Africa

June 6, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese military intelligence officers collaborating with the national security service have snatched and detained at least two students at Juba University and drove them to unknown location, raising concerns for their safety since Friday, relatives and student union said Monday.

University of Juba (File photo )

Chan Deng Maror and Peter Angui Bol, according to the students' union and relatives, were picked up by the military intelligence officers on Friday morning upon arrival to the university from their hostel.

The motive of the arrest remains largely unclear and no official statement has been released by the administration of the university to clarify circumstances under which the arrest was permitted within the premises of the higher learning institution.

Juba University has been one of the places within Juba where people with critical opinion about the performance of the government have been kidnapped at gunpoint by either security personnel driving tainted cars or military intelligence officers during broad day light and taken to unknown locations, where some ended up being tortured and sometimes badly beaten unconscious after being blindfolded.

Some are often held for more than a month. Others are held in locations that the government has not revealed, without access to lawyers or contact with family, putting them at increased risk of torture.

South Sudanese government under President Salva Kiir has repeatedly and violently targeted critical activists, including political opponents as a way to intimidate and suppress.

Authorities have arbitrarily detained, tortured, and otherwise ill-treated detained suspects.

(ST)

June 6, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) Minni Minnawi said they sought to get an answer from the Qatari mediation during recent talks on the possibility of opening the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) for negotiation, pointing the question still awaits an answer.

Flanked by SPLM-N SG Yasir Arman and JEM chief negotiator Ahmed Tugud, SLM Minni Minnawi (C) speaks at the opening session of the AUHIP brokered session for comprehsnive cessation of hostilities in Sudan, in Addis Ababa on 19 November 2015 (ST Photo)

On 30-31 May, the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed bin Abdalla al-Mahmoud and the Joint Chief Mediator Martin Uhomoibhi discussed in Doha with a joint delegation from the SLM-MM and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) ways to join the DDPD.

Following the meeting, al-Mahmoud said they discussed some procedural matters that need to be conveyed to the Sudanese government, pointing the two sides agreed to allow some time to discuss these matters with the Sudanese government in order to achieve the desired result.

The head of the international mechanism for Peace in Darfur added that the joint rebels' delegation expressed desire to continue the discussions, hoping that all parties take another step forward down this path.

However, Minnawi told Sudan Tribune that since the Paris meeting with al-Mahmoud last January “we pointed out that we only seek to get answers on procedural requirements including whether the DDPD could be re-opened for negotiations or not? And could the Doha forum become a part of the African mediation?”

He added that the participation of the Qatari's in the peace talks would mean that the DDPD becomes one of the basic documents for the Darfur peace but not the only reference for the process.

“We want to develop a new document [for peace] during our negotiations with the Sudanese government” he said

The Sudanese government had earlier rejected the JEM and SLM-MM proposal to merge the Qatari and African imitative on Darfur peace process and described it as “an attempt to circumvent the (AU-proposed) roadmap which was not signed by the two armed movements”.

Also, during the African Union-sponsored talks of Addis Ababa, Khartoum government refused JEM and SLM-MM endeavours to renegotiate on a number of issues already discussed in the DDPD.

When asked about the resumption of consultations with al-Mahmoud, Minnawi said the, the “ball is now in the court of the Sudanese government and the [Qatari] mediation”, stressing they would neither sign the DDPD nor consider it as a basis for negotiations.

“If they [Sudanese government and Qatari mediation] don't have a new stance, then there would be no need for the continuation of these consultations,” he said.

Following the Doha meeting, the Joint Chief Mediator Martin Uhomoibhi called on JEM and SLM-MM to sign the Roadmap Agreement brokered by the African mediation and urged them to accept the DDPD as a basis for the Darfur peace.

The 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.

The two groups have engaged in peace talks with the government under the auspices of the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP). However, several rounds of talks between the two groups and the government in Addis Ababa have stalled and no progress on the pending issues was made.

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

(ST)

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June 5, 2016 (JUBA) – A movement of populations from the people Ngok Dinka of Abyei into from South Sudan into Sudan or to Khartoum in particular has been reported by the IOM this month.

Soldiers on patrol in the contested area of Abyei, which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan (Photo: Reuters)

Thousands of people from Abyei and other tribes from Warrap state of South Sudan have already crossed into Sudan, following inter-community peace agreement between the Dinka Ngok and Misseriya.

“Since the beginning of May 2016, there has been an increased movement of people from Abyei into Sudan. This freedom of movement is a result of a recent inter-community peace agreement between the Dinka Ngok and Misseriya, which has improved relation between the two communities and allowed cross border trade to resume,” IOM report suggested.

“IOM has set up a flow monitoring system at the departure point in Noong Market to monitor, track and record daily movements of people to and from Sudan. Since April 30, 977 households have left to Sudan. The majority of the population is from the Dinka Ngok community from Abyei and Twic with a small number from Warrap and Mayom county in Unity State,” the report said.

The majority of the population, it added, is going to Khartoum, reportedly to visit family, seek medical care, or better educational opportunities for their children, in addition to search for food.

Over 52,000 South Sudanese have crossed the border to Sudan since the beginning of 2016, mainly going into East Darfur state.

Food insecurity is reportedly the main factor for the movements of tens of thousands of populations from South Sudan's Bahr el Ghazal region into Sudan.

(ST)

June 5, 2016 (JUBA) - British troops have arrived in South Sudan to take part in the United Nations peacekeeping mission, the Defence Ministry confirmed in a statement.

David Cameron

The plan to deploy British troops was announced by the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron at a UN gathering, which took place in September last year.

As such, Britain said it would send around 300 troops to South Sudan, where tens of thousands of people were killed in a bloody civil war which broke out in December 2013.

The British forces in the young nation will reportedly carry out engineering work to strengthen the country's infrastructure.

The UK personnel would reportedly be split into two engineer squadrons to provide "vital engineering work to strengthen infrastructure as well as further advisory support".

"The arrival of British personnel clearly demonstrates our commitment to supporting UN efforts to improve conditions in some of the world's most destabilising conflicts,” said Defence Secretary Michael Fallon.

Britain remains a large financial contributor to UN peacekeeping missions.

(ST)

June 6, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and South Sudan Sunday signed a series of security agreements, including immediate re-deployment of joint military forces along the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone (SDBZ), and approved a plan to stop supporting and harbouring rebels as well as open the crossings points.

South Sudan's defence minister Kuol Manyang Juuk shakes hands with his Sudanese counterpart Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Ouf while AUHIP member Abdulsalam Abubakar applauds, after the signing of an agreement to operationalize the buffer zone between the two countries on 14 October 2015 (Courtesy photo by the AUHIP).

The Joint Political and Security Committee (JPSC), co-chaired by the defence ministers, held a six-hour meeting in Khartoum to discuss the activation of the security arrangements agreed in September 2012.

On 14 October 2015, South Sudan's defence minister Kuol Manyang Juuk and his Sudanese counterpart Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Ouf signed an agreement to operationalize the buffer zone between the two countries.

But the JPSC meetings to decide the effective activation were adjourned several times due to the security situation in South Sudan.

In press statements after the meeting, Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told reporters that the JPSC agreed to enforce all the concluded agreements on the buffer zone, flexible border and to stop supporting rebel groups.

"With regard to the support of rebel groups, specifics will be enforced by the concerned security services of both countries".

After the signing of the Cooperation Agreement, the two countries had already deployed the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mission (JBVMM). But on 22 November 2013, Juba stopped the operation, fearing that delimitation of the centreline, which passes through contested areas, may be seen as final location of the boundary.

Juuk, who led the South Sudanese delegation, said the meeting ended by agreeing to implement the joint cooperation agreements signed since 27 September 2012.

The two governments, he added, will immediately start enforcing the agreed decisions.

He further stressed the need to reach negotiated solutions to end tensions on the border areas.

"The rebel movements are a reality and their problem must be solved so that peace will prevail between the two countries," said Juuk adding "This problem will be resolved soon.".

South Sudanese officials, on several occasions, proposed to mediate the conflict with their former comrades of the SPLM-North in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan, but Khartoum rejected this proposition saying they are party and cannot be a mediator.

Among the signed documents, the parties agreed to send separate reports to the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) which will participate in the JBVMM and the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) which brokered the deal.

They also agreed that the border crossing point committee will meet in Juba within the next two week to determine the dates and procedures for the opening of the 10 points. They will also demand the African Union to send the needed technical teams to implement the deal.

They also agreed to establish three consulates on the demilitarised border areas.

The meeting also agreed to task a joint committee headed by the directors of intelligence services with the file of the disputed areas. In addition, with regard to the committee of disputed 14 Mile, it was decided to task the chiefs of general staffs in the two countries with its chairmanship.

It goes without saying that this measure aims to the Dinka Malual and the South Sudanese People Liberation Army (SPLA) Chief of General Staff, Paul Malong Awan who convinced President Salva Kiir in November 2013 to stop the operation on the ground that it would enable Sudan to pretend in the future to the ownership of the disputed areas.

(ST)

June 5, 2016 (YEI) - Civil servants in South Sudan's Yei River state have vowed to lay down their work tools, should government fail to pay their three months salaries.

Governor David Lokonga Moses speaks to the press in Yei May 31, 2016 (ST)

The head of the state workers' union said civil servants were suffering due to high living costs.

“I have received a number of calls from civil servants who all complained about delays in salary payments,” said Scopas Lasuba.

"The government should pay people's salaries to avoid any action that these civil servants are likely to take up as options,” he added.

In December 2015, the Central Bank devalued South Sudanese Pound (SSP) by 84 per cent leading to immediate hikes in the prices of basic commodities and pushing the local currency to an all-time low of 42 to the dollar. In recent weeks, however, the pound has largely been unstable as traders continue speculating.

South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, is one of poorest countries on the African continent with the worst indicators on development, health and education.

(ST)

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June 5, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - A weapons cache belonging to the paramilitary Popular Defence Forces (PDF) Sunday has caught fire, triggering multiple explosions in West Kordofan's town of Ghibaish.

West Kordofan State (Wikipedia)

Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that the loud explosions which rocked Ghibaish were caused by a fire at a weapons cache belonging to the PDF in downtown, saying there were no casualties.

They added that the explosions caused fear and panic among the residents, pointing that the causes of the fire have not been determined yet.

According to the witnesses, the fire fighters managed to put the fire out with the help of the locals in about two hours.

They added that the explosions occurred at 4:00 am (local time) and continued for two hours, saying the exploded ordinance included Kalashnikov rifles, RPG 7 and DShK machine guns bullets.

The same eyewitnesses underscored that the locals were surprised that the weapons are kept inside the house of the PDF coordinator in downtown despite the fact that the PDF premises which lie far away from the locals residences include ordinance depot.

The PDF, a legally constituted branch of Sudan's military, was officially formed in 1989 as a "semi-military" force to be formed from Sudanese citizens.

(ST)

June 4, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese government Saturday said that 11 Sudanese detainees managed to escape from Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) prisons in Deim Zubeir Camp in Western Bahr el Ghazal region, South Sudan after the camp was attacked and fully devastated by South Sudan armed opposition forces.

Some of the former JEM detaines after their arriva to Khartoum 4 June 2016 (Photo SMC)

Senior officials from Sudan National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) welcomed the detainees who arrived on Saturday in Khartoum Airport via South Darfur State's capital, Nyala.

Speaking to media in Khartoum, NISS Director of Operations, Major General Dokhari el-Zaman Omer, said that the detainees were kidnapped by JEM before being transferred into South Sudan.

During the recent fighting between South Sudan's army and opposition forces in Deim Zubeir, JEM camp in the area was burnt to the ground, said Dokhari el-Zaman.

Last month, security and military sources in South Sudan told “Sudan Tribune” that JEM fighters backed by government forces in Western Bahr el Ghazal region, had clashed with armed men allegedly allied to the opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), capturing a military site previously held by the opposition forces in Deim Zubeir area.

However, JEM spokesperson denied involvement in the fighting in Deim Zubeir and affirmed that JEM has no presence in South Sudan.

It is noteworthy that the former rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) faction led by Bakheit Abdallah Dabajo (?JEM-Dabajo) continued to call on South Sudan's government and the international peacekeeping forces in the region to intervene to secure the release of its members being held captive by mainstream JEM inside South Sudanese territory.

The arrival of the former detainees and the celebration of the event took place 24 hours before the arrival of senior South Sudanese officials to discuss the implementation of the security arrangements agreed in September 2012.

Omer further added that the detainees managed to escape through the jungles and crossed into Sudan before being transported to Nyala and later to Khartoum.

He said that NISS was monitoring JEM's activities in South Sudan and its fighting alongside the South Sudanese army against opposition forces, pointing to the movement's involvement in recruiting and kidnapping Sudanese nationals.

“NISS was closely monitoring JEM military operations launched from South Sudan, especially the famous Gouz Dango battle, where the armed forces [Sudanese Armed Forces] crushed JEM fighters” said Omer.

In April 2015, the Sudanese government said its forces routed JEM fighters who carried out a major offensive on South Darfur state from South Sudan's territory for the first time since several years.

Pictures and videos circulated in the social media and forums showing dead bodies, detained rebel fighters, and military vehicles captured from the rebels by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who ambushed the attacking force near the border with South Sudan.

Later, JEM admitted they have lost the Gouz Dango battle against the Sudanese troops but minimised its impact on their determination to defeat the regime of President Omer al-Bashir.

The NISS official further said that JEM continued to recruit fighters and build military bases in Deim Zubeir noting that several detainees are unaccounted for.
“South Sudan and JEM are blamed for the fate of the missing detainees,” concluded Omer.

“We have been detained in South Kordofan in 2013 and transferred to Deim Zubeir Camp in South Sudan,” said First Lieutenant, Mohamed el-Asha, one of the detainees who managed to escape.

He further said that JEM lost most of its forces in Gouz Dango battle and started recruiting children to use them in the fight in South Sudan.

Khartoum and Juba regularly trade accusations of support to rebel groups from both sides.

To settle this issue, the two countries committed themselves in the Cooperation Agreement of 27 September 2012 to stop supporting or harbouring rebel groups, and agreed to establish a buffer zone on the border and to form a joint monitoring team to prevent rebel infiltration.

However, the agreement was not implemented as Juba fears that the establishment of a Safe Demilitarized Border Zone (SDBZ) may irritate the Dinka Malual who believe that the deal leads to concede the disputed 14-Mile Area to Sudan.

(ST)

June 5, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan's First Vice President, Riek Machar, will take charge of the file for the implementation of the September 2012 cooperation agreements between South Sudan and Sudan, said the Presidency.

President Omer al-Bashir receives South Sudanese former vice-president and leader of the SPLM-in-Opposition, Riek Machar and his wife Angelina Teny in Khartoum on 10 August 2014 (ST)

The decision came as a result of the three-man Presidency meeting on Friday at the Presidential Palace in Juba, which involved President Salva Kiir, First Vice President, Machar, and Vice President, James Wani.

Officials in the Office of the First Vice President commended several consensuses reached in the recent presidency meetings, including the need to step up implementation of the cooperation agreements between the two neighbouring countries.

“The consensuses reached by the Presidency are commendable. It means the implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement is on the right track,” said James Gatdet Dak, First Vice President's Press Secretary, when asked by Sudan Tribune how the SPLM-IO's leadership felt about the understandings in the Presidency.

“This also includes ensuring that the September 2012 Cooperation Agreements with the neighbouring sisterly country, the Sudan, are implemented,” he added.

Dak also confirmed that Machar would assume responsibility of handling South Sudan government's dossier in the implementation of the September 2012 cooperation agreements with Sudan.

The cooperation agreements include establishment of security patrols along the common borders –expelling rebels from the either country - and resumption of trade between the two countries, among others. Sudan is also the only route through which South Sudan's oil gets to the international market.

The Presidency reaffirmed the need to further normalize the relations with Sudan in the stabilization of security and economy in the two countries.

The peace agreement signed last August, provides to disarm Sudanese rebel groups and prevent them from carrying out hostile activities to the neighbouring Sudan. The inclusion of this clause in the deal is a result of accusations by the SPLM-IO that some of these groups participated in the fight alongside forces loyal to President Kiir.

Machar, as former Vice President, previously headed a high-level executive political committee of the then Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) during the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) from 2005, which led to the breakaway of South Sudan and formation of independent state after a referendum on self-determination in 2011.

SUMMARY OF CONSENSUSES

The South Sudanese Presidency this week unexpectedly reached consensuses on a series of vital issues which were impeding the implementation of the August 2015 peace deal brokered by the East African regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The many issues resolved in their two days of meeting on Wednesday and Friday included the consensus to review the number of states South Sudan should have as well as their boundaries.

An inclusive 15-member committee, 10 from South Sudanese peace partners and 5 from Troika (USA, UK and Norway) and African countries (South Africa and Tanzania) was to be formed.

The 10 members from South Sudan will be divided into SPLM led by President Kiir having 4 representatives; SPLM-IO led by First Vice President Machar will have 3 representatives; Former Detainees (FDs) to have 1 member and other political parties alliances led by Martin Elia and Lam Akol, respectively, to take 1 member each.

They also agreed to stabilize the security situation in the country by establishing cantonment areas for the forces and verify that the security arrangements for the capital, Juba, including withdrawal of former government's forces are confirmed.

The Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) will make a budget for cantonment of SPLA-IO forces across the country.

The state of emergency, which has been imposed on the country for the past two years of war, should also be lifted and prisoners of war on both sides released.

The Presidency also resolved to soon reconstitute and form a new transitional national legislative assembly with membership of all the agreed rival factions in the peace deal. They have not however resolved on mode of electing a speaker for the would-be new transitional parliament.

Additional 9 presidential advisers; 6 to be nominated by the SPLM-IO leadership and 3 to be nominated by the other political parties will be appointed. This will make 19 the total number of the presidential advisers in the national government, as president Kiir previously appointed 10 advisers from his faction.

Members of parliament who left because of the war will be reinstated. Also all the civil servants who were dismissed by the former government because they fled from towns will be reinstated to their previous positions before the December 2013 crisis.

First Vice President, Machar, according to the resolution by the Presidency, will provide the comprehensive list of these civil servants who will be reinstated from the opposition faction of the SPLM-IO.

The presidency also agreed that independent commissions and institutions to be reconstituted or created based on the power sharing ratio of the parties to the agreement. The selection committee of the parties to the agreement shall sit and allocate and select the independent commissions and institutions based on the power sharing ratios.

Also, a national reconciliation and healing initiative to be launched soon and the parties will appeal to the international community for the support.

The Presidency also reiterated its commitment to fully implement the cooperation agreements between South Sudan and Sudan, and put Machar's office in charge of the dossier.

“The good spirit with which the Presidency has reached the consensuses is very encouraging. We hope that with the same spirit and commitment the consensuses will soon be implemented,” Dak added.

The progress or the steps made by the presidency have raised hope among the people of South Sudan that the implementation of the peace deal may go on smoothly.

However, sceptics still say agreeing on a matter in principle is one thing and implementing the agreed matter in letter and spirit is another, citing the international pressure and the need for the new transitional government to quickly get financial support from the international community as allegedly the only driving force for the recent speedy consensuses in the presidency.

While reviewing the number of states may take 30 days to determine the outcome, including reverting to 10 states in case of disagreement over new number, other consensuses can be implemented within few days.

(ST)