Africa

School closures implemented to protect students from COVID-19, are hurting them in other ways, while the long-term impact of this disruption to education could create a “lost generation” in Africa, two UN agencies said on Thursday. 

The UN on Thursday called for the “constitutional and democratic order” to be restored as soon as possible across Mali, following the military coup, and reiterated a call to respect the rule of law, and refrain from violence.

The devastating oil spill off the east coast of Mauritius has highlighted the need for global adoption of international legislation that govern the seas and protect small island states and their vulnerable marine ecosystems against ship pollution, UN trade body UNCTAD has stated. 

An 11-year-old Nigerian boy, whose ballet dancing in the rain went viral, is offered a scholarship in the US.

UN agencies have called for search and rescue to be stepped up in the central Mediterranean, in the wake of a tragic shipwreck that claimed the lives of 45 migrants and refugees, including five children. 

August 19, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The South Sudanese chief mediator announced, on Wednesday, the resumption of talks on the security arrangements between the Sudanese government and Darfur armed groups.

"The session of talks that took place this morning between the government delegations and the armed movements discussed many items in the security arrangements, and that there are no major differences between the two parties," said Tut Gatluak.

The meeting discussed the development of the armed forces and how to integrate the forces in addition to the formation of joint forces tasked with maintaining security in Darfur upon the withdrawal of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur "UNAMID".

The government delegation presented its vision on these issues as the armed groups are expected to reply on Thursday or Friday.

Gatluak expressed hopes that the current round will be decisive, and that a full agreement will be reached on the security arrangements, leading to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

The Sudanese Defence Minister Yassin Ibrahim, who leads the government negotiating team for the security agreement, said that the negotiations are proceeding well,

He affirmed the determination of the two parties to overcome all obstacles and disagreement and praised the cooperation of the rebel negotiating delegation.

"The agreement on security arrangements is the basis for the peace process," he further said.

"The meeting discussed mechanisms for reforming, modernizing and developing the armed forces and other security agencies," he added.

"We made clear to the brothers in the delegation of armed struggle movements that the body responsible for modernizing and developing the armed forces is the Security and Defence Council. Also, we said that the armed movements will participate, through the power-sharing process, in the process of reforming, modernizing and developing the military and security institutions."

The minister stated that the meeting also discussed how to integrate forces, which takes place through mechanisms of verification, classification and arrangement, and training and gathering centres.

He expressed optimism that the negotiation in this file would proceed to its goals and desired results.

For his part, the rapporteur of the rebel negotiating team in the file of security arrangements, Mutassim Ahmed Mohamed expected that the differences will be overcome within the next two days and an agreement on security arrangements will be reached.

Once the security arrangements deal is struck, the parties will review the various parts ahead of the initial signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement on 28 August.

It worth mentioning that the current round of talks is dedicated to the sticky point in the security arrangements, as the government and the armed groups had already discussed the issue.

On 17 August, the government and the SPLM-N of Sudanese Revolutionary Front led by Malik Agar initialled an agreement on the security arrangements.

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The United Nations continues to monitor the ongoing situation in Mali, where soldiers arrested the President and several members of his cabinet in a military coup on Tuesday. 

August 19, 2020 (JUBA) - The international medical aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Wednesday said they treated over 100 civilians wounded during the continued tribal violence in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area.

Patient brought from Gumuruk town of Pibor county during clashes between the Lou Nuer and Murle earlier this year (File photo / ST)

Hundreds have been killed and thousands were displaced as a result of the intercommunal fighting between the Murle and the Dinka Bor or the against the Lou Nuer which had begun in December 2019.

"After months of bitter inter-communal clashes, fighting has continued to sweep across Jonglei and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have treated over 100 war-wounded civilians and evacuated dozens for urgent surgery," said MSF in a statement released on Wednesday.

The latest wave in violence, which started in early June and ended mid-August, has left tens of thousands of people displaced in the bush in need of healthcare, as well as food, clean water and sanitation and basic shelter., further said the group.

"Over the course of just one week, between 29 July to the beginning of August, the MSF medical team in Pieri received an influx of 102 war-wounded patients, the youngest just 15-years-old".

Further, 11 patients were treated for gunshot wounds at the outpatient emergency response in Pibor relaunched on 11 August. Of the 11, six patients, including two women, two men and two children one aged only 3-years-old, were evacuated for specialised treatment.

Furthermore, 36 patients from Pieri were transferred for emergency surgery to the MSF hospitals in Bentiu and to Juba.

on 23 July, UNMISS head and UN Secretary-General Special Representative, David Shearer said concerned by the continued attacks in Jonglei and called to stop the fighting.

"Parties must immediately stop fighting, pull back and return to their home areas. Buffer zones need to be established to protect people and enable reconciliation to safely take place," he said.

"This conflict is not simply intercommunal between ethnic groups. Other political figures are at work. External actors need to stop deliberately stoking the conflict for the sake of local communities," he further stressed.

On17 August, the holdout People's Democratic Movement (PDM) of Hakim Dario denounced the non-intervention of the government forces to stop "recent invasion of the Murle in GPAA by the combined heavily armed tribal armies of Lou Nuer and Dinka Bor".

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August 19, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan proposed amending the expected agreement on the filling and operation of the Great Ethiopian the Renaissance Dam (GERD) within 10 years after its implementation.

South African Presiden Cyril Ramaphosa who is the Chairman of the African Union mediation on the GRED requested from Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia to submit their draft-agreements with the aim of writing one draft agreement with the participation of the technical teams of the three countries.

The three countries filled their draft agreements on Tuesday.

The Sudanese draft, seen by Sudan Tribune, says the agreement on the GRED can be amended with the approval of the three parties after 10 years of its entry into force.

This amendment should include updating the data and tables, attached to the draft, based on the updated hydrological data of the Blue Nile in the site of the GERD, further said the Sudanese paper.

Sudan further recalled its position that the filling of the Dam lake should be done in stages agreed by the three countries, provided that the filling process occurs during the wet season and to reduce the quantities of water retained for the filling of the dam in the event of drought and continuous drought.

Ethiopia during the talks expressed their fear that an agreement on the filling of the GERD will allow the downstream countries to obstruct its future projects on the Blue Nile saying they would need the approval of Egypt and Sudan for every project, a matter that they refuse.

For Egypt, Ethiopia should not be enabled to control the flow of the GERD at will to implement its projects on the Blue Nile, because that means giving the upstream country the right to amend the would-be signed agreement.

Sudan initially backed the Egyptian position but later it proposed a compromise reaffirming that the agreement should not prejudice Ethiopia's future development projects on the Blue Nile.

The development projects should be implemented under the international law, and to observe the principles of equitable and reasonable utilisation of transboundary watercourses, the obligation not to cause significant harm and cooperation, according to the Sudanese negotiating team.

The Sudanese draft agreement further called to complete studies of assessing the GRED environmental and social impacts and to implement recommendations of these studies after its approval by a ministerial committee.

With regard to the safety of the dam and emergency situations, Sudan proposed a number of procedures and requirements that oblige the parties to exchange information and documents necessary for the safety of communities and infrastructures in the downstream countries.

Also, the Sudanese draft agreement calls for immediate notification and prompt handling of all emergencies, including any water quality problem, as it will directly affect the daily flow of water in the Roseires dam.

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UN-led efforts to address serious rights violations in Libya, received a boost on Wednesday with the appointment of three independent investigators to document abuses in the war-torn country.    

A small-scale Tanzanian mining company finds three of the rare gemstones in as many months.

An ex-BBC reporter recounts his experience of Sunday's deadly hotel siege in Mogadishu, and his friend's death.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the immediate restoration of constitutional order and the rule of law in Mali, after mutinying troops arrested the country’s leader and other senior officials on Tuesday.

August 18, 2020 (KHARTOUM)- Sudanese government and the SPLM-N led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu will resume peace talks next Thursday, said the spokesman of the mediation on Tuesday.

Dhieu Matouk, the Rapporteur de la South Sudanese mediation told the official Sudan News Agency that the agreement was reached during a meeting with the negotiating team of the SPLM-N al-Hilu on Tuesday morning.

Matouk said that the two parties will resume discussions on the declaration of principles from where they had stopped.

"Perhaps the issues of humanitarian aid and the cessation of hostilities will be discussed," he added.

Talks are deadlocked on the relationship between religion and state, as the SPLM-N al-Hilu says that this issue should be discussed in the talks. But the government says it should be discussed in the constitutional conference.

On 22 June, the government said it had received an invitation from South Sudan's mediation to resume negotiations with the SPLM-N al-Hilu.

At the time, the spokesman for the government negotiating delegation, Mohamed Hassan Eltaishi said that the meeting agenda includes three items: cessation of hostilities, humanitarian assistance, pursuing the negotiations on the declaration of principles.

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August 18, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government on Tuesday disavowed statements by the official spokesman of the foreign ministry about ongoing contacts with Jerusalem over the normalization of bilateral relations between Sudan and Israel.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman Haydar Badawi Sadiq on Tuesday morning welcomed the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Also, in statements to several Arab media, he expressed his support for normalization and peace with Israel stressing that his country is looking forward to peace with Israel.

In a short statement released in the evening, the acting foreign minister said they "learned with astonishment" the statements of Haydar Badawi Sadiq, the ministry's spokesman, about normalizations with Israel.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sudan confirms that the issue of relations with Israel was never discussed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," said Omer Gamar-Eldin.

"Ambassador Haidar Badawi was not assigned to make any statements about this matter".

The statements of the foreign ministry spokesman were the main topic of discussion in Sudanese forums and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed his statement while the Palestinian officials slammed the move.

On 3 February 2020, the head of the Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met with the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Uganda to discuss ways to normalize bilateral relations.

However, he backtracked upon his return to Khartoum saying Sudan foreign policy should be decided only by the civilian government of Abdallah Hamdok, according to the transitional constitution.

Other political groups said that the transitional government has a limited mandate and only an elected government can take a decision in this respect.

Late on Tuesday, the spokesman said he made his statement about the normalization of relations with Israel "as a free Sudanese citizen, the Revolution enabled him to speak his mind".

Before to add " because I felt that the Foreign Ministry was absent and left in the dark regarding this file" and referred to what al-Burhan said after his meeting with Netanyahu.

"I did not say more than that al-Burhan put Sudan on the right track with his meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister," he added.

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Mounting violence in Burkina Faso has forced more than one million people to flee their homes: 453,000 so far this year alone, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Tuesday, citing government figures.

August 17, 2020 (JUBA) - The head of the National Democratic Movement, Lam Akol Monday voiced concerns about the missed timelines in the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement and proposed a number of measures to catch up with the time.

On 22 August will mark the sixth month into the transitional period for the implementation of the levitated peace pact of 12 September 2018 that ended a five year period of civil war in the young nation.

The agreement included an implementation matrix for the formation of transitional institutions and reforms to be implemented before to hold a free and fair general election after 30 months of transition.

In a letter to the signatories of the agreement on Monday seen by Sudan Tribune, Akol said 67 of the activities that were to be implemented during the first six months of the transitional period have been missed.

“This is a very serious matter. As you are aware, implementation activities are interconnected and non-implementation of some will cause delays of the implementation of subsequent ones;” he said.

He said that to catch up with time, they can do several things simultaneously instead of doing it one after another as it is the case currently.

He proposed to form 4 committees to accelerate the implementation of the security arrangements, economic and humanitarian matters, constitution-making process and transitional justice.

He further proposed the immediate ratification of the Constitutional Amendment Bill and President Kiir assent the transitional constitution once ratified.

NDM leader further suggested reconstituting the legislative assembly and the Council of States.

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The UN in Somalia has strongly condemned a terrorist attack that took place on Sunday at the Elite Hotel in the capital Mogadishu, which reportedly killed at least 16 people and left many others injured.     

August 17, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Governor of Khartoum State slammed the excessive use of violence by the police forces to disperse the "Inventory" march in Khartoum.

On Monday, the Resistance Committees organized protests on the first anniversary of the signing of the Constitutional Declaration between the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) and the dissolved Military Transitional Council. The text set the goals of the transitional period and determined a timetable to implement it.

The protesters wanted to show their anger over the delayed implementation of the transitional agenda in terms of peace, democratic reforms and particularly justice as the government has failed until now to hold accountable those who killed civilians during the revolution.

"I express my deep sorrow over the events that took place in the Inventory processions organised by the revolutionary forces," said the governor of Khartoum, Ayman Khaled, said in a statement on Monday.

The Attorney General Taj al-Sir al-Hiber and prosecutors supervising the police forces said that the dispersal of the protest was based on their appreciation of the security situation, Khaled further said.

"But despite these justifications, I see that the use of force was excessive, and contradicts our approach in the era of freedom, peace and justice," he stressed.

The police forces used tear gas to disperse protesters who sought to storm the premises of the cabinet office in Khartoum after refusing to hand over their memo to a member of Hamdok's office demanding that he personally come to meet them.

The police arrested 77 protesters who were released later during the day.

The governor called on the Attorney General to investigate the use of force to disperse the protesters.

The police issued a statement saying its forces acted in line with the law to preserving public order and safety of government officials and public institutions.

Abdel Aziz al-Hilu the leader of the SPLM-N issued a statement to voice his support for Monday protest.

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August 17, 2020 (JUBA) - The Sudanese government and the SPLM-N of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SPLM-N SRF) Monday initialled an agreement on security arrangements, ahead of initialling a comprehensive peace agreement between the government and the SRF in Juba on 28 August.

The initial signing ceremony took place in Juba, in the presence of a delegation from the Sudanese Sovereign Council and the Sudanese Minister of Defence, who led the government negotiating delegation, Yasir Arman the Movement Deputy Chairman and head of its negotiating delegation, in addition to the South Sudanese mediation, a Chadian delegation and another from the United Arab Emirates.

The agreement, seen by Sudan Tribune, dealt with the integrating the SPLM-N SFR led by Malik Agar into the Sudanese army and in three phases to be achieved within 39 months.

The first stage will deal with the integration process of the SPLM-N combatants which should be effective in 12 months starting from signing the agreement process.

During the second phase, the SPLA-N fighters will remain in the area under the command of the Sudanese army for 14 months before to redeploy its units in other parts of the country for 13 months.

At the end of the 39-moth period, the SPLA-N will units will be totally dismantled.

The agreement further says that the agreement will be enforced, monitored and control the implementation of the security arrangements: the Security and Defence Council, the Sovereign Council and cabinet and the Security and Defence Committee at the transitional parliament.

The defence and security council will set general plans for reforming, modernizing and developing the Sudanese army, the Sovereign Council and the cabinet will watch the implementation process and provide the needed fund and means while the parliament will control it.

The Sudanese Minister of Defence and the head of the negotiating team said that the integration of the SPLA-N fighters "will make the army more coherent, strong and ready to deal with any threats to the security of the homeland".

Yassin Ibrahim further stressed that the security arrangements agreement should motivate and encourages other non-signatory groups to join the peace process for the sake of developing and building Sudan.

For his part, the Movement's deputy chairman and head of its negotiating delegation said that the security arrangements agreement came in line with the spirit of the revolution and its objectives in reforming, the military and security sectors, without which Sudanese will not build a civil state.

"Sudan will not join the club of countries that have collapsed, such as Libya, Yemen and Somalia (..) We are here to benefit from these experiences and lead our country towards new dawn (...)," Yasir Arman further said.

The mediation is expected to use this agreement as a model for security arrangements agreements to be signed with the other armed groups.

Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, the head of the other SPLM-N group issued a statement Monday, saying that what is taking place in Juba is "an attempt to achieve a partial peace that does not address the root causes of the Sudanese crisis, and will not lead to a real peace that restores security, peace and stability."

He further stressed that his movement sticks to its demand to build a secular, democratic, decentralized system that preserves the rights of all its population.

Hemetti met Monday with the leaders of the SRF leaders in the presence of the South Sudanese Chief Mediator Tut Galtuak.

Dhieu Matouk the mediation's rapporteur announced that the mediation has set a timetable for completing the talks on the security arrangements in Darfur and reviewing some papers regarding political and national issues in the tracks of Darfur and the Two Areas.

He added that Galtuak had announced on Monday morning that the initial signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement will take place on the 28th of August.

(ST)