Africa

September 5, 2016 (TORIT) - The Governor of Namorunyang, one of South Sudan's newly created states has urged youths to refrain from cattle raids and embracesl peace.

Eastern Equatoria state governor Louis Lobong Lojore (ST)

Louis Lobong Lojore made these remarks during a community meeting with residents in Kauto county last Friday.

He appealed to the community and youth leaders to organize reconciliation processes among the different tribes in the state.

Governor Lojore further urged communities in Kauto to help identify cattle recently raided by suspected gangs from neighbouring Ethiopia.

I have come with the MPs and chiefs from various section of toposa in order to meet the population of this kauto county in regards to the question of cattle raiding between them and the population of the county which comprise of Nyangtom, Toposa, explained the governor.

"In the consultative meeting with the chiefs and the citizens of Nyangchor the community all agree that there was need to reconcile with the community in Ethiopia and also they agree to recover all the stolen cattle's that they have stolen," he added.

According to the state governor, community members also tasked them to carryout consultations with the Ethiopian government so that all the stolen cattle are returned to the rightful owners.

“The meeting was very fruitful, we also touched some other issues," stressed Lobong.

Some local chiefs have welcomed the move and vowed to work together with the government on peace initiatives.

Governor Lobong was accompanied by the Toposa elders and lawmakers for the five-day peace mission in search of peace within the border community in Kauto county.

(ST)

September 5, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan government has downplayed concerns from among senior party and government officials that deployment of protection force from countries in the region as authorized by the United Nations Security Council would undermine national sovereignty.

Officials loyal to President Salva Kiir said they only accepted the deployment in principle, but which details are yet to be agreed upon with the United Nations.

“What the government has done was the reiteration of commitment to implementing peace and to confirm in principle the acceptance of the protection force. But this does not mean this force will be deployed without the consent of the government. The communiqué was very clear. The government will have a role to play in discussing technical matters,” said cabinet affairs minister, Martin Elia Lomuro.

Minister Lomuro, who attempted to allay fears of the pro-government supporters opposed to the deployment of protection force, however said international support to implement peace for the country to be stable was very important part in regional security.

"What is important as the people of South Sudan, regardless of the ruling party in the country, is that we must always have a unique and common goal, which is to maintain peace and stability. President Salva Kiir is up to the task. He wants peace to prevail so that the country can move forward,” he said.

He explained that he is "certain" that all parties interested in maintaining peace in the country "will assist in one way or another" to pursue that goal.

"All parties will work hand in hand, taking into account that peace and stability in the country represent the maximum interest for all relevant parties,” he said.

But while the cabinet affairs minister confirmed the acceptance of the deployment of the regional protection force, other officials claimed that the government did not agree with the United Nations Security Council's visiting officials to deploy foreign forces without prior consent and agreement on details.

They argued that the government on Sunday in a communiqué it signed with the UN Security Council only “consented" but did not "accept" the deployment of the force.

The "consent" which the government has given, according to opponents of the deployment of the protection force, means that it has agreed in principle to the deployment of foreign troops but not necessarily acceptance unconditionally.

The objective, they argued, was to enable further discussions to take place between the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the army, and other stakeholders to work out the modalities.

The latest development comes amid fierce internal criticism after it appeared the government buckled under the UN Security Council's pressure during their three days of visit to Juba.

Before succumbing to the pressure to accept the deployment of forces, President Kiir earlier repeatedly said he would not allow a single additional foreign troop to deploy in South Sudan.

However, after meeting the delegation from the Security Council on Sunday, the government announced that it has accepted the deployment of 4,000 troops to “protect the people of South Sudan”, pending confirmation of its details.

(ST)

September 5, 2016 (JUBA)- South Sudan government under the leadership of President Salva Kiir has assured visiting members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that it would cooperate with the African Union (AU) in expeditious formation of the hybrid court to try individuals accused of war crimes in the world's youngest nation.

UNSC delegation meets Ethiopian PM in Addis Ababa over the deployment of South Sudan protection force on 5 September 2016 (ENA photo)

As part of the joint communique issued after a meeting between the UNSC delegation and President Kiir in Juba, the hybrid court will be formed once the AU provides other details.

“The Transitional government of national unity signals it readiness to implement chapter five of the agreement on the resolution of the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan – including to work with the African Union setting up the hybrid court for South Sudan as soon as the African Union provides proposal for the its work as provided for in that agreement,” said South Sudan's cabinet affair minister, Martin Elias Lomoro.

Lomoro said this while reading a prepared statement to reporters in Juba on Sunday.

Chapter V of the Peace Agreement signed in August 2015 to end 21 months of conflict between government and SPLM in Opposition forces required accountability for the war crimes and other human rights abuses committed during the war.

The armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO) leader and former first vice president Riek Machar supports the formation of hybrid court but President Kiir appears to avoid setting up of the court in op-ed article published by New York Times in May this year.

The AU Commission of Inquiry established in early 2014 found that both sides to the conflict committed crimes including rapes, targeted killing and forced disappearance.

(ST)

September 5, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir has been invited by the Moroccan King Mohamed VI to participate in the 2016 United Nations Climate Summit which will be held in Rabat in November.

Sudan's President Omer Hassan al-Bashir waits to welcome Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni at Khartoum Airport September 15, 2015 (REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

On Monday, Morocco's ambassador to Khartoum Mohamed Maa al-Ainain has handed al-Bashir a written letter from the Moroccan monarch inviting him to attend the conference and discussing bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to promote them.

In statements following the meeting, the Moroccan ambassador expressed appreciation to the great role played by Sudan to support Morocco, saying his country's hosting of the UN summit represent an important move to intensify and unify efforts to activate climate policies that matters to the African continent.

SUPPORT FOR YEMEN

Meanwhile, al-Bashir on Monday has discussed with the Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed in Dagher various aspects of bilateral ties between the two countries.

Following the meeting; Dagher told reporters that al-Bashir expresses keenness to support Yemen, describing relations between the two countries as strong and historic.

He pointed the meeting discussed ways to promote political, security and military cooperation between the two countries, saying the two sides held identical views on regional issues.

The Yemeni prime minister further praised Sudan's support for Yemen and the Arab nations, saying leadership of both nations seek to enhance bilateral ties and achieve security and stability in the region.

He added that Sudan is considered a key player in the Arab coalition that seeks to restore stability, peace and legitimacy in Yemen.

Sudan participates with over 850 troops in the Saudi-led "Decisive Storm" coalition against the Iranian-allied Houthi militants in Yemen.

(ST)

September 5, 2016 (JUBA) – Mabior Garang de Mabior, chairperson of national committee for information and public relations in the opposition faction of the SPLM-IO commended the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for forcing the government under the leadership of President Salva Kiir to accept deployment of additional regional troops to the war-ravaged country.

He however added that it was important for the opposition forces of the SPLA-IO to participate in the further negotiations on the details of the force deployment.

“The Leadership of the SPLM/SPLA - in Opposition (IO) welcomes the Joint Communique by the SPLM/SPLA in Government (IG) and the members of the United Nations Security Council, dated 2016/09/04. The SPLM/SPLA – IO salutes the courage of the other warring party in reaching this decision after being vehemently opposed to it,” Mabior said in a press statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday.

“The SPLM/SPLA IO believes this is an important step in resolving the contradictions that have emerged in the implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) after the collapse of the security arrangements on 2016/07/08,” Mabior added.

Mabior, also a member of the political bureau, the highest political executive organ of the opposition party, argued that the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) should also consult with the opposition faction under the leadership of Machar on the details of the deployment of the force.

“The SPLM/SPLA – IO, under the leadership of the legitimate Chairman and Commander in Chief of the SPLM/SPLA Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhuorgon; who is also the legitimate First Vice President, advises the SPLM/SPLA – IG and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to consult the SPLM/SPLA – IO in any negotiations for the deployment of the Regional Protection Force,” he said.

This, he added, will ensure that the forces of the SPLA-IO will “observe” any decision made during the negotiations.

“The SPLM/SPLA (IO) would also like to take this opportunity to express our full commitment to the full implementation of UNSC Resolution 2304 and all related communiques, which will allow the leadership of the SPLM/SPLA – IO to leave the UNMISS PoC's and return to resume the implementation of the ARCISS in letter and spirit. This will also ensure the return of the legitimate FVP who was forced to flee Juba after the collapse of the Security Arrangements of the ARCISS on 2016/07/08,” he added.

Mabior, eldest son to late leader John Garang de Mabior, who founded the SPLM ruling party in 1983, is currently in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where he fled to following the 8 July clashes in the capital, Juba.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

September 5, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) delegation on Monday arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where it conferred with Ethiopian Prime Minister on peace implementation in the troubled South Sudan.

The high-level meeting comes only one day after South Sudan's President Salva Kiir government finally accepted the deployment of a regional protection force, agreed by IGAD and authorized by the UNSC.

Juba's decision was announced after the UNSC delegation held meeting with President Salva Kiir.

Following yesterday's meeting South Sudan's cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elias Lomoro read out the joint communiqué agreed by the Juba government and the UNSC in the capital, Juba.

“To improve the security situation, the Transitional Government of National Unity gave it consent to the deployment, as part of the UNMISS, of the regional protection force recently authorized by the United Nations Security Resolution 2304,” said Lomoro

The UNSC delegation came to Ethiopia to brief the IGAD chairperson about South Sudan's decision on the deployment of the regional force and to discuss with the regional bloc on the steps that to be taken in this respect.

In Addis Ababa, members of the United Nations Security Council said they had fruitful discussion with Ethiopian premier on ways of deploying the regional protection force.

UNSC's delegation head and New Zealand's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Phillip Taula told reporters that the delegation had good discussion with the South Sudanese government.

“Discussion about the role and purpose of the deployed force will be held with IGAD,” said Taula.

Ethiopian Primer and IGAD chairman, Hailemariam Desalegn, stressed the need to exert concentrated collaboration among the various stakeholders in South Sudan for peace to prevail in the youngest nation.

Hailemariam elaborated on the procedure and course of actions needed to deploy the 4,000 strong regional Protection Force.

He said military chiefs from IGAD member states are finalizing preparations to deploy the third party force as soon as possible.

The Ethiopian leader called on UNSC, AU and IGAD to exert collective efforts to bring durable peace in South Sudan and help out the war-torn east African nation conducts a national election scheduled for 2018.

He further noted that the conflict in South Sudan is a threat to peace and stability of the volatile east African region and further could create a safe haven for terrorist elements affiliated with al-Qaida.

It is not yet clear if, former First Vice President and armed opposition leader, Riek Machar, would return to his home country once the regional force is deployed.

Machar had previously refused to return to South Sudan's capital Juba unless a regional force is deployed.

Machar fled the capital Juba, some two month ago following fierce fighting between opposition and government forces in the capital which led to attempts to kill him.

Opposition officials today told Sudan Tribune that Machar is in Khartoum in good condition.

They urged that he is immediately reinstated to his posts as first vice-president hence he is the legitimate person to assume the position per the recognition by IGAD.

(ST)

September 5, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The United Nations Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Aristide Nononsi has called on the Sudanese government to create a conducive environment for a free and fair national dialogue with the participation of all stakeholders.

United Nations Independent Expert, Aristide Nononsi, visits the national dialogue exposition in Khartoum on 14 April 2016 (ST Photo)

In his report, which covers the period from October 2015 to June 2016, , Nononsi also demanded rebel groups to put the “interest of the people of the Sudan first and engage in negotiations and dialogue with the Government of the Sudan”.

He said that human rights situation in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile remains precarious, pointing to the continued fighting and breaches of human rights and international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict.

“Hundreds of thousands of civilians continue to suffer the effects of the armed conflict through direct attacks, displacement and limited access to humanitarian assistance.

The peace process continues to face significant challenges without the active participation of some major armed movements”.

The Sudanese army has been fighting the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile since 2011 and a group of armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

According to the UN, 200,000 people have been killed in the conflict, and 2, 5 million chased from their homes.

The report, which will be presented before the 33rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council from13 to 30 September 2016 in Geneva, urged the government to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to all humanitarian organizations so that they could provide the assistance necessary to persons displaced by the conflicts in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States.

Nononsi expressed concern about human rights challenges raised in his previous report that the Sudanese government had still not addressed.

“These included the violations committed during the oil-subsidy demonstrations in September 2013, press censorship, harassment of human rights defenders and curtailment of activities of civil society organizations, restrictions on freedom of religion, as well as arrests and detention of student activists”.

He encouraged the Sudanese authorities to ensure that an independent judicial inquiry was conducted into the killings of the September 2013 protests, saying he was informed about the ongoing compensation process for victims and families of victims of these incidents.

“Impunity for human rights violations would send the wrong message to victims, perpetrators and the wider public and would undermine the rule of law,” he said.

The demonstrations erupted in Sudan's major towns in September 2013 following a decision by the government to lift subsidies on fuel and other basic commodities, leading to calls for regime change.

At least 200 protesters died, 15 of them children, with more than 800 others detained. However, the Sudanese government puts the death toll at 80.

The report pointed to the continued to clamp down on press and civil society organizations, stressing the need for the government to allow journalists human rights defenders to carry out their activities in an open, safe and secure environment.

The independent expert further called on the government to continue the process of reviewing national laws to comply with international human rights standards, stressing the need to withdraw “law enforcement powers, including the power of arrest and detention, from the National Intelligence and Security Service”.

“During the reporting period, there were widespread reports of arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention perpetrated by the National Intelligence and Security Service,” he said.

It is noteworthy that Nononsi visited Sudan one time during the reporting period, from 14 to 28 April 2016.

(ST)

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From Bible apps to Muslim web directories, faith tech is spreading the word the length and breadth of Africa.

By Eric Reeves

A new announcement by the Darfur Bar Association (DBA) makes clear how shamefully the U.S. has abandoned the men who courageously dared to meet with Obama administration special envoy for the Sudans, Donald Booth, in late July of this year:

Eight of the detainees were released in August. The seven others, Ahmed Suleiman, Adam Mohamed Ali, Ali Abdelaziz Adam, El Tijani Mohamed Seifeldin, Nasreldin Yousef Abdelrahman, Adam Hamid Adam, and Ahmed Abdallah Omar were transferred to Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, on Thursday, 25 August. The Darfur lawyers state that they sent a memo to the National Commission for Human Rights, “to no avail.” (Radio Dabanga | Khartoum | September 4, 2016)

These men have committed no crime; their only “offense” is (in the words of the DBA) to have:

…met with the US envoy, on his request, during his visit to Darfur in end July. A member of the committee informed Radio Dabanga at the time that they told Booth about the killings, rapes, detentions, and torture by the government and its militias, and the occupation of their land by new settlers.

Those in transferred to Zalingei are in the custody of the Khartoum regime's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), and face the prospect of indefinite incarceration, torture, and life in poor conditions. Some of those detained are in poor health or need medical treatment; as the DBA noted in its August 14, 2016 statement:

“We fear that the detained may be subjected to mistreatment and torture. Among the detained are a number of elderly people who suffer from chronic diseases, and need regular medical care.”

The realities that these courageous men reported were in fact well known to Booth, by virtue of briefings provided to his office by human rights researchers and continuous reports from Radio Dabanga. Yet he chose to invite these leaders to meet with him, knowing full well that all who spoke with him would be identified by NISS or Military Intelligence, directly or by way of informants. Neither Booth nor the men themselves were in any way naïve about the risks associated with speaking bluntly to a senior Obama administration official about the horrific realities of the brutal military assault on the people of Jebel Marra, beginning in January of this year.

It was thus morally incumbent upon Booth and the administration he represents to speak and act forcefully to secure the release of the men endangered by Booth's invitation to meet. Instead, a statement was released by the State Department on August 12, 2016:

The United States is gravely concerned about the Sudanese government's ongoing detention of at least 15 Darfuri individuals, including one Sudanese national employee of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). The detentions followed a visit by Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth to Sudan's North and Central Darfur states as well as internally displaced persons (IDP) camps at Sortoni and Nertiti in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur from July 26-28, 2016. Many others who were not detained were nonetheless questioned by security officials about the nature of their contact with the Special Envoy.

The United States immediately expressed its concern about the reported detentions to senior Sudanese officials, and we call on the Government of Sudan to immediately release all of those detained.

The response of the Khartoum regime came five days later, reported on August 16, 2016 by the Sudan Tribune,

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour Tuesday has denied the arrest of Darfuris who had met the United States Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan during a recent visit to Darfur region. Last Friday, U.S. State Department issued a statement condemning the arrest of 15 people including a local employee of Darfur hybrid peacekeeping mission (UNAMID), after a meeting with Ambassador Donald Booth who visited North and Central Darfur states from 26 to 28 July…

In statements to the official news agency SUNA on Tuesday, Ghandour said they had been informed about the alleged detention by the Special Envoy Booth after his return from Darfur. He added that they approached the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) which denied the claim.

"This is the official answer that we received, and the Envoy is aware of this answer,” Ghandour said. However he was quick to add, “Maybe, there is someone arrested by the local authorities."

The Obama administration has offered no public response to Ghandour's denial of what their own “press statement” asserted: that the men in question were detained following—and because of—their meeting with Booth and that responsibility was Khartoum's, not that of “local officials.” The agents of detention for Khartoum's National Islamic Front/National Congress Party regime are inevitably part of the security services, fully under the control and direction of the regime.

It is now over a month since the men were detained and over three weeks since the Obama administration's expression of “grave concern”; there is no evidence that release of the seven men is in prospect. It is exceedingly difficult to believe that there are serious “back channel” efforts at securing the release of these men by the Obama administration, which continues to seek rapprochement with the Khartoum regime despite the ongoing genocidal violence in Darfur—and in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The “detainees”—such a useful euphemism for arrests without warrant or due process or prospect for trial or release—continue to languish in Zalingei jails or NISS headquarters, and their chances for release diminish by the day.

The confidence of this brutal but canny regime in playing its “international cards” with the U.S. and the EU has grown dramatically with the refugee crisis in Europe, and the willingness of the Europeans to fund “concentration camps” for potential emigrants. These camps will be provided sophisticated, high-technology surveillance and registration equipment; the Germans are evidently to build the camps themselves, an unspeakably grim irony.

Diplomatically stiffing the Obama administration over seven Darfuri men seems of no consequence.

We Have Seen This Before

This episode is emblematic of the “Sudan policy” the Obama administration is bequeathing its successor administration. Candidate Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State when the important elements of this policy were fashioned, but the administration inherited the reality that essential Sudan policy had long since migrated from the State Department to the intelligence community and the military, at least in determining the broadest contours of how fully Khartoum must be accommodated so as to continue the putative flow of “counter-terrorism intelligence” to the U.S.

The degree of that accommodation during the current administration can be traced back to the extraordinarily expedient and destructive two-year tenure of Obama's first special envoy for Sudan, Air Force Major-General (ret.) Scott Gration. Gration gained fame mainly for suggesting that the best way to deal with a regime of génocidaires was by offering them “gold stars,” “cookies,” and “smiley faces”:

"We've got to think about giving out cookies," said Gration, who was appointed [Special Envoy for Sudan] in March. "Kids, countries—they react to gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk, engagement." (Washington Post [el-Fasher, North Darfur] September 29, 2009)

The consequences of such fantastic policy premises are in ghastly evidence today throughout Darfur, Blue Nile, South Kordofan, and in the collapse of the kleptocratic economy throughout Sudan.

Supporting Gration at key moments was current Obama administration Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry's policy views on Sudan—north and South—can only be described as callous and cynical. Perhaps most revealing is the Obama administration response to Khartoum's expulsion from Darfur (March 2009) of thirteen of the world's finest and most important humanitarian relief organizations—roughly 50 percent of humanitarian capacity in Darfur at the time, according to highly informed UN sources. The implications of the expulsions were recognized by all. President Obama declared:

"We have to figure out a mechanism to get those [expelled international humanitarian organizations] back in place to reverse that decision, or to find some mechanism whereby we avert an enormous humanitarian crisis, [Obama said].'" (Transcript of remarks of March 30, 2009)

Gration for his part declared that, "We have to come up with a solution [to the humanitarian crisis] on the ground in the next few weeks" (Agence France-Presse [Khartoum], April 4, 2009). But since Khartoum proved unyielding—humanitarian capacity never recovered and is now far below 2009 levels—it fell to Kerry to put a happy face on a situation in which millions of people were to continue suffering and dying; he did so with supreme disingenuousness:

"'We have agreement [with Khartoum] that in the next weeks we will be back to 100 percent [humanitarian] capacity,' said Kerry." (Reuters [el-Fasher, North Darfur], April 17, 2009)

Kerry knew full well this was impossible even if Khartoum had been cooperative, when in fact it simply continued its relentless war of attrition against humanitarian operations in Darfur (more than a dozen organizations have been expelled or forced to leave afteer the March 2009 expulsions). “Agreements” with the Khartoum regime, as Kerry also well knew, are utterly meaningless: it has never abided by any agreement involving “domestic” issues…not one, not ever.

Kerry also weighed in when the fate of Abyei was in the balance (fall 2010) declaring that "‘a few hundred square miles [his characterization of Abyei] cannot be allowed to stand in the way of progress when the fate of millions of people is at stake.'” In fact, Abyei as defined by the Abyei Protocol of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)(2005) was at least 4,000 square miles until it was seized militarily by Khartoum in May 2011, in part because of the dismissive views expressed by Kerry and Obama administration officials. The region has de facto been annexed by Sudan and the indigenous Ngok Dinka people fully betrayed.

Eight Years of Shame

Running for the president, Barack Obama declared that Darfur was a “stain on our souls,” and that “as a president of the United States I don't intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.” The “stain” remains and the “abandonment” of the men in held in Darfur for speaking with a senior Obama administration official becomes more complete by the day.

—

Eric Reeves, Senior Fellow at Harvard University's François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights

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September 4, 2016 (JUBA) - The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has, in coordination with local authorities and South Sudan's Commission for Refugee Affairs, opened a new refugee camp in the northern part of the country's oil-rich Unity state.

New arrivals wait in line to register with the UNHCR at the Yida refugee camp along the Sudan-South Sudan border on 3 July 2012 (Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

The new facility, the UNHCR said in a statement, will provide better protection and services to Sudanese refugees relocating from Yida settlement and new arrivals from the war-torn Nuba Mountains.

The new camp, some 80 km south of the contested border with Sudan, it further said, is ready to accommodate up to 20,000 people at the moment. UNHCR and partners have so far demarcated 5,000 family plots, built a primary school and a health care centre.

“Drinking water is available through a sun-powered water pumping system and teachers are on site to start classes as soon as the school term resumes,” partly reads the agency's statement issued Sunday.

“Our aim is to ensure that refugees access to quality services according to international standards, but our long-term strategy is to provide them with the tools and means that enable them to become more self-reliant and less dependent on humanitarian assistance,” said UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner George Okoth-Obbo.

“This means boosting education, investing in agriculture and skill development opportunities,” he added.

According to the agency, in addition to hosting the newly opened refugee camp in Pamir, northern Unity state has two other refugee settlements: Yida, right next to the contested border with Sudan, with a population of 59,000 people and Ajuong Thok, home to more than 40,000 refugees. The latter camp, it said, has received some 10,000 new arrivals from South Kordofan in first eight months of 2016 as well as more than 4,400 refugees who had previously registered in Yida.

“With Ajuong Thok at full capacity, we had no option but opening a new camp,” said Okoth-Obbo.

“We cannot thank enough the authorities and communities of South Sudan for being so generous and hospitable to the refugees. Without their support, we never would have been able to extend protection and assistance to refugees in the first place,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, the governor of Northern Unity state, Mayol Kur Akuei said that refugees and local communities have been living together peacefully for the past five years, sharing land and resources.

“We appreciate the great cooperation with UNHCR and we hope that this partnership will go a long way as to also benefit our communities, who are often in worst conditions than the refugees”, he said.

The initial development of Pamir camp, UNHCR said, was possible as a result of funds from Canada, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Educate a Child Initiative, ECHO, Germany and the United States. Additional contributions will be required to extend development of Pamir to its full intended capacity of 52,000.

In war-torn South Sudan, UNHCR reportedly works with authorities and partners to protect and assist nearly 260,000 refugees and is also part of the multi-agency response to 1.61 million internally displaced people, as lead of the protection cluster.

(ST)

The United Nations Security Council wrapped up a three-day visit to South Sudan today by reaffirming its support for peace in South Sudan and reiterated its calls to the government to fulfill commitments announced in a joint communique.

September 4, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir will not participate in the upcoming summit of the Non-Aligned Movement which will be held in Venezuela this month, the foreign ministry announced Sunday.

Sudan's President Omer Hassan al-Bashir, left, is welcomed by Indian foreign minister Vijay Kumar Singh as he arrives for the India Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi, October 28, 2015. (Photo AP/Saurabh Das)

During the recent years, al-Bashir adopted a defiant position toward the Hague based war crimes court and travelled across the world to take part in international meeting and conferences.

Last August Sudanese government announced considering Bashir participation in the meeting, despite the fact that Venezuela is a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

However in a statement released Sunday, the foreign ministry said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahim Ghandour, will lead Sudan's delegation to the 17th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement that will be held in Caracas from 3 to 18 September.

The ministry's spokesperson Ambassador Garib Allah Khidir Sudan's delegation during the international gathering will develop six key issues including the ongoing efforts reach a peaceful settlement ending armed conflicts in the Two Areas and Darfur and the national dialogue process.

Khidir further added that these issues will be included in the main document of the summit.

The 17th summit will discuss issues related to terrorism, sustainable development and economic cooperation, , and the Middle East issues and the impacts of climate.

(ST)

September 4, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan's main armed opposition faction led by former First Vice President, Riek Machar, said it has commended the “clear message” from the visiting United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to deploy thousands of more peacekeepers to the troubled nation with the mandate to protect the people of South Sudan from the “irresponsible” government led by President Salva Kiir.

South Sudan's former FVP Riek Machar, speaking to visitors at his residence in Khartoum, on 1 September 2016 (courtesy photo of SPLM-IO)

A five-member team from the UN Security Council, led by Samantha Power, the United States permanent representative to the Council, visited Juba from Thursday for talks with the government on the deployment of 4,000 “protection force” and to acquaint themselves with the humanitarian situation on the ground.

The Security Council members reminded President Kiir's government about the resolution the Council passed in August for the deployment of the troops and called on the government to comply.

The UN Security Council also condemned the replacement of Machar after the 8 July clashes, saying the action was “inconsistent” with the peace agreement signed by Kiir and Machar in August last year, which ended 21 months of civil war. The East African regional bloc, IGAD, also called for reinstatement of Machar as the First Vice President upon his return to Juba and once the regional force is deployed in the capital.

The government had earlier rejected the deployment of the forces, but gradually modified its position by accepting the force deployment in “principle” subject to further negotiations on the details of the force.

However, in a public statement while in Juba, the U.S. Representative to the Security Council, Samantha Power, warned the government against rejecting the deployment of the troops, revealing that any noncompliance would result to the Council resorting to a “Plan B.”

Although no details have yet emerged about what the Plan B would be, the UNSC resolution includes imposition of sanctions and arms embargo on the country which is already experiencing deteriorating economic situation.

The Security Council also urged the African Union to establish an hybrid court in South Sudan to try leaders implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity beginning from 15 December 2013 when civilians were massacred, including in the capital, Juba.

Meanwhile, the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) under the leadership of Machar said they welcomed the message from the UN Security Council to force the “regime” to accept the deployment of the foreign troops.

“Sure, we welcome it. This is a clear message to the regime in Juba. Actually our leadership proposed the need to deploy a third party force in Juba as a buffer between the two rival national forces. It was part of the cessation of hostilities arrangement declared on July 11, 2016,” James Gatdet Dak, opposition leader's spokesman told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

He also said President Kiir's government is a “failed leadership” which has turned against its own citizens, arguing that it was important the people should be temporarily protected by foreign forces from “this irresponsible government” until the needed change is effected in the country.

“South Sudan under the leadership of Salva Kiir is irresponsible which has used and turned the state machinery against its own people. The army, the police and the other security organs are the ones looting the property of the citizens, raping their women and young girls, killing and torturing their own people, even in the heart of the city, Juba. It is a failed, perverted leadership,” he said.

He also said it was equally important for the world body to take “serious note of the fact that as long as Salva Kiir remains the head of state, South Sudan will never recover.”

He argued that the opposition forces of the SPLA-IO loyal to Machar are far more disciplined than the forces loyal to Kiir, saying this was demonstrated during the recent fighting in Juba where no opposition forces involved in the looting of civilians in the locations they briefly controlled in the capital, including Gudele area to the west.

Dak said it was a shame for President Kiir and his government that a foreign force has to be deployed to the country, including in the national capital, Juba, in order to intervene by protecting the citizens from their own government.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

September 4, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – As unrest continues across parts of Ethiopia, protesters in Amhara region have attacked foreign-owned flower firms in the northern region.

Amhara regional officials on Sunday told journalists that protesters have caused series damages in at least seven foreign-owned flower farms.

A Dutch, Netherland, Israeli, Indian, Italian, and Belgian flower farms are among those attacked during the weeks-long anti government protests.

The recent waves of violent anti-government protests in Amhara and Oromiya region have reportedly claimed the lives of at least 100 people.

Questions linked with disputed regional territorial boundaries, release of political prisoners, political and economic rights are the causes for the violent protests.

According to the officials, some of the flower farms have been burnt to the ground, others partially vandalized during the attacks this week.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Ethiopian Horticultural Producers and Exporters Association said “Details are still being gathered. The scope of damage requires further investigation”

According to the statement no injuries have been reported from the attacks.

Also a Dutch company, Esmeralda, which is the worst affected said that a 10 million euro worth of investments “went up in smoke” in an attack on its farm.

The company's country manager Haile Seifu, who himself fled to Addis Ababa after the attacks said a large group of protesters invaded the farm land and start damaging all the properties.

“They were so aggressive, there were also soldiers who couldn't control them, so we just ran away, as it's life or death” he told journalists.

“They came actually at once through our compound, through our fence, through our main gate, so everybody left.”

Sources told Sudan Tribune that the attacked foreign-owned plantations had business links with the government.

Ethiopia's cut flower industry has become among the fastest growing. Currently flowers one of the country's top exports.

Ethiopia is Africa's second largest (after Kenya) and world's fifth largest cut flower exporter.

(ST)

September 4, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Trial of human rights activists affiliated with the Centre for Training and Development (TRACKS) has resumed Sunday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

Sudan's constitutional court in Khartoum (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

On 22 May, eight activists from TRACKS have been arrested after they were summoned to the Office of the Prosecutor for Crimes against the State following charges filed against them by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS).
Five of them were later released while three are still being detained.

The state's security prosecution office transferred the case of TRACKS's staff members to the court after charging them with counts that could lead to the death sentence and life imprisonment. They have also been accused of undermining the constitutional order, provoking war against the state, criminal complicity, instigating an insurgency against the regime, and disseminating false news.

During the trial on Sunday, the police detective presented 133 books containing human rights topics besides a number of personal computers and laptops and mobile phones saying they were seized from TRACKS premises upon a search warrant issued by state security prosecutor office.

He also presented human rights training manuals and education materials calling to boycott Sudan's general elections which were held in April 2015.

The detective added they also seized books educating trainees about human rights violations and rape incidents that occurred in Darfur and Abyei besides the killing case of Awadiya Agabna.

Agabna was shot dead in 2012 in front of her house by a member of the Public Order Police (POP) named Hamid Ali Hamid during an altercation between them and her brother after they accused him of being drunk and attempted to gain entry into his house.

The police detective pointed they found a message the centre received from the United States Institute of Peace and a letter written in English showing that the funding which was allocated to Al-Khatim Adlan Centre for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE) has been transffered to TRACKS.

KACE was shut down by the NISS in 2012 after it was accused of being linked to the opposition and working to topple the regime.

The detector added the court ordered to send some of the seized documents which were written in English to the Translation and Arabicization Unit at the University of Khartoum for translation.

Last week, several rights groups and UN experts called on the Sudanese authorities to drop charges against TRACKS staff and immediately and unconditionally release three of them who have been in detention since May.

(ST)