Africa

A growing number of snake farms are being set up in Kenya to attract paying visitors and breed snakes for export to Europe and North America.

A new crop of Nigerian developers is drawing on the depth of culture across the continent to make distinctly African games.

The suicide attack on a military base in northern Mali killed at least 50 people, officials say.

Cameroon fight back to earn their first Afcon victory since 2010, denying debutants Guinea-Bissau a historic first win.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the suicide-vehicle attack earlier today perpetrated against a military camp in the northern Mali city of Gao that reportedly left at least 50 people dead and dozens injured.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scores his second goal of the Nations Cup to earn hosts Gabon a 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso.

The victims of Tuesday's accidental bombing should be compensated, Human Rights Watch says.

BBC Africa takes a look at five players to watch out for at this year's Cup of Nations.

Uganda coach Milutin Sredojevic says a "hard to explain" moment handed Ghana a 1-0 win in their Nations Cup opener.

Thousands of UK tourists are leaving The Gambia after a state of emergency was declared.

Tourists were told to leave The Gambia following President Yahya Jammeh's refusal to hand power to the president-elect.

The oldest ever Nations Cup player Essam El Hadary is Egypt's only fit goalkeeper in Gabon after injuries to Ahmed El Shenawy and Sherif Ekramy.

As Barack Obama steps down as US president, the BBC's Nancy Kacungira looks back at his legacy in Africa.

January 17, 2017 (JUBA) - The youth league from South Sudan's armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO) has denied reports that its members conducted a meeting with pro-government supporters in Nairobi, Kenya describing the group as “non-active” members.

Section of participants during the Youth peace and reconciliation workshop in Wau on 5, November, 2016 (ST Photo)

The leader of the SPLM-IO youth league, Puot Kang Chol, told Sudan Tribune the meeting could have been organised by individuals allied to South Sudan government.

“What happened in the Kenyan capital was not in any manner an inclusive initiative that shows all faces of South Sudanese youth in general, but individuals being used by the Jieng Council of Elders,” said Chol.

The group's views, he said, do not represent the SPLM-IO's position, but of some individual directly linked to the Jieng Council of Elders.

“The SPLM-IO youth league has acknowledged that the conference that was held in Nairobi, Kenya didn't seek to include all the youth leaders across the country, but by a selective group of people who are only there to sing praises to the current regime,” he added.

The armed opposition official accused some elements within the Juba establishment of allegedly working against the peace deal.

“The youth who are being lured into politicking by our elders who are careless about the dying of young children in the internally displaced peoples camps across the young nation must put in to their minds that it's their future that they are playing with, not the future of the elders of today but children of tomorrow,” said Chol.

The quest for peace, he claimed, has been priority of the SPLM-IO.

According to the Chol, the return of peace in South Sudan will not be achieved by a group of youth, but rather through constructive engagement of the two main rival parties involved in the conflict.

“The SPLM-IO didn't participate or delegate any member in or outside the country to attend the conference. Should anybody appear in the conference, he or she is responsible of his or her actions and not the SPLM-IO youth league,” he stressed.

(ST)

January 17, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) said its fighters repulsed an attack by the government forces in the Blue Nile state on Monday.

SPLM-N spokesperson Arnu Ngutulu Lodi (ST Photo)

"Yesterday 16/1/2017 at 7;00 am SPLM/N forces in Blue Nile region repulsed NCP forces and militias raid on SPLA/N outpost in Alruum area," said SPLM-N spokesperson Arnu Ngutulu Lodi in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

He further said one SPLA fighter was slightly wounded in his shoulder, adding they cannot give account about the causalities of the government troops.

"But there are signs of blood in their fleeing routs," he added.

Since more than a year, thanks to the regional and international efforts, the government and the SPLM-N stopped the fighting in the Two Areas as they are committed to unilateral cessations of hostilities.

However, this the third time since two months that the SPLA-N accuses Khartoum of breaching the unilateral truce.

The Sudanese army refuses to comment on these claims.

Last Thursday the Sudanese government announced a six-month unilateral cessation of hostilities.

(ST)

January 17, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - leading member of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), Nafei Ali Nafei, Tuesday has ruled out the signing of a peace agreement with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SLPM-N) and the Sudan Liberation Movement - Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW).

Former presidential assistant Nafei Ali Nafei (ST)

In statements to the private Ashrooq TV station, on the other hand Nafei expected that the National Umma Party (NUP) of Sadiq al-Mahdi, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) of Gibril Ibrahim and the Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) reach a negotiated agreement with the government soon.

''The SPLM-N and SLM-AW may only join peace in order to raise another problem in the future and delay its implementation. The SPLM-N and SLM-AW are not genuinely keen to achieve peace. There is no hope in them," said the former presidential aide.

Nafei signed the first framework agreement with the SPLM-N in June 2011, less than a month after the eruption of the conflict in South Kordofan between the Sudanese army and the SPLM-N, but the hardliners in the ruling party and the army at the time rejected the agreement.

He said that the holdout groups that are willing to join peace have to sign the National Document which includes the outcome of the National Dialogue Conference. He pointed that JEM and SLM-MM are the most probable among the rebel groups to join the peace process because they have similar objectives that do contradict the "national goal" unlike the SPLM-N.

The SPLM-N refuses to dissolve its army during the transitional period and demands regional autonomy for South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

The SLM-AW says before to join the negotiating table, Khartoum has to repair the consequences of the conflict in Darfur. So, it demands to provide security to civilians and disarm the militias, to expel the "new comers", and to restitute the land to its owners, to pay compensations to the affected people.

Nafie said the government and the "national forces" will resume soon a new round of peace talks with the holdout groups to convince them to join the National Document agreed by the dialogue conference last October.

He expressed hope that they join the peace process, adding that there would be no delay in the implementation timetable of the dialogue recommendations related to the formation of a transitional government and constitutional amendments.

The NCP leading member said that nothing prevents the holdout groups from joining the new government in line with some understandings that can be reached in the upcoming peace talks.

Nafei avoided to speak much about Sadiq al-Mahdi who will return to Sudan on 26 January after more than two years of self-exile in Cairo. The government hopes to convince the leader of the largest opposition party as they kept direct contacts with him despite his alliance with the armed groups since August 2014.

Last August, following the failure of the parties to sign a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements, the government concluded an internal national dialogue in October, saying it cannot wait indefinitely for the holdout groups.

The Sudan Call groups condemned the move, saying Khartoum violated the Roadmap Agreement and asked the African mediators to convince the government to hold another inclusive dialogue process. But the latter says it had waited since March for them to sign the roadmap and proposes them to join the National Document pointing it includes all what they want to achieve.

The mediators seek to convince Khartoum to accept to open this framework document for more discussions with the holdout groups, but they want first bring the armed groups to sign the humanitarian cessation of hostilities with the government.

Nafei left the national government since December 2014, in order to renew the leadership and give a place for the young generations in the ruling party. However, he remains an influential member in the NCP.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

January 17, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – A South Sudanese diplomat has downplayed recent rumours that the young nation allegedly struck a deal with an undisclosed party against Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, receives S South FVP at his office in Addis Ababa on 9 September 2016 (ENA Photo)

South Sudan's ambassador to Ethiopia, James Pita Morga, said his country cannot enter into a deal likely to harm Ethiopia's interest with a third party.

Morga, in an interview with the state-run Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), dismissed the alleged report as fabricated.

Since South Sudan's President Salva Kiir paid visit to Egypt few days ago, lots of reports circulated on social media, alleging that the two leaders had agreed to sabotage a controversial Ethiopian massive dam project that is being built in Nile River which Cairo fears would eventually diminish its historic water share.

Kiir's recent visit to Cairo came weeks after Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met Kiir's close ally and Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni in Kampala.

Unconfirmed reports from opposition group led by former Vice President, Riek Machar, alleged that the latest meeting between Kiir and Al-sisi was allegedly part of a "dirty deal" between the two leaders intended to harm Ethiopia.

But the South Sudan official said Kiir's visit was "a usual, bilateral and friendly visit".
The ambassador further refuted as untrue reports that his country would no longer accept the deployment of additional United Nations peacekeepers.

In August last year, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution approving the deployment of an additional 4,000 peacekeepers to its South Sudan mission (UNMISS).

The Security Council passed the resolution in response to concerns about fighting in the capital, Juba, obstruction of UNMISS and other humanitarian actors by the South Sudanese Transitional Government of National Unity, and failure of the warring parties to implement a UN-brokered peace agreement.

The authorisation of an additional 4,000 troops is intended to supplement UNMISS's existing strength, increasing the total force to 17,000 peacekeepers.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn was recently quoted saying there were Egyptian institutions harbouring, supporting as well as funding terrorist groups in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has repeatedly accused Eritrea of allegedly supporting its opposition groups.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister said that the support of the Egyptian institutions would impact on relations between both countries as it targets Ethiopia's stability.

Addis Ababa has, however, requested Egyptian authorities to respond to the matter.

(ST)

United Nations humanitarian helicopter and emergency medical personnel are in north-eastern Nigeria following a military airstrike that hit a displacement camp killing dozens of people, including aid workers, and wounding a reported 100 others.

Former national football star Mohamed Aboutrika is accused of funding the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

In 1991, the world's largest refugee camp opened in Kenya to shelter Somalis fleeing war.