Africa

The United Nations, the African Union (AU) and regional partners today reiterated their call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in South Sudan and urged the parties to ensure an inclusive political process, both in the proposed National Dialogue and in the implementation of the 2015 peace agreement.

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Egypt's progress to the Nations Cup quarter-finals shows football is emerging from a dark period in the country, says Egypt FA's Hazem El Hawary.

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January 27, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - President Donald Trump Friday has signed an executive order banning from entering the U.S. for at least the next 90 days Sudanese nationals and citizens of other six countries.

The measure is seen as first step towards establishing a broader ban, and comes in line with an electoral pledge "to keep America safe" by the Republican president.

The executive order of 27 January bars all people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States. Also, the presidential decision orders to grant priority to Christian and other minority religions over Muslims.

Speaking at the signing ceremony at the Pentagon, Trump said “We don't want them here,” “We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love deeply our people,” he stressed.

The band does not include diplomats and members of international organizations from the seven designed countries.

A week before the end of his second term, President Obama signed an executive order easing economic embargo on Sudan.

However, Obama maintained the east African country in the list of state sponsors of terrorism with Libya, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Stria and Yemen.

The new American administration didn't yet determine its policy towards Sudan. Washington has to review the economic sanctions within six months and to decide to re-establish it fully or to lift it definitely.

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January 27, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudanese army on Friday angrily reacted to a report by a Washington-based human watchdog group accusing the military of looting national resources in total lack of accountability and transparency.

A SPLA soldier stands in front of a vehicle in Juba on December 20, 2013. (Photo Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Enough Project estimated that more than 100,000 "ghost" soldiers could be on the military's payroll, allowing for commanders and military leaders to boost their incomes or reputations.

Army spokesperson Colonel Santo Dominic Chol denied in an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune on Friday the charges, calling the findings “baseless” and mere propaganda machine to tarnish the institutional image of the South Sudanese army.

“It is irresponsible and reckless" to talk about this nonsense when people who spew these malicious lie and propaganda, know what the SPLA do to ensure stability and avoid the country sliding in anarchy. People who say these rubbishes show a lack of appreciation of the kind of work we do as the national army”, said Col. Chol, claiming the army has its ways of reporting.

The military officer acknowledged that military expenditure was rising, but said this was due to an upsurge in military operations in defend of the country in areas where rebels are active.

“So they want the army not to be funded, and when we are funded, we should come out to say this is what we have procured with the budget? Where in the world you have the army go and announced weapons they have purchased, tell me”, asked Col. Chol when reached on Friday.

The Enough Project report which analyzed violent kleptocracy as “a system of state in which ruling networks and commercial partners hijack governing institutions for the purpose of resource extraction and for the security of the regime. The ruling networks, it explains, utilize varying levels of violence to maintain power and repress dissenting voices.

The report published on Thursday, gives details of massive corruption within South Sudan's army. It notes that corrupt activities within the army include procurement fraud, irregular spending unchecked by civilian authority, and bloated troop rosters featuring thousands of “ghost” (non-existent) soldiers.

Brian Adeba, Associate Director of Policy at the Enough Project, said “The effect of corruption in proliferating insecurity in South Sudan cannot be underestimated. The country's politicians can only begin to realize the fruits of security for their citizens if they tackle the graft in the army.”

The report describes how despite widespread suffering in South Sudan, including famine-like conditions and the severe economic hardships South Sudanese people experience, massive amounts of the country's dwindling funds continue to go to the South Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), where they are diverted and misspent without accountability.

Jacinth Planer, report editor and Editor/Researcher at the Enough Project noted that “On paper, South Sudan's legal and institutional frameworks enshrine civilian, not military leadership. The SPLA is meant to protect, defend, and hold itself accountable to the South Sudanese people. But the destructive system and practices that have developed now instead work against these purposes, and the South Sudanese people who face great personal risks have paid the highest price. The international community should steadfastly support the South Sudanese people and especially those who try to uphold the institutions that are being undermined today.”

The report finds that within what enough identifies as a violent kleptocratic system in South Sudan, a lack of financial oversight over military expenditure, combined with heavy influence by political appointees, has created opportunities for mass corruption in the SPLA.

John Prendergast, Founding Director at the Enough Project observed that "There is no accountability for the looting of state resources in South Sudan, especially with military spending. The missing piece of an effective international response is the creation of leverage to shift the calculations of these violent kleptocrats from war to peace, from mass corruption—including in the military—to good governance and accountability in spending. The incentives that reward violence and theft must be changed. The international community needs to help make war costlier than peace for the leaders and create targeted and personal consequences for corrupt war-mongers.”

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January 27, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Egypt's government on Friday has called on Sudan to lift all restrictions on Egyptian agricultural exports to Sudan and to review the lists of “negative commodities”.

An Egyptian farmer stands by his cow as it takes a drink from the Nile. Egypt fears a massive Ethiopian dam project will ultimately diminish its historic water rights (Photo: Reuters)

Last September, Sudanese government temporarily suspended all imports of vegetables, fruit and fish from Egypt following U.S. reports about cases of strawberries from Egypt causing chronic hepatitis and other diseases.

Also, seven countries including Kuwait, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Japan have taken strict measures banning imports of Egyptian agricultural products.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zaid said that a meeting between Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shokry has called for the importance to consider the removal of all Sudanese restrictions on Egypt's farming products in order to support trade between the two nations.

According to Abu Zaid, the meeting was held on the sidelines of the 30th regular session of the African Union's executive board in Addis Ababa.

He pointed that Shokry expressed Egypt's desire to hold the meeting of the political, security and consular committee between the two nations in Khartoum.

“Egypt is keen to coordinate with the Sudanese side in all international forums and organizations in light of the historic ties between the two nations,” he added.

The spokesperson stressed that Egypt wouldn't be misled by attempts to drive a wedge between the two countries, saying Cairo seeks to strengthen the joint cooperation with Khartoum.

He also underscored Egypt keenness to coordinate with Sudan within the framework of the talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, pointing to the importance to complete the dam's technical studies.

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January 27, 2017 (JUBA)- South Sudanese rival forces have resumed fighting in the oil producing Upper Nile region, sparking fear it could lead to major hostilities in the region which experienced a pause in military activities since the beginning of the year.

Rebel fighters walk in front of a bushfire in a rebel-controlled territory in Upper Nile State, South Sudan February 13, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

It remains unclear who initiated the fight which has been ongoing over the past three days. Government forces have denied having moved from their positions for any military activities, though armed opposition fighters claimed they came under attack from them.

Col. William Gatjiath Deng, military spokesperson of the SPLA-IO, claimed Friday their forces in the area came under attack by the government forces, in Owach, an area located west bank of the Nile, encouraging them to fight back.

The spokesperson for military of armed opposition claimed the clashes between the two sides erupted in Lelo, Warjuok and Detang areas on Friday and were still continuing.

“The fighting started since morning in Lelo and Warjuok and the fighting is still ongoing in Warjuok, Lelo and Detang, the fighting is continuing up to now,” said the rebel official.

The areas where the fighting broke, he said, are controlled by the government, whose forces moved out from their positions and shelled the armed opposition fighters in their areas.

On his part, the deputy government forces spokesperson denied any knowledge of the alleged fighting in the area between government forces and opposition fighters. Col. Santo Dominic Chol said he has no such information from the SPLA commanding officers in the area where fighting is reported.

However, civilians its protected civilian camp in Malakal claimed to have heard sounds of gunfire coming from the direction of Detang and Lelo but did not have any details.

UN CONFIRMS CLASHES

From New York UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, confirmed the rebel statements about the fighting between the two sides.

"Our colleagues from the UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan report that intermittent shelling could be heard this afternoon in Malakal in Upper Nile from the Ditang area towards the north of the town, close to the UN base," said Dujarric.

This follows reports of heavy fighting on Wednesday between the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and opposition forces in Ditang, Lelo, Artakong and Burkiny.
Yesterday, the UN Mission reported that Malakal town was deserted, with SPLA soldiers in the area reportedly on high alert, he added.

UNMISS, according to Dujarric, reiterated its call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and fully implement the peace agreement.

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January 27, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) Friday has described the killing of a doctor in the Sennar state, 280 kilometers from the capital, Khartoum as “serious development in the attacks against doctors”.

Last October, Sudanese doctors went on a two-month intermittent strike and refused non-emergency treatments to patients demanding protection after the increase of attacks against doctors by frustrated patients and their families.

On Thursday, Mubarak Adam Arabi, a dermatologist at Sennar Hospital and lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sennar was stabbed to death by a frustrated patient inside his clinic.

In a press release extended to Sudan Tribune Friday, CCSD has mourned the slain doctor, describing the incident as “brutal and treacherous”.

It stressed that a statement including details of the incident and the next move that will be taken by the doctors would be issued later, saying “human life is the most sacred thing on earth” and there should be no justification for such a killing.

CCSD is an independent doctors association that was formed during the recent strike as a parallel body to the pro-government Sudanese Doctors Union (SDU).

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Donald Trump's pro-abortion funding ban infuriates many global health organisations who say it will unintentionally lead to more abortions.

Briefing the Security Council on the situation in Somalia, the United Nations envoy for the country noted today that the recently concluded election was a “mirror” to Somalis, showing them the good and the bad regarding how power is exercised, relations between elders, clan power brokers, politicians, business, ordinary citizens, women and men.

Could US overseas abortion funding ban lead to more deaths in Africa?

The head of the United Nations food relief agency today welcomed the progress made by the humanitarian community and the Government of Nigeria in fighting hunger and malnutrition in the West African country’s north-east.

The BBC's Peter Okwoche goes rally driving for the first time to find out why the sport is so popular in Uganda.

Kalusha Bwalya says two-time winner Herve Renard has the ability to win the Nations Cup with Morocco as he assesses the tournament so far.

Preview followed by live coverage of Saturday's Africa Cup of Nations game between Group B Winner and Group A Second Place.

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A selection of the best photos from across Africa this week.