Africa

June 10, 2017 (JUBA) - A South Sudanese official has denied media reports of an alleged diplomatic row with Qatar, amid unconfirmed reports that the East African nation was reviving relations with Egypt and other Gulf states.

"There is nothing like that. Our relations with Qatar are on the basis of mutual benefits just like we do with other countries in the world and with which we do not have any problem. We enjoy strong political and economic relations with all countries with which we have established diplomatic relations", South Sudan's Foreign Affairs Minister, Deng Alor Kuol told Sudan Tribune Saturday.

There were unconfirmed reports saying that Juba decided to back the decision by three Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Barbarian and UAE as well as Egypt to severe diplomatic ties with Qatar and to impose an economic embargo on the tiny state.

Kuol said he was unaware of any diplomatic row between South Sudan and Qatar before, during and when he was removed from serving the government in 2013.

A former cabinet affairs minister, Kuol was removed by South Sudan's President Salva Kiir in a cabinet reshuffle but returned in 2016 as part of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).

The foreign affairs minister said he is aware the two nations signed a special agreement to establish a team specifically tasked with strengthening bilateral trade ties.

In March 2012, following a difference with Khartoum over oil fees and the shutdown of oil production, Juba received a 100-million dollar loan from the Qatar National Bank (QNB).

Qatar was one of the nations that recognised South Sudan's independence in 2011.

Over the past two decades, however, Qatar has grown its international profile and punched above its weight in international affairs and is currently a member of numerous international organisations and maintains bilateral relations around the globe.

(ST)

June 9, 2017 (EL-FASHER) - Nine people were killed and several others injured Friday after a fire broke out at Silk camp for displaced persons in Korma area, some 50 kilometres north-west of El-Fasher, North Darfur State capital.

Ahmed Abdallah, a tribal chief from the area, told Sudan Tribune that the “fire raced through the Silk camp in Korma area, leading to the death of nine people and wounding several others with varying injuries”.

He added the camp witnessed a similar fire break out last month and two times earlier, saying they don't rule out that there are some hands that want to shut down the camp.

In February, a fire broke out at one of the neighbourhoods in the locality of Al Lait Jar Al Nabi, northeast of El-Fasher, and destroyed more than 25 houses without causing any casualties.

Also, a fire broke out in one of the villages of Fata Barno in the locality of Kutum, North Darfur in late January destroying 25 houses completely.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

June 9, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – Two Ethiopia- based South Sudan students union who support two different SPLM factions on Friday said they are jointly working to united themselves as part of the efforts to bring about durable peace and stability in the youngest nation.

Members of the Warrap state electoral commission conduct elections in Uganda on 18 October 2014 (ST)

A delegation of South Sudan students union which had been in Juba has returned back to Ethiopia after meeting top government officials over issues of national concerns.

The unions attempting to merge themselves under one acceptable leadership are student union supporting SPLM faction under the leadership of President Salva Kiir and those students backing SPLM-IO under the leadership of Vice-President Taban Deng.

Ajak Koul Dengdit, South Sudan Students in Ethiopia provisional chairperson and head of the delegation told Sudan Tribune that the student delegation withdrawn from both unions had consulted with the leaders of South Sudan on ways how the students could play a role along with the government as a way forward to bring about lasting peace, healing and national reconciliation.

Currently, there are around 3,000 South Sudanese students in Ethiopia who are enrolled in various Ethiopian universities and institutions on government sponsorships and private sponsored ones.

The students here in Ethiopia, however, had been divided on the basis of political affiliation after the civil war that broke out in December 2013.

The provisional body newly established now says it has consulted with the students here in Ethiopia and have laid the foundation to conduct a general election to run both unions under one acceptable leadership.

“one of the issues is our need to reorganise harmonise and to conduct students general election that is expected to bring all South Sudanese students countrywide together under a united leadership and secondly to consult and express our support to the national dialogue initiated and declared by President Salva Kiir as an alternative way to realise peace”peace,” said Ajak.

In seeking for a solution to the matter and while in Juba Ajak said the delegation has knocked at the doors of many top government officials over the two issues mentioned.

According to the delegation has got pledges to support and facilitate during the Union's course of action.

“I would like to inform the general students' body in Ethiopia that we are going to conduct the students general election soon we secure the assistance the government pledged to extend.”

(ST)

June 9, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The head of the SPLM North, Malik Agar, on Friday described the appointment of Abdel Aziz al-Hilu as chairman of the Movement as a coup based on tribal alliances. Further, he reiterated his proposal to choose a temporary leadership from the current leadership council according to the seniority of its membership.

The Nuba Mountains Liberation Council (NMLC) Wednesday decided to install al-Hilu as temporary president of the Movement, to relieve Agar from the leadership of the armed group together with the secretary general Yasir Arman, and to prevent them from entering the SPLM-N controlled areas.

But Agar rejected the move describing it as a "coup d'état if it succeeds will pave the way for other coups to come after," he said, stressing that "a coup cannot lead and build a democratic national movement and will not be accepted by the Movement's members and leaders, or why did our people resist for 27 years the coup of al-Bashir".

In addition, he challenged the legality of the meeting of the Nuba Liberation Council saying it did not have a quorum. He pointed out that a "handful" of NMLC members held the meeting under a direct order from al-Hilu and tried to hide the weakness of attendance through the organisation of a public celebration to mark the 6th anniversary of the resumption of the war on June 6, 2011.

Agar wondered how a regional body can decide to dissolve the SPLM-N leadership council, saying it is a "political, legal and constitutional paradox". Further, he underscored that the decisions of the NMLC were signed by a colonel who joined the SPLA-N in 2012 who dismissed the chairman and the secretary-general, both have the rank of Lieutenant General.

The SPLM-N leader stressed that the decisions of the Nuba Liberation Council were based on an alliance between certain tribes, warning that this is "unacceptable" and would divide the Movement on a tribal basis.

Also, he said "the small group working on the engineering of this coup is a group with tribal orientations that led to tribal fighting in the Blue Nile, a matter that should not happen in the Nuba Mountains. "

Agar was referring to the recent clashes that occurred in between the SPLA-N controlled areas in the Blue Nile state between the group's members from the Adak tribe against their comrades from Al-Angassana, the tribe of Malik Agar. The former supported al-Hilu's move against Agar.

NEW LEADERSHIP

He renewed his readiness and the Secretary General to voluntarily renounce the leadership of the group saying that "it is better for the Movement to choose a temporary leadership in accordance with the seniority of the current leadership council to oversee the convening of the General Conference with the participation of real representatives of the Two Areas and the states of the northern sector (Sudan) and representatives of the Movement in the Diaspora."

He stressed that the Chairman and the Secretary-General will never run for any future executive position in any way, adding that the movement needs a comprehensive assessment and openness to determine the way forward.

He reiterated that "it is not acceptable that a small group of Kauda town decide the future of the Movement".

He pointed out that the right to self-determination is one of the contentious issues with al-Hilu in that sense that the movement's chairman and secretary-general and many others leaders and members of the movement adhere to the vision of the New Sudan and the unity of Sudan on new bases.

He further said the other contention with al-Hilu that the latter after his return from a secret foreign visit, he started to discuss the possibility of dividing the Sudan into five countries with the SPLM-N's cadre.

Agar called on al-Hilu to realise before it was too late that his "coup paves the way for internal and external forces to encircle the Movement, forces that have been in full hostility with the Movement and will now find a golden opportunity."

He appealed the Movement's forces and members to preserve the SPLM-N unity and to move away from ethnic and tribal, geographical divisions and commit themselves to the group's vision.

(ST)

June 9, 2017 (JUBA) - A South Sudanese veteran journalist and the editor in chief of a daily newspaper in Juba has called for a reverse of a decision barring foreign journalists from entering and operating in the country.

"The country is in dialogue which requires media coverage. It is not the time to bar media from entering and operating in South Sudan. It is a time to allow them to come and report what they see so that they can give out correct information and help in disseminating information of the dialogue," Alfred Taban, chairperson of Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) told Sudan Tribune on Friday

The Veteran South Sudanese journalist was reacting to a decision by the South Sudan Media Authority (SSMA) banning unnamed 20 foreign journalists from entering or operating in the country for what it termed “unsubstantiated and unrealistic stories”.

The chairman of the regulatory agency, Elijah Alier, Thursday claimed that the banned journalists had often reported stories with the potential to incite hate and violence among the South Sudanese. Alier, who did not disclose any names, said the SSMA had issued over 200 permits to foreign journalists and media houses to operate in the country.

These journalists, he said, had filed stories that insulted or degraded South Sudan and its people. sometimes, he claimed, they incite violence rather than encouraging the public to embrace peace. these reports, he adds, undermines the provisions of the Media Authority Act.

Taban said the decision of the public funded Media Authority to ban foreign journalists was in favour of the government and not the country and so its actions may not be helpful and should be reversed.

"The media authority should not be a tool to stifle press freedom and media activities in the country. It should be the one to enhance a working relation between the government and the media instead o becoming part of the government. It should be a regulatory body but what it has done now will not help facilitate the smooth working relations between the media and the government. It will discourage foreign media to not enter South Sudan because they know they will not be protected and this will have an impact on the dialogue process. And it means there is something which the government wants to hide from the public," said the veteran journalist.

Alier, however, admitted that foreign journalists can contribute to mobilising international community on the humanitarian issues in the country.

“Reporting about the humanitarian situation is acceptable. Such reports are helping South Sudan as they inform the world and the donor community,” he said.

Recently, the South Sudanese authorities have rejected to authorise foreign journalists working with international media agencies or services such as AFP, Reuters and Voice of America among others.

South Sudan is one of the countries in the world which has increasingly become repressive and dangerous for journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Several journalists have died in the young nation.

(ST)

June 9, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's ministry of defence said it would send additional troops to Yemen to join the Arab coalition forces.

Sudanese troops participating in the 'North Thunder' military drill with troops from 20 nations in Saudi Arabia on 16 February 2016 (Photo Saudi Press Agency)

The Sudanese army has been participating in the Saudi-led military coalition since 2015 in a regional effort to back the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after he was ousted from the capital Sanaa by the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels.

According to the Khartoum-based Al-Saiha newspaper Friday, Sudan's state minister of defence Maj. Gen. Ali Salim disclosed that preparations are underway to send a new batch of troops to Yemen.

Last month, Sudanese military sources revealed that 21 Sudanese troops have been killed in Yemen, including 4 officers.

The Sudanese forces include elements from the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces.

Saudi officials said they want to benefit from the Sudanese experience in the counterinsurgency warfare.

(ST)

June 9, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Amnesty International (AI) has urged the Saudi authorities to release two Sudanese activists warning against deporting them to Khartoum as there is a real risk they would be subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

Elgassim Seed Ahmed and Elwaleed Imam have been detained without charge in al-Ha'ir Prison since their arrest on 21 December 2016.

“They were interrogated around eight times mostly about their social media activism following their support of the civil disobedience protest in Sudan in December 2016 on Facebook” according to the human rights group.

The rights groups added that “both men had last been interrogated in March 2017, when they were told by prison authorities that they are being detained and interrogated at the behest of the Sudanese authorities”.

“The security officers from the General Directorate of Investigations (GDI, or al-Mabahith) told them that they were now awaiting trial, after which they could face imprisonment or deportation to Sudan,” said Amnesty.

The rights groups pointed that the content of questioning and ill-treatment they faced besides the collection of their passports “raise fears that the authorities are preparing for their deportation to Sudan, where they would be at risk of additional arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment”.

It further called on the Saudi Arabian authorities to release the two activists “immediately and unconditionally, as they are prisoners of conscience detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression”.

Elgassim Seed Ahmed has lived in Saudi Arabia since 1998 and Elwaleed Imam since 2013. Both men work in a supply company in Riyadh.

On 14 March 2016, the Saudi authorities released the Sudanese blogger Walid al-Hussein after 235 days in arbitrary detention. Al-Hussein, who runs the Sudanese opposition website Al-Rakooba, was taken by security agents on July 23 rd 2015 from his home in the city of al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia.

In 2005, the interior ministers of Saudi Arabia and Sudan signed a security pact in Khartoum which included clauses related to preventing any activities by residents or citizens on their territories that are hostile to the government of the other side.

Saudi Arabia is generally very sensitive to any foreign political activities on its territory.

In 2011, the Saudi government issued a decree banning any events of political nature without prior permission and warned of consequences to foreign nationals for violating this order which included deportation.

(ST)

June 9, 2017 (JUBA)- High ranking military officers in South Sudanese army have been killed on Thursday when their convoy came under attack on Juba - Nimule road, resulting in the death of more than 40 people, the SPLM-IO rebels said on Friday.

Brigadier General Charles Kon AKot and Colonel Amigo Ange were killed in an ambush carried out by the rebel fighters of the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) under command of the former first vice president turned armed opposition leader, Riek Machar.

Police spokesperson, Brigadier Daniel Justin Thursday confirmed the attack, which occurred near Moli village in the Eastern Equatoria State.

He told reporters in Juba that 14 people lost their lives, and 10 have been injured and the cars in which they were travelling have been burnt.

In a statement claiming responsibility for the attack signed by Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, the SPLA-IO said the attack was a response to the repeated attacks on their positions by the government forces and to tell the world it was not part of the national dialogue declared by President Salva Kiir.

"The SPLA-IO takes responsibility on the Juba - Nimule road ambush of yesterday 8/6/2017 and would like to make it clear that the ambush on Nimule-Juba highway was carried out by its forces of the Anyanya division in Imotong state.," said the statement.

The statement denounced repeated attacks by the government forces on their positions and denied Juba claims that the SPLA-IO in Imotong state joined the national dialogue process.

"This is our response to the constant attacks on our bases and making (a) false claim about us joining the National dialogue. The SPLA-IO will not dialogue without it's Commander in Chief and will not sit back while the government continues attacking its bases," reads a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

The SPLA-IO, further said they destroyed four military Land Cruisers and nine other vehicles. Five Ak47 were recovered in good condition. More than 40 lives perished including civilians who were caught in the crossfire.

The armed opposition regretted the loss of civilian lives who felt victims due to an exchange of fire with the government forces who used them as cover.

The incident, it says, was a direct attack on the government escort vehicles which were completely destroyed as reported by the government police spokesperson. The statement warned civilians to not move with the army on the road to avoid becoming victims of attacks targeting the government forces.

"The government should not think that they can intimidate the SPLA-IO and continue to survive using the Juba-Nimule highway which is within our reach and control. The struggle continues," stressed the rebel group.

(ST)

In Mozambique, Ibo island has been home to generations of silversmiths who hand-forge their wares, but now this trade is at risk.

June 9, 2017(BOR) – A child was killed, two others injured while another was abducted in South Sudan's Jonglei state, officials said.

The map of Jonglei state in red

The incident, which occurred Thursday, violates terms of a ceasefire agreement signed in the capital, Juba last month.

The commissioner of Bor West county, Simon Thon Ayuen, said a number of goats were also confiscated during the same attack.

“Two people were injured and one killed in an attack in which suspected Murle ethnic tribesmen abducted a five-year old boy”, he said.

He said the attackers attacked a home at Char-akau in Bor West, injuring a four-year old girl as well as killing the deceased relative.

The incident a clear indication of the series of violation to the ceasefire agreement that was signed in Juba under the chairmanship of First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai.

(ST)

Condemning yesterday&#39s attacks against the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in the city of Kidal, Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated the Organization&#39s support to help implement the peace agreement in the West African country.

An estimated 40,000 children are trapped in extremely dangerous conditions in Raqqa as fighting intensifies in and around the Syrian city, the United Nations Children&#39s Fund (UNICEF) reported today, warning that &#8220many are caught in the crossfire.&#8221

Voicing concern over lack of progress on the part of Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to undertake credible investigations into widespread allegations of rights violations and abuses in the Kasai Central and Kasai Oriental provinces, the top United Nations human rights official today called for setting up of an international investigation mechanism to look into the situation.

The United Nations migration agency today appealed for some $60 million to aid an estimated 16 million people suffering from the worst drought in decades in East and Horn of Africa.

June 8, 2017 (NEW YORK) - Egyptian and Ethiopian diplomats have called on the United Nations Security Council to suspend the investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir, who is charged with masterminding a campaign of genocide in Darfur.

United Nations Security Council meeting which unanimously adopted resolution 2228 (2015) extending the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) June 29, 2015 (UN Photo)

In a report to the Security Council on the situation in Darfur on Thursday, the ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, urged the 15-member body to take concrete action that would help to arrest suspects of alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur, including President Omer al-Bashir.

Commenting on her report, Egypt's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, said the ICC proceedings against al-Bashir lust be suspended.

"The Court must be careful not to jeopardise peace and security on the African continent," he said.

Referring to South Africa, Aboulatta disagreed with any action taken against an African State under the pretext that the State had not complied with the Court because it had not arrested President Al-Bashir and handed him over to the Court.

In April 2017, at an unprecedented hearing at the ICC, the South African government denied flouting international law and broken its obligations to the Court when it refused in June 2015 to arrest President al-Bashir who attended an African Union meeting in Pretoria.

The African Union had called for the withdrawal of Darfur-related matters and had expressed concern that the Security Council had not responded to that request.

For his part, the Ethiopian Ambassador to the United Nations Tekeda Alemu cited the disappointment of African countries by the manner in which the Court had been operating.

Also, Alemu reiterated the African Union's request for the Court to end its pursuit of a case against the Sudanese president and called to finding home-grown solutions.

He added that the African Union "was convinced that the referral of the situation in Darfur to the Court would cause more harm than good while seriously undermining ongoing efforts to resolve the conflict".

On the ongoing efforts to end the conflict in Darfur, he said peace process had shown significant progress, but more remained to be done.

"The Council should do its part, including by exerting pressure on armed movements to put an end to the suffering of the people of Darfur," he said and called on the rebel groups to lay down their arms.

(ST)

June 8, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - UN Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Nicholas Haysom discussed on Thursday with the Sudanese foreign ways to reinvigorate regional and international efforts to bring peace in South Sudan.

Nicholas Haysom appointed UN special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan (UN photo)

The visiting South African diplomat also discussed the ongoing rift within the rebel SPLM-N with Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, a presidential aide and chief negotiator for the peace talks and the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) leader Sadiq al-Mahdi.

According to the foreign ministry spokesperson Gharib Allah Khidir Haysom discussed with Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour ways to activate the ongoing regional and international efforts to achieve peace and stability in South Sudan.

Khidir added the discussions included the "preparations for the IGAD Summit on the situation in South Sudan, which will be held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on June 12."

Ghandour stressed Sudan's keenness to achieve peace in South Sudan and the pivotal role of Sudan in all efforts and initiatives aimed at ending the over three-year crisis in the neighbouring country.

The Sudanese Foreign Minister, according to the statement, further said that Sudan has exercised the utmost wisdom, self-restraint and patience with the South Sudan which he accused of supporting the Sudanese armed groups.

The IGAD leaders will discuss ways to bring the warring parties to end the fighting and allow humanitarian access to the needy in the war affected areas.

They also intend to see how they can hold an inclusive national dialogue process including the main armed group SPLM-IO which Juba does not want to see in the political process for the time being.

SPLM-N RIFT

Haysom who facilitate the efforts of the African Union mediation to end the conflict in the Two Areas discussed the ongoing crisis in the SPLM-N and its impact on the peace process.

"We held a fruitful meeting with the head of the government negotiating delegation, in which we clearly expressed our concern about divisions within the SPLM-N and ways to speed up the implementation of the African Union roadmap," the UN special envoy told reporters after the meeting.

He added they agreed that is too early, at this stage, to predict the consequences of divisions within the SPLM-N, adding they will continue to monitor closely those developments.

Haysom also met with the NUP leader Sadiq al-Mahdi but both didn't made any statement about the meeting.

"The meeting discussed the current political situation and the latest developments and developments at the local and international levels," said a short statement released by the opposition group after the encounter.

Al-Mahdi is a political ally of the SPLM-N. The NUP and the SPLM-N are signatories of a roadmap agreement brokered by the African Union mediation.

The Sudanese opposition groups keep silent over the rift in the armed group as Abdel Aziz al-Hilu who is appointed to replace Malik Agar by the Nuba Mountains body calls for self determination for his region.

(ST)

June 8, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) - The Ethiopian parliament on Thursday deliberated over a draft budget for the upcoming Ethiopian fiscal year of 2010 which begins from August 2017-June 2018.

State Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation, Abraham Tekeste, Thursday presented the draft budget proposed last week to Parliament for discussion.

Last Friday the council of ministers proposed 320.8 Birr (USD 13.8 Billion) which the new budget had seen a rise of $ 2.02 billion (16.9%) to that of the current fiscal year.

Of the total, some $ 4.9 billion are allocated for capital expenditures while some $ 3.55 billion are slated for regular expenses.

Over $ 5.08 billion (some 36.6%) is allocated to subsidies regional states.

Some $ 303 million are allotted to enforce the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The new budget has seen $ 2.02 billion (some 16.9%) rise to that of the just-ending fiscal Ethiopian year.

State minister, Abraham said the draft budget was designed taken to account the socio-economic devolvement activities and impact of continental and global economic situation as well as pledges of international aid donors.

At the Parliament hearing today, Abraham said the country is expected to register 11.1% of economic growth in 2017/18 Ethiopian fiscal year.

After discussions, the Parliament has referred the draft budget to the budget and finance affairs to further scrutiny.

(ST)

June 8, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Thursday renewed calls to arrest the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir and other suspects of alleged war crimes and genocide in Darfur region.

The Hague-based court issued arrest warrants for Bashir in 2009 and 2010, accusing him of committing genocide and other atrocities during a counterinsurgency campaign in western Sudan region of Darfur.

However, Bashir continues to defy the arrest warrants and travel across the world including in ICC state members where he is welcomed by its leaders. Also, Sudan last March criticised a UN spokesperson for calling to arrest and hand over Bashir to the war crimes court.

“Not one of the suspects for whom warrants have been issued has been arrested and transferred to the International Criminal Court,” ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the United Nations Security Council.

Further, she said that the victims and their families should not despair or abandon hope, pointing that the international tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were reminders that persistence and determination could result in the arrest and surrender of suspects many years after the issuance of arrest warrants.

The UN Security Council referred the Darfur case to the ICC for investigation in March 2005 under a Chapter VII resolution since Sudan is not a member of the ICC.

“The States that form this Council have the power, independently and collectively, to positively influence and incentivize States, whether or not parties to the Rome Statute, to assist in the efforts to arrest and surrender the Darfur suspects,” she said, adding that regional organisations can do the same.

Bensouda noted that to date, the Court has made 13 decisions on non-compliance and referred them to the Security Council.

“Yet not one has been acted upon by this Council,” she said. “By failing to act in response to such Court decisions, this Council is, in essence, relinquishing and undermining its clear role on such matters,” she stressed.

Regarding his trips South Africa, the prosecutor said the ICC pre-trial chamber plans to decide whether South Africa acted in non-compliance with the Statute when it failed to arrest and hand over al-Bashir in June 2015.

By the end of March 2017, the Sudanese president travelled to Jordan to attend an Arab League meeting, but Jordan declined to arrest and surrender him.

“Inviting, facilitating or supporting the international travel of any person subject to an ICC arrest warrant is inconsistent with a commitment to international criminal justice,” she said. “It is also an affront to the victims in the Darfur situation,” she said.

(ST)

June 8, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir will not attend regional bloc's (IGAD) extraordinary summit due in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa on Monday, his office announced on Thursday.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (L), South Sudanese President Salva Kiir (C) and Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta in Juba, December 26, 2013 (AP)

The summit, to be attended by IGAD heads of state and government, is expected to discuss the dire security and humanitarian situation facing South Sudan and the obstacles to the implementation of the peace agreement signed in August, 2015.

An official at the office of the South Sudanese presidency confirmed Kiir's absence.

“He [Kiir] will not attend the IGAD summit. The president has already sent a letter of apology through the minister in his office,” said the spokesperson for South Sudan presidency, Ateny Wek Ateny.

“There are no reasons, but the president is attending to other things here in South Sudan. The team that will represent the president has not yet been formed,” he added.

Ateny said the South Sudanese leader had other commitments in the war-torn nation, adding that government was implementing the 2015 peace accord.

Several military and government officials attributed Kiir's change of mind to advice from security and the Jieng Council of Elders (JCE), who reportedly think regional leaders may force Kiir to make concessions in favour of armed opposition forces.

Others claim the main reason for the president's absence stems from fears that he could be blocked from returning to the country since the army is divided after he sacked the army chief of general staff, Paul Malong Awan from his post in May.

There are also concerns from the leadership on why the summit was called at the time when the armed opposition forces have stepped up their activities in the region.

The summit is among others, expected to help find amicable remedies to the dire security and humanitarian situation in South Sudan.

The extraordinary summit was called by the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, who is also the current chairperson of the regional bloc.

Desalegn said the implementation of South Sudan's 2015 peace deal was lagging behind and fighting still rages on, despite declaration of a unilateral ceasefire and the recent launch by the recent launch of the national dialogue.

South Sudan descended into civil war after President Kiir fired Riek Machar as vice president in 2013. A peace deal signed in 2015 is yet to be fully implemented.

(ST)

June 8, 2017 (JUBA) - More than 10 people were killed and dozens wounded when unknown gunmen attacked vehicles travelling on the Juba-Nimule highway Thursday.

General view of Juba Nimule road leading to Nimule Park and neighbouring Uganda (Pinterest photo)

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The police spokesman, Brigadier Daniel Justin confirmed the incident, which occurred near Moli village in Eastern Equatoria state.

The attackers, according to the police spokesman, overpowered the military escort, resulting in the death of three government soldiers while three others were wounded as they escorted buses.

"What happened was a barbaric act, it is a banditry activity. And so it is unfortunate that 14 people have lost their lives, 10 have been injured and the cars in which they were travelling have been burnt,” Justin told reporters in the capital, Juba Thursday.

He added, “The police and other organised forces have stepped up measures to restore law and order".

The attack highlights a rise in insecurity and casts doubt on the sustainability of a unilateral ceasefire President Salva Kiir declared.

The 192 km Juba-Nimule highway is the only paved road in South Sudan and is vital for supply of goods from neighbouring countries to the young nation.

(ST)