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photo Marine Nationale 14/08/2015 Sources : État-major des armées Après trois mois et demi de mission et plus de 20 000 nautiques parcourus dans les golfes d’Aden, d’Oman, arabo-persique, d’Aqaba, de Suez ainsi qu’en mer Rouge, la Frégate Légère Furtive...

Un mois s'est écoulé depuis les élections municipales malgaches du 31 juillet et les résultats définitifs n'ont pas encore été publiés, car les tribunaux administratifs examinent toujours les plaintes et réclamations. Plus de 1 600 recours ont été déposés selon la presse locale. Entre les anomalies recensées et le taux de participation très faible (environ 30 %), la société civile de Madagascar veut tirer le bilan, pour dégager des améliorations possibles suffisamment tôt avant la présidentielle.

August 31, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The leader of National Liberation and Justice Party (NLJP) and chairman of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) Tijani al-Sissi has signed a political cooperation agreement with a splinter faction of Dabajo group.

Tijani el-Sissi (SUNA)

The Memorandum of Understanding on Political Cooperation aims to cement relations between the NLJP and the Justice and Equality Movement of Abdel Rahman Banat who spited from Dabajo group in November 2014.

The signing of the political alliance intervenes as al-Sissi is facing a strong rejection by his peace partners: the Liberation and Justice Party (LJP) of Bahr Idriss Abu Garda and the Justice and Equality Movement led by Bakheit Dabajo (JEM-Dabajo).

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Khartoum, the NLJP leader however stressed that this agreement is not directed against any other party but seeks to bring Darfur to what he called "the wider national space".

He further called on the Darfurians to distance themselves from ethnicity and tribalism, adding "I'm not inclined (to support the idea) that our parties and movements be on the name of Darfur, and that is the problem," he stressed.

NLJP president is embattled in a struggle for the DRA chairmanship. His detractors accuse him of not consulting them in the management of the region's matter. They further say that al-Sissi who is a Fur dignitary ignored the areas of the other ethnic groups in the allocation of development projects.

From his side, Banat disclosed that the memorandum pave the ways for merger of the two groups.

Rifts between the groups signatory of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) have become a source of concern for the government after a recent fight between a group of LJP supporters with NLJP members during the launch ceremony of development projects in Khartoum attended by government officials and diplomats.

President Omer al-Bashir formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the circumstances of the incident as he is expected to issue a number of decisions related to the organisation of the regional authority within two week.

(ST)

Golfe de Piran : Ljubljana triche, Zagreb fait la gueule
Golfe de Piran : feu vert pour l'arbitrage international entre la Slovénie et la Croatie
Oluja : finalement, la Slovénie ne participera pas à la parade militaire de Zagreb
Milomir Kovačević et Bernard Vaillant : Les cafés de Paris
Forages pétroliers en Adriatique : de l'or noir sous les flots bleus ?

/ The Slovenia Times, Croatie, Slovénie, Relations internationales, Golfe de Piran

Golfe de Piran : Ljubljana triche, Zagreb fait la gueule
Golfe de Piran : feu vert pour l'arbitrage international entre la Slovénie et la Croatie
Oluja : finalement, la Slovénie ne participera pas à la parade militaire de Zagreb
Milomir Kovačević et Bernard Vaillant : Les cafés de Paris
Forages pétroliers en Adriatique : de l'or noir sous les flots bleus ?

/ The Slovenia Times, Croatie, Slovénie, Relations internationales, Golfe de Piran

En ce jour de Bazeilles, le CEMAT remet aujourd'hui une CVM avec palme sur le fanion de la 1ère
Plus d'infos »

August 31, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government said on Monday that Uganda will not withdraw all its troops from the country as stated in the recently signed peace agreement with armed opposition, claiming the former was in the country at the behest of the latter on bilateral arrangement between two sovereign states.

An unidentified man sits in the gun turret while leading a convoy of armoured vehicles from both the South Sudanese government forces and the Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF) in the streets of Jonglei capital Bor on 19 January 2014 (Photo: AP/Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin)

In some of the security provisions under transitional security arrangements of the new compromise peace deal signed between president Salva Kiir and armed opposition leader, Riek Machar, all foreign forces are required to leave the country within 45 days from signing of the agreement.

But Mawien Makol, South Sudanese spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation confirmed reports attributed to senior officials in the Ugandan government as saying their government and the country will instead continue to support and maintain some of its troops in the country as part of a bilateral agreement between the two countries.

“Of course in the agreement Ugandan People Defence Forces (UPDF) are supposed to leave after 45 days but before that, there was a bilateral agreement between Uganda and South Sudan. This agreement allows UPDF to come here and do the other works which is to pursue and cut down the activities of Lord Resistance Army (LRA). That thing stands there. It is not going anywhere,” Makol told reporters on Monday reiterating earlier comments asking when the Ugandan troops would withdraw.

The diplomat confirmed that reports quoting officials at the Ugandan ministry of foreign affairs were correct.

“If they leave within 45 days given in the agreement still we have to hold on [to] some of them. Not all of them will go. Some forces will have to remain in the country in accordance with the bilateral agreement. So the Ugandan officials are correct, their troops will be here to do the things that they have been doing before the war,” he said.

He explained Ugandan troops were in the country way back before the country descended into civil war, but many believe more troops were deployed in the country following the events of the December 2013 when political debates within the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) turned violent.

Ugandan senior officials made contradicting statements when their deputy foreign minister, Okello Oryem, reportedly said UPDF will not withdraw from South Sudan as it had no part in the agreement, but later on an explaining statement from the Ugandan ministry of defence said the deputy minister was misquoted and that UPDF will leave South Sudan within 45 days with exception AU contingent in Western Equatoria state.

The Ugandan contingent deployed to Western Equatoria state before the war broke out in December 2013 will remain per a previous arrangement under the African Union to hunt for the LRA.

(ST)

Key Points Four USAF F-22s arrived at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany on 28 August The aircraft are part of the ERI to assuage allies' concerns of recent Russian activity Four US Air Force (USAF) Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor combat aircraft arrived at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany on 28 August,

The first four of eight Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have been placed on contract, according to a 27 August Pentagon announcement. Boeing has received a USD1.49 billion contract modification for four full-rate production (FRP) Lot II P-8A

Le verdict du procès de l'économiste mozambicain Carlos Nuno Castel-Branco et du journaliste Fernando Mbanze respectivement poursuivis par l'Etat pour diffamation et abus de la liberté de la presse sera rendu le 16 septembre prochain. L'économiste est poursuivi pour avoir publié sur sa page Facebook un texte critiquant l'ancien président Armando Guebuza, et le journaliste pour l'avoir reproduit sous forme de lettre ouverte dans son journal.

The Turkish armoured vehicle market offers one of the most compelling opportunities for foreign manufacturers to break new ground and seek end users for their technologies, from advanced armour to unmanned systems. The outlook for protection mobility in Turkey is buoyant and robust in

The Turkish armoured vehicle market offers one of the most compelling opportunities for foreign manufacturers to break new ground and seek end users for their technologies, from advanced armour to unmanned systems. The outlook for protection mobility in Turkey is buoyant and robust in

Like any student, today’s soldiers learn on the move, deploying with laptops, tablets and other means of online connectivity that can keep them at the books with extreme convenience. As technological advancement marches on, many traditional problems in military education are beco

(Photo: Jean-Michel Ferrieux) The Royal Danish Air Force’s Air Tr

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

August 31, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudan's armed opposition leader, Riek Machar has accused President Salva Kiir's government of allegedly "slaughtering hundreds of political prisoners" in the country.

Riek Machar answers questions during a press conference in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on July 9, 2014 (Photo AFP/Zacharias Abubeker)

Speaking at a press conference held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa Monday, Machar alleged that the South Sudanese government killed nearly 600 political prisoners on 25 August, the day before president Kiir signed the final peace deal to end the conflict.

Those allegedly slaughtered, he told reporters, were political prisoners in custody under the government's military intelligence.

He said members of his armed opposition movement were concerned over “mass slaughter” that allegedly happened in the capital, Juba.

The rebel leader demanded for an immediate probe into the alleged incident, further stressing that the mass killings that took place against the political detainees undermines the peace accord.

“We question the political will of the government. Is the government serious to implement the agreement or do they have divisions?” he asked.

Machar urged the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-Plus and the international community to look into the matter.

Sudan Tribune could not immediately verify the rebel leader's allegations on the killings.

Both warring factions have, despite signing a peace deal, accused each other's forces of violating the agreed permanent ceasefire.

The rebel leader, however, reiterated his commitment to respect implementation of peace accord and that his group held talks with South Sudanese in Ethiopia asking them to back the peace process.

He said a rebel delegation was dispatched to Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Egypt to galvanise minds of South Sudanese to support the peace deal and its implementation.

(ST)

August 31, 2015 (JUBA) – A South Sudanese opposition movement has demanded that the East African regional bloc (IGAD) to initiate fresh peace talks aimed at resolving the conflict in the young nation.

South Sudan's former vice president and opposition leader, Riek Machar, signs peace agreement together with SPLM SG Pagan Amum in Addis Ababa, on July 17 2015 (ST)

In a statement issued Monday, the Revolutionary Movement for National Salvation (REMNASA) asked IGAD to consider the views of the people of South and instigate negotiations between the unified South Sudan ruling party regime and other armed opposition fronts in the country to achieve lasting peace to the suffering population.

“The called “Compromised Peace Agreement” signed by the SPLM-IG of Salva Kirr, SPLM-IO of Dr. Riek Machar and SPLM-FD of Pagan Amum is not worth to bring peace as it has been rejected even by the key members of the conflicting parties that signed the agreement,” partly reads the statement signed by its spokesperson, Col. John Sunday Martin.

The opposition group also castigated South Sudan's main rival factions of violating the signed agreement less than 24 hours after they both declared a permanent ceasefire in respect to the accord.

REMNASA said it was worried the peace agreement concluded last week in Juba may remain on paper without effective implementation, thus making it a “dead” peace deal of IGAD-Plus.

“Peace cannot be brought full in any nation by small portion of warring factions, and never will any peace be sustainable while others warring factions are not involved in sustaining it”, stressed the group.

“REMNASA has disowned this peace agreement and so is Federal Democratic Party (FDP); and therefore, without inclusiveness of REMNASA and any other revolutionary forces, IGAD-Plus must not expect any peace, but full scale war”, further added the statement.

Failure by IGAD to initiate fresh talks, the group warned, could provoke “military” options and full scale war against the Juba regime.

They accused the regional bloc of a selective approach in choosing parties to continue ruling South Sudan, which was allegedly against the will of the ordinary citizens in the world's youngest nation.

FAILED LEADERS

Meanwhile, the revolutionary movement described both President Salva Kiir and opposition leader, Riek Machar as “failed” leaders allegedly responsible for the problems the nation currently faces.

“In fact, they (Kirr and Riek) worked perfectly together to loot our national resources, and failed to work as a team to offer constructive political leadership to this nation, as well deliver services to meet the expectation of the suffering people of south Sudan,” the group further said in their statement, which was also extended to Sudan Tribune.

“We are therefore calling for the two leaders to be excluded from the Transitional Government of the National Unity and should they need to come back to lead, they should wait for the general election, and seek it through popular vote of the people,” it added.

The opposition group, however, says it was willing to seek for alliance with every excluded faction such as FDP to ensure IGAD responds positively to their national calls for fresh peace talks with unified SPLM or else launch full scale war as an option for peace in the nation.

(ST)

August 31, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – A number of foreign ambassadors in Khartoum asked the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) for more details on steps undertaken to ensure the success of the national dialogue progress that is scheduled to formally convene on October 10th.

3rd meeting of the national dialogue national assembly in Khartoum on Thursday 20 August 2015 (Photo - SUNA)

The NCP political sector secretary Mustafa Osman Ismail held separate meetings with the ambassadors of Japan, Sweden and Italy at their request for an update on the dialogue initiative.

Ismail said in press statements on Monday that the three ambassadors stressed their strong support for national dialogue and expressed their desire to see the dialogue make a positive leap that would contribute to bringing about stability and development in Sudan.

"We conveyed to the ambassadors the steps undertaken so far in the dialogue process and the keenness of the government and the parties especially the 7 +7 mechanism to make it a success so that it would address the country's problems and lead to the opening up of Sudan's foreign relations," Ismail said.

He went on to say that he conveyed to diplomats his assurances that the dialogue aims to stop the war and create political consensus and addressing all the problems facing the country.

The NCP official said that consensus in the upcoming dialogue conference will contribute and help in drafting a new constitution for the country that would improve Sudan's foreign relations that would eventually reflect on the people's livelihoods.

"The Sudanese are keen on a dialogue that would bring about a positive shift in light of the tension that the world is witnessing, and a positive shift in security, stability and development in Sudan," Ismail said.

In a speech before the general assembly of the dialogue process this month, the Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir expressed readiness to declare a two-month ceasefire in Blue Nile, South Kordofan states and Darfur region and renewed his offer of amnesty for the rebel who are willing to join the national dialogue.

(ST)

Les Syriens qui fuient les violences dans leur pays apparaissent même là où on ne s’attend vraiment pas à les rencontrer. Selon la police norvégienne, ils sont de plus en plus nombreux à passer en Europe via l’Arctique, donc à plus de 4 000 kilomètres à vol d’oiseau de Damas.  

Le général Hassan a été remis en liberté lundi 31 août en début de soirée. L'ancien chef des renseignements algériens en charge de la lutte antiterroriste avait été placé en détention jeudi dernier, un an après avoir été mis à la retraite et placé sous contrôle judiciaire. Selon le site El Watan.com, qui donne l'information, aucune charge n'a été retenue contre lui. Malgré cette remise en liberté, l'arrestation de ce haut cadre met en lumière la réforme en cours depuis plusieurs mois au sein des services de renseignements. Une réforme qui n'est pas étrangère à la succession qui se prépare à la tête de l'Etat.

August 31, 2015 (NYALA) – Security committee at three localities in South Darfur state met on Monday to assess the security situation against the backdrop of the ongoing tribal clashes between Salamat and Falata tribes.

Sudanese tribal leaders attend the Darfur talks at the venue of the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria on 2 May 2006 (AP)

Members of security committees of Tulus, Buram and Damso localities met in the headquarters of Tulus locality, 90 kilometer south of South Darfur capital, Nyala to evaluate the security danger posed by conflict between the two tribes.

The commissioner of Tulus locality, Ibrahim Abakar Shamna, told Sudan Tribune that security committees of the three localities besides the local administration discussed in an expanded meeting ways for achieving lasting solution to prevent renewal of clashes between Falata and Salamat.

He pointed that the security committees developed strict security measures to arrest any individuals or groups seeking to wreak havoc particularly robbers and looters who drag tribes to bloody clashes, noting that specific groups became known for stealing cattle.

Shamna stressed that security organs are now equipped more than ever with military gears which allow them to curb any security threat in the area.

The commissioner emphasized that security organs wouldn't hesitate to arrest anyone who seeks to create tensions among tribes residing in the three localities, pointing to coordination among security committees, local administration and ordinary citizens to clamp down on the outlaws.

He noted that a mechanism to heal the rift between the two tribes has been developed, saying it would tackle issues of blood money and reparations in a way that preserves the rights of the victims.

Clashes between the two Salamat and Falata erupted last March following theft of cows in Rajaj area. At the time 67 people were killed. Also, seven people were killed in renewed clashes between the two tribes last month.

The central government admitted the failure of traditional reconciliation approach and decided stop these bloody tribal conflicts by bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attacks and through the massive deployment of troops.

(ST)