Africa

April 28, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - A sixth humanitarian relief caravan including 1068 tonnes of sorghum Friday has been dispatched from the capital of Sudan's North Kordofan state, El Obeid to the needy population in South Sudan, said a Sudanese humanitarian official.

Humanitarian aid commissioner Ahmed Babiker al-Hassan has told the official news agency SUNA that the higher and regional committees to deliver the food aid to the affected civilians in South Sudan are working hard to transport the assistance prior to the rainy season.

He pointed that the fifth batch of the relief included 807 tonnes, saying the rugged roads hinder the flow of food assistance to South Sudan.

In February, three United Nations agencies declared an outbreak of localised famine in several areas in the young nation, saying an additional one million people were on the brink of starvation.

On 30 March, the World Food Programme (WFP) began providing food aid to South Sudan using a new corridor opened by Sudan. The new route enables transport of food items overland from El Obeid in central Sudan to Bentiu in South Sudan's Unity state.

In July 2014, Juba and Khartoum signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to open a humanitarian corridor to deliver food assistance to vulnerable South Sudanese through the River Nile or by road. Last January, the agreement was extended for a six month period.

Earlier this month, Sudan said it doesn't rule out to open an Airbridge to deliver food assistance to South Sudan during the rainy season revealing a proposal to open a third road corridor to transport aid to the needy population in the war-torn nation.

South Sudan became the world's newest nation after declaring independence from Sudan in 2011. However, in 2013 the country was plunged into civil war.

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April 28, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Representatives of the African Union chief mediator Thabo Mbeki Thursday in Khartoum have started consultations with government officials and opposition leaders on the peace talks and national dialogue.

The African Union representative in Khartoum, Mahmoud Kan and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) representative Lesane Johannes have met with the government chief negotiator for the talks on the Two Areas Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid.

They also discussed with the head of opposition's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Mayada Swar al-Dahab and the chairman of the opposition alliance Future Forces of Change (FFC) Ghazi Salah al-Din Attabani the peace talks.

In statements to Sudan Tribune, Swar al-Dahab said she made some proposals to make a breakthrough in the peace talks between the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N).

She stressed the importance to open the humanitarian track, pointing to the need to put pressure on all parties to achieve just, sustainable and comprehensive peace.

Also, the meeting discussed the impact of national dialogue outcome on the various tracks of peace talks, expressing fear that dialogue recommendations wouldn't be adequately implemented.

Meanwhile, the FFC spokesperson Hassan Mohamed Ahmed said the African officials discussed with Attabani the political process in Sudan, pointing the latter made some proposals to ensure the national dialogue is “genuine and neutral”.

The African officials are expected to meet the high committee for the implementation of the national dialogue outcome and the head of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) al-Sadiq al-Mahdi and the internal groups of the opposition umbrella Sudan Call.

The African Union is brokering peace talks between the Sudanese government and opposition including the armed groups in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

The government and Sudan Call signed in March and August 2016 the Roadmap Agreement brokered by the AUHIP including several steps towards their participation in a national constitutional process inside Sudan.

However, the parties failed to sign a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian agreements that are seen crucial before to move forward in the roadmap implementation process.

On Monday, SPLM-N announced they agreed with the African Union chief mediator, Thabo Mbeki, to postpone peace talks to next July.

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April 28, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government army (SPLA) Friday has gained control of the headquarters of armed opposition forces, displacing over 25,000 civilians without humanitarian assistance.

Former rebel leader Johnson Olony speaks to the press upon arrival at Juba international airport on 13 June 2013 (ST)

The SPLA spokesperson, Colonel Santo Domic said government forces took Kodok town on Wednesday after three days of fighting with armed opposition fighters under the overall command of Johnson Olony, who allied himself to the SPLM-IO led by the exiled former First Vice President, Riek Machar.

The military spokesperson said they were forced to take the town because they have reports that civilians trapped in the rebel-held areas were starving and the government was being blamed for denying humanitarian access to the place.

Ten days ago a group of 10 Shilluk tribal leaders in the Upper Nile accused Olony of killing officers from the Agwelek section of the Shilluk tribe in Panyikang County. The rebel general also belongs to the same tribal section.

Gen. Johnson Colony and his troops joined the SPLA in 2013 when he returned from Sudan after accepting a presidential amnesty. However he joined the SPLM-IO in July 2015.

In April 2015, Johnson Colony defected and captured the capital of the oil-rich Upper Nile state, Malakal, and Melut, headquarters of Melut county which is adjacent to the main oilfields of Paloch, in joint operations with SPLA-IO rebels before the towns were retaken by the government.

The international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders on Wednesday announced that nearly 25,000 people have been displaced by intense fighting between in Kodok between the government forces and the rebel fighters.

"The humanitarian organisations that have, up until now, been providing essential medical services, water, food, non-food items, and shelter have had to temporarily suspend activities on the west bank of the Nile because of the increasing insecurity," further said Marcus Bachmann head of MSF mission in South Sudan

The statement expressed deep concern for those who would be forced to trek across the border to Sudan in search of safety in refugee camps if they do not get protection.

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