Africa

October 8, 2016 (BOR) - Primary and secondary school teachers have declared strike in Jonglei state, demanding that they receive their salaries increment. A representative of the teachers, Matiop Ruben, who spoke to the media blamed the government for ignoring teachers' pay rise following the current economic inflation.

Some of the angry youth protesting in the Jonglei capital, Bor on July 19, 2016 (ST)

Reuben said all the teachers in Jonglei state from Primary to secondary schools have agreed to strike. According to the teachers, the national government failed to fulfill the promise it announced earlier that there would soon be increment of salaries from grade seven to grade one in two circulars.

Currently, teachers are paid between 600 and 1,018 South Sudanese pounds (SSP), depending on the class of teaching.

“The government of the Republic of South Sudan came up with the resolution that salaries from grade 17 to grade 10 should be increased. That document had come into effect in the army, organized forces, in the national government and in even in some other states. In Jonglei state here, we waited for that document to be effected, but it was not effected till today,” explained Reuben.

He further explained that a second circular, which had been received by the teachers and signed by the public service department on 25 July, showed phase two salaries increment which is from grade nine to grade five, and also from grade one to grade four.

“That was supposed to [be] effective from July or August, but was not implemented,” he said.

The teachers, he added, have decided not to go back to their classes for teaching till concrete explanation about why the state government had refused to implement the circulars is made clear to them. The schools had just opened for third term and the strike, if it is not resolved in time, would disrupt the learning process.

“It is now two days for teachers not coming to schools. We want our teachers to be back. If they delay for even one day, [it] means we shall not study again,” said a primary school girl in Bor.

The state government is yet to react to the announcement made by the teachers.

Students from Jonglei state were among the top ten best performing students in the country in the national exams for secondary education. The best student who took lead nationally was from Jonglei state.

Some schools in the state were also listed among the top ten best performing schools in the country in the same exams.

(ST)

October 8, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The commander Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has said that his forces will put an end to the anti-human trafficking operations and fight against extremists, if the international community lifts economic sanctions on the east African country.

SRF field commander Mohamed Hamdan (Hametti) speaks in a press conference in Khartoum on Wednesday May 14, 2014 (ST)

Washington admitted recently Sudan's cooperation in the anti-terrorism war but underlined that it wouldn't remove Sudan from the list of states sponsor of terrorism or left economic sanctions, before the end of armed conflicts in Darfur region and Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo, commonly known as “Hametti”, said that his forces struggle to thwart human trafficking, pointing that these efforts serve the interest of international community.

In statement to Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) on Saturday, Hemeti called for the lifting of "unjust" economic embargo on Sudan, pointing that "if the international community responded to the demands of the Sudanese people, the RSF are ready to thwart the human trafficking operations and eradicate extremists.

He added that the RSF fighters work to clear Sudan's border with Egypt, Libya and Chad from the remnants of rebel groups which are now involved in people and gold smuggling.

Sudan is considered as a country of origin and transit for the illegal migration and human trafficking. Thousands of people from Eritrea and Ethiopia are monthly crossing the border into the Sudanese territories on their way to Europe through Libya or Egypt.

The commander stressed that RSF has managed to haunt the armed groups and forced them to cross into the Libyan territory, pointing out that his forces made great efforts to combat these movements and fight human trafficking in spite of the long border between Sudan, Egypt and Libyan.

Earlier this year, the European Union granted a €100m development package to address the root causes of irregular migration in Sudan. The financial support came after pledge by the Sudanese government to cooperate with Brussels to stop human trafficking to Europe.

In January 2014, the Sudanese parliament approved an anti-human trafficking law which punishes those involved with human trafficking with up to 20 years imprisonment.

The European Parliament demanded on Thursday European External Action Service to monitor closely the EU's development aid to Sudan to prevent any direct or indirect support to the local militias

Hemeti asserted the excellence of relations between Sudan and Chad describing it as "strong historical eternal". He further praised the efforts of the joint force to secure the common border.

(ST)

October 8, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government has embarked on actual moves to hand over 21 child soldiers to their families after completing the legal procedures, said children official.

A member of Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) walks with his rifle at Ashma village 30 km (19 miles) from Nyala, south Darfur, October 6, 2004. (Reuters photo)

Last month, President Omer al-Bashir announced the release of twenty one children allegedly detained during the Gouz Dango battle with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in April 2014.

However the rebel group denied that these children were part of its fighters reiterating its commitment to international conventions banning the use of child soldiers.

In a press conference in Khartoum on Saturday, the chairperson of Sudan's National Council on Child Welfare (NCCW) Suad Abdel-Aal, said they are working with the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission (DDR) to integrate the child soldiers into the society.

She pointed that one of the child soldiers is from South Sudan, adding they would coordinate with Sudan's Foreign Ministry and the concerned organizations to send him back to his family.

The Sudanese official added that 7 of the child soldiers suffered from tuberculosis, saying one of them had died while the remaining 6 were rescued after the government authorities provided them with medical treatment.

She declined to provide the names of the child soldiers under the pretext that they seek “to maintain their safety and privacy”, saying the process of integrating them into the society would be conducted confidentially.

Abdel-Aal pointed the child soldiers are being hosted in a special house in Khartoum's neighborhood East Nile, saying the house was rented by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

She said the concerned bodies would develop a plan to ensure the safety of these children until they were handed over to their families, saying the DDR would complete the procedures to integrate them into their societies.

The Sudanese official pointed the children have been subjected to the worst kinds of exploitation, saying they were used as human shields in the military operations.

For his part, the Special Prosecutor of Darfur Crimes Al-Fatih Mohamed Tayfor said the name of the child soldiers who died Mustafa Ahmed, pointing he passed away on June 17th.

He stressed the need to impose the rule of law and fight against impunity, saying he received information that many soldiers who were captured by the Sudanese army during the Gouz Dango battle were underage boys.

Tayfor pointed that most of the child soldiers have fallen victims to kidnappings and forced recruitment, saying some of them were seduced to take up arms against the state.

The Sudanese army and its allied militias have has been fighting a number of armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in Darfur conflict since 2003, and over 2.5 million were displaced.

(ST)

October 8, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan government has welcomed the United State's decision to extend its military aids, saying it would help in consolidating “stability" in the country and strengthening relations.

On Friday, President Barack Obama issued a decision to continue U.S. military assistance to the troubled South Sudan despite the use of child soldiers in the troubled country.

The waiver circumvents the 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act, which is meant to block some military assistance to countries recruiting Childs in their armies.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune on Saturday, Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro described the policy shift as "the right thing to do", adding that imposing arms embargo would have increased hostilities and limiting military capabilities to strengthening combat operations.

Minister Lomuro, an ally of President Salva Kiir, said the move showed the "renewal of the partnership" between the two countries, and vowed to step up efforts to implement the peace agreement to restore stability.

Obama also granted waivers to six other countries : Somalia, Congo, Nigeria, Rwanda, Iraq and Myanmar.

Gordon Buay, a senior diplomat at South Sudan embassy in the United States, also commended inclusion of South Sudan in the list of countries which would benefit from military assistances from United States.

The diplomat added that his government under President Salva Kiir remains committed to full implementation of the peace agreement reached with armed and political opposition to end the nearly three-year conflict in the country.

The inclusion of South Sudan in the renewal sparked mixed reactions from among South Sudanese, with some questioning the basis for inclusion of the country after the government has been accused of buying weapons to use against dissent groups without distinguishing civilian areas.

The move also is seen as a sudden major shift from earlier plans advocated and supported by senior officials in the United States administration to impose arms embargoes and individual sanctions.

(ST)

October 7, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - In their second day of strike, Sudanese doctors in Khartoum say more practitioners across the country are joining their protest over lack of security and poor work conditions.

On Thursday, an independent doctors union, Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) announced that doctors will refuse non-emergency treatments to patients to protest the poor working conditions, lack of medicines medical material. They also demand protection after the increase of attacks by frustrated patients and their families.

CCSD Spokesperson Dr. Hossam al-Amin al-Badawi Friday told Sudan Tribune that "ten hospitals have joint the strike and five others are preparing to rally the protest on Saturday".

56 hospitals have participated in the strike since Thursday.

Al-Badawi pointed to the national character of the movement, saying that hospitals in Port Sudan, the capital of Red Sea and in Al-Nuhud of West Kordofan have joint the strike.

“The strike will be open-ended until our demands are met,” he stressed.

He said that 99.7% of the hospitals in Sudan are participating in the strike and stopped treating non-emergency cases, except Omdurman, Khartoum North and Haj-al-Safi hospitals, due to their specific conditions.

Al-Badawi further said that senior doctors have supported the strike by closing their private clinics.

“CCSD general assembly will meet on Friday evening in Khartoum North hospital for more coordination and consultation,” he added.

The strike was condemned by the government and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), as they minimized the impact of attacks on doctors. Also, Khartoum State Minister of Health Mamoun Humaida said the opposition-backed strike is highly "politicized"

Commenting on these accusations, al-Badawi pointed that such claims should not be said by a health official, adding it was an attempt to deny established facts.

“We have nothing to do with the Sudanese Communist Party or the ruling National Congress Party. We only know the federal and state ministries of health,” stressed al-Badawi.

He said that CCSD is for doctors' social and professional demands and has nothing to do with politics.

On his part, the Chairman of General Union of Health and Medical Professions (GUHMP), Yasir Ahmed pointed that he did not accuse the Sudanese Communist Party of masterminding the strike, but he said the opposition party has misused the just demands of doctors.

Ibrahim further told Sudan Tribune that the GUHMP is negotiating with the striking doctors ways to end the strike, as "the government has started providing medical equipments and devices that worth millions of Sudanese pounds to hospitals in Khartoum and other states”.

(ST)

October 7, 2016 (JUBA) - Armed opposition forces allied to the former First Vice President, Riek Machar, have blocked major and key strategic roads to and from Yei town, the administrative headquarters of the newly created Yei River state, according to local and religious leaders in the area.

A batch of the SPLA-IO forces after arrival in Juba, 1 April, 2016 (ST Photo)

The move carried out by dissidents armed youth involved in a hit and run military activities has cut off the area from Kaya, one of the border towns linking South Sudan with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The blocked main road serves as one of the vital trading routes for South Sudan. It is significantly important for the armed opposition forces to sustain the pressure on government forces if they can maintain and avoid being recaptured by the government forces.

This new revelation comes after David Lokonga Moses, governor of the state, had asked religious leaders in the area to organise themselves and see how they could hold talks with armed dissidents to end hostilities.

“Life in Yei is not easy. There is no movement into and out of Yei for the last few days. Life has been complicated by the crisis. You cannot go beyond the parameters of the town. The Juba-Yei road is off, the same thing for Yei-Morobo road and Kaya –Yei road as well as Yei- Maridi road. These are the major supplying roads in the state. If they are affected by the insecurity like this, then life of the people is in danger,” Moses Duku, a local administrative officer in Yei town, told Sudan Tribune when asked about the situation in the area.

Episcopal church Bishop of Yei, Hilary Luate Adeba, also said in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune that the life in town was not normal, saying religious leaders are exerting efforts to build trust and promote an atmosphere of love.

Yei, according to Bishop Adeba, has been experiencing unusual insecurity situation. He acknowledged that governor Lokonga had asked religious leaders to reach out to the dissidents armed youth in the area for talks so that hostilities stop.

“As the church, we are talking to everybody to listen to the cry of the people and stop fighting. The people are suffering. The schools have been closed down, markets are not functioning normally, health centres in the villages and counties have ceased to operate, there are no people in the villages attending to crops which were planted. It is really a difficult situation and we appeal for a stop to hostilities. We appeal to all those involved in these hostilities to stop and listen to the people,” he pleaded.

Kaya, which is cut off from Yei, is located approximately 78 kilometers (48 miles) southeast of Yei and lies approximately 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Juba, capital of South Sudan and largest town in the country.

Kaya sits directly across the border from Oroba in Uganda and situated close to Mbazi in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is believed that opposition forces are preparing for major assaults on government-controlled towns including Yei and Juba, the national capital, follow the collapse of the August 2015 peace agreement.

(ST)

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October 7, 2016 (JUBA) – The armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) has admitted to have lost one of their chapters' heads in the United States to the government under the leadership of President Salva Kiir.

In a joint statement signed by 14 heads of the SPLM-IO chapters in their 15 offices established in the states across the U.S. which have huge populations of South Sudanese, the states' representatives have however downplayed the significance of losing their colleague, Ahchor Dhel, who was the SPLM-IO's head of the chapter for South Dakota state.

The statement said Dhel is the only head of a state chapter who has switched side to President Salva Kiir and his deputy, Taban Deng, adding that the rest of the leadership and membership of the SPLM-IO chapter in South Dakota remains in full support of the former First Vice President, Riek Machar, and that an acting head has taken control of the situation in that particular state office.

“We the SPLM-IO chapters in the United States of America unanimously continue our support to SPLM/A IO under the leadership of Dr. Riek Machar Teny, the Chairman and C-in-C. We the fifteen Chapters also regret losing an individual from the Chapter of South Dakota. Ahchor Dhel ran the Chapter in South Dakota and has officially deserted his position. His official release is yet to be approved by the Mission Office of the office of Representative of the SPLM/A IO in USA, and he will be notified of his official release through a letter accordingly,” partly reads the statement.

“The Chapter Office of South Dakota is yet to identify a chapter leader. The Coordination Office shall monitor the process,” further reads the joint statement extended to Sudan Tribune and signed by 14 out of the 15 SPLM-IO heads of chapters in the United States.

They said all the SPLM-IO chapters in the U.S. continue to support Machar and condemned the new First Vice President, Deng, for allegedly having struck a secret deal with President Kiir to destroy the peace agreement and ensure that no various sectors reforms will be implemented so that they allegedly continue to loot the country's resources and intimidate, torture and kill daring citizens using their security organs.

The statement, which was officially released to the public by the SPLM-IO's national coordinator in the U.S., Sabata Ramba, called on all South Sudanese in the country and in the diaspora to mobilize their support behind Machar for better change in the country.

The statement bears the names of the opposition's heads of chapters for the states of Texas, Washington, Utah, Arizona, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas Missouri, Tennessee, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, California, Colorado and acting head of South Dakota.

This comes following the visit to the U.S. of government's delegation led by the First Vice President, Taban Deng, who is reportedly returning to South Sudan over the weekend.

Officials of the SPLM-IO said they boycotted Deng and his delegation from visiting the chapters in the states and have instead invited a team sent by Machar to visit all the 15 highly populated states and brief the South Sudanese communities about the situation in South Sudan.

(ST)

October 7, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The internal groups of the opposition umbrella Sudan Call and the Future Forces of Change (FFC) alliance on Thursday have agreed to join efforts in order to build a national political project that could bring all Sudanese together.

Leaders of the opposition "Sudan Call" sign an agreement on the alliance's structures in Paris on 22 April 2016 (ST Photo)

In a joint press statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday, the two sides said they discussed the ongoing developments of the national dialogue, stressing the need for joint work to unify political efforts to build a national project.

The statement added “to achieve that end, the two sides called on the government to adhere to the basic dialogue agreements and to create conducive climate”, saying the two sides are keen to engage in joint work and coordinate with all political forces.

According to the statement, the two sides agreed to continue to meet, consult and coordinate in order to fulfill that objective.

The Sudan Call, which was established in Addis Ababa on 3 December 2014, includes the National Umma Party (NUP) and rebel umbrella of Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), and the Civil Society Initiative (CSI).

Sudan Call internal groups include the Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP), Sudanese Baath Party (SBP), Center Alliance Party (CAP), Sudanese National Party (SNP) and Sudanese National Alliance (SNA).

FFC, which was launched last February, is actually formed of three existing coalitions that for different reasons failed to join the opposition alliance of the National Consensus Forces (NCF), or the Sudan Call.

The FFC groups are National Forces Alliance (NFA), National Forces of Change (NFC) and National Unity Parties (NUPs). Some members of these groups, like RNM and Just Peace Forum (JPF), were part of the national dialogue process.

Both Sudan Call and FFC are not part of the government-led national dialogue conference which will begin its meeting on Monday.

Monday's conference which will take place with the participation of regional leaders will not include the opposition armed and political groups.

The government slammed the holdout opposition groups saying they are not serious about peace and dialogue and stressed they would go ahead with the outcome of the conference without waiting the opposition Sudan Call forces.

(ST)

October 7, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Khartoum and Juba on Thursday have agreed to extend the deadline of the “zero option” agreement on the apportionment of debt between the two countries for the second time.

South Sudanese refugees wait at a border gate in Joda, in the Jableen locality in Sudan's White Nile State, after arriving from the South Sudanese war zones of Malakal and al-Rank, January 16, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Sudan inherited the entire external debt that existed prior to the secession of South Sudan in 2011. Both sides decided to reach out to creditors to obtain debt relief and if that fails will sit down to see how it can be divided using the "zero option".

In September 2012, Sudan and South Sudan signed the “zero option” agreement under which Sudan would retain all the external liabilities after the secession of South Sudan, provided that the international community gave firm commitments to the delivery of debt relief to Sudan within two years. Absent such a commitment, Sudan's external debt would be apportioned based on a formula to be determined.

In 2014, Juba and Khartoum agreed to extend the “zero option” deadline for another 2 years till October 2016 in order to avoid immediate apportionment of debt between the two countries.

Sudan's Finance Minister Badr al-Dain Mahmoud met with his South Sudanese counterpart Stephen Dhieu Dau on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) in Washington on Thursday.

According to the official news agency (SUNA), the two ministers agreed to extend the “zero option” agreement and the work of the joint committees besides the banking correspondence to facilitate the flow of business operations between the two countries.

Sudan's external debt is estimated to have grown by 27% since 2008 from $32.6 billion to $41.4 billion in 2011. The IMF said the debt amounted to about US$45 billion in 2014 (79 percent of GDP), of which about 85 percent was in arrears.

JOINT COMMITTEES MEETING

Meanwhile, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said the joint committees between Juba and Khartoum would resume its meetings in December.

Sudan's State Foreign Minister Kamal Ismail said the meetings would discuss the implementation of the agreements signed between the two countries, pointing the meeting would also determine a timetable for the meetings of the various committees according to the concerned technical bodies.

He told SUNA that the meetings of the joint committees shall not be affected by the ongoing war in South Sudan.

In September 2012, both Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements, which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, border trade among others.

In March 2013, the two countries signed an implementation matrix for these cooperation agreements. However, the execution of the agreements didn't go according to the plan.

(ST)

October 7, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Finance Minister Badr el-Din Mahmoud has discussed with the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Africa and the Middle East, Eric Meyer, efforts to combat illegal migration and terrorism besides the impact of sanctions on the Sudanese economy.

Sudanese finance minister Badr al-Din Mahmoud

The official news agency (SUNA) said the two officials met on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) in Washington.

According to SUNA, the Sudanese minister briefed the U.S. official on the challenges facing Sudan including the large flow of refugees from neighboring countries besides combating illegal migration and terrorism, saying the international community didn't provide any financial support for his country in this regard.

Mahmoud added that Sudan achieved positive economic growth rates despite the challenges it faces.

The official news agency pointed the meeting also discussed the recent political developments in Sudan including the national dialogue besides relations between Washington and Khartoum.

It added that Meyer mentioned the Sudan's unwavering efforts to combat illegal migration and terrorism, acknowledging the negative impact of the U.S. sanctions on the Sudanese economy.

He called on the Sudanese government engage in contacts with the U.S. States Department and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to reach understandings on the financial transfers particularly the lists of exemptions.

Sudan has been under U.S. trade and economic sanction since 1997, so financial institutions and banks are very careful when it comes to transaction and business in connection with this country.

After a severe punishment of $9 billion on the BNP Paribas in May 2015, many institutions stopped banking transfers and transactions fearing sanctions.

Late last month, U.S. officials said that U.S. sanctions on Sudan do not include private and remittance humanitarian aid to the eastern African country and encouraged transactions with Khartoum within the framework of many authorizations and licenses.

October 7, 2016 (JUBA) - Four homes for South Sudanese former ministers and senior ex-intelligence officials who turned critics of President Salva Kiir have been raided and locked in the national capital, Juba, sources have said.

Targeted are homes to Mac Paul Kuol, former SPLA Military Intelligence (MI) director, Majak Agoot, former deputy minister of Defense and head of National Security Services (NSS) before South Sudan's independence from Sudan in 2011, Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior, widow to late John Garang, founder of the ruling party, SPLM, and Oyay Deng Ajak, former minister for National Security, who was also chief of general staff for the South Sudanese army (SPLA).

The raid which occurred on Thursday was allegedly carried out by the National Security Services (NSS), a government unit that searches, confiscates or detains people without court warrants.

Majak, who has been criticising rival leaders in South Sudan and advocates for temporary administration without President Salva Kiir and opposition leader, Riek Machar, confirmed the raid on his Juba house in a social media post on Thursday.

He accused President Kiir's government of allegedly copying from the neighbouring Sudanese government such actions which terrorize people.

“Copycatting Khartoum - the NSS has broken into my Juba family home; terrorizing the occupants; confiscating documents, and locking it up," he wrote on Twitter, attracting critical comments from his followers.

By "copycatting Khartoum" the former spy chief, who was deputy to security chief in Khartoum, was referring to notorious Sudanese NSS that targeted assets and families of dissident politicians.

Sources told Sudan Tribune that some family members have been arrested, others beaten up and ordered to leave the compounds of the former SPLM senior officials.

Majak and Oyai were arrested at the onset of the conflict in December 2013 but Nyandeng, who is also critical of President Kiir's administration, joined the former detainees as nonviolent group during the two years of war between president Kiir's soldiers and those loyal to his former deputy, Machar.

Ex-military intelligence chief, Mac Paul, was dismissed in May 2014, a month after dismissing as false, government's account of an alleged coup plot by Machar and others which was made the cause that triggered the violence on 15 December 2013.

Majak said in his Twitter message that Mac's home, who like Majak, is from Dinka Bor or Twic county, home county of the former leader, John Garang, was also raided.

“Gen. Mac Paul's home has also been vandalized - a rogue measure of bad taste which is beneath the esteem & standards of the rule of law," former deputy minister of defense wrote.

Government officials contacted by Sudan Tribune for comment declined, treating the issue as "sensitive."

But critics of the government described the move as "deposition" and desperate attempt to intimidate opponents of the government. Government supporters, however, praised the move as necessary to punish "traitors."

(ST)

October 7, 2016 (RUMBEK) - Authorities in South Sudan's Lakes state have instructed ministers operating government bank account with the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) to immediately close them down.

The state minister of finance, trade and industry, Daniel Gumwel Nhomabur, has confirmed receiving the new abrupt instruction from the national government in Juba.

No explanation was given to the state government about the decision by the national minister of finance and economic planning to close down the governments accounts with the KCB.

Minister Nhomabur further explained that the directive further said all government accounts are to be opened in the Ivory Bank with effect from October.

“We are told by national ministry of finance in Juba to close down all our government accounts [in] KCB [Kenya Commercial Bank]. These instructions are from top authorities in Juba and we have to respect them. All government institutions must open new bank accounts with Ivory Bank with effect [from] this month,” said the state finance minister, Nhomabur

However, KCB Rumbek's branch manager, John Makoi Marial, said although the bank has received the notification to close down the government accounts, there was still a discussion going on to resolve the matter.

He also revealed that the government has taken huge loans of money from the KCB and also some individual senior government officials took loans from the bank which they have not yet repaid.

The bank official further pointed out that the KCB management and the government will sort out the issues and instruction will be sent to entire KCB branches in South Sudan on how to operate if the government decided to close down their accounts in the bank.

KCB is one of the first foreign banks to establish their branches in South Sudan even before the country became independent in July 2011. It has opened many branches in different states in the young country.

It was unclear what prompted the government to decide to close down its accounts with the Kenya bank.

(ST)

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Most civilians living in areas of northern Nigeria recaptured by the armed forces from Boko Haram since the start of the year still face serious protection problems and lack the most basic assistance, with women particularly at risk, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.

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