Africa

April 28, 2017 (JUBA) – Disturbed by reports about peace talks that took place in Kampala, Uganda, rebels allied to South Sudan's former First Vice-President, Riek Machar responded by attacking Morobo county of Yei River state in rejection to the peace accord.

Rebel fighters greet one another at a rebel camp in South Sudan's Jonglei state on 1 February 2014 (Photo: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Sudan Tribune understands that peace efforts mediated by South Sudan religious leaders from Yei River state is due in Kampala soon to reconcile the renowned armed rebels groups with the Juba government.

The armed opposition faction's deputy spokesperson Lt. Col Lam Paul Gabriel distanced their movement from the group that met in Uganda, describing them as “frustrated” refugees from Uganda trying to mobile funds in the name of the armed opposition faction.

He also dismissed the ongoing peace efforts between the government and members of the rebel representatives in Kampala.

“This is a sign that the forces of SPLA IO in Yei cannot negotiate peace with anybody from Juba, if Bishop Alias wants peace, let him go to our Commander in Chief Dr. Riek Machar Teny,” said Lam.

He urged the armed opposition supporters to treat these claims as null, saying those negotiating with the government are the refugees.

CLASHES WITH SOUTH SUDAN ARMY

Lam said they clashed with South Sudan army forces after they heavily shelled their locations between Wednesday and Thursday.

The deputy rebel spokesperson claimed their forces have retaken Morobo, Kimba and Bazi from government in retaliation to the attack.

“In retaliation, our forces made a joint operation against the enemy in Morobo, Kimba and Bazi killing 25 and 8 other wounded and airlifted to Juba,” he said.

Sudan Tribune could, however, not independently verify claims made by the rebel official.

Meanwhile, a convoy of United Nations peacekeepers was blocked as it headed to Yei to assess the impact of renewed violence in the area on Thursday.

(ST)

April 29, 2017 (JUBA) – The United Nations has urged South Sudan government as well as the other warring parties in the war-torn nation to cease hostilities and uphold their responsibilities to protect civilians.

Arms and light weapons have been used by both warring parties in South Sudan to commit abuses (Photo courtesy of SSANSA)

The advice comes in the wake of escalation of the violence and the subsequent suffering of civilians in South Sudan as a result of the recent government offensives in various parts of the country.

“The renewed upsurge in fighting represents a callous and blatant disregard of the pledges made during the 25 March 2017 IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] summit to implement a ceasefire and to facilitate humanitarian access,” the spokesperson for the U.N Secretary General, Stéphane Dujarric, said on Friday.

The official, in the statement, also urged all sides to cooperate with the U.N and other humanitarian actors to ensure safe access to all civilians in imminent danger along the West Bank of the River Nile.

“There can be no military solution to the crisis in South Sudan,” it stressed, expressing hope that regional and international partners will join in encouraging the parties to return to the negotiating table.

It added, “The United Nations remains committed to working with the African Union and IGAD to secure a peaceful resolution of the conflict.”

Meanwhile, the first elements of the Regional Protection Force of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have started to arrive in the country, according to a note issued today by the Mission.

The deployment of the 4,000-strong force was authorised by the U.N Security Council in its Resolution 2304 (2016).

UNMISS says the force will provide protection to key facilities in the nation's capital, Juba, and the main routes into and out of the city. It will also strengthen the security of UN protection of civilians' sites and other UN premises.

The deployment of the force, to be staged over coming months, would free existing UNMISS peacekeepers to extend their presence to conflict-affected areas beyond Juba.

Despite the August 2015 peace deal, South Sudan slipped back into conflict due to renewed clashes between rival forces – the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) loyal to President Salva Kiir and the armed opposition led by ex-First Vice-President Riek Machar.

(ST)

April 29, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudanese First Vice President Taban Deng Gai Saturday has appointed a rebel defector Dickson Gatluak Jock Nyuot who recently joined him as the spokesperson of his SPLA-IO faction.

On 9 April, the deputy spokesperson of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLM-IO) led by the former Vice President, Riek Machar, told Sudan Tribune that he has decided to join Gai's faction because Machar has a lack of clear vision and objectives as well as a lack of clear chain of command in the Army.

The First Vice President who is also defected from Machar last year has issued an order promoting Dickson Gatluak Jock Nyuot to the rank of Colonel from the rank of a major, jumping one step in between.

The same order dated April 28, 2017, appoints Dickson as the official spokesperson of the Sudan People's Liberation Army forces under his command.

Dickson blamed Machar for his alleged mismanagement and nepotism but Machar people say he was based in Addis Ababa and had no true link with the military on the grounds.

Earlier this month, the Addis Ababa-based SPLM-IO office - Gai's faction said it is tasked with mobilising all exiled South Sudanese for peace and reconciliation.

(ST)

A plane carrying relief items has arrived in Luanda, Angola, to assist over 11,000 people who fled a recent surge violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the United Nations refugee agency said today.

April 29, 2017 (JUBA) - The Jieng (Dinka) Council of elders, a body of self-appointed intellectuals who are seen as an informal advisory group to President Salva Kiir, has called for a homegrown dialogue within the leadership of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), saying external initiatives have failed to address the root causes of the conflict in the country.

A prominent member of the group, Aldo Ajou Deng Akuei, argued in a widely circulated opinion article, that a viable option for addressing the crisis the country was grappling to address, was lack of political will from among the leadership of the governing party to sit together and hold frank and honest dialogue to thrust out grievances in an open and threat free forum.

“The only option available to us is to make our own peace among ourselves. The precedence set by Dr John Garang de Mabior could guide us to peaceful resolution of this foolhardy conflict”, said Akuei

He cited previous initiatives taken by late John Garang de Mabior, the founding leader of the SPLM, who after a disagreement in 1983 at the inception of the movement with some leaders in Anyanya two, managed to reconcile the SPLM with Anyanya two in 1987 and unified the forces.

“Dr John, alone, without mediators, brought Drs Riek and Lam Akol back to the SPLM and reinstated them back to the top leadership in 2002. When Dr John and General Salva administratively disagreed in 2004, the whole SPLM/SPLA leaders brought them to Rumbek and were happily reconciled. That saved the Movement, the people South Sudan and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, CPA, which gave us our freedom and independence. We can do the same,” wrote Akuei.

The official suggested that president Salva Kiir should the same way late John Garang managed to reconcile and brought back all factions and leaders with whom he did not share the same views.

“Similarly, we can bring General Salva Kiir Mayardit, General Wani Igga, General Daniel Awet Akot, General Kuol Manyang, General (Molana) Nhial Deng Nhial and their supporters in the Mother SPLM and on the other side, invite Dr Riek Machar Teny, Taban Deng Gai. Pagan Amuom, Deng Alor, Mama Rebecca Nyandeng and their SPLM IO and SPLM FDs”, he added in an article released on April 28, 2017.

He continued: “Like Dr John, you ought to reconcile these groups and, I am sure, the war shall be over. This war, by its present form, is political, not tribal by any standards”.

He denied his group played any role in fermenting the conflict, saying claims associating his group to the conflict were an attempt to find an escape goat from the reality of the root causes of the conflict.

“The nonsense and empty noise against the Jieng Council of Elders is only a lesson learned from the Cold War (1917-1989) disinformation syndrome and, maybe, only maybe, those scholars who might have read the book: “The Animal Farm” by George Orwel 1984, could be aware of the vicious-fictitious stories of the twentieth century”, he wrote.

(ST)

April 29, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The director of the financial investigation department at the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) Hayder Abbas Saturday said not a single case of terrorism financing has been traced in the country so far.

Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) ( Photo Reuters)

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international agency on combating money laundering and terrorism financing, in 2015 removed Sudan from its blacklist, saying the east-African nation is no longer a threat to the integrity of the international financial system.

The then CBoS spokesperson Hazim Abdel Gader said the decision was the result of great efforts made by the CBoS and the other competent authorities during the past years.

Abbas, who addressed a workshop under the title “Strategic Planning to Prevent Money Laundering” Saturday in Khartoum, said his country “didn't detect any terrorism financing case until now”.

He pointed that Sudan has developed a system that is “adequately protected against money laundering or terrorist financing operations”, saying the country is preparing for the assessment phase by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) in 2022.

Sudan is a member of the MENAFATF which is a regional group tasked with implementing the recommendations of the FATF on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism and proliferation.

For her part, the director of the banking supervision department at the CBoS Asma Khairi said “there are 8 suspected cases of money laundering in the banking sector until August 2016”, acknowledging the implementation of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing legislations is ineffective.

Sudanese parliament adopted in June 2014 a law to combat money laundering and terrorism financing that contained articles related to consolidating investigations and financial intelligence which is the enforcement mechanism that receives notifications and information from financial institutions and other parties.

Sudan was placed on the U.S. terrorism list in 1993 over allegations it was harbouring Islamist militants working against regional and international targets.

(ST)

April 29, 2017 (NYALA) - Nineteen people were killed and 19 others injured Saturday in clashes between armed tribesmen from Salamat and Habbaniya tribes in the locality of Buram, some 90 kilometres from the capital of South Darfur state, Nyala.

Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that gunmen from Salamat tribe have stolen 150 heads of cows from Habbaniya tribesman, saying his family tracked down the culprits to retrieve the cows but they were ambushed by the latter.

According to the eyewitnesses, 12 people from Habbaniya were killed in the ambush and 19 others injured while 7 people from Salamat have been killed in the clashes.

They pointed out that 85 stolen cows have been retrieved; saying 12 dead bodies and 19 wounded tribesmen have been transferred to Buram Teaching Hospital.

An official told Sudan Tribune on the condition of anonymity that military troops from the 4th battalion at Buram garrison have been deployed to separate between the conflicting parties and prevent further clashes.

Also, Salamt tribal chief Habib Omer Sakin told Sudan Tribune said the incident doesn't amount to a “tribal problem”, describing it as “crime” carried out by outlaws who seek to drag the two tribes into tribal wars.

Meanwhile, an official source has held the state government responsible for the renewal of clashes between the two tribes, saying authorities of Buram locality continued to turn a blind eye on the repeated theft crimes which drag tribes into bloody clashes.

“The local authorities didn't activate the emergency law imposed in the state and hasn't executed the outcome of the tribal reconciliation conference,” he said

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds displaced in violent clashes between Salamat and Habbaniya tribes during the past few years. Clashes between the two sides are usually caused by the theft of cattle.

Since July 2014, the governor of South Darfur Adam Mahmoud Jar al-Nabi, declared an indefinite emergency situation in the state, including a curfew from 07:00 pm to 07:00 am (local time) in Nyala.

The decision also banned riding of motorcycles by more than one person, holding weapons while wearing civilian clothes, vehicles driving around without license plates, and wearing of Kadamool (a turban which covers the face).

(ST)

(Nairobi) – The decision on April 27, 2017, by the Extraordinary African Chambers in Senegal to uphold the conviction of former Chadian President Hissène Habré vindicates the persistence of the victims’ struggle for justice and the fight against impunity in Africa, Human Rights Watch said today.

On May 30, 2016, the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegalese court system convicted Habré and sentenced him to life in prison for his role in torture, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The chambers were inaugurated by Senegal and the African Union in February 2013 to prosecute the “person or persons” most responsible for international crimes committed in Chad between 1982 and 1990, the period when Habré ruled Chad.

“For over 26 years, the many victims of Hissène Habré’s crimes fought courageously for justice to be done,” said Richard Dicker, international justice director at Human Rights Watch. “Today, their journey ends with the conviction of a once untouchable leader confirmed and his life sentenced upheld, giving hope to victims everywhere.”

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Hissene Habre

Habré’s trial, which began on July 20, 2015, was the first in the world in which the courts of one country prosecuted the former ruler of another for alleged human rights crimes. It was also the first case on the principle of universal jurisdiction to proceed to trial in Africa. The principle allows countries to try a small number of very grave crimes in their domestic courts – regardless of where the crimes were committed or the nationality of the victims.

Habré fled to Senegal in 1990 after being deposed by the current Chadian president, Idriss Déby Itno. Although Habré was first arrested and indicted in Senegal in 2000, it took a long campaign by his victims before the Extraordinary African Chambers were inaugurated in February 2013 to prosecute international crimes committed in Chad during Habré’s rule.

Habré’s one-party rule was marked by widespread atrocities, including waves of ethnic cleansing. Files from Habré’s political police, the Direction de la Documentation et de la Sécurité (DDS), which were recovered by Human Rights Watch in 2001, reveal the names of 1,208 people who were killed or died in detention, and 12,321 victims of human rights violations.

Human Rights Watch extensively documented the Habré government’s responsibility for widespread political killings, systematic torture, and thousands of arbitrary arrests. Together with Chadian victims’ groups and rights activists, Human Rights Watch worked for over 15 years to advance justice for these crimes. The African Extraordinary Chamber’s decision on April 27 marks the culmination of these efforts.

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Ugandan prominent academic Stella Nyanzi (L) speaks with her lawyer during court appearance for criticising the wife of President Yoweri Museveni on social media, at Buganda Road Court, Kampala, Uganda April 10, 2017.

© 2017 Reuters

“When you hear of my arrest, prepare your most comfortable clothes for you will soon be travelling to my village-home in Kalinga to bury me in the brown earth next to my father.  When you hear of my arrest, tell the judge assigned to my case that I forgive the injustice with which the trial will be tried…”

Ugandan academic and firebrand feminist critic Dr. Stella Nyanzi posted those words on her Facebook page on March 31. On April 7, after a talk at Kampala’s Rotary Club about her campaign to raise money to buy sanitary pads for schoolgirls, her words came true; 21 days later, she remains behind bars.

For her sexually explicit stories and pointed criticism of government – in a frank and often expletive-laden mix of English and Luganda – Nyanzi grew a significant following on social media. In a conservative country, she shocked many. But she drew popular support, arguing that President Yoweri Museveni and his wife, the minister of education, had broken election promises to provide sanitary pads to school girls. After 31 years in office, she argued, Museveni was “raping” the constitution by staying in power.  

In March, she was interrogated by police, and the government blocked her from traveling to attend an international conference on March 19. State agents arrested her after the Rotary event, and police charged her under Uganda’s Computer Misuse Act for referring to Museveni as a “pair of buttocks” on Facebook.

It would be funny, if it weren’t so tragic: the most flagrant attack on free expression in many years and a vengeful use of Uganda’s justice system to silence a government critic.

Nyanzi has been denied bail, spending the Easter holidays in prison. State attorneys argue she should undergo a psychiatric examination to determine if she has an “unsound mind” – a tactic to delegitimize her criticism. Prison officials have, at times, denied her access to her lawyers, to her three young children, and to her books and writing materials.

The court is to re-hear her bail application on May 10, but, if the psychiatric examination is ordered by court, she could still face detention in an institution – even without the criminal case.

Prosecutors should drop the charges against Nyanzi. All officials should expect criticism, even if it’s rudely worded. To criticize the president, to use vulgarity and metaphor to shock or inspire, are recognized rights.

If Nyanzi isn’t granted bail or faces a psychiatric examination, it will speak volumes, and we must respond just as loudly. 

April 28, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) - A court in Ethiopia on Friday handed down rigorous prison terms against two Somali members of the al-Qaeda-allied Islamist al Shabaab militants.

Court officials said the two men were found guilty of plotting to carry out terror attacks and they were trying to establish a cell of the extremist group in Ethiopia.

The convicted were also accused of recruiting members in Ethiopia.

Accordingly, the first defendant Badris Yesuf was sentenced to six years and six months of imprisonment while the second defendant, Anis Usman received five years and six months of jail term.

The two men were arrested three years ago while they were trying to carry out terrorist attacks in the capital, Addis Ababa and elsewhere.

Ethiopia has repeatedly thwarted a number of al-Shabaab attack attempts.

The militant group seeks to carry out attacks in Ethiopia to retaliate to Addis Ababa's military intervention in the war-torn Somalia.

Ethiopia accuses its arch-rival Eritrea of funding and arming the extremist group to destabilise the country and the region at large, an allegation that Asmara denies.

Ethiopia has thousands of troops deployed in Somalia taking part in the fight against the radical group who seeks to establish an Islamic rule in the country.

Ethiopia first sent its troops to Somalia in 2006 to help the weak Somali interim government battle al-Shabaab.

(ST)

April 28, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) said on Friday they discussed with American diplomats the improvements they want to be included in a humanitarian proposal made by the former U.S. envoy.

Former US Special Envoy Donald Booth called on the SPLM-N last November to abandon its demand for a direct corridor to deliver 20% of the aid directly to the rebel-controlled areas in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. In return, the USAID would deliver them directly medical humanitarian assistance.

However, the group declined the offer saying they want to include some changes taking into account their needs on the grounds.

SPLM-N peace file spokesperson Mubarak Ardol, said a delegation led by its chairman, Malik Agar, discussed for the second time this month with the director of the office of the U.S. special envoy for the two Sudans, Paul Steven, the improvements they call to be included in the American humanitarian proposal.

"The two sides agreed to continue the discussion and to tackle in depth the issues that have been raised by the Movement," Ardol further said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday.

Last February, SPLM-N leader reiterated their demand for the direct delivery of 20% of humanitarian assistance through Ethiopia, pointing they do not want to allow Khartoum to control the whole humanitarian operation in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

"This gives the Sudanese government the upper hand in the (humanitarian) operation, and we should keep in mind the experience of UNAMID in Darfur," he emphasised.

Previously, the SPLM-N in its reply to the former special envoy said the safe humanitarian corridor is also needed to transport its sick or wounded fighters for treatment from the land-locked rebel areas, and enable its leadership and negotiating teams to reach the venue of the peace talks in Addis Ababa.

Also according to Ardol, the meeting discussed the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Sudan adding they called to include the comprehensive peace and democratic reforms in the process of normalisation with Khartoum government.

"This regime divided the Sudan, committed war crimes and genocide and does not want to change," he said.

Last Wednesday, following a meeting in Khartoum with the Sudanese Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, Stevens said he discussed with him ways to promote human rights and freedoms situation in the country, pointing to his country's desire to work with the Sudanese government on these issues.

He also met with the opposition groups to discuss the democratisation process and their participation in an inclusive process for peace and national dialogue.

(ST)

Disturbed by the escalation of violence and subsequent suffering of civilians in South Sudan as a result of the recent government offensive, the United Nations today urged the Government and other warring parties to cease hostilities, uphold their responsibility to protect civilians.

April 28, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir Friday has called on the government and opposition parties to commit to a rational political practice after the formation of the new government during this week.

Al-Bashir, who addressed the opening session of the fourth convention of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in Khartoum, underscored its commitment to “move forward to achieve comprehensive and lasting peace through dialogue.”

He expressed hope that the holdout opposition would join the national consensus, praising efforts of the political forces and civil society organisations that participated in the national dialogue and produced the National Document.

The Sudanese president said “we look forward to seeing a rational political practice during the second phase of the dialogue”, saying the government and the opposition must act responsibly to create an effective democracy.

He pointed they are committed to drafting the permanent constitution and creating the broadest political and community participation, disclosing his party is preparing studies to draft the permanent constitution and promote political plurality and peaceful transformation of power.

Al-Bashir renewed commitment to go ahead with the implementing the state reform programme to achieve the comprehensive renaissance, saying this could only be reached by strengthening the civil institutions and on top of them the political parties.

He stressed the government of national concord will be announced next week amid hopes to achieve security and stability, saying Sudan's relations with Europe and the United States has improved through serving mutual interests.

Al-Bashir further called on the Sudanese to support the upcoming government for the best implementation of the dialogue outcome, saying the new government will achieve aspirations of the Sudanese.

Since January 2014, Sudan's President Omer al-Bashir has been leading a national dialogue process whose stated aims are to resolve the armed conflicts, achieve political freedoms, alleviate poverty and the economic crisis, and address the national identity crisis.

Last October, the political forces participating in the national dialogue concluded the process by signing the National Document which includes the general features of a future constitution to be finalised by transitional institutions.

The opposition groups boycotted the process because the government didn't agree to a humanitarian truce with the armed groups and due to its refusal to implement a number of confidence building measures aiming to create a conducive environment in the country before to hold the inclusive dialogue.

(ST)

April 28, 2017 (JUBA) - The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) Friday called on the South Sudanese army to immediately stop attacks in the restive Upper Nile region saying it bears the responsibilities of the violence that displaced 25,000 civilians.

The very strongly worded warning issued JMEC chairman Festus Mogae was issued following large-scale attacks carried out by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) on the rebel position of rebel positions in Kodok and Aburoc, ethnic Shilluk areas.

Mogae said he was pleased to hear that the SPLA troops are under control as it was stated on Thursday by the military spokesperson who was reacting to a previous statement made by the JMEC chairman saying that the central command and control of its troops might have broken down.

“If that control is in place, then once again we call upon the SPLA specifically, and all armed forces and groups, to stop all offensive operations immediately, bring all violence and displacement of civilians to an end and implement the ceasefire as set out in the 2015 Agreement," he said.

He further warned that the government will be held accountable for the ongoing violence and the gross human rights violations on the civilian population.

“If command and control are still in place and hostilities do not end then we will know who is responsible for ignoring our demands for a cessation of violence, perpetuating violence and conflict, the displacement of civilians, and the human rights violations taking place around the country under their watch,” he said.

Since November last year, UN officials warned against the continuation of the war in South Sudan saying violence is escalating along ethnic lines. Also, December, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations warned against genocide saying all its ingredients were there.

(ST)

April 28, 2017 (JUBA) – On Friday, the South Sudanese army said it would continue to camp and patrol the streets of the Juba, until the fear of the rumours of the peddling coup allegations stopped.

“The South Sudan Liberation Army (SPLA) forces and other organised security forces will not pull out from the streets until the roots of the coup allegation are stemmed from the source. The organised forces will not leave unless the destabilising rumours stop,” said Col. Santo Domic on Friday.

The military spokesman said the army and other organised forces had been deployed to provide the adequate security and protection to the civilians in town, along with their property.

Domic described the reports that claimed that President Salva Kiir wanted to step down from power allowing the army to take over as a lie, a “deliberate and calculated campaign of calumny aimed at misleading the public and cause disaffection between the civil population and the troops.”

The general command wished to emphatically state that no such plan had been put place.

“Above all, the SPLA remains committed to providing aid to civil authority as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan and wishes to assure the public of the Chief of Army staff's unalloyed commitment to protect lives and property whenever called upon to do so in line with extant provisions of the law,” added the Col. Domic.

The Col. went on to reassure the people of South Sudan that the SPLA remained a national institution that emphasised peace, unity and mutual coexistence regardless of and religious, ethnic or tribal differences.

He continued to add “any attempt by any individual or group of persons to associate the military and indeed the SPLA with such will be a total waste of time, energy and resources. We are proud professionals bound by discipline, unflinching love, loyalty, esprit-de-corps and love for our colleagues and our country.”

Col. Santo Domic warned the mischief makers to desist their unpatriotic acts.

(ST)

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.

(ST)

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.

(ST)

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.

(ST)

The United Nations today welcomed the withdrawal of all Polisario Front elements from the Guerguerat area, between the berm and the border with Mauritania, as confirmed by observers of the UN Mission on Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, on 27-28 April.

Unless urgent action is taken to feed people in north-east Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, more than 20 million people will not find enough food to eat, the heads of the United Nations food agencies today warned.