Africa

September 29, 2016 (JUBA) – Humanitarian response in war-hit South Sudan has been “severely” underfunded, despite the deepening crisis the country faces, aid agencies said.

Food is distributed at a refugee site in South Sudan's Upper Nile state (Photo: WFP/Ahnna Gudmunds)

The United Nations humanitarian body (OCHA), said only 54% ($691.8m) has so far been received out of $1.3 billion required under the 2016 South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) earmarked to respond to the most life-threatening needs of 5.1 million people across the country.

There are also reports of new clashes in multiple locations across the country, which humanitarian agencies say, have left even greater numbers of people uprooted from homes.

“Civilians continue to be killed and subjected to horrendous violations, including sexual violence,” OCHA said in its latest report, adding “Hunger and malnutrition have reached historic levels and taken hold in previously stable areas”.

Concerns have also been raised about the increasingly dangerous and difficult operating environment, with notable violence against aid workers, bureaucratic impediments, looting and interference in humanitarian work.

Despite the challenges, OCHA said, humanitarian partners delivered lifesaving assistance and protection to more than 3.2 million people across the country from January to July 2016, including in some of the most remote locations.

Meanwhile, Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) reports that South Sudanese refugees continue to arrive through Joda, El Mqeins and Kuek border points in White Nile State.

About 1,500 South Sudanese, SRCS said, arrived through the three border entry points between 1 and 15 September bringing the number of new arrivals through these three points to 16,209 individuals (5,828 households) so far this year.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported in its latest update that an increase in the arrival rate of South Sudanese refugees into White Nile State may be expected.

This trend has been observed in previous years and usually coincides with the end of the rainy season, UNHCR noted.

According to UNHCR, as of 15 September, White Nile hosted 102,961 South Sudanese refugees who have arrived since December 2013. This, it said, represents about 41% of all registered South Sudanese refugees in Sudan.

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September 29, 2016 (JUBA) – Government of South Sudan has said launching a rebellion to destroy the country and attain political promotion are factors driving the recent defection of senior South Sudan Democratic Movement/Cobra (SSDM/Cobra) of Pibor-based ethnic Murle force early this week.

The South Sudan government delegation and their SSDM/A Cobra faction counterparts after sigining a final peace deal in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 9 May 2014 (ST)

Akol Paul Kordit, the Deputy Minister of Information, said the May 2014 Peace Agreement signed between the government and SSDM/Cobra has been fully respected.

“The President […] created Pibor as an administrative area as proposed by the Cobra faction, created seven counties and all the Cobra forces were integrated into the SPLA with [military ranks] promotion and inclusion in the rank and files of the SPLA,” said Khordit, speaking to reporters in Juba on Thursday.

He cited promotion of former Cobra leader, David Yauyau, to the rank of Lt. General as well as Lt. Gen. Khalid Boutrus Bora, Lt. Gen. Arestiden Kongkong and five other major generals as stipulated in the agreement.

But the defected SSDM/Cobra leaders dismissed government's narrative. Gen. Boutrus said in the statement announcing his defection on Tuesday that President Salva Kiir's government failed to honour the agreement by not appointing a presidential advisor and fund any developmental projects in Murle ethnic areas.

Khalid pledged to join “like-minded” armed opposition group to topple President Kiir's government. The deputy information minister disagreed.

“The President did all to implement the agreement in spirit and letter and also to bring stability and peace to former Jonglei State and Pibor in particular,” said Kordit, adding that the points raised by the dissident SSDM/Cobra leaders are excuses to launch a new rebellion with the hope of gaining political positions.

“The public must know that this is a clear indication that they (SSDM/Cobra) are looking for a pretext [to rebel],” he said.

He urged those who are dissatisfied with their current positions not to use violence as a means to get promotions to political or military leadership positions.

“If you want to be a governor, MP [Member of Parliament], an advisor and any position in the government, don't use violence to destroy the country, kill people. Let focus on the implementation of the peace agreement,” he said.

The SSDM/Cobra fought President Kiir's government between 2010 and 2014, demanded a separate state from Jonglei. Their leader, David Yauyau, became the leader of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area curved out from Jonglei state in 2014 and was nominated as Deputy Minister of Defence in April. Yauyau remains loyal to Kiir in Juba although his forces have defected with his former deputy.

The Murle ethnic based rebellion is the third force to declare war against President Kiir's regime within a week – after former First Vice President, Riek Machar, and former Agriculture Minister, Lam Akol, announced the new armed resistance.

They accused President Kiir and his close officials of violating the peace agreement and returned the country to war.

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September 29, 2016 (WAU) – A high profile United Nations delegation from New York has arrived in Wau, capital of the newly created Wau state of western Bahr el Ghazal. The visiting UN team is in collaboration with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and UN agencies supporting programmes on the ground.

A Mongolian troop with the UN's mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) smiles for the camera with a local boy in Bentiu, Unity State. 2 October 2012 (UNMISS Photo)

Headed by Michael Heller, the UN team which arrived on Thursday in Wau town said their mission was to assess the humanitarian situation in the area. Heller also said their visit aims at confirming the free access movements of all humanitarian agencies to most affected populated areas across the country.

In Wau town, the teams were received by the state governor Andrea Mayar Acho in his office.

“We are team here from New York as well as from UNMISS and the rest of humanitarian, UN agencies supporting programmes. We are here essentially to take a look at how the UN could support South Sudan in coming year or two,” said Heller.

“The Security Council has asked us to develop recommendations so that they can have understanding on how best to engage the UNMISS and how the agencies can best structure their supports to South Sudan for the coming term. The UNMISS mandates will come to an end in December 2016 and so the security council is looking to us to give them some guidance essentially with respect to how UNMISS can best engage over the next mandate period,” he said.

He said since they arrived in the country, they have been meeting with representatives of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) including many sections of South Sudanese in order to get better understanding of the situation.

“Our partnership with the government is vital, it is the most important partnership that we have here. We are working hand in hand with the government to bring security and support the peace process. This is the most important part of our work,” he added.

Heller said UNMISS also wanted to hear from the people what they could do more in partnership with the government to help to support the political process and consolidate peace in the country as well as help on how to create environment in which the internally displaced persons should return to their homes in safety and dignity.

Meanwhile the state governor, Andrea Mayar Acho, ensured the delegation of good improvement of the security situation in the town.

Acho also mentioned that the UN activities in his state were very useful and called for UN supporting partners to support the United Nations Mission in Wau town to accelerate their efforts in supporting the needy people within and outside the state capital.

“The state government is in full cooperation with the UN agencies in Wau and that we [are] asking these agencies to support the government to encourage these displaced persons to return to their homes since the security situation in Wau is currently stable,” he said.

“We are not only asking the support to those at the UN camps, churches or those at the ICRC compound but also we need these civilians at the rebel controlled areas in the three counties to be provided with necessary assistance,” he said.

Acho said providing assistance to those outside the town would also encourage those still living at the protection sites to return to their homes, arguing they will know that everybody is being protected.

(ST)

September 29, 2016 (JUBA) – A one-week campaign in the South Sudanese capital dubbed “Clean Up Juba” attracted more than 500 residents.

Volunteers at work after the launch of the Clean-Up campaign in Juba, September 22, 2016 (Albert Gonzalez Farran/Oxfam)

The campaign, which was jointly conducted by Oxfam, the UN Children Fund (UNICEF) and Juba City Council aimed at raising awareness on responsible waste management needs.

Speaking at the campaign launch, the mayor of Juba city, Stephen Wani Michael challenged citizens to always ask themselves what part they played to stop cholera.

“My policy is to see that basic services are delivered to the people. Fighting against cholera is a collective effort, and it starts by keeping our environment and water clean,” he said.

The campaign is reportedly part of Oxfam's cholera response and cements its commitment to the people of Juba to improving environmental management in the city.

“Juba is our city and we all need to work together to maintain it for the health and well-being of each other,” said Kenyi Alison, Oxfam's Public Health Team Leader.

“This clean-up is the first step towards creating a clean and healthy environment where we can all live,” she added.

Oxfam has reportedly been providing ongoing support to Juba City Council in addressing waste management issues, by providing rubbish collection trucks, information, interactive public campaigns as well as household visits.

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September 29, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government under the leadership of President Salva Kiir has slammed the former First Vice President, Riek Machar, for declaring resumption of armed struggle against the “regime” as an alternative action to bring true peace to the country.

President Kiir speaking through his spokesman, Ateny Wek Ateny, in a response statement on Thursday rejected the new position of the leader of the armed opposition faction of the SPLM-IO, saying there is no place in South Sudanese politics for those who wish to take part through the barrel of the gun.

“Riek Machar will never be a peacemaker. Indeed, he has a long history of turning to war to force his demands on the peoples of South Sudan,” said the presidential spokesman, Ateny Wek Ateny,

Meanwhile Machar's replacement, Taban Deng Gai, described the decision of his predecessor and the man on whose behalf he negotiated the August 2015 peace agreement to end the two years of violent conflict with the government as unacceptable. He asked the Sudanese government to “shut him up” and stop him from inciting violence.

Gai viewed himself as “a peace lover and described Machar as “a violent man.”

“Anybody who is a peace lover has a great future ahead of him, but Riek Machar has been a violent man from 1991, 1998, 2013, and 2016. I think he should have a new approach now. If he denounces violence and becomes a peaceful person like me, like Salva Kiir, there is a role for him," said Gai at a roundtable discussion hosted by the Council's Africa Center in the United States.

He said the call to arms was “unacceptable” and urged Machar to remain in exile until when he can return as a peace lover to participate in elections, rather than pushing for violence as a way to bring peace.

Gai's controversial ascendance to power in July is viewed by Machar's supporters as a conspiracy between him and President Kiir to “cooperatively” dismantle the August 2015 peace deal which the president signed with a long list of reservations and warned of difficulty to implement it.

The opposition leader was pushed out from Juba in July during the renewed violence between his bodyguards and forces loyal to President Kiir.

He called for deployment of a third party force to Juba to provide protection or else wage an armed resistance to change the situation.

(ST)

September 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - South Sudan made a formal protest to Khartoum for hosting the former First Vice President Riek Machar, a diplomat said on Thursday.

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar addresses a press conference in his private residence in Addis Ababa, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. (Photo AP/Mulugete Ayehe)

South Sudanese Deputy Head of Mission to Khartoum Kau Nak Maper told Sudan Tribune on Thursday that the Embassy handed a protest letter to the foreign minister over the conditions of Machar's hosting in Khartoum.

"The protest came on the background of the political activity carried out by Machar, and through which he declared the armed resistance against the government of Juba," Maper said.

Following a three-day meeting in Khartoum the SPLM-IO Political Bureau under the leadership of Riek Machar announced they opted for the armed struggle in order to establish a democratic regime in Juba.

Juba had been reassured by the Sudanese authorities that Machar is in Khartoum for humanitarian reasons, indicating he receive medical care.

The South Sudanese diplomat said the Embassy has not yet received a response from the Sudanese government to the protest note. However he pointed out that the lack of response would not lead to escalation or a crisis in the bilateral relations.

"The issue will be discussed during the meetings of the joint security committee between the two countries, which will is taking place in Juba nowadays," he revealed.

Last Monday, South Sudan's Ambassador to Khartoum Mayan Dut Waal, said he was surprised to see the Sudanese government allowing Machar to declare war against his government. And called to ban his political activities against Juba.

On the same Monday, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghanodur stressed that Sudan wouldn't serve as a launching pad for any armed opposition activities against South Sudan.

24 hours later he told Al-Jazeera TV that the rebel leader would leave Sudan in the near future without further details.

"The hosting of former South Sudanese First Vice President Riek Machar in Sudan is temporary, as he is now admitted to a Khartoum hospital and will leave the country soon," he said.

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September 29, 2016 (JUBA) - General Dau Aturjong, a high ranking military officer who abandoned government at the height of the civil war in 2014 and joined rebellion, has returned to the South Sudanese army (SPLA).

General Dau Aturjong (ST)

Aturjong defected to the armed opposition movement led by South Sudan's former vice-president, Riek Machar, but has now rejoined the army and also instructed his forces Aweil to follow him without conditions.

What prompted the ex-rebel commander to switch sides remain unclear, with his supporters claiming he responded to call from the community to forget the past and open a new political page.

Other, however, claimed Aturjong failed to secure a high ranking position within the armed opposition leadership, during the selection and recommendation for officials to occupy high level positions, including in cabinet, upon returning to the capital, Juba.

In an attempt to assure the public of his reconciliation with the army chief of staff, General Malong Awan, the duo travelled to Aweil, the former administrative headquarters of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state and held a community meeting to announce the abrupt decision.

While addressing the community, Aturjong said he abandoned the armed opposition for government and returned to the community in order to work for peace and reconciliation among the population.

“There have been who have been asking me what I was doing with Riek Machar and what did I get from him. I tell them I was not going for a position. There was a reason for which I went and I have now returned because I have accepted the call of the community and today mark my return. It is a happy day. It is an historic day for the people of Aweil and our message is that we want to work together, we want unity,” said Aturjong.

He likened his decision to switch allegiance from the armed opposition to the government side to cleanliness of a person who cleans his own house thereby attracting other people to follow suit.

Meanwhile, Awan said the former rebel commander was a “liberator” known by everyone in the area, but decided to join rebellion due to “grievances” and other “political disappointments”.

“It is indeed a very important day for the people of Aweil as General Dau has said it correctly, because in reality General Dau is one of the people who were in the struggle. Everybody knows him. He was just absent because of a certain disappointment which we don't want to go back to it. And he has come back without any condition,” Awan told the community.

He said Aturjong was in the community to assure the people that he was ready to work with government in the struggle to restore peace.

“So that is why we have just taken this day to be for him in Aweil to talk to his people and to be seen by his people that he is just among us and he is highly welcome,” stressed Awan, who later held Aturjong's hand as they waved to the public to signify reconciliation.

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September 28, 2016 (JUBA) – Over 15,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived in Faradge and Aru in Haut-Uele and Ituri provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, following a resurgence of violence in South Sudan, aid agencies said.

South Sudanese refugees fleeing violence in their home country wait to be transported to Uganda's Arua district settlement camp on 6 January 2014 (Photo: AFP/Isaac Kasamani)

Neigbouring Congo has been experiencing an influx of refugees into Aru territory in Ituri, close to the border with South Sudan, since October 2015.

Currently there are 27,250 registered South Sudanese refugees in the territories of Faradge and Aru in Haut-Uele and Ituri provinces, according to aid agencies.

Much as the new arrivals of South Sudanese refugees have received little humanitarian assistance, those in Ituri reportedly lack food, shelter, and medicine.

There are also fears that the security situation in South Sudan could remain volatile over the coming months, amid reports that fighting could intensity between government and opposition forces across the country, including across parts of Central and Western Equatoria states thus forcing people to flee into the DRC.

Aid agencies, including the United Nations, say refugees would be in need of psychosocial support as grave human rights abuses, including a high incidence of sexual violence, have been reported in South Sudan since conflict escalated in July.

Meanwhile, authorities in the DRC on Friday handed over more than 300 South Sudanese Refugees to Uganda and UN refugee agency (UNHCR) representatives.

The South Sudanese had sought refuge in DRC, but lack of resources and poor governance systems prompted Congolese authorities to hand them over to Uganda.

The violence in South Sudan, aid agencies say, has forced more than 195,000 people to flee the country since 8 July, bringing the number of South Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries to over 1 million. In South Sudan, over 1.6 million people are internally displaced and another 261,000 are refugees from Sudan, DRC, Ethiopia and CAR, according to latest figures from the UN refugee agency.

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September 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - U. S. officials Wednesday 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.

The US imposed comprehensive sanctions on Sudan in 1997 (US Embassy in Khartoum website)

Sudan has been under U.S. 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.

In a bid to clarify the situation, the Department of State organized a workshop in New York on September 19, 2016 attended by foreign and domestic financial institutions and members of the private sector U.S.-Sudan Business Council.

Addressing the workshop, U.S Special Envoy For Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth "voiced the U.S. Government's hope that existing authorizations and licenses, many of which are humanitarian in nature, would be used to their fullest to benefit the people of Sudan."

According to a statement released by the Department of State on Wednesday, Booth further said the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury which is tasked with the administration and enforcement of economic and trade sanctions can help them to understand what is permitted or prohibited.

"Above all, Ambassador Booth encouraged banking institutions to ask OFAC, the agency that administers U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan, for guidance on specific transactions, stating, “When in doubt, ask!”, said the statement.

During the past years, several banks said the regime of sanctions is very obscure and unclear, as they do not necessarily have the qualified staff in their branches to deal with this situation in their day-to-day activity.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Andrew Keller, attended the meeting. he led the U.S. delegation, consisting of representatives from the State Department, the OFAC, and the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.

Keller said the purpose of the workshop is to explain the extent of permissible business activities, which include commercial transactions.

During the one day seminar, the American officials explained "the jurisdictional limits of U.S. sanctions for transactions which do not involve U.S. goods or have a U.S. nexus".

Also, Keller underlined that "non-commercial, personal remittances and humanitarian assistance" are authorized under the Sudan sanctions program.

“Effective sanctions are not just about the sanctions target feeling the pinch, they are also about making sanctions relief palpable,” Keller stressed.

Agriculture equipment and services are excluded from Sudan sanctions, Washington also allowed exports of personal communications hardware and software. Further, the US Treasury Department removed the private Bank of Khartoum from a blacklist of Sudanese entities.

The workshop was attended by the Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan Abdel Rahman Hassan Hashim who addressed the workshop.

Earlier this year Sudan's Minister of Finance Badr al-Din Mahmoud, said his government is not affected by the sanctions as it deals with other currencies but not the dollar.

He further called to explain the American sanctions on Sudan to the commercial banks saying Sudanese people are the most affected by this programme..

(ST)

September 28, 2016 (JUBA) – Deputy Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs and former leader of Murle armed Cobra Faction, David Yau Yau, has met President Salva Kiir in Juba on Wednesday, a day after his deputy declared resumption of armed rebellion against the government.

Members of the South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army (SSDM/A) faction march in Gumuruk on 13 May 2014 after their leader, David Yau Yau, signed a peace deal with the South Sudanese government on 9 May 2014 in Addis Ababa (Photo: AFP/Samir Bol)

General Yau Yau, who was appointed deputy minister of defence in April after joining the ruling SPLM party in January and left his South Sudan Democratic Movement/Cobra (SSDM/Cobra) faction which he formed after losing in local elections in 2010, said he was still loyal to the president although his former deputy has defected with their forces.

Yau Yau said the meeting with President Kiir was an assurance of his loyalty.

“I came with all Murle elders to inform His Excellence the President that we have not defected from him. Those people who left are just individuals and do not represent us,” he told reporters after meeting in the State House, known as J1.

Yau Yau's former deputy, Lieutenant General, Khalid Botrus Bora, has announced his defection from the government of President Kiir on Tuesday in Nairobi, Kenya. Botrus accused the government of failing to honour the provisions of May 2014 agreement that promised appointment of a presidential advisor for SSDM/Cobra and administering of Pibor county.

Pibor is currently a state called Boma but SPLM governor, Baba Medan Konyi, was appointed to head it in December. Yauyau previously led the Greater Pibor Administrative Area from 2014 to December 2015 before it was upgraded to a state.

Yauyau did not give details of the meeting but observers say it is a show of loyalty to President Kiir who is facing numerous rebellions against his government.

DIALOGUE WITH DEFECTORS

Meanwhile, South Sudan's government under the leadership of President Kiir has slammed the defection, saying there is need to dialogue with the defected officers and forces of the Murle ethnic group. They also asserted that the issues behind the decision could have been addressed through peaceful dialogue.

Acting government spokesman, Akol Paul Kordit, told reporters on Wednesday that the reasons cited in the press statement by the defected commanders of the Cobra faction could have been addressed through peaceful dialogue instead of taking up arms to wage a destructive war against innocent people.

“We just learnt this development in the media where we obtained their statement but the things they raised, like the issue of presidential advisor and the construction of the roads do not need a rationale person to take up arms to kill people and destroy properties. These are things which could be addressed through peaceful dialogue. They do not need taking up arms and go to the bush,” Kordit told reporters, saying the government was ready to talk to the defected commanders.

The official claimed more than 80% of the agreement has been implemented. He cited the creation of the greater Pibor Administrative Area, detachment of the area from Jonglei state and attached to the office of the president with the status of a state and the subsequent appointment of the chief administrator.

The creation of the 7 counties was one of the provisions which he said had been successfully implemented in accordance with the provisions of the agreement.

Another area where the agreement has been honoured and successfully implemented, Kordit further claimed, was in the area of integration and promotion of the three commanders to the rank of lieutenant generals and 5 major generals and several brigadiers and colonels into the ranks and files of the Sudan People's Liberation army (SPLA).

He was reacting to the statement announcing defection of the top commanders in the Cobra Faction in which they accused the government under President Kiir to have not honoured key provisions.

Signed by General Khalid Boutros, the statement called for joining efforts with other armed opposition groups, probably the SPLA-IO under the leadership of former First Vice President, Riek Machar, to remove the government of president Kiir from power and to rebuild the nation.

“By this statement, the SSDM/A is announcing that it shall from today join the struggle against the authoritarian tribalistic regime in Juba,” the statement seen by Sudan Tribune reads in part.

“Being conscious of the need to unify the ranks of all the forces opposed to the regime, SSDMA/Cobra shall immediately enter into serious dialogue with the like-minded patriotic forces already in the field of combat with the aim of cooperation, coordination or merger. Any dispersion of efforts shall only serve this ruthless regime and should not be allowed,” said General Boutros.

He called on the people, especially his ethnic Murle, to take up arms to wage a popular struggle to restore peace and unity of South Sudan.

“We call upon all the masses of our people to close ranks behind the struggle to rid themselves of a regime characterized by oppression, tribalism, corruption and anarchy to install instead a national democratic state that addresses the twin issues of national-building and state-building,” the statement said.

(ST)