Region worries as Sudan rivals harden positions, sinking deeper into civil war

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened a new probe into alleged war crimes in Sudan, its chief prosecutor said Thursday, expressing major concerns over the escalating violence.

Karim Khan made the announcement in a report to the UN Security Council, after three months of war between feuding generals have plunged the country back into chaos.

The ICC has been investigating crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region since 2005 after a referral by the UN Security Council, and the Hague-based court has charged former leader Omar al-Bashir with offences, including genocide.

Allegations of atrocities have mounted during the recent fighting, with the top UN official in Sudan calling for the warring sides to face accountability.

About 3,000 people have been killed and three million displaced since violence erupted between Sudan army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

Darfur massacres again?

The UN has warned of possible new massacres in Darfur, saying Thursday that the bodies of at least 87 people allegedly killed last month by the RSF and their allies had been buried in a mass grave in Darfur.

“The simple truth is that we are… in peril of allowing history to repeat itself — the same miserable history,” Mr Khan told the UNSC
“If this oft-repeated phrase of ‘never again’ is to mean anything, it must mean something here and now to the people of Darfur that have lived with this uncertainty and pain and the scars of conflict for almost two decades.”

He said there have been a “wide range of communications” about alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity since fighting broke out in April, while the risk of further offenses was “deepened by the clear and long-standing disregard demonstrated by relevant actors, including the government of Sudan, for their obligations.”

The US State Department welcomed the new probe.

“Let this be a message to all who commit atrocities, in Sudan and elsewhere, that such crimes are an affront to humanity,” spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Even before the recent fighting broke out, Mr Khan said in the report, there was a deterioration of Sudan’s cooperation with UN investigators.

Sudan’s UN ambassador denied this.

“The government of Sudan has constantly cooperated with the ICC,” ambassador Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed said.

The lack of justice for crimes in Darfur in the early 2000s, when Bashir set his Janjaweed militia upon non-Arab minorities, had “sown the seeds for this latest cycle of violence and suffering,” he added.

Bashir was charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and torture and the court has been demanding his extradition to The Hague ever since, without success.

After Bashir was toppled in 2019, Sudan pledged to hand him over to the court for prosecution, but this never happened.

Even before the recent fighting there was a “further deterioration in cooperation from Sudanese authorities,” Khan said.

Bashir, 79, and Ahmad Harun and Abdel Raheem Hussein, two leading figures in the former dictator’s government who are also wanted by the ICC, are still at large. So far, the only suspect to face trial for violence committed in Sudan is senior Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, also known by the nom de guerre Ali Kushayb. Rahman’s defence lawyers are expected to open their case next month, and Khan said the latest Sudan fighting “cannot be permitted to jeopardise” the trial.

The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million people displaced in the 2003-4 Darfur conflict.

A summit of leaders from Sudan’s neighbours met in Cairo Thursday, urging an end to the fighting, but gun battles, explosions and the roar of fighter jets continued in the capital Khartoum.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres early in the week expressed concern that the skirmishes had pushed the country to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilising the region.

This warning came as the fighting in the capital Khartoum escalated, with air strikes reported on July 9 near the presidential palace and in Omdurman, as well as machine gun and artillery fire in the city’s south.

Mr Guterres condemned the air strike, which a spokesman said killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens.

Peace efforts were stepped up as the war entered its third month and took an ethnic turn.

But the battle to save Sudan is turning into a toxic mix of suspicions, political self-serving and uncertainty.

And as violence spread across the country, including Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile, displacing three million people, 800,000 of them beyond the country’s borders, mediators are struggling to have adversaries cease fire.

Contest for legitimacy

One problem, that came out this week, is the struggle for General Burhan to present himself as the bona fide leader of Sudan. His side has thus refused a portrayal by mediators that he is equal to his rival Daglo.

Al-Burhan rejected — once again — a quartet of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) led by Kenya President William Ruto. His problem with Dr Ruto is that the Kenyan leader is allegedly close to Daglo, with whom he did business in the past under the regime of Omar al-Bashir. Dr Ruto, however, has stated that the Sudan protagonists must stop fighting.

“The situation in Sudan is dire: Millions of people have been displaced while lives lost has hit more than 2,000,” Dr Ruto said.

“The intensity and scale of humanitarian crisis is a harrowing tragedy that calls for a bold and an all-inclusive peace dialogue,” Dr Ruto said in Addis Ababa on July 10, where he met with Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and representatives from South Sudan and Djibouti, who form the Igad Quartet on Sudan.

“The Igad Quartet implores the parties to this conflict to declare and observe an unconditional ceasefire and establish a humanitarian zone — spanning a radius of 30km in Khartoum — to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance.”

President Ruto, who leads the quartet, thinks this can help resume the final phase of the political process, paving the way for the formation of an inclusive transitional process. Except Burhan wants him out, and Khartoum has warned it could leave the bloc if Ruto continues to impose himself on it.

Igad is chaired by Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of Djibouti, but Dr Ruto has been seen to take a leading role in pushing its role in peacekeeping in the Horn of Africa. But that has not gone down well with Gen Burhan, who also lay into Dr Abiy, accusing him of suggesting there is a leadership vacuum in Khartoum.

Gen Burhan led a coup, cooperating with Daglo, on October 25, 2021 and toppled the transitional government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Hamdok’s shadow has lingered on, however, and sources told The EastAfrican, the Igad Quartet wants him to be a part of the inclusive political process that could bring together other players beyond the SAF and RSF.

After the meeting in which representatives of SAF and RSF were invited, the Quartet suggested a non-fly zone on Sudan, a 30km-radius humanitarian corridor in Khartoum, a possible deployment of the now dormant East African Standby Force as well as awithdrawal of heavy artillery from the warfront.

All these were rejected by Khartoum — or Burhan.

The Sudan Foreign ministry dismissed the Addis meeting as an imposition.

“The disrespect of Igad towards the opinions of its member states will cause the Sudanese government to rethink the utility of its membership in the organisation,” the ministry said in a statement.

“We denounce his (Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s) call for an air embargo and disarmament of heavy artillery, contrary to his existing direct positions and understandings with the President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The Government of Sudan considers the above statements as an unacceptable infringement on the sovereignty of the Sudanese state.”

Igad’s efforts are not isolated.

This week, Egypt also attempted another go at solving the conflict, where regional leaders of South Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti tried, in vain, earlier, to pull off a face-to-face meeting between the two protagonists. Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi gathered counterparts from Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Chad and Libya under the Sudan Neighbouring Summit and there was no concrete solution on whether there will be a face-to-face meeting between SAF and RSF.

Acknowledgement

“The summit is concerned by the escalation of the conflict, repeated violations of the various ceasefire agreements and the spread of violence outside of Khartoum to the other parts of Sudan particularly in Darfur as well as Kordofan where it is assuming ethnic and religious dimensions,” the leaders said.

The Egypt summit chaired by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi agreed to establish a ministerial mechanism that will convene its first meeting in Chad to set an executive action plan to stop the fighting and to reach a comprehensive settlement to the crisis in Sudan.
But at least the warring generals acknowledged the Cairo process.

RSF has in the past seen Egypt as leaning towards Burhan, as shown in the early days of the war, when they briefly detained Egyptian troops caught in up the war on Sudan soil, where they had been training local soldiers under Ssf.

There may be another problem, however. When the violence erupted on April 15, the contest was mainly between Saf and RSF. Now, even the main protagonists cannot control its spread.

Last month, South Darfur, for example, saw its biggest eruption of violence causing at least 30 deaths between June 23 and 27, humanitarian agencies reported.

First it was RSF versus Saf in Nyala town, then in West Darfur, a situational report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said there had been executions as well as roadside assassinations of travellers.

In the Blue Nile, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North al-Hilu faced up with Saf, according to a statement by the local UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (Unitams).

For Egypt and Ethiopia, however, their involvement may be involuntary: They have received a combined 500,000 refugees since the war, making it a new burden on their soil. The two also share the Nile with Sudan, and this sharing has been a subject of long running row.

Sudan remains the biggest headache in Africa, however, and what is complicating the conflict there is the disparate interests in the region and beyond due to security and economic interests.

It does not help matters that some key players, such as South Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, CAR, Egypt, Chad, and Eritrea, are also struggling with their own internal conflicts and political crises.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir, who had taken the initiative to use his past association with the two Sudan generals to bring them together, appears to be taking a backseat. President Kiir and Djibouti’s Guelleh did not attend the July 10 Igad summit in Addis Ababa.

The African Union, Igad, the Jeddah process led by the US and Saudi Arabia, and the League of Arab Nations scrambled without success to come up with a solution. Mediators in Jeddah accused parties of not being serious with the search for peace.

Egypt, a former colonial co-ruler of Sudan, has immense vested interests, including long running military cooperation, and the fact that Sudan is an ally on Cairo’s position on the use of the Nile.

Mohamed Anis Salem, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Relations, says Egypt must assume a leading role in diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war, given the magnitude of its interests in Sudan, especially now that others already have tried and failed.

But, then, Cairo’s decision in June that requires all Sudanese to obtain visas to enter Egypt has, according to Human Rights Watch, drastically reduced access to safety for women, children, and older people fleeing the ongoing conflict. Egypt has to date received more than 250,000 refugees from Sudan.

Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country in land area, remains a key pillar of stability in the continent, especially the Eastern African region.

Case for sanctions

In the meantime, the United Kingdom on July 12 imposed sanctions on six companies considered to be supporting or benefiting from the conflict in Sudan.

The businesses are three each associated with the leadership of Saf and RSF. The sanctions will ensure that any assets held in the UK by these conglomerates and companies will be frozen.

The UK government announced that the strict measures will cut funding sources and pressure the warring parties to engage in the peace process, allow access to humanitarian aid, and end atrocities against the Sudanese people.

According to the UK, the companies associated with the RSF are Al-Junaid, a conglomerate set up by the paramilitary leader Gen Daglo, which has provided tens of millions of dollars in financial backing for the militia, enabling it to sustain the fight.

The other is GSK Advance Company Ltd, a key front owned by the RSF, providing some funding to the militia to support the purchase of war materials, and Tradive General Trading Co, a company supplying RSF with funds and materiel, including vehicles retrofitted with machineguns for patrolling the streets.

Associated with Saf is Defence Industries Systems (DIS), a conglomerate that provides finances for Gen Burhan DIS has more than 200 companies and makes a profit of $2 billion per annum.

Others are Sudan Master Technology, a company involved in the sale of arms with close commercial ties to DIS, the economic and manufacturing arm of the Sudan Armed Forces, which supplies it with funds and equipment, and Zadna International Company for Investment Ltd, another DIS subsidiary reported to be one of its top three “major earners.” The US had imposed similar sanctions a month ago, seeking to curtail a supply of weapons and money to the parties.

“The Government of Sudan welcomes the outcomes of the summit of Sudan’s neighbouring countries… We also extend our thanks to the neighbouring countries of Sudan that have expressed positions supportive of the security and stability of Sudan,” said a statement.

The RSF also welcomed the outcome of the meeting.

“We welcome the Sudanese neighbouring countries summit, calling for the integration of all international and regional efforts to unify the proposed initiatives to facilitate and expedite the comprehensive resolution, particularly with the Jeddah platform and the Igad initiative,” RSF said a statement.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened a new probe into alleged war crimes in Sudan, its chief prosecutor said Thursday, expressing major concerns over the escalating violence. Karim Khan made the […]

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South Sudan’s Kiir pledges country’s first election

South Sudan’s leader Salva Kiir on Tuesday pledged that delayed elections set for next year would go ahead as planned and that he would run for president. 

Kiir, a towering guerrilla commander, has been the nation’s only president since he led it to independence from Sudan in 2011. 

The world’s youngest nation has lurched from crisis to crisis during the tenure and is held together by a fragile unity government between Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar. 

It was meant to conclude a transition period with elections in February 2023, but the government has so far failed to meet key provisions of the agreement, including drafting a constitution.

“I welcome the endorsement to run for presidency in 2024,” Kiir told supporters of his governing Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) party, describing it as a “historic event”.

“We are committed to implement the chapters in the revitalised peace agreement as stated and the election will take place in 2024.” 

No other candidate has declared their candidacy, but historic foe Machar is expected to run. 

In August, the two leaders extended their transitional government by two years beyond the agreed deadline citing the need to address challenges that impeded the implementation of the peace agreement. 

Kiir said on Tuesday that those challenges would be addressed “before the elections” set for December next year. 

One of the poorest countries on the planet despite large oil reserves, South Sudan has spent almost half of its life as a nation at war. 

Almost 400,000 people died in a five-year civil war before Kiir and Machar signed a peace deal in 2018 and formed the unity government.

Since then, the country has battled flooding, hunger, violence and political bickering as the promises of the peace agreement have failed to materialise.

The United Nations has repeatedly criticised South Sudan’s leadership for its role in stoking violence, cracking down on political freedoms and plundering public coffers.

The UN envoy to South Sudan Nicholas Haysom warned in March the country faced a “make or break” year in 2023, and its leaders must implement the peace agreement to hold “inclusive and credible” elections next year. 

Haysom stressed Juba had “stated clearly that there would be no more extensions of the timelines” for elections at the end of 2024.

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South Sudan’s leader Salva Kiir on Tuesday pledged that delayed elections set for next year would go ahead as planned and that he would run for president.  Kiir, a towering […]

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Hunger, disease stalk Sudan town crowded with displaced

In war-torn Sudan, a Blue Nile River town has become a relative sanctuary from the fighting, but survivors living there endure overcrowding, widespread disease and creeping hunger.

One of the internally displaced people who made it to Wad Madani, a 200-kilometre (125 miles) drive southeast of the embattled capital Khartoum, was mother-of-three Fatima Mohammed.

Then, 10 days ago, she succumbed to illness, leaving behind three children — Ithar, 11, Dalal, nine, and Ibrahim, seven — who now largely fend for themselves in the courtyard of the Al-Jeili Salah school.

They are among hundreds of thousands who have run for their lives since the war erupted in mid-April between two rival generals in the long unstable and poverty-stricken northeast African country.

More than 2,000 people have died in the conflict between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Many people have found refuge in makeshift camps set up in schools, university dormitories and other buildings in Wad Madani, nestled on a bend of the Blue Nile in a cotton farming region of Al-Jazirah state.

Another survivor, Soukaina Abdel Rahim, now lives with six of her family members in a room in the girls’ dormitory at Al-Jazirah University in the east of Wad Madani.

“For a family, the accommodation is uncomfortable, there is a lack of space and privacy,” she told AFP.

“We share the showers and toilets with 20 other rooms on the floor, each of which accommodates an entire family.”

Malaria rampant

Basic services are scarce in the region which is now sweltering in summer heat and frequent rainy season downpours.

“Often, there are long water and electricity cuts,” said Hanan Adam, who has been displaced with her husband and their four children.

“With the high temperatures and the proliferation of mosquitoes, all my children have contracted malaria,” she added about the disease that was a major killer in the country even before the war.

However, managing to see a doctor in Wad Madani today amounts to a minor miracle.

In one of the town’s camps, the aid group Doctors Without Borders has been able to dispatch just one medical doctor and four nurses for about 2,000 displaced people.

Humanitarian aid groups long active in Sudan have been overwhelmed, and at times targeted, in the war. Many of their Sudanese staff are exhausted or holed up in their homes, while foreign staff wait for visas.

For years millions of Sudanese relied on aid, and now food shortages are becoming ever more dire.

“We have received food parcels but there is no infant milk in them,” Soumaya Omar, a mother of five children aged six months to 10 years, told AFP.

However, she said, amid Sudan’s runaway inflation and massive shortages, “we do not have the means to buy it”.

Malnourished children

Sometimes it is neighbours who jump in and provide meals for those in desperate need, including at the Abdallah Moussa school in the west of Wad Madani.

A small team of young volunteers was distributing plates to families who are unable to cook because the building lacks kitchen facilities.

But such initiatives are not enough in a country where, even before the war, one in three people suffered from hunger.

A doctor who works across the town’s 13 displacement camps told AFP that “malnutrition is beginning to affect children”.

“We are already seeing worrying cases arrive in the clinics of the camps for the displaced,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security fears.

Sudan’s own capacity to produce food has deteriorated further, having already been impacted by water scarcity and decades of sanctions under former dictator Omar al-Bashir, who was toppled in 2019.

Unicef said one of Sudan’s many buildings destroyed in the war was Khartoum’s Samil factory which had previously met 60 percent of the nutritional needs for children in need.

According to the UN children’s agency, some 620,000 Sudanese children now suffer from acute malnutrition, and half of them could die if they do not receive help soon.

However, UN and non-government aid agencies are short of funds and, above all, unable to transport what relief goods they have as fighting rages in multiple hotspots across the country.

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In war-torn Sudan, a Blue Nile River town has become a relative sanctuary from the fighting, but survivors living there endure overcrowding, widespread disease and creeping hunger. One of the […]

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South Sudan envoy urges nationals to return, invest at home

South Sudan is urging its nationals in Uganda to come home and invest, citing the return of peace in the country torn apart by civil war.

The South Sudanese ambassador to Uganda, Juach Deng, said the agriculture and industrialisation sectors are ripe for investments.

He also urged citizens of neighbouring countries to invest in South Sudan while acknowledging the presence of “some small armed groups” causing economic sabotage by ambushing traders and robbing them of their merchandise.

“The South Sudan economy has improved since 2018. Come back and invest in South Sudan because it is strategically located in the East African Community (EAC). That is why we have both licensed and unlicensed Ugandans doing business. I am inviting you to pass the message that there is peace across the country,” Mr Deng said Tuesday as his country

Read: S.Sudan receives 10,000 civilians fleeing Sudan

According to Mr. Deng, 67 percent of South Sudan is arable land, and only four percent is under cultivation. He added that agriculture, agro-industrialisation, electricity generation, petroleum, and mining are sectors with opportunities for other East African countries to exploit to realize stability in the region.

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South Sudan is urging its nationals in Uganda to come home and invest, citing the return of peace in the country torn apart by civil war. The South Sudanese ambassador […]

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A convoy of buses transporting people fleeing the war in Sudan on April 25, 2023. South Sudan says hundreds of civilians fleeing the conflict in Sudan have arrived in northern and western Bahr el Ghazal states. PHOTO | AFP

South Sudan receives over 10,000 civilians fleeing Sudan

South Sudan on Tuesday confirmed receiving more than 10,000 civilians displaced by the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan.

South Sudan’s Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Deng Dau Deng said the majority of the returnees are the country’s nationals, while others include Sudanese, Kenyans, Ugandans, Eritreans, and Somalis.

“On the situation of South Sudanese, the government is doing everything within its power to receive its citizens who are returning to the country. In the last 24 hours, nearly 10,000 arrived in Renk, including nationals of some neighbouring countries,” Deng said in a statement issued in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on Monday evening. 

He disclosed hundreds of other civilians have arrived in Northern and Western Bahr el Ghazal states respectively. Deng said the South Sudanese government has opened its airspace for countries evacuating their diplomats and nationals. 

He said 24 Kenyan nationals who arrived from Sudan through the northern border from Paloch Airport in Upper Nile State were evacuated on Monday to Juba. This came after Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (Saf) and his rival Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reached a three-day ceasefire deal. 

Read: Kenya considers evacuating citizens from Sudan

Deng revealed that the lull in fighting has allowed diplomatic missions to evacuate staff and nationals, adding that hundreds of Sudanese have also been given time to relocate to nearby regions. He also said South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has engaged the warring Sudanese parties to ensure that the temporary humanitarian ceasefire is held to allow foreign missions to evacuate their diplomatic staff and nationals. 

Efforts are underway

Meanwhile, Somalia on Tuesday said efforts are underway to bring back some 200 nationals who are stranded in Sudan where the fighting may trigger further displacement both within and outside the country.

Somalia’s Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdirahman Nur Dinari said the country’s government is working to ensure a safe return for its citizens from Sudan. Nur lauded the Somali embassies in Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia for their efforts in evacuating citizens who are trapped inside Sudan following days of military clashes between Sudan Armed Forces (Saf) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary unit. 

Read: Thousands flee battle-scarred Khartoum

“Some 200 citizens will be evacuated from the border of Sudan and Ethiopia today,” he told journalists in Mogadishu capital of Somalia.  He thanked the Kenyan government which brought 19 Somalis from Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and the government of South Sudan which allowed the Somali people to come to their border and facilitate their journey. The latest move came a day after the Somali Disaster Management Agency (Sodma) launched hotlines for Somalis stranded in Sudan.

The hotlines which will run 24 hours daily, are for Somalis to report their locations to ease the evacuation process from Sudan. The move came after the rival parties agreed to the three-day ceasefire which aims to establish humanitarian corridors, allowing citizens and residents to access essential resources, healthcare, and safe zones, while also evacuating diplomatic missions. 

More than 400 people have been killed and over 3,000 more injured in clashes in Sudan since the unrest started, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

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South Sudan on Tuesday confirmed receiving more than 10,000 civilians displaced by the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan. South Sudan’s Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Deng Dau […]

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South Sudan releases journalists held over viral Kiir video

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. Two journalists detained over a video reportedly showing him urinating on himself have been freed. PHOTO | PETER LOUIS | AFP

Two South Sudanese journalists detained over a video reportedly showing President Salva Kiir urinating on himself have been freed, a media lobby group said Wednesday as it demanded the release of two other colleagues.

Two of the seven journalists arrested in January remain in police custody over the video that went viral on social media in December, the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) said.

The journalists — staff at the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation — were arrested by agents from the National Security Service as part of an investigation into the source of the clip.

In the footage, Kiir, dressed in his trademark black hat and a grey outfit at what is described as a road commissioning ceremony, is seen with a damp patch on his left trouser leg.

“We are still calling on the government to release the two (journalists) who are still behind bars,” UJOSS president Patrick Oyet told AFP.

Probe dragged

Oyet urged the government to present the duo in court if they have broken any law, adding that the probe had dragged on for months. 

“The law says you should carry out investigations and produce somebody in the court within 24 hours.”

“If there is no case they should be released,” he said.

In January, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists called for the unconditional release of the journalists and for state authorities to “ensure that they can work without further intimidation or threat of arrest.” 

Arbitrary detention

The arrests match “a pattern of security personnel resorting to arbitrary detention whenever officials deem coverage unfavourable”, said CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo.

Kiir, 71, oversaw the birth of South Sudan as an independent nation after it broke free from Sudan in July 2011.

But the world’s youngest country has lurched from crisis to crisis since then, enduring brutal conflict, political turmoil, natural disasters and hunger.

South Sudan ranks 128th out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press freedom index.

According to the media watchdog, freedom of the press is “extremely precarious” in the landlocked nation, “where journalists work under constant threat and intimidation, and where censorship is ever-present.”

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South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. Two journalists detained over a video reportedly showing him urinating on himself have been freed. PHOTO | PETER LOUIS | AFP Two South Sudanese journalists […]

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CIVIC SPACE IN NUMBERS

The CIVICUS Monitor measures enabling conditions for civil society or civic space. We provide ratings for civic space in 197 countries and territories (all UN member states and Hong Kong, Kosovo, Palestine, and Taiwan). At CIVICUS, we see civic space as the respect in policy and practice for the freedoms of assembly, association and expression which are underpinned by the state’s duty to protect civil society.

We view civic space as a set of universally-accepted rules, which allow people to organise, participate and communicate with each other freely and without hindrance, and in doing so, influence the political, economic and social structures around them.

CIVIC SPACE IN 2022

Today, only 3.1% of the world’s population lives in countries with Open civic space. 

For better accuracy and comparison over time, this year we added a decimal point to the percentages.

GLOBAL CIVIC SPACE RESTRICTIONS 

Over the past year, civil society across the world has faced a variety legal and extra-legal restrictions. Below we document the top ten violations captured in the CIVICUS Monitor.

Top 10 Violations to Civic Freedoms

COUNTRY RATINGS

The CIVICUS Monitor currently rates 39 countries and territories as Open, 41 rated as Narrowed, 42 rated as Obstructed, 50 rated as Repressed and 25 rated as Closed.

REGIONAL BREAKDOWNS

 OpenNarrowedObstructedRepressedClosed
Africa2413246
Americas 109952
Asia and Pacific8710114
Europe and Central Asia1921644
Middle East and North Africa00469
This page was last updated on 22 June 2022

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The CIVICUS Monitor measures enabling conditions for civil society or civic space. We provide ratings for civic space in 197 countries and territories (all UN member states and Hong Kong, Kosovo, Palestine, and Taiwan). […]

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DR Congo EALA representatives boycott Kampala meeting

The Democratic Republic of Congo representatives at the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) have boycotted a retreat of the members of the regional body that is being held in Kampala, Uganda.

Mr Stephen Odongo, a Ugandan representative in the EALA, said their DRC counterparts were concerned about their security while in Kampala. They are said to have avoided entering Rwanda for the committee sessions of EALA on the same grounds.

Members of the regional body were Monday evening hosted to a dinner by the Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament Anita Among at her residence in Kampala where she committed to have the Speakers of the respective parliaments in the region develop standards to be observed by EALA members.

“Let us have a meeting as Speakers and agree on what should be done by our members who are in the community,” Ms Among said.

Caution

Speaking about the boycott, Ms Among cautioned members against involvement in matters that do not concern them.

“Don’t enter into wars that do not concern you,” she said.

Ms Among’s remark was prompted by Mr Odongo when he raised concern about the boycott and called upon her to give assurance to the legislators about the state of security in Uganda.

“As the number three in the country, we would wish that you make a very strong statement of the state of our security to inspire confidence in our colleagues who are not here with us that this country is safe and we are here for regional integration,” Odongo had appealed.

EALA Speaker Joseph Ntakirutimana said he was shocked when he received the communication from the DRC representatives that they would not attend the committee sessions both in Kigali and Kampala.

M23 rebels

DRC last year severed relations with Rwanda as the former accused Kigali of providing material support to the M23 rebels who have captured swathes of territory around North Kivu province.

Both the United Nations and the United States accuse Rwanda of supporting the rebels but Rwanda has vehemently denied the allegations.

However, the relations between Kampala and Kinshasa appear to have been warm, signified by the signed Status of Forces Agreement which has allowed the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) to hunt down the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group in the jungles of eastern DRC.

The same cannot be said for Rwanda whose deployment of the country’s army as part of the East African Joint Regional Forces has been objected to by DRC.

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The Democratic Republic of Congo representatives at the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) have boycotted a retreat of the members of the regional body that is being held in Kampala, […]

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Pope Francis to visit DR Congo and South Sudan early 2023

Pope Francis will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan early 2023, Monsignor Ettore Balestrero, the Apostolic Nuncio to the DRC, has said.

Monsignor Balestrero made the announcement after meeting President Felix Tshisekedi on Thursday in Kinshasa. He said that Pope Francis will make the already announced trip to DRC from January 31, 2023 to February 3. He will visit Kinshasa and South Sudan on an ecumenical pilgrimage of peace.

Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde revealed that Pope Francis will arrive in Kinshasa at the invitation of President Félix Tshisekedi, adding that the pontiff’s arrival is “a comfort for the Congolese people”.

The prime minister asked all DRC citizens to “remain in an attitude of prayer” as they welcome the pope, especially at a time “when the DRC is going through all these security situations”. He also asked the Congolese to re-launch the preparations for the visit which had been prepared a few months ago.

Initial visit postponed

Pope Francis had earlier been expected visit to the DRC and South Sudan in July but the visit was called off after he developed a knee problem.

“Accepting the request of the doctors and in order not to cancel the results of the knee therapies still in progress, the Holy Father is forced, with regret, to postpone the apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, planned for 2-7 July, to a new date to be determined,” the director of the Pope’s press office Matteo Bruni announced then.

In the postponed papal trip, the pontiff had been scheduled to visit the DRC capital Kinshasa and Goma in North Kivu province, where M23 rebels have been fighting with government forces. But in the January 2023 trip, the pope will stay in Kinshasa before flying to Juba, in South Sudan, skipping Goma

The announcement of the pope’s planned arrival in the DRC has already started generating enthusiasm among the Catholic faithful.

In July, several towns in the DRC had put up billboards with the image of the pope under the theme “All reconciled in Jesus Christ”.

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Pope Francis will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan early 2023, Monsignor Ettore Balestrero, the Apostolic Nuncio to the DRC, has said. Monsignor Balestrero made the announcement […]

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‘White rebel’ label for journalist killed in South Sudan angers US

The United States embassy in Juba has condemned the recent statement by South Sudan’s Information minister describing its journalist killed in war front years ago as a ‘white rebel’.

Christopher Allen, a US-British journalist, was killed in a crossfire in Kaya Central Equatoria State in August 2017 during clashes between South Sudan’s Defence Forces and Sudan People Liberation Army-In Opposition.

Information Minister Michael Makuei’s statement five years ago caused controversy after he described the journalist as a ‘white rebel’.

And at an event last week, Makuei reiterated his previous statement, claiming that the late Allen was in the country illegally.

Calls for probe

His comment comes after the US Embassy issued repeated calls to the coalition government to investigate and hold to account Allen’s killers.

“This man [Allen] had entered the country illegally in the first place, and that’s why I declared in a statement that we have killed a white rebel, because he was killed on the side of the rebels.

“So, he was a rebel. Now, can we be held answerable or accountable for the death of such a journalist? This is funny; and we are being asked to investigate. Whom do we investigate now?” asked Makuei.

Reacting to Makuei’s statement, the US embassy described Makuei’s statement as reckless.

“The remarks would be irresponsible and reprehensible at any time but are all the more so as they were made on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.

“The US embassy is seeking clarification as to whether these comments represent the position of the government of South Sudan,” said the embassy.

The diplomatic mission renewed its calls to the coalition government to conduct a credible inquiry into Mr Allen’s death and to share its findings with the journalist’s family.

Minister Makuei is among individuals sanctioned in 2017 by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for expanding or extending the conflict in South Sudan. He was reportedly instrumental to President Salva Kiir’s initial unwillingness to sign a peace agreement in August 2015. 

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The United States embassy in Juba has condemned the recent statement by South Sudan’s Information minister describing its journalist killed in war front years ago as a ‘white rebel’. Christopher […]

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South Sudan’s oil sector pulls in more deals

South Sudan’s oil and related sectors are still attracting enthusiasts in spite of the publicised problems, including on revenue sharing.

Two weeks after the South Sudan Oil and Power Conference (SSOP) in Juba, firms have been publicising their deals from the forum meant to drive business and investment in the country’s oil production.

Several agreements on financing, oil exploration and production, oil refinery and infrastructural development were inked, according to a prospectus from the petroleum ministry.

In one of the deals the South African Nile Orange Company was offered the Jonglei State oil.

“We believe the project with Strategic Fuel Fund will now move forward as we anticipated for a very long time. We agreed that a team of technical personnel will visit Jonglei State to talk to the people on the ground,” said Petroleum Minister Puot Kang.

However, details of this and other agreements were not made public.

More deals

South Sudan’s Kush Bank signed a deal worth $75 million with AIS Capital Advisors for power distribution and management.

Leonard Mathu, managing director of AIS Capital Advisors, said the agreement will create “a domestic value chain that enables us to control costs, deliver power at stable rates, and without interruption.”

South Sudan is the major oil producer in the East African region but its near-total dependency on the oil has made the resource a curse. Due to fees and obligations owed to oil firms, South Sudan’s 170,000 per barrel production per day means it only earns value worth 50,000 barrels of oil per day, with the rest paying up advance payments or contractual obligations.

Yet critics also charge the revenue that arrives is also stolen. In August, President Salva Kiir fired Central Bank Governor Moses Makur Deng and Finance Minister Agak Acuil over empty coffers.

The South Sudan Oil and Power Conference, in its fifth year, welcomed a larger audience of global and South Sudanese energy professionals and leaders, taking advantage of easier post-pandemic travel.

This year’s event emphasised the important role that energy companies play in ensuring growth of the economy, and personal and professional growth of citizens.

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South Sudan’s oil and related sectors are still attracting enthusiasts in spite of the publicised problems, including on revenue sharing. Two weeks after the South Sudan Oil and Power Conference […]

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Sentry links banks, firms and senior officials to Sudan Sudan plunder

US advocacy group The Sentry is alleging $1 billion was embezzled in deals involving senior government officials, foreign companies and international banks in South Sudan.

In the investigation titled Cash Grab: How a Billion-Dollar Scam Credit Robbed South Sudan of Fuel, Food and Medicine, The Sentry places the theft at the door of a 2012 failed letter of credit programme.

“Between 2012 and 2015, the government of South Sudan received a credit line of nearly $1 billion from Qatar National Bank (QNB) and CfC Stanbic Bank in Kenya to support efforts to import much-needed food, fuel and medicine to the war-torn and newly independent country.

“The credit line issued in US dollars in the form of letters of credit was intended to help local traders pay for these imports, considering the extreme shortage of hard currency and the weakness of the new local pound,” said The Sentry.

The Sentry added, “the government was supposed to allocate the LCs to traders, who could exchange South Sudanese pounds (SSP) at the then-official exchange rate of 3.16 SSP per dollar. Traders would then use the LCs essentially a guarantee from the bank to pay the exporter upon confirmation of delivery of the goods”.

Stanbic Bank (Kenya) acknowledged that its South Sudan unit made available a $200 million letter of credit program to South Sudan between 2012 and 2015 which was in line with the objectives of the government of South Sudan to support local businesses’ participation in the importation of certain essential goods.

In an emailed response to The EastAfrican, the lender says it transacted with its already existing clients who had undergone the normal know-your-customer processes and due diligence.

“These processes returned satisfactory outcomes,” said Stanbic bank, On whether Stanbic Bank asked for proof of delivery of goods, the lender said the requirement under the letters of credit is to examine the transactional documents requested to ensure that they are compliant with the terms and conditions of the letters of credit.

“The documents were sufficient and compliant, hence the payments were released,” said Stanbic bank, which is a member of the Standard Bank of South Africa.

However, according to the Sentry, its investigation into the LCs programme found that multimillion-dollar contracts were awarded to inexperienced middlemen and foreign-run companies that only existed on paper.

“It appears that millions of dollars’ worth of essential pharmaceuticals, fuel, and food were not delivered. The government failed to repay the borrowed money and entered arbitration proceedings initiated by QNB at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes,” The Sentry added.

SOURCE

US advocacy group The Sentry is alleging $1 billion was embezzled in deals involving senior government officials, foreign companies and international banks in South Sudan. In the investigation titled Cash Grab: […]

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Violence threatens fragile South Sudan peace

The UN says there is a need to keep an eye on South Sudan, where fragile peace continues to be threatened by conflict.

On Wednesday, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) pointed out inter-communal conflict for repeated cycles of violence that may erode gains towards peace across the country.

Nicolas Haysom, the special representative of the Secretary-General to South Sudan, said fighting between rival factions in Upper Nile and parts of Jonglei States has caused massive displacement of civilians seeking refuge in the UN bases in Malakal town, the capital of Upper Nile State.

“The fighting between Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) forces and the Kitgwang and Agwelek factions has displaced thousands of people within Upper Nile, to Jonglei, Unity states, and parts of Sudan,” Mr Haysom told journalists in Juba.

He said more than 14,000 have been displaced and sought refuge at the Malakal Protection of Civilians site.

Mr Haysom said that the mission is working with state authorities and humanitarian agencies to support sustainable solutions in Malakal to mitigate overcrowding, and outbreaks of disease, as well as maintain peace within the community living within the UN Protection of Civilians site.

In recent days, the Twic/Ngok Dinka conflict has created a new wave of refugees in Abyei, Warrap, and Northern Bahr El Ghazal.

Escalated fighting

Earlier, UN-appointed human rights experts sounded the alarm on the likelihood of violence escalating.

Yasmin Sooka, the chair of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, asked the international community to pay more attention to the violence proliferating at a local level all over South Sudan.

Ms Sooka said donors and member states must continue to monitor the peace agreement and security sector reform and ensure constitutional legislation is pushed through before elections.

“Without these steps, we are likely to see millions more South Sudanese displaced or crossing borders, creating havoc for neighbouring countries and aid agencies,” she said in a statement issued in Juba.

The UN experts said the parties to the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement for South Sudan signed onto a further two-year extension of the transitional governance arrangements, postponing elections until late 2024.

The Peace Agreement included a national consultation process on establishing three bodies. Consultations were held in mid-2022, but excluded millions of refugees.

The UN experts said after four years, none of the three proposed transitional justice bodies have come into being — the Commission on Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing; the Hybrid Court; or the Compensation and Reparation Authority.

Andrew Clapham, a member of the team, said survivors in South Sudan, told them that criminal accountability is the only way to guarantee their safety and peace in the country.

SOURCE

The UN says there is a need to keep an eye on South Sudan, where fragile peace continues to be threatened by conflict. On Wednesday, the UN Mission in South […]

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South Sudan, Djibouti plan to lay fiber optic to Juba

South Sudan and Djibouti have signed an agreement to lay fibre optic cable from Djibouti through Ethiopia to the capital Juba.

The Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and Postal Services said the government and Djibouti officials would form a technical team to deliberate on the project, after they signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday.

The deal was inked by the Minister of Information Michael Makuei Lueth and senior officials from Djibouti.

Read: Internet down in South Sudan due to ‘technical problem’: minister

South Sudan said it is also working closely with the World Bank to connect the country with another fibre optic cable from Kenya. The deal was signed in 2015.

The country gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but years of civil war have denied it infrastructure to offer high speed Internet connections.

The country aims to link its citizens with the rest of the world as well as cut the high cost of using the internet.

Read: South Sudan youth look at a future driven by tech

SOURCE

South Sudan and Djibouti have signed an agreement to lay fibre optic cable from Djibouti through Ethiopia to the capital Juba. The Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and Postal Services […]

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S. Sudan plan to build harbor in Djibouti to hurt Kenyan port

South Sudan has bought a piece of land in Djibouti for the construction of a harbour in its latest effort to find an alternative to the port of Mombasa which is facing an onslaught from Dar-es-Salaam.

South Sudan has bought three acres of land at the port of Djibouti for the construction of a facility that will handle its import and export goods as Juba seeks to cut reliance on the Mombasa port in Kenya.

The latest development comes just two months after the Chamber of Commerce in South Sudan said it will shift its cargo to the port of Djibouti, which it termed as convenient for the Africa’s youngest State.

“We have been only using Port Sudan and Mombasa but recently, we have decided to go to Djibouti and as I am speaking to you, we have land in Djibouti,” South Sudan Minister for Petroleum Puot Kang Chol is quoted by local media.

The minister said the land was procured by the Ministry of Petroleum for the purpose of exporting the country’s crude oil as well as use it on imported goods. If effected, the move will hit the port of Mombasa given that Juba is one of Kenya’s largest clients.

Mombasa has been the main route for all consignments destined to the landlocked country with South Sudan importing nearly all of its cargo through the Kenyan port.

Mr Chol said they were ready to facilitate and stock goods destined for South Sudan through Djibouti.

“If any of you have goods, and you want to bring them through Djibouti, we have a land, we will have a space for you to accommodate your materials [or] whatever you want to bring,” said the official.

South Sudan is the second country in terms of cargo throughput volumes at the Mombasa port after Uganda, accounting for 9.9 percent of transit volumes. Uganda accounts for 83 percent of all throughput cargo followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda at 7.2, 3.2 and 2.4 percent in that order.

Kenya Ports Authority managing director John Mwangemi said South Sudan is one of their largest clients but they can choose a preferred facility. “I am not aware of the development in South Sudan but the government there can make a choice on which port to use,” said Mr Mwangemi.

The announcement by South Sudan comes just a few days after President William Ruto issued a directive for all inbound cargo to be cleared in Mombasa, dealing a blow to the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Naivasha.

Kenya allocated South Sudan land in Naivasha for the construction of a dry port, which would see goods destined to Juba cleared at the ICD facility to save truckers the long journey to Mombasa. Kenya has also allocated a piece of land to Uganda to clear its goods in Naivasha.

Dr Ruto promised during the election campaigns to return the port services to Mombasa if elected as President in the August election.

SOURCE

South Sudan has bought a piece of land in Djibouti for the construction of a harbour in its latest effort to find an alternative to the port of Mombasa which […]

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South Sudan offers 14 oil blocks to increase output

South Sudan is putting up 14 oil blocks for sale in a bid to increase production to pre-war levels of 350,000 barrels a day.

Chol Deng Thon Abel, the Managing Director of state-owned oil consortium, the Nile Petroleum Corporation Limited (Nilepet), told journalists in the capital Juba on Wednesday that interest in its nascent petroleum industry has been growing.

Much of South Sudan’s oil and gas blocks are yet to be fully explored and resources assessed, stalled by conflict.

“We have 14 oil blocks that have not been taken, and we invite international companies that are here to seize the opportunity to apply for these blocks. South Sudan is actually very busy nowadays attracting international companies to come and invest in the oil industry, and this conference is a very good platform to exchange ideas with international companies,” Mr Abel said at the end of the 5th annual oil and power forum.

Read: South Africa signs oil search deal with South Sudan

South Sudan has the third-largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa, estimated at 3.5 billion barrels, with only about 30 percent of the country explored.

The country currently produces 175,000 barrels a day, about a third of the potential 500,000 bpd, in blocks 1, 2 and 4 and blocks 3 and 7, and block 5A in Unity state.

Read: South Sudan’s oil production plummets

“We have a lot of countries now saying that we need to increase production because there is a huge need for crude because you have the sanctions on Iran, Venezuela and recent Russia and this is where South Sudan is positioning itself to increase production,” Mr Abel said.

Nilepet plans to take over blocks 3 and 7 by 2027, he disclosed, when the exploration production sharing agreement expires.

Blocks 3 and 7 are operated by Dar Petroleum Operating Company, a consortium owned by Malaysian Petroliam Nasional, China National Petroleum Corporation, China Petrochemical, Nile Petroleum and MOG Energy.

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South Sudan is putting up 14 oil blocks for sale in a bid to increase production to pre-war levels of 350,000 barrels a day. Chol Deng Thon Abel, the Managing […]

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Ethiopia, South Sudan sign security cooperation agreements

Ethiopia and South Sudan on Wednesday signed security cooperation agreement to jointly fight terrorism, armed groups and organised crime in the region.

The agreement was signed by the Director General of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) of Ethiopia, Temesgen Tiruneh, and the Director General of the Internal Security Bureau of South Sudan, Akor Kor Cook.

The agreement states that “the countries will work together to control and take action against terrorist groups, rebel forces, armed groups and organised criminals who have taken the mission to disrupt peace and security in the border areas and destabilise the East African region.”

In addition, the two countries will work together to prevent illegal arms trafficking, organised crime in the border area, drug trafficking, economic fraud and information technology related crimes.

South Sudan’s Security Affairs Adviser Tut Gatluak Manime said the agreement commits the two countries to exchange information; conduct exchange visits; and enhance training, capacity building and information on immigration, counter-terrorism and border crossing crimes.

“We conveyed the message of assurance of unflinching cooperation and coordination of issues of mutual concern and benefit to the citizens of the two countries,” he said.

According to Ethiopia’s spy agency, the agreement will further strengthen the strategic partnership between Ethiopia and South Sudan.

The two countries also signed a deal to cooperate with the Civil, Citizenship, Passport and Immigration Registration Directorate of South Sudan Ministry of Internal Affairs.

This will enable the two countries to work together to ensure the activities of their citizens are peaceful and their freedom is guaranteed.

The agreement will also play a significant role in ensuring that the activities carried out, especially at the border, protect the social and economic benefits of the citizens of the two countries.

On Monday, the South Sudanese high-level delegation led by Presidential Advisor General Kong Titipip Gatluak, along with senior security and civil officials, visited the construction site of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

After visiting the site, the South Sudanese delegation said the Nile dam project will play an instrumental role for regional integration through the supply of electricity.

“After witnessing the GERD’s construction site, we found that the dam is a large project and can provide all neighbouring countries with electricity…We have really seen a very big job,” Manime told state media.

The South Sudanese official urged Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt to resume stalled talks over the Nile dam filling.

Ethiopia’s Defense Minister Abraham Belay said, “The dam we are building is not only for Ethiopia but also for Africa. The rumours about the dam and the reality on the ground are totally different. The countries of the river basin should also understand that this dam ensures mutual benefit. For instance, our Grand Renaissance Dam has two bottom outlets for the purpose of downstream countries so that they can get water throughout the year.”

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Ethiopia and South Sudan on Wednesday signed security cooperation agreement to jointly fight terrorism, armed groups and organised crime in the region. The agreement was signed by the Director General […]

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95 killed in South Sudan communal conflicts

At least 95 people have been killed in communal conflicts in South Sudan in July alone, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has reported.

A humanitarian snapshot released by UNOCHA on Thursday and seen by The EastAfrican adds that more than 17,500 people were also displaced.

“At least 80 people were killed during intercommunal violence in Kapoeta North County, Eastern Equatoria. Fighting between armed factions in Mayom County, Unity State resulted in dozens of people being killed or injured.

“Cattle raids in Gumuruk County, Pibor Administrative Area, displaced some 1,700 people and left 15 dead. Torrential rain and floods affected nearly 2,400 people in the IDP site, Twic County in Warrap,” OCHA stated.

The agency added that some 7.7 million people are estimated to face crisis or higher levels of food insecurity across the country.

“People’s situation in Longochuk County, Upper Nile State, related to food security was reported as worrying; as a result, some 5,000 people moved to Maiwut and Pagak in Maiwut County. Residents fled to the bush or to nearby villages seeking safety.

“In July, armed cattle keepers attacked villages in Yei County, Central Equatoria and looted properties including livestock. Renewed fighting between armed factions in Kundru Boma, Yei County, displaced hundreds of people to neighbouring villages, and others crossed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” said OCHA.

The agency went added that in Ikotos County of Eastern Equatoria State, clashes between an armed youth group and government soldiers led to the death and injury of an unconfirmed number of people, including an NGO worker, adding that an unknown number of civilians were reported displaced within Ikotos town.

Last year, the UN Security Council approved a resolution extending an arms embargo and sanctions against South Sudan for one year. South Sudan’s unity government opposed the decision, arguing it would jeopardise the progress of the 2018 revitalised peace agreement [ARCSS] which helped form the unity government last year.

South Sudan has many guns in circulation, most held by civilians.

According to a Gun Policy report, the estimated total number of guns (both legal and illicit) held by civilians in South Sudan was 1.2 million in 2017 and 3 million in 2013. The Defence Forces of South Sudan is reported to have 351,500 firearms.

Juba, which is barred from purchasing weapons from the international market unless with express permission from the UN Security Council, argues that the arms embargo makes it difficult to equip its forces.

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At least 95 people have been killed in communal conflicts in South Sudan in July alone, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has reported. A humanitarian […]

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South Sudan suspends dredging of Nile tributaries

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardiit has suspended all dredging activities on Nile tributaries following opposition within his government, environmentalists and activists over the deal with Egypt.

Mr Kiir’s order put to end weeks of public debate sparked by the arrival a month ago of a 21-truck convoy from Cairo with dredging equipment, which brought to light the agreement signed in April last year.

The President said environmental studies on the project’s impact on the communities and ecosystem must be done before any dredging of the Naam River and resumption of the Jonglei canal project.

“In the last few weeks, the country has been engaged in an emotive debate over the issue of dredging the Bhar-el-Ghazel basin, especially the Naam River. In this debate, the contending sides have put forward legitimate arguments both for and against dredging.

“For example, those who support dredging see it as a permanent solution to floods in the low areas. Others in some groups see it as a means of opening our waterways for river transport that will ease transportation bottlenecks in the country,” said Mr Kiir during his address on the country’s 11th independence anniversary on July 9.

He added: “On the other side of the debate, dredging without proper studies is viewed as a path to an ecological disaster that will change South Sudan’s biodiversity forever.”

He noted that after following the arguments keenly, he “realised the outcry from both sides came because we have not conducted informed public consultation that addresses the concerns.”

The 30km canal project involves dredging and aquatic weed control in the Bahr el Ghazal basin and creating landing spots along the canal.

While some argue it would mitigate the perennial floods that displace thousands in Unity State, others say the project will only benefit Egypt at the expense of South Sudanese.

President Kiir stressed that evidence-based studies on the impact of the activities on the environment, communities and ecology of the Sudd region be carried out by competent persons.

He ordered the Environmental and Forestry ministry to engage experts for the feasibility studies.

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South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardiit has suspended all dredging activities on Nile tributaries following opposition within his government, environmentalists and activists over the deal with Egypt. Mr Kiir’s order […]

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