Africa

United Nations human rights experts have welcomed the release of 21 Chibok school girls from Boko Haram and called upon Nigerians – particularly their families and local communities – to support their immediate reintegration and rehabilitation.

Millions of children across Africa suffer from malnutrition - one way to tackle this is a special type of sweet potato that can deliver an extra vitamin hit which is being developed in Uganda, writes the BBC's Nancy Kacungira.

Reports re-emerge that Angola has become the first country in the world to ban Islam. Only they were never true in the first place, writes Clare Spencer.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Central African Republic (MINUSCA) today strongly condemned repeated assaults against its peacekeepers, in the wake of two attacks over the past five days.

Ethiopia's government has issued a list of the restrictions under the six-month state of emergency that was announced last week.

October 16, 2016 (YAMBIO) – The governor of Gbudue, one of South Sudan's new states returned to the capital, Yambio Sunday, ending the widespread speculation that he had been detained in the country's capital, Juba.

Gbudue state governor Patrick Zamoi speaking to journalists at in Nzara airstrip March 4, 2016 (ST)

He was away from Yambio for nearly three months.

Governor Patrick Raphael Zamoi, however, told reporters on arrival that he was in Juba to meet investors on investment deals.

“I went to Juba to meet the national government and ambassadors to discuss with them on how they could come to Gbudue state to embark on developmental activities after conflict,” he explained.

The governor said he met investors from the United States and China who expressed willingness to invest in his state, stressing that such initiatives would benefit Gbudue states after months of instability.

Zamoi also dismissed reports that he had been detained in the South Sudan capital.

He said commanders of South Sudan National Liberation Movement (SSNLM), who signed peace agreement with government in April this year, were due to meet the president in coming days amid plans to integrate them in the organised forces.

(ST)

October 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's opposition National Consensus Forces (NCF) has considered that the national dialogue outcomes are just part of “conspiracies” hatched by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) to buy time and polish its international image, stressing that these outcomes mean nothing.

In press statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Sunday, the left opposition alliance NCF said that the internal and external dialogues will be hindered by the mentality of the ruling party which used to thwart the signed agreements and understandings, adding its number has exceeded 40 agreements so far.

"For the Ingaz regime, these agreements mean only to offer jobs for the others to work as employees in its government," partly reads the statement.

The opposition group reiterated that Sudanese crisis will not be solved unless the regime is toppled, stressing it is the only way to achieve a comprehensive political solution to maintain the national unity and to reach peace and democracy.

The NCF rejects to participate in the African Union mediated process for peace and democratic reforms asking that the ruling National Congress Party should end war, open humanitarian access, release political prisoners and ensure freedoms.

During the past months, the alliance suspended some political groups that accepted to participate in an African Union brokered meeting in Addis Ababa with the government and its partners in the internal dialogue.

The statement pointed to the recommendations of the internal dialogue conference particularly the proposed post of prime minister who would implement the political reforms, saying he would be appointed by the president and also will be accountable before him.

The national dialogue's outcomes have been designed mainly to extend the regime's life and empower the president, who will also appoint the chief justice and security apparatus would be attached to the presidency, further said the statement.

The opposition alliance further said that the outcome of the dialogue conference does not affect the basic structures of the regime and does not bring any change to the economic and social policies of the regime.

The Sudanese warring parties in the Two Areas and Darfur signed the Roadmap Agreement proposed by the African Union mediation led by the former African Union President Thabo Mbeki in March and August.

However, the two sides failed to sign a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreement. The two deals, if signed would be followed by a meeting on the confidence building measures that should create a conducive agreement for an inclusive constitutional conference.

The armed and political opposition groups propose that the internal dialogue conference be considered as the first phase, but President al-Bashir vowed to wage war on the rebel groups and to involve only those who accept the resolutions of Khartoum conference.

(ST)

October 16, 2016 (KHARTOUM). Sudan's President Omer Al-Bashir will visit Russia in the coming two months to discuss mutual cooperation, according to the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Sunday, Sudan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahim Ghanodur said that al-Bashir will visit Russia before the end of this year to discuss bilateral relations and coordination in international forums.

In press statements after a meeting with the First Vice President Bakri Hassan Salih, Ghanodur said that he met his Russian counterpart on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York last September and discussed with him mutual relations and issues of joint interests.

Last Tuesday, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov met senior Sudanese officials in Khartoum including President al-Bashir. He discussed Sudan's political, and economic developments in Sudan.

Also, last Thursday, Sudan and Russia signed several agreements to develop mining sector in Sudan after three days of consultations.

In a separate development, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Morocco's King Mohammed VI has invited al-Bashir to attend the climate summit that will be held in Marrakech next November.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued two arrest warrants against President al-Bashir in 2009 and 2010 for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Darfur.

However, he has continued to travel freely in Africa, Arab countries and Asia, defying the ICC arrest warrants. Last year he visited India and China.

The official Sudan News Agency pointed that Ghandour also briefed the first vice president on the diplomatic efforts exerted by his ministry to response to Amnesty International's claims on the use of chemical weapons in Darfur.

In September, the human rights group said that it has gathered "horrific evidence of the repeated use of what are believed to be chemical weapons against civilians, including very young children, by Sudanese government forces in one of the most remote regions of Darfur over the past eight months".

According to the report, between 200 and 250 people (including many children) probably died due to exposure to the chemical weapons.

(ST)

October 16, 2016 (MALAKAL) – Intense fighting between South Sudan's rival factions around the Upper Nile state capital, claimed about 56 lives, the army spokesperson, Lul Ruai Koang said Sunday.

SPLA soldiers sit at the back of a pick-up truck in Malakal, Upper Nile state January 12, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Andreea Campeanu)

The clashes, he said, occurred over the weekend as the armed opposition forces attempted to gain control of the strategic town.

Koang claimed a separate rebel attack on a government post was successfully thwarted by pro-government forces in Malakal Friday.

"Our forces were able to successfully drive them back with heavy casualties. Over 56 rebels were killed," he told Reuters.

The official rebel spokesperson was not immediately available for a comment.

South Sudan's rival factions traded accusations over clashes in their respective positions, raising doubts on the implementation of last year's peace agreement, which ended over 20 months of conflict.

The rebels, in a statement, claimed their position in the west bank of Malakal was attacked at about 6:00pm by pro-government forces.

“Today evening at 6pm, our military positions near Wajwok and Lalo villages had been attacked by SPLA forces stationed in respective locations mentioned and heavy fighting is going on right now”, said Brig. Gen. Nyagwal Ajak Dengkak in a statement.

He blamed the attack on government forces, further claiming that pro-government forces had deployed helicopter gunships to Malakal town with the view to reinforce ground forces with air cover should their forces attempt to move on the oil-rich town.

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

South Sudan descended into war in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of a coup attempt. Tens of thousands of people have died and millions have displaced in the country's worst-ever violence.

(ST)

October 16, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's police on Sunday said it has reached a joint understanding with the German police on ways to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.

In a press statement extended to Sudan Tribune, the Director General of Sudan's Police Lieu. Gen. Hashim Osman al-Hussein, said a delegation from the Sudanese Ministry of Interior has concluded a visit to Berlin on Saturday where it held talks with the German police on transfer of crime-fighting technology and illegal migration.

He added the delegation also discussed ways to promote cooperation between Sudan's police and German federal police in the various fields, pointing that cooperative ties between the two sides were old but have been severed during the eighties due to political reason.

Al-Hussein pointed to the professional nature of the talks, saying “crime has nothing to do with politics and we need to coordinate at the regional and international levels because we are all affiliated with the Interpol”.

He added the two sides discussed ways to provide technical, logistical and training support to Sudan's police to fight against illegal migration and human trafficking to Europe, saying the director of Germany's federal police has accepted their invitation to visit Khartoum for further talks on the issue.

Last August, senior Sudanese security officials said that Khartoum is carrying the burden of fighting illegal migration on behalf of Europe and pointed to significant difficulties that obstruct efforts to combat human trafficking.

It is worth to mentions that Sudan has forged a strategic partnership with several European countries and the European Union (EU) to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.

Sudan has been under EU sanctions since the 1989 coup d'état and didn't receive any development aid from Europe.

However, the European body reconsidered its position following the weaves of illegal migrants from Syria, Iraq, and Horn of Africa countries. Sudan is identified as a source of migrants to Europe and a transit country for migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

Last April the EU officially allocated Sudan €100 million to improve the living conditions for refugees, help Sudanese returnees to reintegrate back into society, and to improve security at the border.

In addition to this support, Sudan benefits from additional funding under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, in particular from a €40 million programme to better manage migration in the region.

Also, the German government has earmarked €12 million for projects aimed at stemming illegal immigration of Africans across Sudan to Europe.

In January 2014, the Sudanese parliament approved an anti-human trafficking law which punishes those involved with human trafficking with up to 20 years imprisonment.

Also, in 2014, Khartoum hosted a conference on human trafficking in the Horn of Africa, organised by the African Union (AU), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Sudanese government.

Fifteen countries and EU representatives attended the meeting, during which a joint strategy and action plan to combat human trafficking was adopted.

Last June, a joint operation among Sudan, Italy and the United Kingdom has led to the arrest of an Eritrean man suspected of controlling one of the world's four largest criminal migrant trafficking organizations.

PRODUCTION OF IDENTITY DOCUMENTS

Meanwhile, Al-Hussein said Sudan's police have agreed with a group of German companies on ways to localize production of the identity and migration documents in Sudan, pointing to cooperation between the two sides in the fields of traffic police, criminal work and administration.

He said the German side promised to provide Sudan's police with advanced crime-detection equipments and training opportunities.

For his part, the head of Sudan's diplomatic mission in Germany Badr al-Din Abdalla said the delegation discussed the transfer of technology needed to issue official document, pointing that cooperation between Sudan and German companies in this field has begun since 10 years ago.

(ST)

October 15, 2016 (JUBA) – The U.S said the military support recently pledged by President Barack Obama for South Sudan will be directed to the body monitoring the permanent ceasefire, not the country's national army.

A U.S. Special Forces trainer conducts a military assault drill for a unit within the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) during an exercise in Nzara on the outskirts of Yambio November 29, 2013. (Reuters/Andreea Campeanu Photo)

"This waiver was necessary to ensure the U.S. government can continue to provide financial assistance to support implementation of the peace agreement, especially to the body known as the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), which is charged with monitoring ceasefire violations," the U.S embassy in Juba said in a statement extended issued last Friday.

The waiver was wrongly understood to translate to military training for SPLA, the South Sudan army. Washington, however, said the "waiver does not indicate" assistance to Juba. Americans provided military advise to the SPLA between 2006 and 2013 but halted the assistance when fighting broke out and the army split between loyalists of President Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar.

The embassy said the U.S would not extend any help to the fledging army before some provisions are met by Juba. Currently, the embassy stressed, there is no legal basis for South Sudan military to benefit from American resources.

The U.S urge the young nation to end hostilities and pursue good faith negotiations for a political settlement of the current conflict; provide access for humanitarian organizations; end the recruitment and use of child soldiers; protect freedoms of expression, association, and assembly.

It also said Juba must reduce corruption related to the extraction and sale of oil and gas and establish democratic institutions, including accountable military and policy forces under civilian authority as conditions to widen opportunities to access Washington financial and advisory support.

"The United States continues to urge South Sudan to take these steps which we believe would substantially contribute to stabilization and development," the stressed.

As South Sudan's largest donor, the Washington played a leading role in the process that led to the country's independence from neighbouring Sudan in July 2011.

(ST)

October 16, 2016 (JUBA) – The recent remarks uttered by the South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, against his peace partner and political rival, Riek Machar, are not surprising at all, claims an official of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO).

This came as the opposition's reaction to President Kiir's recent comments on Saturday published by Sudan Tribune on Sunday in which he rejected the expected return of his former first deputy, Machar, to the South Sudanese capital, Juba, in order to assume his position as First Vice President and to continue with the implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) which the two leaders signed in August last year, but which has been interrupted by the renewed violence which erupted from 8 July, 2016, in the country.

President Kiir on Saturday said he would better work with his new deputy, Taban Deng, who replaced Machar after the violence, which the opposition has described as “illegal” and a violation of Articles 6.4 and 6.5 of the agreement. The President called on Machar to denounce violence or stay away from South Sudan in exile or to simply return to the country as a “normal citizen” without involving in politics, at least during the transitional period until 2018.

President Kiir also called on the region and the international community at large to allow him to instead work with his new deputy, Deng, who is Machar's former chief negotiator, whom the President described as someone “cooperating” with him.

“The region should stand with the Transitional Government of National Unity to implement the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. This was the agreement they [regional leaders and friends] made themselves despite our [re]servations but we accepted because we wanted peace and stability in this country," said President Kiir in his residence in Juba, on Saturday, in the presence of his senior government officials and senior army officers.

"And I believe the events of July should themselves be proof of concerns which South Sudanese were raising. If they want this agreement to be implemented, they should allow the current First Vice President [Deng] and his team to work with me and other leaders ready to cooperate to implement this agreement," he added.

Media official for the ousted First Vice President, Machar, however said the comments from the President rejecting Machar's return to Juba were not surprising, saying they were in line with his earlier attempt to eliminate Machar on 8 July at his Republican Palace in Juba and the subsequent attack he also ordered on Machar's residence and base on 10 July with tanks and helicopter gunships in order to kill the peace agreement.

“What would one expect from the President who in the first place attempted to assassinate his deputy and peace partner at his Republican Palace on July 8, and also ordered his forces with tanks and helicopter gunships to again attack him in his residence, as confirmed by the United Nations, with the aim to kill him? What would you expect from President Salva Kiir who persistently attacked and pursued his deputy in the bushes for 40 days and forced him into exile? Definitely not only did he not want him as his first deputy despite the peace agreement's power sharing arrangement, but also he did not want him alive,” Machar's official spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

“So his anti-peace comments against Dr. Riek Machar are not surprising. He does not want him as peace partner, because Salva Kiir does not want the peace agreement to be fully implemented. He wants a yes-man to worship him and cooperate with him submissively in avoiding implementation of the most crucial provisions in the peace deal, such as the needed reforms, and to help him return the country to war so as to continue to dictatorially maintain the power through the violence,” he added.

The official said it was not necessary for President Kiir to ask Machar to denounce violence when the opposition leader is only “resisting the violence”, arguing that it should instead be the president to denounce the violence since he is the one who allegedly renewed the violence from 8 July and his forces have continued to attack the opposition's forces.

He further claimed that President Kiir did not want Machar as his deputy because Machar wanted the peace agreement to be fully implemented with all the various reforms as provided for in the agreement, adding that Kiir wanted Taban Deng who would be cooperating with the President to only implement what they wanted and avoid what they did not want in the agreement.

Dak dismissed the complaints that Machar was acting like a co-president and making Kiir's life difficult, saying those who complained about the executive status of Machar per the peace agreement did not either understand the power sharing provisions in the agreement or simply disliked the powers given to Machar by the peace agreement.

“Well, they should understand that by the virtue of his offices as First Vice President of the Republic, as the Chairman of the SPLM (IO) party and as the Commander-in-Chief of the SPLA (IO) co-national army, and the powers vested in him by the peace agreement, of course one would say, yes, Dr. Riek Machar was like a co-president. And this was to try to ensure checks and balances in implementing the agreement, particularly that we were dealing with a dictator who even reluctantly signed the agreement with countless reservations and also warned not to implement some of the provisions,” Dak said.

The fact that Machar had to nominate 10 national ministers, 3 governors, a huge number of parliamentarians, an army he commands and he was put in charge of supervising the implementation of the agreement and coordinating its implementation with the rest of the partners in the region and beyond, he said, was what made President Kiir's regime to describe him as a “co-president.”

Dak described President Kiir and his “regime” as lucky for violating the peace agreement with impunity as those who mediated and guaranteed the agreement have not acted to stop him from the violations and the continued rejection to work with Machar again.

“I would say President Salva Kiir's regime is lucky, although I don't know for how long they will continue to be gambling. You cannot attempt to assassinate your deputy and peace partner, killing his bodyguards, and then attack his residence and force him out of the capital, replace him illegally, pursue him in the bushes and into exile and continue to attack his forces as well as innocent civilians across the country and yet you get away with these serious violations and crimes,” he said.

He said there are some players in the region and the international community who do not read the situation correctly.

The current “new regime” in Juba, he claimed, has already returned the country back to the civil war, saying fighting has continued in many places in Equatoria, Upper Nile and in Bahr el Ghazal regions, further claiming that Kiir's forces are on offensive against the opposition's army, the SPLA-IO, and against the civilians too.

He however said it was not up to President Kiir to determine whether or not Machar would return to Juba, saying the opposition leader will be in Juba any time soon to save the nation from the “corrupt and warmongering dictatorial regime” whether the president liked it or not.

Dak claimed that the government has been targeting civilians which it was supposed to protect by instead killing, maiming, torturing them, raping women and young girls and displacing people from their villages, and “exposing them to extreme hunger and poverty and die from curable diseases as well.”

The SPLM-IO, he explained, was committed to the full implementation of the August 2015 peace deal, which he said, President Kiir interrupted with violence from 8 July, and warned that the opposition will be forced to end the ongoing mess and bad leadership in the country using other means.

“We are for peace. We are for resuscitation of the peace agreement. But if resuscitating the peace agreement will not come to light, we will be forced to use other necessary options to get to Juba and liberate the people from this violent, failed leadership,” he said.

He however added that the opposition's leadership has been calling on the region and the international community at large to help revive the peace deal.

(ST)

October 16, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Gibril Ibrahim said they have released all detainees and Prisoners of War (POWs) from the government army and breakaway factions pointing they are waiting for the Red Cross to transfer them to their families.

Gibril Ibrahim (AFP)

Last month, JEM announced the release of all detainees and POWs from government forces in response to appeals from religious leaders, civil society organizations and prestigious national figures.

Ibrahim told Sudan Tribune on Saturday in Paris that they have “released all government POWs and pardoned JEM defectors who were tried for high treason”.

“We went to the Red Cross and handed them the issue and they are making arrangements to issue permissions from various governments … they are now on this stage and we hope they complete their procedures … we wish the POWs arrive to their families,” he added.

He stressed that his movement is committed to its pledge regarding the release of the POWs, saying this obligation is “irreversible”.

It is noteworthy that several JEM defectors have been detained by the movement since three years ago.

Last month, the political advisor of the (JEM-Dabago), a breakaway group from JEM, Nahar Osman Nahar, told Sudan Tribune that more than 100 POWs and detainees are currently being held in JEM's prisons including former members of the executive office and commanders from the movement such as Hashim Haroun besides other civilian detainees.

He said that nine detainees from JEM-Dabago are still detained by JEM after 9 others managed to flee from the movement's prisons in Deim Zubeir Camp in Western Bahr el Ghazal region, South Sudan.

(ST)

October 16, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese president, Salva Kiir, has issued a republican order forming a joint committee tasked to remove obstacles and facilitate access and delivery of humanitarian assistances to people in need across the country.

South Sudanese preasident Salva Kiir (AFP)

The president, according to the broadcast by the government's owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), appointed cabinet affairs minister, Martin Elia Lomoro as the head of the committee. The committee also drew membership of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and a representative of the United Nations Office for Coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

Other members of the committee include Hussein Mar Nyuot, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Awut Deng Acuil, minister for Gender, Child and Social Welfare.

Military, security and police officers and officials named by the order include Lieutenant General Mangar Buong, Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA's) Deputy Chief of General Staff for Operations, Lieutenant General, Akol Koor Kuch, Director General for Internal Security Bureau from the National Security Service and Lieutenant General James Biel Ruot, Deputy Inspector General of Police.

Lokulenge Lole Timayo, Chairman of the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC), is also in the list of the officials named by the presidential order to oversee the humanitarian activities.

The work of the committee, according to the order, is to identify sources of obstacles and remove all the illegal road blocks which the Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) say are hindering aid delivery in various parts of the country.

The decision came after several complaints by relief organizations that their activities have been hindered by security forces in the country.

(ST)

October 16, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government under the leadership of President Salva Kiir on Saturday said it was working with foreign powers to find a country where the armed opposition leader, Riek Machar, should stay in exile without involving in political activities and affairs of the country.

First Vice President Riek Machar greets SPLM-IO officials at Juba airport upon his arrival, April 26, 2016 (ST Photo)

Information Minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, said the government has slapped a political ban on the rebel chief, Riek Machar, following his call for armed resistance against President Kiir.

Lueth, who speaks for the government as its spokesman told reporters in Juba on Friday evening that Machar will not be allowed to talk politics in South Sudan, instead advising him to seek asylum in a country of his choice.

He claimed that the government is working with foreign powers to identify a country where Machar can live in peacefully away from politics.

"He is being exiled. He will not be coming back to South Sudan and he will never be allowed to talk politics any longer," Lueth told reporters.

The Minister's remarks followed comments by President Kiir in which he conditioned return of his main political rival to the country, saying he would only accept his return if he denounces violence and come back to the country as a normal citizen without official assignment.

Kiir said he was now enjoying good working relationship with the new first vice president, Taban Deng, whom he controversially appointed in the place of Machar.

Machar fled Juba in July after fierce clashes between his forces and those loyal to president Kiir, leading to his ouster as first vice president in a unity government formed in April.

Machar has since declared war on Juba in a bid to topple Kiir's government, a move condemned by the international community.

His opposition officials described the call to exile Machar as “rubbish”, saying he is the chairman of the SPLM in Opposition party and commander in chief of the SPLA in Opposition army inside the country and said the government has no power to ban him from South Sudan.

(ST)

South African Neil Tovey, the only white man to captain an Africa Cup of Nations-winning team, is in a critical condition after a heart attack.

Zamalek coach Moemen Soliman insists his club can come back from three goals down against Mamelodi Sundowns in the second leg of the African Champions League.

Vets have worked to release a rhino in Lake Chivero Recreational Park of a rather unusual muzzle.

October 15, 2016 (PARIS) - The leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Gibril Ibrahim said his movement and two other holdout groups will send a joint delegation to Ndjamena in response to an initiative by the Chadian President Idriss Deby to discuss ways for a peaceful settlement in Darfur region.

Sudan's President Omer al-Bashir and his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby (L) listen to the national anthem during opening session of Sudan National Dialogue conference in Khartoum October 10, 2015. (Photo SUNA)

Ibrahim, and Abdel Wahid al-Nur, leader of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) met with President Deby in Berlin Wednesday. Minni Minnawi, the leader of (SLM-MM) faction didn't not attend the meeting but was informed about its content and accepted the invitation.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune in the French capital Paris on Saturday, he said that President Deby briefed them about the outcome of the dialogue conference and expressed his keenness to achieve peace in Sudan.

He added that Deby who is also the leader of the African Union gave his advice on this respect as he did in the previous meetings with him of 2014 and 2015.

The President Deby was among four African leaders who attended the closing session of the National Dialogue Conference in Khartoum on 10 October. The political event was also attended by the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt and Mauritian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

JEM leader further said they welcomed any role he can play to break the deadlock in the African Union brokered peace talks in order to reach a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements before a comprehensive national constitutional process. Also they said ready to work with him for a comprehensive and just peace in Darfur.

Regarding the upcoming meeting in Ndjamena, he said "they didn't discuss concrete steps on how to organise the meeting or its agenda", but pointed that all these points would be finalize in the near future.

Last month, President Museveni facilitated an informal meeting in Addis Ababa between the government, JEM and SLM-MM over the pending issues for a humanitarian truce, and peace in Darfur. But the parties ended the discussions without progress.

The armed groups in Darfur and the government diverge on the technical implementation of the cessation of hostilities and how to distribute the humanitarian assistance. On Darfur file, the two armed groups demand to discuss four issues related to the security, IDPs resettlement, landownership and Darfur administrative system. But the government refuses it saying all these claims are already dealt in the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

When asked about the Chadian role, he underscored that Chad as a neighbouring country is concerned by the stability in Darfur region, pointing to the tribal links and economic interests the two countries are sharing.

"We know what we want and what Deby wants. So, if we do not find what we want we will not go to Ndjamena," he further said.

He stressed that AUHIP led process remains the main venue for peace talks with the Sudanese government, adding it has the regional and international support.

Ibrahim said SLM-AW leader will to take part in Ndjamena meeting and expressed hope that Abdel Wahid al-Nur changes his mind over the negotiations with Khartoum, saying the three groups had negotiated with the government in 2004 in Abuja.

In a separate statement on the meeting with the President Deby, the SLM-AW leader, said he thanked him for hosting more than 350,000 refugees officially registered in Chad and additional 650,000 unregistered Sudanese refugees.

"I told him that we look forward to building a solid relationship with the Republic of Chad and that President Deby plays a pivotal role in the resolution of Sudan's crisis" al-Nur further said..

However, he reiterated his demands for the return of refugees and displaced person to their homeland, to protect them and to achieve justice in Darfur, after what his movement can negotiate the root causes of the conflict.

He also repeated their rejection of the national dialogue and its outcome adding they would not be part of a process to reproduce the regime.

"We seek and look forward to a comprehensive and sustainable peace in our country, leading to achieve change and not to the reproduction of genocidal regime," al-Nur said.

The African Union process which includes JEM and SLM-MM, provides that once the humanitarian truce is reached, the Sudan Call groups and the government would discuss the political confidence building measures in order to create a conducive environment for a constitutional process in Khartoum.

Commenting on the dialogue conference, JEM organisation and administration official Abu Bakr Hamid said the meeting came out with good recommendations on the issues of Sudan's identity, freedoms and economy. However he stressed that the problem now is how to implement it, pointing to the regime lack of seriousness towards its previous commitments.

JEM leader Ibrahim said that the outcome of Khartoum conference can be considered as "the first phase" of a holistic process including all the Sudanese forces, adding that its recommendations would represent the position of the government and its allied political forces.

(ST)

October 15, 2016 (LEER) - A senior official from Southern Liech, one of South Sudan's new states, was killed in an ambush laid by members of the armed opposition forces (SPLM-IO) in Pieliny, an area situated about 10km from Leer town.

The map of Unity state in red

Weirial Puok Baluang, an spokesperson for the armed opposition forces, identified the deceased as Gai Koryom Wedi, a security advisor in the state.

The official was reportedly killed alongside other senior and junior officers.

The attack, Puok told Sudan Tribune, was in retaliation for several provocations allegedly by pro-government forces on their positions.

He, however, claimed the SPLM-IO had gained more territories around Leer county, ever since fighting started on 13 October between the two rival forces in the country.

According to Puok, the rebels inflicted heavy losses on government soldiers, capturing various firearms, including Israeli-made weapons.

"[The] SPLA-IO captured 14 different advanced weapons [2015 Israeli made guns] in good conditions" he said, although Sudan Tribune could not verify these claims.

South Sudan's peace accord, signed in 2015, is considered fragile and could derail the little progress so far made in recent months. The deal ended months of civil war.

The young nation descended into war in mid-December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of a coup attempt. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced in South Sudan's worst ever violence since it broke away from Sudan in 2011.

(ST)