Africa

November 11, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan government uses food as a weapon of war to target civilians by blocking life-saving aid in some areas, a United Nations report to the Security Council has revealed.

People in conflict-affected areas of South Sudan collect food from WFP (WFP/eter Testuzza Photo)

According to the confidential report seen by Reuters, between 2016 and 2017, a campaign allegedly carried by government troops in South Sudan's Wau state and areas in Western Bahr el-Ghazal targeted civilians on ethnic grounds, displacing more than 100,000.

“The government has during much of 2017 deliberately prevented life-saving food assistance from reaching some citizens,” the confidential report from UN monitors partly reads.

“These actions amount to using food as a weapon of war with the intent to inflict suffering on civilians the government views as opponents to its agenda,” it added.

The UN report faults President Salva Kiir's government for food insecurity situation in a nation where 1.2 million people risk starvation.

“The denial of aid had caused extreme food insecurity among large sections of the population, with malnutrition and death by starvation the documented outcome, in particular in the Greater Baggari area in Wau County,” says the report submitted to the Security Council.

South Sudan government did not immediate react to the new UN report.

Last month, a UN report said South Sudan's government bears "primary responsibility" for incessant violence in the young nation.

The five-member panel established by the UN Security Council cited an absence of political will to implement a 2015 peace agreement and to address "the destructive governance practices and historical grievances that continue to drive the conflict in South Sudan.

The experts attributed these failures to the political and military elite of the country, with the primary responsibility for the ongoing violence resting with those in the government led by President Kiir and the first vice-president, Taban Deng Gai.

Neighbouring nations continue to experience adverse impacts of the nearly four-year-long civil war, yet are making no effective efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting, the report says.

The South Sudanese conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced over two million people.

(ST)

November 11, 2017 (KAMPALA) — Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir will visit Uganda next Tuesday for bilateral talks with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni, announced e foreign ministry in Kampala.

Omar al-Bashir (R) welcomes Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni at Khartoum Airport for talks during an official visit to Sudan September 15, 2015. (Photo Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

"During the upcoming Official Visit by President Omer al-Bashir, a number of areas of cooperation will be discussed including trade and investment, agriculture, regional peace and security as well as international matters of mutual interest," said a statement on Saturday.

Human rights activists have in the past urged Uganda to arrest the Sudanese leader who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In his visit on 14-15 November, President al-Bashir will be accompanied by ministers, senior officials and a business delegation in various sectors to discuss trade, investments and business partnerships. Also, a Sudan-Uganda Business Forum is expected to be held during the visit.

After long years of mistrust and accusation of support to rebel groups, Kampala and Khartoum are now working together on may regional files including the South Sudanese crisis and enhancing bilateral relations in various field.

Also, President al-Bashir attended the inauguration of President Museveni in May 2016 and the latter visited Khartoum in October of the same year to attend the final session of National Dialogue Conference.

The Sudanese Undersecretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdel-Ghani Al-Nai'm visited Kampala to prepare for the visit and met his counterpart Patrick Mugoya on 5-6 October 2017. The two parties agreed to implement the decisions during the latest joint commission meetings held in Khartoum earlier this year.

"Among the issues they discussed were opportunities for trade and investment, immigration, air transport, regional issues and security matters," said the statement.

Sudan imports 20% of Uganda coffee and is the single biggest export market for the product from which about $100 million is earned.

A delegation from the Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization visited Uganda from November 5-8, 2017 to inspect the coffee testing/quality assurance facilities of Uganda Coffee Development Authority, Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and private coffee processors.

(ST)

November 11, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North led by Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu (SPLM-N al-Hilu) has told the French government of its determination to work with all national, regional and international forces to achieve peace in Sudan.

The Sudanese army has been fighting the SPLM-N rebels in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan, also known as the Two Areas since 2011.

The SPLM-N is now divided into two factions: one led by al-Hilu and the other led by Malik Agar. The rift emerged several months ago over the right of self-determination and other issues.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Saturday, the SPLM al-Hilu said its Secretary General Amar Amon has sent a message to the French Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Stéphane Gruenberg thanking the French people and government for their role in the Sudanese issues.

According to the statement, Amon underscored the Movement's intention to work with all national, regional and international forces to achieve just and comprehensive peace in Sudan.

“The message also addressed the right to self-determination for the Two Areas and other important issues” read the statement.

The statement pointed out that the Movement representative in Paris, who handed over the message, has briefed Gruenberg and the foreign ministry officials on the success of the Extraordinary General Conference held with the participation of several important Sudanese political forces and friends of the Movement in the region and the world.

He said the Movement decision to sack some officials doesn't constitute a rift but a democratic and institutional measure that wouldn't affect the strength of the Movement or its army.

According to the statement, the meeting also discussed the speech delivered by the SPLM-N al-Hilu chairman during the conference, saying some international parties close to the Sudanese issue described that speech as “the most important speech in the history of the Movement since 2011”.

It underlined the two sides agreed on the need to continue to coordinate and work jointly to make a progress on all outstanding issues.

The SPLM-N al-Hilu held its Extraordinary General Conference in the Nuba Mountains area of South Kordofan state from 8 to 12 October.

The conference elected Abdel Aziz al-Hilu as leader of the armed group and reaffirmed its demand for the right of self-determination saying it should be the basis of a negotiated solution to establish the New Sudan.

It also stressed the need for the unity of the SPLM/A North under the elected leadership but closed the door for any rapprochement with the other faction led by Agar, saying no attention will be paid to any groups or platforms that speak in the name of the SPLM-N.

Talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N for a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access are stalled since August 2016.

Following the recent developments within the SPLM-N, the Sudanese government rejected the SPLM-N al-Hilu's demand for self-determination, expressing readiness to resume talks on the basis of a framework agreement signed with the SPLM-N negotiating team headed by Yasir Arman.

(ST)

November 11, 2017 (PARIS) - Abdel al-Wahid al-Nur, the leader of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) expressed his understanding for the demand of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led Abdel Aziz for self-determination but stressed that it is not a solution for the Sudanese crisis.

Al-Nur made his remarks in a meeting organized in the French capital Paris organised by his movement with the participation of representatives of several opposition groups and civil society activists. Also, the rally was attended by hundreds of his supporters among the Sudanese refugees in France.

"Self-determination is not a gift, but a cardinal principle of the United Nations charter. Anyone who feels persecuted in his own country has the right to decide his own destiny," said al-Nur on Saturday.

He further said that neither al-Hilu nor the South Sudanese who chose to secede from Sudan were responsible for this situation but the Sudanese state, which treats its citizens unequally."

"We give those who demand self-determination their right, and we stand with them in one trench to establish the State of which we dream," he further stressed to express his support and understanding for the SPLM-N al-Hilu.

Last October, the SPLM-N al-Hilu put the right for self-determination at the top of the resolutions of an extraordinary general conference held after a split in the group that fights the government in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

The opposition forces sought to convince the rebel group to abandon this demand because Sudanese people, in general, reject it and it will question the whole the African Union-led political process to end the war and achieve democratic reforms.

The SLM-AW is not part of the peace process, as it calls for a regime change in the country considering the regime of President Omer al-Bashir would not concede on the Islamic state to establish a secular and multicultural state where the religion is a private matter.

However, he made it clear that the self-determination is not a solution to the Sudanese crisis.

"If it represents a solution I am the most demanding person, but it is not a solution We should not impose solutions people do not consent, but let us sit with each other to find a solution," he further emphasized.

The SLM-AW dispatched a big delegation to participate in the SPLM-N extraordinary general conference last month. Many saw it as a prelude to a new alliance between the two groups, while the other opposition groups keep seeking to integrate the two factions of the SPLM-N in the broader alliance of the Sudan Call.

When asked by the Sudan Tribune about the SLM-AW position from the unity of the opposition forces in the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) and the Sudan Call, al-Nur pointed they are a founding member of the SRF stressing it was established on the principles and goals of his movement.

He further criticized the opposition leaders' lack of commitment to the signed charters and adherence to their principles.

He pointed that in 2011 his movement launched the New Binging programme and "called all those who believe in the SLM project to join us and we started the SRF based on the SLM principles of secularism, federalism and democracy. Also, one of its important conditions is to change the regime through mass uprising and armed action".

He added that the SRF leaders had left the founding document and went to Addis Ababa to negotiate with the government.

"We do not want negotiations that would make us employees in the government. We have the right to work on a change project because the regime is corrupt and we have the right to change our country by all the means available to us," he stressed.
On the Sudan Call alliance, al-Nur said that its groups signed the African Union roadmap agreement after rejecting it, adding that the government itself now does not want this roadmap.

"You have to know that there is a crisis of disrespect for the Sudanese citizen. The leaders of the SRF coalition were talking about change and overthrowing the regime and now they have given up."

(ST)

November 11, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sharif Al Emadi on Sunday would start an official visit to Khartoum for several days to discuss a number of political, economic and social issues.

President Omer al-Bashir received by the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Doha on 16 June 2016 (QNA Photo)

The official news agency SUNA Saturday quoted Sudan's Finance Minister Mohamed Osman al-Rikabi as saying the Qatari minister will discuss a number of projects and issues with the Sudanese officials.

He added Al Emadi will also discuss bilateral relations with regard to the financial and economic sectors, expecting a number of agreements would be signed between the two countries at the end of the visit.

Al-Rikabi pointed out that Sudanese-Qatari relations are witnessing great openness in all fields, especially in light of the Qatari government's efforts to expand investment in Sudan.

He indicated Qatar's intentions to continue its support for the development projects in Sudan, particularly in Darfur region.

Sudan has maintained long-standing and robust relations with Qatar over the years. The tiny Gulf state supported Sudan politically and economically when the country faced an international isolation.

Qatar has hosted successive rounds of peace talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels which culminated in the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) in 2011.

Also, Qatar in the past pledged to invest up to $2 billion in Sudan, including a purchase of government bonds issued by the African nation. But it only received one billion.

The Qatari investments in Sudan worth 1.7 billion dollars and include, real estates, agriculture and the banking.

Sudan is among the Arab states that refused to take part in the ongoing Gulf crisis between Qatar and three of its neighbours, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain and declared its support for the Kuwaiti efforts to settle the rift.

(ST)

November 11, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The government militia, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday said it has captured the leader of the rebel Sudan Army Movement-Revolutionary Forces (SAM-RF) Abdelallah Raziqallah aka (Savanna) in North Darfur following two days of clashes.

On Friday, RSF fighters clashed with the SAM-RF rebels in Amari Gadid, Kaila, Niro and Abshara areas of North Darfur state.

SRF spokesperson Abdel-Rahman al-Ga'ali on Saturday said his militiamen arrested Raziqallah and two of his aides in Jibal Moro area, east of Kabkabiya and south-west of Kutum locality, North Darfur state.

He added one SRF fighter has been killed and another injured during the arrest operation of the rebel leader, saying they have ambushed Raziqallah and his aides at Al-Malha area in Jibal Moro.

“The RSF is ready to pursue and defeat all outlaws in Darfur's [five] states so that residents could enjoy security and stability,” he added.

Raziqallah was part of the government militias but rebelled after Khartoum decision last August to merge his militia in the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, (aka Hametti).

Last week, RSF said some 300 fighters have joined its ranks after their defection from the SAM-RF.

(ST)

November 11, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir has ordered for a decisive action to maintain security in the country, an attempt aimed at deflecting and allaying fears and panic generated by the standoff with former army chief, General Paul Malong and the defection of officers and soldiers from government.

President Salva Kiir addresses the nation at the South Sudan National Parliament in Juba, November 18, 2015. (Photo Reuters/Jok Solomon)

President Kiir, according to South Sudan's minister for interior, gave the orders during the meeting of the security committee, which was held Friday under his chairmanship to discuss the security situation.

Minister Michael Chiengjiek said the security committee listened to a number of security reports from the various units in the young nation.

The minister said the security situation was stable except for some few criminal acts associated with night lootings, especially in Juba.

“The President of the Republic, His Excellency Salva Kiir Mayardit, directed all security units to continue monitoring the security situation and act decisively with any criminal act”, said the interior minister, although he did not elaborate further on motives behind the order.

The South Sudan leader also issued an order approving a 90-day extension of the state of emergency in parts of Bahr al Ghazal region.

However, the order, announced on the state owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) on Thursday, did not cite any reasons for the extension of the three-month-old state of emergency which was imposed in Gogrial, Tonj, Wau and Aweil East states in July.

Observers interpret the order to mean part of the measures to maintain law and order in the wake of revenge killings and cattle rustling in some areas.

In a separate order, the president ordered free movement of humanitarian organizations across South Sudan after reports emerged that aid workers were being restricted from accessing vulnerable people in dire need of assistance in the country.

The order said all roadblocks must be cleared immediately. It also warned that anybody who hinders the delivery of aid assistance or imposes taxes on humanitarian convoys will be held accountable.

(ST)

Find out more about the five contenders - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Naby Keita, Sadio Mane, Victor Moses and Mohamed Salah.

November 10, 2017 (JUBA) - United Nations monitors have accused the South Sudanese government of preventing humanitarian assistance to reach the civilians in the war-affected areas located in Western Bahr el-Ghazal region, adding they are perceived as hostile to the regime.

The SPLA-IO forces during their arrival at Masana Biira in Wau on 07, August 2017 (ST)

“The government has during much of 2017 deliberately prevented life-saving food assistance from reaching some citizens,” says a report to the U.N. Security Council's South Sudan sanctions committee submitted by UN monitors,

“These actions amount to using food as a weapon of war with the intent to inflict suffering on civilians the government views as opponents to its agenda,” stresses the report which has been disclosed by Reuters on Friday.

The international monitors, also, cite the Greater Baggari as one of the areas subjected to the "persistent and systematic" government's access denials despite the "catastrophic humanitarian conditions".

In August, the government eased restrictions, allowing aid groups to distribute food and lifesaving assistance to more than 12,000 people in Greater Baggari. Villages had been looted and burned and crops destroyed, the U.N. monitors wrote.

The report says over 164 children and elderly had died from hunger and disease between January and September 2017.

Different reports since last year mentioned that the South Sudanese prevent aid workers from reaching the civilians in different areas. Last August the head of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) David Shearer Friday said the east African country is the most difficult place in the world for humanitarian workers.

After a visit to Wau in September 2017, the head of USAID Mark Green urged President Salva Kiir to allow humanitarian access to civilians pointing that the government army and allied forces impede the humanitarian access the civilians in the war affected areas.

Some 15 aid workers were killed this year until now bringing the number of humanitarians killed during the four-year conflict to 85 people as they continue to be attacked and the humanitarian assistance looted by gunmen in various areas in the troubled country.

The U.N. monitors said the South Sudanese army during the 2016 and 2017 military campaign in the north-western town of Wau and surrounding areas targeted civilians on ethnic grounds and displaced more than 100,000, according to Reuters.

(ST)

By Abdirahman M Dirye

From South Sudan, Somaliland, to Ethiopia, ethnic conflicts brew to tear apart these countries and weaken institutions but this time nepotism and clan-loyalty regenerated in Somaliland like never before. Siilanyo the outgoing president of Somaliland planted time bomb in the society to keep them divided on bloodlines to get his defenders no matter what corruption he commits. The new presidential candidate Muse Bihi took it to the next level: well aware of his notoriety and unable to play the political games with his political rivals, he introduced dangerous game of accusing Wadani of being “pro-Somalia unity”, a declaration of war by other means. To give credence to the baseless allegation, the government asked the international reporter at the ITV Rageh Omaar to pen PR article about the warlord Mujahid Muse Bihi Abdi following his bankruptcy of the creative ideas to attract voters, he resorted tribal card and divide and rule game.

Despite the ruling party's constant crackdown of the fourth estate of the private media, its smear campaign, and character assignation against the main opposition party Wadani, on October 23, not less than a million supporters of Wadani party flooded to major cities' public venues in Somaliland disappointing the military presidential candidate Muse B. Abdi of Kulmiye ruling party the agitated successor of the bedridden president Silanyo. The law enforcement agencies sent a warning, a lame excuse to arrest Wadani party fans perhaps, to all Somalilanders “traffic lawbreakers would languish in Mandhera of Mexican-style dungeon” says Fadal Police Chief on the state TV. However, this election this time the stakes are high.

With the vivid memory of hundreds of innocent people perished in the terror attack in Mogadishu's Sobe junction, dozens missing, at the least another hundreds fatally wounded weeks ago, and the fear the ruling party.

Wadani's Road to the Palace

In this commentary, I predicted the winning party based on their past performances for the last weeks of unrelenting campaigning and given on the strategies of both Kulmiye's and Waddani parties have exhibited. The success comes out not from shoving book of party manifestos to voters but doing the party campaign smartly by hiring professionals and experts in the field.

So far, Waddani party innovated the old campaign system with a game changer: they established a call centre, deployed a team of volunteers, who have been calling to the voters, and asking the people to vote for Waddani candidates for the upcoming presidential election.

Also, Waddani's volunteers introduced a door-to-door campaign for the first time in the election history of Somaliland. A more than 3000 volunteers have been reaching every household in Somaliland, asking to vote for Waddani, as well as, distributing party manifesto. When it comes to Africa, it's a difficult to find in Africa such type of innovative campaign, but Waddani introduced it in the young democratic country which is lacking international recognition.

For the Kulmiye (ruling party) unable to understand the Waddani's state-of-the-art strategies; the sophisticated tools they employ during the campaign, Kulmiye party spokesperson Hassan Gafadhi has accused WADDANI National Party of stealing voters' data. Waddani's Campaign Manager and Chief Strategist Hamse Khaire told to the press, that there is no any data in regard to the voters received from NEC or any other entity, but they try techniques of a great creativity from the pooling roster of Western-educated people, amends to fit the local context, and reapplies them to get votes for the people.

On the other hand, Kulmiye ruling party monopolizes the state media to make outreach. A former worker in Nigeria Abdi Bile hijacks the role of MP Kijandhe in charge of the party election campaign. The first step of a door-to-door mission backfired when they knocked the door of the houses of government employees with overdue wages from the government. Then, they distributed leaflets to possible voters in Somaliland. Kijaandhe Kulmiye's campaign manager never outlined his plan about what to do to counter Waddani's brutal campaign spearheaded by Hamse Khaire. Many voters confirmed the sale of their voters' IDs to unknown persons alleged by the ruling party.

Restaurants serve food but tastes differently, and this depends on how chief cooks are professional, likewise the blueprints shaped by the intellectual capacity of its chief strategists of both parties. An opinion poll taken by an independent statistician and researcher Ereg said “ for Wadani 53%, Kulmiye ruling party 42%, 5%” Wadani party will win with landslide victory hopefully unless the result rigged.

Dirye is a writer based in Hargaysa, the capital of Somaliland, @mrdirye

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

November 10, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) - The office of the SPLM-IO in Tanzania Friday appealed on the regional bodies and the international community to immediately push for the immediate release of the opposition group's leader, Riek Machar, so that he can fully participate in any political process to end the four-year war in the country.

South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar looks on during an interview at his residence on August 31, 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Photo AFP /Zacharias Abubeker)

In October 2016, Machar left Khartoum to Pretoria for medical treatment as it had been announced at the time but when he returned to region seeking to join his troops near the Ethiopian border the rebel leader was forced by Addis Ababa to fly back to South African where he is confined there.

Since, it appeared that the confinement had been decided by the IGAD countries in consultations with Juba and the international community in a bid to prevent the resumption of hostilities after the collapse of the implementation of the peace agreement and the eruption of clashes in Juba in July 2016.

"What wrong has he done? We need an answer to this question. Detaining a peace lover does not bode well with the spirit of promotion of peace and stability in the world. My Chairman commands a majority of supporters inside and outside the country and therefore it would be a very grave mistake for anybody in the region or the wider international community to sideline him from any political process to end the crisis," said Peter Oyoyo kleto, the armed opposition group's deputy representative to Tanzania.

He went further to say that Machar is not for war but has been calling for a sustainable and comprehensive peace that leads to democratic reforms and create the needed conditions for political stability in the new nation.

" Chairman His Excellency Dr Riek Machar Teny, Chairman and Commander in Chief of SPLM/A IO has from day one advocated for a peaceful settlement of the conflict and our position on peace and stability in South Sudan has not changed. This is the truth that Juba does not want to the world to know," he stressed.

The rebel official condemned he alleged the government military offensives in many parts of the country in violation of the ceasefires despite the recent renewal of a unilateral ceasefire announced by the government.

"This is what we have been telling the region and the wider international community on various occasions that the regime in Juba is well known for saying one thing and doing a totally different thing," kleto said.

Referring to the IGAD proposed peace revitalization forum, he said all the opposition groups in South Sudan are ready to take part in the regional efforts to end the crisis, pointing that war would not bring an end to the ongoing conflict.

"In light of all these, the August 2015 peace agreement needs to be resuscitated in order to prevent South Sudan from total collapse and disintegration into tribal enclaves," he said.

(ST)

November 10, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Sufi orders have announced support for President Omer al-Bashir's reelection for another term in 2020 praising his significant efforts to unify Muslims in Sudan.

Al-Bashir's term ends in 2020 and he couldn't run for office again according to the constitution. However, some voices within the ruling party and the government have recently called for amending the constitution to allow him to run for the presidency again.

Speaking before a meeting with the leaders of Sufi orders on Thursday evening, al-Bashir said Sudan has experienced the biggest targeting by foreign powers, pointing to various kinds of conspiracies and sanctions that have been imposed on the country.

According to the official news agency SUNA, al-Bashir called on the Sufi leaders to promote religious values to protect the young generation against the Western cultures and intellectual invasion, pointing to the war launched by unnamed parties against Islam and Muslims.

The Sudanese President also called to enhance values of tolerance and cooperation among the various Islamic schools of thought, pointing to the important role played by Sufi sects to consolidate the Islamic values.

Al-Bashir who came to power through a coup d'état in June 1989 will have ruled Sudan for 31 years by the year 2020.

In March 2012, al-Bashir said he wouldn't seek his re-election in April 2015 but he ran and won in an election that was boycotted by the major opposition parties.

In August 2016, he said “I'm not a dictator and I don't want to cling to power. I won't run for another term, my term will end by 2020 and I won't be able to run again according to the constitution and the constitution won't be amended”.

(ST)

November 10, 2017 (JUBA)- A top South Sudanese presidential aide downplayed on Friday reports about the release of General Paul Malong Awan, former SPLA chief of staff.

Presidential adviser on decentralization and intergovernmental linkage, Tor Deng Mawien told Sudan Tribune on Friday that he was not aware of the release of the Malong.

“I have no such information. What I know is that talks are continuing. When they are concluded they will be made public and both sides will speak to the public. What is true is that the President of the Republic has demonstrated critical leadership in this matter and has made it clear that the standoff will be resolved amicably through elders and the religious leaders,” saidd Mawien.

However, Presidential spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny could not deny or confirm any information relating to the issue, saying he has no official information on the release of former chief of army staff.

The elders, he said, were still engaged in negotiations between the government and Malong and the outcome of the backdoor negotiations has not been released to the public.

The former ally of President Salva Kiir has been under house arrest since his sack and forced return to the capital last May.

A high-level source of direct knowledge of the negotiation process said several proposals have been put forward to president Kiir and Malong and they were the basis of negotiations for the past days.

“We met Gen Paul Malong yesterday and we conveyed to him the readiness of the President to allow him to go his private house. The president is also ready to allow him to go for a medical checkup if it is not what can be done inside the country. This is a good gesture and demonstration of leadership. We conveyed to Gen Paul and he welcomed it".

"The President also indicated in our meeting with him that Gen Paul Malong will have some guards left to him but the rest; especially officers will have to go to their units. The other issues will be settled amicably. This is what I know,” a source close to the process told Sudan Tribune.

The prominent Dinka elder underscored that Gen Malong will eventually be released on medical grounds.

(ST)

November 10, 2017 (JUBA)- The command of South Sudanese army has denied knowledge of any request by former chief of staff, Paul Malong Awan for external mediation on his difference with the government over his guards.

Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang, SPLA spokesperson, is seen at a containment site outside of the capital Juba on April 14, 2016. (AFP Photo)

The army spokesman, Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang doubted on Friday the authenticity of the letter which Awan had written to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development to mediate the current standoff with the government after he refused to accept orders asking for disarmament and arrest of his guards.

"It is part of the wider rumour mongering which is going on. Once everything is handled diplomatically and politically, I don't see any reason why UN should come in, any small problem we have (...) since we have the solution,” said Koang.

The military spokesman said the ongoing standoff is a political issue which is being handled by the leadership of the country.

But he added Awan does not deserve a force of equivalent to a platoon of bodyguards which the government wants to withdraw, pointing that his residence is at a walking distance from the presidential palace.

"He was an SPLA soldier and former Chief of General Staff, but from the time he was relieved of his duties he became an ordinary civilian and that is why we are saying he is no longer one of us. He does not qualify to have a platoon at his home," explained Koang.

The South Sudanese former military believes he deserves a special protection as the four-year conflict is not settled and he was involved in the anti-rebel campaign.

In September 2017, the U.S. administration announced targetted sanctions against Paul Malong Awan and two other government officials. He was accused of blocking humanitarian aid from reaching civilians.

Also in November 2016, the U.S. proposed to impose sanctions on the former military officials and others for hampering peace in South Sudan.

(ST)

November 10, 2017 (EL-FASHER) - Bloody clashes have occurred on Friday in Korma areas, North Darfur state between government militia, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan Army Movement-Revolutionary Forces (SAM-RF) of Abdelallah Raziqallah aka (Savanna), reliable sources told Sudan Tribune.

A source at the Korma administrative unit in the locality of El-Fasher, North Darfur capital said sounds of weaponry and fire exchange were heard from Amari Gadid, Kaila, Niro and Abshara areas.

He added gunmen have arrived in the abovementioned areas from Kabkabiya and Kutum several days ago, saying they clashed with the RSF on Friday afternoon.

Later on Friday, an RSF source told Sudan Tribune that their fighters managed to defeat outlaws belonging to the SAM-RF in Jaga area which lies between Tawila and Kabkabiya localities.

He disclosed that dozens of the SAM-RF fighters have been captured and two four-wheel-drive Land Cruiser vehicles were seized.

Also, the official news agency SUNA has quoted the RSF spokesperson Abdel-Rahman al-Ga'ali as saying they captured 9 SAM-RF fighters, stressing several rebels have been killed while the rest of the rebel force have fled the battlefield.

He underscored the RSF would clean Darfur's five states of the outlaws and end their presence, particularly in the major towns.

On 23 October, the RSF said they defeated a rebel force led by Rizkallah that tried to attack Kutum town, 115 km northwest of El-Fasher.

Rizkallah was part of the government militias but rebelled after Khartoum decision last August to merge his militia in the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, (aka Hametti).

Last week, RSF said some 300 fighters have joined its ranks after their defection from the SAM-RF.

In August, the Sudanese authorities launched a six-month disarmament campaign to eliminate illegal weapons in the conflict-affected areas in Sudan, particularly in Darfur region.

On 11 October, 10,000 RSF militiamen arrived in North Darfur to contribute to establishing security in the troubled state and support the mandatory phase of the disarmament campaign.

The RSF militia was originally mobilised by the Sudanese government to quell the insurgency that broke out in Sudan's western region of Darfur in 2003.

Earlier this year, the Sudanese parliament passed RSF Act which integrates the notorious militia in the Sudanese army and provides that its commander is appointed by the President of the Republic.

(ST)

This week the United Nations migration agency completed the relocation of 698 internally displaced households from an impromptu camp that formed around the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) following attacks in Kaga Bandoro on 12 October 2016.

One out of every four people in Central African Republic (CAR) is either displaced or living as a refugee in another country, a senior United Nations official said Thursday, urging the international community to provide more resources for a humanitarian plan that up to now is only partially funded.

Youth groups working in Africa’s Congo Basin countries are supporting economic progress in isolated rural communities while protecting the forest, and it is high time their voices were heard, a young woman at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 23) in Bonn, Germany, said Thursday.

Thanks to the recent expansion of HIV/AIDS services conducted by the United Nations migration agency, some 171,000 civilians and their host communities have gained benefit from these health facilities in South Sudan.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Major Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf al-Werfalli, a commander in the Al-Saiqa Brigade accused of murdering 33 people in the context of the ongoing conflict in Libya, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the United Nations Security Council.