeting, reiterated its increasingly grave alarm and concern regarding the political, security, economic and humanitarian crisis in South Sudan resulting from a political dispute within South Sudan's ruling party (SPLM) and subsequent violence caused by the nation's political and military leaders.

It also expressed its intention to consider sanctions against those whose actions undermined peace, stability and security in South Sudan.

The Security Council demanded that South Sudan's leaders implement the permanent ceasefire declared in the peace agreement and respective ceasefires, but also expressed grave concern at the findings of the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura of the systematic and widespread use of sexual violence as a tactic by parties against the civilian population, particularly against the country's women and girls.

As such, the 15-member Council also resolved that UNMISS would “use all necessary means” to deter and prevent sexual and gender-based violence within its capacity and areas of deployment, and “monitor, investigate, verify and report specifically and publicly on violations and abuses committed against children and women.”

The Council tasked UNMISS with monitoring, investigating and reporting on incidents of hate speech and incitement to violence in cooperation with the UN special adviser.

(ST)

December 16, 2016 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese Pound (SSP) has lost about 80% of its value, nearly 12 months since the Central Bank floated the exchange rate against the U.S dollar, as most South Sudanese families anticipate tough times during this festive season.

Thousands of people match in Bor, Jonglei State to celebrate Christmas Eve (ST/File)

“My children want new clothes, but I am not sure of what they will eat tomorrow. It is not about new cloths now,” Mary Yar, a mother of three, told Sudan Tribune Friday.

A resident of Lologo, a Juba surburb, Yar moved to the South Sudan capital in 2014, after conflict displaced her from Bor in Jonglei state.

For her children, however, Christmas is a season for new clothes.

“I would buy each of them a pair of shoe, trousers and everything they required but now, I have to use any money on what they will eat,” narrates the mother of three.
Yar does not have a permanent job. At the moment, she works in a restaurant as a waitress, earning a daily wage of 100 SSP (about $1).

Yar is among the millions of South Sudanese calling off luxurious celebrations during this festive season. Millions of South Sudanese have, as a result of war, been displaced from their homes and face severe food shortages. Government has not paid its workers for months and this, for instance, saw teachers strike in Jonglei state.

Presently, one U.S dollar trades between 90 and 100 SSP in the parallel market.

There is scarcity of hard currency in South Sudan, a landlocked country that depends on imports of food and medical among others from neighboring countries.

On Wednesday, South Sudan President Salva Kiir duly acknowledged the hard situation in the country, saying he too felt the pain most families faced, but offered no remedies to the situation.

“I was planning to spend my Christmas in Nairobi but have to think twice,” John Moro, a resident of Juba told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

Moro said he earns about 3,000 SSP, a substantially good pay in a nation where most civil servants are paid less than 1,000 SSP monthly.

“Juba is now very expensive and very hot,” explains Moro.

A meal, in most Juba restaurants, now costs SSP 100 or more, but prices are higher in hotels due to the deteriorating economic situation.

“If I was to spend my Christmas or New Year day with friends in a good restaurant, it will cost me three months pay,” stressed Moro.

The festive seasons, which are meant to host friends, buy new cloths and make trips to the countryside, would pass unnoticed. Some Christian Churches organ street marches on the eve of Christmas and children, like Yar's, want to attend when dressed in new attires.

“My prayer is tranquility in the country. If there is peace, I may choose to leave in the country and my children will be happy and enjoy celebrations without fear of hunger or failure to buy new cloths,” said Yar.

(ST)

December 16, 2016 (JUBA)- South Sudan president Salva Kiir said Friday he hopes the 2017 would be a year of peace, reconciliation and forgiveness, declaring his willingness to extend amnesty to armed opposition to participation in his recently announced national dialogue to end more than two years conflict in the young nation.

President Salva Kiir adresses a joint press conference on 9 July 2016 (Reuters Photo)

"I hope the coming year would be a year of peace, reconciliation, unity and forgiveness. And I therefore called on the people of this country to embrace one another. We fought together in order to have a country. We didn't fight together so that when we have got our country in our own hands, we destroy it. That is not the meaning of liberation. If this was the meaning, then I am sure some people like me would not have been part of such liberation”, president Kiir told a group of senior government officials who paid him a courtesy call at presidential palace on Friday.

The group comprising imminent personalities and Like's advisers congratulated him for launching a national dialogue aimed at resolving differences between people at different levels.

South Sudan's defence minister, Kuol Manyang said Friday that the government would accept the outcome of the national dialogue; saying it was the only way to end conflict.

“I fully agree with what the president told me recently that war is not a substitute to dialogue. This shows how interested he is in bringing this conflict to an end so that the country returns to peace and stability," Junk told Sudan Tribune in the capital, Juba.

He added, "You can also see that the president has also demonstrated his willingness to the end this conflict by personally accepting those still carrying arms against the government to come and participate in the dialogue, which is the only people resolve their difference."

Violence broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 when the country's rival leaders disagreed politically. Tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced.

(ST)

December 16, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has expressed serious concern over recent protests by some of its former staff members saying they are “not peaceful in nature”.

On 5 December, dozens of UNAMD's former local staff protested in front of the mission's premises in four capitals in Darfur for non-payment of financial dues owed to them since 2010.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Friday, the mission said the former employees “have on a number of occasions forcefully blocked movement in and out of UNAMID camps and obstructed access of Sudanese nationals employed by the Mission to their workplaces”.

“We, as a Mission, take our responsibilities towards the people we serve, including separated staff members, seriously. However, we cannot condone demonstrations that are not peaceful in nature and are based on unfounded accusations and demand for payments that are not in line with the rules and regulations of the United Nations,” stated the Head of UNAMID, Joint Special Representative Martin Uhomoibhi.

The mission stressed that “all national staff that separated from the Organisation on 31 December 2015 have received all benefits owed to them for the period of their service with UNAMID, except for a relatively small group whose pension entitlements are being processed”.

“UNAMID is working closely with the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, the body solely responsible for administering pension benefits, to finalize this category of payments” added the statement.

It is noteworthy that the former staff members protested seven times during this year in four Darfur states to demand overtime pay.

Chairman of the Dismissed Staff Committee, Hafiz Abiad, had earlier told Sudan Tribune that his committee represents 263 Sudanese staff who were dismissed and their financial rights denied in Nayla, Zalngei, El-Geniena and El-Fasher.

He pointed that the protesting staff demanded to be paid their pensions' entitlements which was agreed on with UNAMID in March, saying the mission didn't recognize some of their rights.

Abiad added that they made a complaint to a court within the United Nations to demand the overtime pay, saying the court asked them to provide a document proving their claim of the previous financial rights.

“We sent the document and we are still waiting [for the court's decision]," he said.
The hybrid mission has been deployed in Darfur since December 2007 with a mandate to stem violence against civilians in the western Sudan's region.

It is the world's second largest international peacekeeping force with an annual budget of $1.35 billion and almost 20,000 troops.

(ST)

December 16, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Friday has seized print runs of the independent daily Al-Jareeda for the eighth time within three weeks without giving reasons.

Chief-Editor of Al-Jareeda Ashraf Abdel-Aziz told Sudan Tribune that the NISS agents confiscated copies of the newspaper on Friday morning while it was on its way to the distribution outlets.

He pointed that the daily has received some financial contribution from readers abroad, saying they paid six-month subscription fees in advance to support the newspaper and compensate for the loss caused by the repeated confiscations.

Last week, Al-Jareeda launched a campaign entitled the “Prudent Reader” to enable each reader to donate price of one seized copy.

Al-Jareeda also said it would take legal action against the NISS due to repeated seizure of its copies during the last two weeks.

NISS has recently intensified crackdown on newspapers for publishing news reports and articles on the nationwide civil disobedience act which took place between 27 and 29 November. During the last couple of weeks, it seized copies of various dailies 22 times.

Al-Jareeda has been one of the most newspapers in Sudan subject to suspension and confiscation. Last May, the NISS had confiscated copies of the newspaper four times during five days.

Journalists working for the newspaper had earlier told Sudan Tribune that the NISS seeks to put pressure on Al-Jareeda to change its editorial policy and mitigate harsh criticism of the government contained in the Op-ed articles and in particular by columnists Osman Shabona and Mohamed Wida'aa.

However, the newspaper's administration refuses to succumb to the NISS's pressures and rejects the idea of dismissing any journalists or columnists.

Sudanese newspapers complain of the far reaching powers of the NISS which routinely punishes dailies through confiscation or suspension.

Following the lift of pre-publication censorship, the NISS started punishing newspapers retroactively by seizing copies of newspapers that breach unwritten red lines inflicting financial and moral losses on these media houses.

In February 2015, it seized copies of 14 newspapers from printing press without giving reasons.

Journalists say that NISS uses seizures of print copies of newspapers, not only to censor the media but also to weaken them economically.

Last July, Al-Taghyeer newspaper decided to suspend publishing and laid off its staff following large financial loss incurred due to repeated confiscations.

(ST)

December 16, 2016 (JUBA) - A South Sudanese minister in the government of national unity has resigned, a decision that has taken many in the young nation by surprise.

First meeting of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) chaired by President Salva Kiir Mayardit and attended by the First Vice President Riek Machar Teny and the Vice President James Wani Igga in Juba on May 6, 2016 (Photo Moses Lomayat)

The Deputy Minister for Labour and Public Service, Nasike Allan Lochul, cited lack of political will on the part of President Salva Kiir and members of his administration to implement the 2015 peace agreement, which he signed with armed and non-armed opposition groups to terminate the over two-year war in the country.

The minister said political "unwillingness" to implement the peace deal and incitement of hate speech by the president and senior members in government forced her to quit.

“As a politician who have interest to serve my people, I have decided to leave the fake TGONU (Transitional government of national unity) for unwillingness to implement the resolution on the agreement of the conflict in the republic of south Sudan and incitement of hate speeches by the president and many senior government officials in politics and in the army”, Lochul wrote in the letter, which Sudan Tribune also obtained.

The official declared her allegiance armed opposition faction under the leadership of the former vice president Riek Machar, saying it has the vision to transform and unity the country than president Kiir.

“I am declaring my allegiance to the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, SPLM-IO, that is working tirelessly to help avert a catastrophic collapse of our nation, by relying on grassroots for support and that has a vision and make this country for all 64 tribes of South Sudan," the deputy minister said in her resignation letter.

"I, therefore, quit the current tribal and tyrant regime in Juba to join the voices of freedom and democracy, the SPLM-IO to protect the innocent and humble people of South Sudan”, she addes.

Lochul, until her resignation, was a member of parliament representing Eastern Equatoria at the national legislative assembly, a position to which she was selected by her people in 2005 and retained during the 2010 and after secession from Sudan in 2011.

(ST)

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Approving a one-year extension of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the Security Council today demanded an end to the fighting in the war-riven country, and decided that the mission, known as UNMISS, shall “use all necessary means” to “deter and prevent” sexual violence within its capacity, and “monitor, investigate and report incidents of hate speech.”

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned today's attack against a military post in Nassoumbou, province of Soum in the north of Burkina Faso, in which Burkinabè soldiers were killed and injured.