Africa

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March 31, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The quadripartite committee between Sudan and Egypt would meet in Khartoum in April, said the Egyptian Ambassador to Khartoum Osama Shaltout

Sudan's FM Ibrahim Ghandour (L) meets with his Egyptian counterpart Samih Shoukri in Cairo on January 9, 2016 (Photo released by the Sudanese FM)

Following a meeting held on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa in January, President Omer al-Bashir and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed the tensions between the two courtiers and agreed to form a quadripartite committee to develop a roadmap to restore the relationship to the right track.

The quadripartite committee including the foreign ministers and heads of intelligence from both countries met last February in Cairo and agreed on a number of technical measures to diffuse the tensions.

The Egyptian envoy to Sudan told the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) on Saturday that the meeting comes within the framework of the political and security consultations between Khartoum and Cairo.

He pointed out that the meeting of the quadripartite committee in Cairo had discussed bilateral relations and ways to address all outstanding issues between the two countries.

The tumultuous relations between Sudan and Egypt experienced last December a new crisis over media attacks against al-Bashir after a visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Sudan. Also, Sudan accused Egypt and Eritrea of supporting rebel groups to attack Kassala state on the eastern border.

But the main differences remain the dispute over the border triangle area of Halayeb and the construction of Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam that Sudan backs.

(ST)

March 31, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Liberation and Justice Party (LJP) has demanded the African mediation to set a time limit for the resumption of the Darfur peace talks.

Tadjadine Bechir Niam (File Photo)

The LJP, which is led by Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, is one of two factions of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) which signed the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) in July 2011. The other faction, National Liberation and Justice Party (NLJP) is chaired by Tijani al-Sissi.

The semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) has quoted the LJP spokesperson Taj al-Din Bashir Niam as saying the armed struggle has become useless and the arms bearers have no option but to join the negotiating table.

He called on the African mediation to set a date to bring the armed movements and the government to a new round of talks soon, saying there are indications that the rebels would resort to peace.

Niam pointed out to the success of the disarmament campaign in Darfur and the return of the refugees and IDPs, saying the region is witnessing unprecedented climate of social peace.

The LJP spokesperson further underscored that the success of the peace talks in Darfur is the responsibility of all parties to the conflict.

The African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) is brokering comprehensive peace talks to end the war and achieve democratic reforms in Sudan.

The two-track process comprises the Sudanese government and opposition forces including the armed groups in Darfur and the Two Areas.

The government and the opposition Sudan Call alliance including the armed groups 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.

Doha brokered the Darfur peace negotiations resulted in the signing of the DDPD by the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in July 2011. JEM which had initiated the process rejected the deal.

Three rebel movements including SLM-MM led by Minnawi Minnawi, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Gibril Ibrahim and SLM-AW led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nour didn't join the DDPD.

JEM and SLM-MM call for opening the document for negotiations, saying some issues were ignored or not fairly treated, but Khartoum rejects such request.

In their last meeting from 9 to 14 August 2016 under the auspices of the African Union, the government, JEM and SLM-MM discussed the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement and a humanitarian access agreement.

However, the parties diverged on the location sites of rebel fighters and mechanisms for the monitoring of humanitarian assistance. Also, the two groups raised the release of their prisoners from the Sudanese jails and the need to open the DDPD for discussions.

SLM-AW, however, is not part of the African Union-mediated peace talks. The rebel group rejects negotiating a peace agreement with Khartoum government unless the government militias are disarmed and displaced civilians return to their original areas.

UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in Darfur conflict since 2003, and over 2.5 million were displaced.

(ST)

March 30, 2018 (JUBA) - The armed opposition, SPLM-IO, denied issuing threats to wage "endless war" after the IGAD conditional decision to terminate the confinement of the group's leader in South Africa.

South Sudan's First Vice President, Riek Machar, calling for reconciliation and forgiveness at St. Thomas Parish, Juba, 29 May, 2016 (ST Photo)

Last Monday, the IGAd Council of Ministers decided to end the confinement of the armed opposition leader Riek Machar in South Africa "on conditions that ensure he will renounce violence and not obstruct the peace process and he is allowed to relocate to any country outside the region and is not neighbouring South Sudan".

Even if the decision was taken against the will of Juba government, it was seen by the supporters of the rebel group as unfair and frustrating because they believe that the regional community give more consideration to Juba in its decisions and they have always to pay the price.

There were reports by some media that a rebel official called Mawwil rejected the decision and vowed to carry out "endless war" in the country after describing the IGAD leader as "Kiir agents".

"The SPLM/SPLA (IO) wishes to emphasize that we did not issue any statement threatening to wage war. The intention behind the fabricated information is to categorise the Peoples' movement as the party inciting violence and obstructing the peace process," said a statement released by the SPLM (IO) director of information and public relations.

The rebel official further renewed the group "full commitment to the peace process and to a negotiated settlement as the sole means to end the conflict in the country".

The SPLM-IO signed a cessation of hostilities agreement with the South Sudanese government on 21 December 2017. The IGAD, African Union supported by the Troika countries said they would impose sanctions on any party that breaches the deal.

Speaking to Radio France International on 26 March, Machar's wife leading figure of the armed opposition Angelina Teny said the IGAD decision was, in fact, a transfer "from one prison to another".

"We don't know what crime he has committed that justifies him being kept for a year and a half without charge," she added.

Teny further called for more neutrality from the regional body adding it was a necessary condition to achieve a lasting peace in South Sudan.

(ST)

March 30, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and South Sudan from 19 to 23 March completed the marking of two border crossing corridors between the two countries in line with the Cooperation Agreement signed in September 2012.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) which is tasked with the support f the Cooperation Agreement implementation said the demarcation done by the African Border Corridor Programme Technical Team (AUBP-TT) together with the Sudan South Sudan Joint Technical Border Corridor Committee (JTBCC).

The demarcation includes, for the time been, four crossing points of the Safe Demilitarized Buffer Zone (SDBZ) between Sudan and South Sudan.

"The marking of crossing points was completed at the Heglig-Bentiu and Al Sumayyah corridors. The Team marked the entry and exit points of the northern and southern limits of the SDBZ," said the UNISFA.

"However, only the North outer limit point was marked at the third crossing point, Kosti Renk, as the Team was denied access to the Southern part by the South Sudanese governor of the area. The Team needed clarification for the fourth crossing point at the El Rodom el Buram-Tumasaha-Raja".

The two countries in a meeting held at the level of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) on 4 February agreed to finalize the activation of the buffer zone between Sudan and South Sudan and decided to withdraw any remaining troops by the end of February.

The meeting further agreed to begin the Phase 1 of the border crossing corridors and the establishment of customs and immigration check-points.

the two countries agreed in April 2013 to open 10 crossing points on the border so as to improve trade and movement between the two neighbouring countries.

But the process had been delayed by the issue of 14 Mile Area which delayed the activation of the buffer zone because the Malwal Dinka refused that the disputed area be part of the SDBZ.

Also, South Sudanese information minister and chairman of the South Sudan border demarcation committee Michael Makuei said the insecurity due to the presence of Sudanese rebels on the border contributed to delay the process.

(ST)

March 30, 2018 (JUBA) - The Opposition SPLM-IO called for urgent regional and international pressures on the South Sudanese government to allow the death-sentenced spokesperson of the group leader James Gadet Dak access to necessary medical care and family visits. to which he is entitled under international human rights law.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday SPLM (IO) Director of Information and Public Relations Puok, Both Baluang said Dak is currently sick and has been suffering from High blood pressure and Typhoid/Malaria.

Riek Machar's spokesperson has been denied access to doctors, medication or visitation rights and "other harsh treatments during nights by the regime security operatives in Juba", further said the statement.

"The SPLM/SPLA (IO) condemns in the strongest words such barbaric and terroristic act, Which amounted to a flagrant violation of human rights. The movement, therefore, calls on the IGAD, AU, Troika and the UN for rapid intervention in order to spare James Gatdet's Life."

On 13 February, a South Sudanese special court sentenced Dak to death by hanging for treason. He had unlawfully detained by the Kenyan authorities and transferred from Kenya to South Sudan in November 2016.

Amnesty International called to quash the death sentence on Dak pointing he had no legal representation for more than a month.

"The South Sudanese government should immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing this cruel and inhuman penalty," said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for East Africa.

(ST)

March 30, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese-Dutch political consultation committee has met in Khartoum and discussed a number of economic and political issues of common concern including illegal migration and human trafficking.

Sudan's foreign ministry building in Khartoum (SUNA)

The Sudanese side was headed by the Director-General for the American and European Affairs at Sudan's Foreign Ministry Mohamed Issa while the Dutch side was headed by the Director-General for Political Affairs at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andre Haspels.

Director of the European Department at Sudan's Foreign Ministry Khalid Musa told reporters following the meeting in that Sudan requested the Netherlands support at the international forums.

He added Sudan demanded the Netherlands to support its stances at the UN Security Council and particularly regarding the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

“Sudan plays a significant role in combating illegal migration which makes the European side demands more cooperation and effectiveness from Sudan,” he said

The Sudanese diplomat pointed out that the two sides signed an air transport agreement which allows the provision of air services in both countries, saying they expect the Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) to resume its operations in Sudan soon.

It is noteworthy that the KLM had stopped its flights to Khartoum in 2013 due to a high cost of operations.

After a ten-year hiatus, the political committee between Sudan and the Netherlands resumed its meetings in February 2016.

At the first meeting, the committee discussed political relations and how Amsterdam could help Sudan to cancel its foreign debt.

(ST)

March 30, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Government of South Kordofan State Friday said more than 1500 residents have returned from the rebel-held areas to their original villages in the state.

The semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) has quoted the commissioner of humanitarian aid in South Kordofan Zahra Nadir Faris as saying dozens of families mostly children, women and the elderly have returned to their villages of origin.

She pointed out that her commission in cooperation with the federal Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) provided shelter and foodstuff for the returnees.

Faris called for further coordination between her commission and aid groups to provide assistance for the growing numbers of returnees.

The Sudanese army has been fighting the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (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 Abdel Aziz al-Hilu and the other led by Malik Agar. The rift emerged last year over the right of self-determination and other organisational issues.

Before the PSLM-N split, the Sudanese government and the Movement held 12 rounds of talks but they failed to reach a peace agreement.

Also, during the recent round of talks from 1 to 3 February, the Sudanese government and SPLM-N al-Hilu failed to reach a cessation of hostilities agreement.

The African mediation delinked the ceasefire and the humanitarian access and focused at this round only on the cessation of hostilities agreement.

However, differences between the sides emerged when Khartoum proposed that the cessation of hostilities be a step towards a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian access.

For its part, the SPLM-N al-Hilu said they want this agreement to be limited to the security arrangement, pointing they are not ready for the political process.

Also, on the humanitarian issue, they reiterated that they want the emergency relief to be delivered from outside Sudan.

(ST)

March 30, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government Friday warned it would conduct elections to avoid illegitimacy and power vacuum if peace revitalizations talks with the opposition groups fail to reach a deal.

Salva Kiir casts his vote in the 2010 elections.

A South Sudanese presidential adviser blamed the armed groups for obstructing the political process the IGAD is mediating to settle the more than four-years crisis in the country.

“The rebels are intransigent because the American sanctions have emboldened them. We know they are not going to engage in good faith in the next round of talks because they think the present government, the mandate of the transitional government of national unity expires in August," Tor Deng Mawien Presidential Adviser on Decentralization and Intergovernmental linkage told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

Mawien further predicted that the opposition would not sign a peace agreement and until August and then they will say that the "government is illegitimate and then go around the region and the world preaching it".

That will not happen. If the current efforts, including the revitalization process, fail to culminate into a new arrangement, the government will conduct elections”, he said.

In line with the 2015 peace agreement

Last Wednesday the First Vice President Taban Deng Gai said the gap between government and the opposition on security arrangements and power-sharing remains wide

"The gap between what the government proposes as the way to resolving the current situation and what the opposition is proposing is huge and wide. It is difficult to close," said Taban Deng Gai

The parties to the revitalization process are expected to meet next April to discuss a series of proposals the mediation will submit based on the positions of the two sides during the talks last February.

The presidential adviser reiterated the commitment of the government to end the war adding that any U.S.-instigated sanctions would exacerbate the situation if they are implemented.

Washington, the protector and close supporter of the young nation, now is accused by the South Sudanese officials of backing the opposition groups and

(ST)

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Ahead of Easter, the BBC's Frank Gardner visits the churches of Ethiopia.

Ahead of Easter, the BBC's Frank Gardner visits the churches of Ethiopia.

Parents in Sierra Leone have been warned to take extra care of their children this election period as it's feared they could be ritually killed.