Africa

A military court in Somalia sentences two men to life in prison for masterminding a bomb attack on a Daallo Airlines passenger plane in February.

May 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan Sunday has criticized a statement by the Troika countries denouncing government aerial bombardment on rebel held areas in South Kordofan state.

Sudan's foreign minister Ibrahim Ghandour, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly's seventieth session on 2 October 2015 (Photo UN/Cia Pak)

In a statement released in Washington, the Sudanese Embassy to the United Sates described the joint statement as "biased" and " a repetition to negative positions that do not help to bring peace to the people of South Kordofan and Blue Niles states".

The Torika members, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United, on Saturday condemned the Sudanese government's aerial bombardment of civilians in Kauda and the Heiban areas of South Kordofan.

The three western countries said they "are appalled" by these attacks, which included the bombing of St Vincent Elementary School on 25 May.

The diplomatic mission reiterated that the government stance is to continue the dialogue process and the talks as a path to realize peace in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

"Despite their support to the Roadmap Agreement, signed by the Sudanese government alone in Addis Ababa last March, the Troika countries do not make any strong move to push these (rebel) movements sign the roadmap," the embassy added.

The Troika countries applauded the signing of the Roadmap Agreement by the government and said it represents a step forward towards peace in Sudan.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N), Justice and Equality Movements (JEM), Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM), and the National Umma Party (NUP) have refused to sign peace plan saying it is not inclusive and disregards other conditions to create a conducive environment for a successful dialogue.

(ST)

May 29, 2016 (BOR) - Authorities in the newly created Boma state, one of the controversial 28 states inhabited by South Sudan's Murle, Anyuak and Kachipo ethnic groups, have alarmed sharp increase in number of boys and girls dropping out of schools as they prepare to launch a total back to school campaign in June this year.

Boma State Education Minister, Simon Korton, speaking to Sudan Tribune from his office in Pibor on 24 May 2016 (ST Photo)

The state minister of education, Simon Korton Tulki, cited security as the major cause of the decrease in the pupils populations in schools this year, besides early and forced marriages which heavily accounts for low enrolments of girls in schools as well.

The culture of Murle ethnic community in Boma state, allowed girls to be married off as earlier as the age of 15, which resulted into low girls' enrolment in schools, according to the education minister, Simon Korton Tulki.

“This habit is what we are trying to preach about so that the people abandon it because when the girl is educated, she is better than uneducated girl. Underage marriages also affect the life of the girls because they are exposed to some hardships, which they cannot manage as housewives,” he added.

According to Murle culture, young men in the villages book girls at birth, even when they are days old, by paying some heads of cattle.

A designated traditional beads which is put around the neck of a small girl, indicates which age group the husband to be belongs to. Such girls don't go to school, as they fear of being regarded as ‘spoiled' by these communities which value virginity.

“In schools, you find the girls' up to primary six and then they drop out when they reach the age of 10 and above,” said the minister.

Out of 65 candidates who sat for secondary school exams in Boma state, only one was a girl. A lot more are dropping out before reaching primary seven. Young Murle men have also been busy roaming about in the wilderness looking for cows and kids to steal.

Attempts are being made by the state ministry of education to change this perception in people's minds across the state, but little has been achieved.

“We are trying our best, but it is very hard to be accepted. They had been practising it for centuries and they had never seen or felt the effect of it. Gradually, we will continue to preach it to the communities, and slowly they will accept it. Some individuals who are living near the town have already seen the benefit,” said Korton.

He said South Sudan would be a better place to live in if “we abandon the bad culture of early marriages so that our girls and boys go to schools to learn. Educated people can change the life of this community.”

The state governor, Baba Medan, also believed that only education would change the mindset of the Murle community from child abduction and early marriages to a productive one, free from crimes.

“If you want to build a good community, if you want to have future for this state, we must put our focus on education because education is the key for everything,” said Medan.

He had special message to the parents out there, advising them to put their children to schools.

“If you want to increase the number of your cattle you have, you bring your daughter to school. If a daughter is educated, you will get 200 heads of cattle or more when she gets married. She will also support you with her salaries. But the girls in the villages who are not educated, you only get 50 heads of cattle when she gets married and she cannot support you in any way,” he added.

Boys are also believed to be leaving schools when they are initiated at the age of 16 or above, and become raiders and child abductors, practices which the governor considered to be sinful.

“If young men are educated, they will not abduct other people's children or raid cattle from other communities. This way, peace will come to this place and we will be able to explore our natural resources nicely for the development,” said Medan.

(ST)

May 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Sunday have released a number of graduates of the University of Khartoum after nearly two months of detention without charge.

A student throws stones during a confrontation with the police outside the University of Khartoum on Wednesday April 13, 2016

Mohmed Farouk Suleiman, Murtada Habani, Ibrahim Abu Samra and Ahmed Zuhair have been released on Sunday. The four were detained last April after taking part in demonstrations to protest the relocation of the historical university to construct touristism and business buildings.

Amnesty International and Human Right Watch denounced the arbitrary detention of peaceful protesters and called to release them. Different reports said they their families and lawyers had no access, increasing risks of torture.

Dozens of students mostly from the University of Khartoum and activists are still in jail since last April.

Reports say the detainees are held at the NISS office near the Shendi bus station in Khartoum North. However it was also reported that some of them are being held in unrevealed locations.

The Sudanese authorities accuse the protesters of being connected to opposition and rebel groups, saying they seek to mobilise protests to bring down the regime of President Omer al-Bashir.

Minister of Justice Awad al Nur al-Hassan Sunday refused to comment on the detention without charge of the student and activists.

Also, Interior Minister Ismat Abdel Rahman distanced himself from the issue; saying they are arrested by the NISS which is directly attached to the Sudanese presidency.

Last Wednesday families of arrested students handed over a memorandum to the minister of higher education and the university's vice chancellor, calling for their immediate release.

The letter which is co-signed by the graduates' association and student lawyers, also called to cancel the dismissal of six students and the two-year suspension of for 11 other students accused to orchestrating the protests against the sale of the university building.

(ST)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today welcomed the "historic" verdict of the special court in Senegal convicting the former President of Chad Hissène Habré of crimes against humanity, summary executions, torture and rape.

May 29, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA/JUBA) – South Sudan's armed opposition has accused Ugandan troops of allegedly crossing back into South Sudan and redeploying inside the country this week in violation of the August 2015 peace agreement which demanded their withdrawal from the territories of the world's youngest and war-ravaged nation.

There are concerns that the ongoing presence of Ugandan troops, pictured here in Jonglei capital Bor, could further escalate the crisis in South Sudan and lead to regional conflict (Getty)

A senior military official of the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) under the leadership of the First Vice President, Riek Machar, said convoys of hundreds or thousands of forces of the Ugandan People's Defense Forces (UPDF) were seen sneaking back into South Sudan on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Ugandan troops have crossed the borders back into South Sudan. We don't know about their intention. This is a serious violation of the peace agreement. They were told to withdraw, and they did, then now why should they come back? To do what again?” the anonymous senior SPLA-IO military officer, who is also a member of the Joint Monitoring Ceasefire Committee (JMCC) that monitors implementation of the permanent ceasefire and security arrangements, told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

He further explained that the Ugandan forces have allegedly re-entered South Sudan through Parjok payam in Magwi county of Eastern Equatoria state, east of the national capital, Juba, and another convoy crossed the border through Paluar payam of Keji-Keji county of the newly created Yei state of Central Equatoria, south of Juba.

Eyewitnesses in Magwi county contacted by Sudan Tribune also confirmed seeing Ugandan forces crossing the border again back into South Sudan, five months after their withdrawal from the territories of the northern neighbor.

They however said the foreign troops claimed to be hunting for suspected Uganda's opposition forces being allegedly trained inside South Sudan.

The South Sudanese peace agreement brokered by the East African regional bloc, IGAD, and signed by top rival leaders, President Salva Kiir and opposition leader, Riek Machar, only allowed Ugandan troops based in Western Equatoria under the African Union (AU) mandate to continue hunting for rebels of the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) under the leadership of Joseph Kony.

The opposition's official of the SPLA-IO said the sudden and illegal redeployment of the UPDF inside South Sudan is a violation of the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty which he also said raised suspicion about their intention this time of peace.

He said the regional and international bodies, such as IGAD, AU and the United Nations (UN) should put pressure on Uganda to withdraw its forces and stop “meddling” in the internal affairs of South Sudan.

Before the civil war, UPDF crossed the border into South Sudan days before the 15 December 2013 crisis and eventually took part in the direct combat against the opposition forces of Machar in assisting President Kiir's forces.

When strategic Bor town, the state capital of Jonglei state was overrun and captured by the opposition forces in January 2014, three weeks after eruption of the war, it took the Ugandan troops to recapture it and took control of the town for almost two years.

Thousands of Ugandan forces backed by helicopter gunships, tanks and other armoured vehicles pushed back poorly armed opposition forces, mainly of armed young civilians from the Lou-Nuer community in Jonglei state.

The troops of the southern neighbour also provided much of the security for the capital, Juba, including the airport and protection of the top leadership in the capital during the 21 months of the civil war.

Uganda argued that it sent troops in order to avoid genocide from occurring in South Sudan.

But opposition faction of the SPLA-IO accused the UPDF of instead taking side in the internal war and prolonging it.

(ST)

May 29, 2016 (WAU) - The governor of South Sudan's Wau state, Elias Waya Nyipuoch has dismissed as untrue allegations that he has bad relationship with security organs.

Governor Elias Waya addressing people in Wau upon his arrival on January 12, 2016 (ST)

is response comes a week after the former Western Bahr el Ghazal state governor, Rizik Zackaria Hassan attributed the insecurity in Wau to what he described as the bad relationship between Governor Waya and the head of security organs in the state.

"I have all the newspapers, he [Rizik] kept saying that it is my bad relation with security organs that are killing people in Wau, why should security organs kill people if their relationship with me as a person is bad, why should they kill innocent people?" he asked.

“What is other interpretation to what he is saying? Is he really agitating the security organs against me as a person,” Waya further questioned.

The Wau state governor said it was unfair for his Lol state counterpart to blame him.

“What was that good that he was doing to the security organs? When I came on 14 January this year, during the first meeting that I held with the security committee, I was able to discover that already five people had died within this short period of time. The killing did not start with my coming, it was already a continuous things,” he stressed.

Waya said insecurity in Wau started since 2012 and that Rizik's administration knew this well.

“Am now wondering, what is that bad that I have done to the security organs that he kept talking about in all interviews in the media? Is he agitating the security organs to kill the civil population or he is now agitating the security organs to kill me”? he wondered.

Sudan Tribune was unable to get an immediate reaction from the Lol state Governor.

The US-based Human Rights Watch, in a report released last week, accused the South Sudanese army of killings, raping and abducting civilians in the country's state of Wau.

(ST)

May 29, 2016 (JUBA) – Emmanuel Jieng [Dinka] Parish church service erupted into violent protest on Sunday among its members, forcing the pastor in charge of the church to declare his resignation from the church leadership.

South Sudan's First Vice President, Riek Machar, calling for reconciliation and forgiveness at St. Thomas Parish, Juba, 29 May, 2016 (ST Photo)

Emmanuel Jieng [Dinka] church, located at Hai Cinema in the South Sudan's national capital, Juba, is predominantly of Dinka Bor membership.

Pastor Joseph Makeer Achiek, according to media reports and social media comments, resigned on Sunday, 29 May, after several protesters among his church members demanded his resignation from the church leadership for inviting the First Vice President, Riek Machar, to attend the ethnic Dinka Bor church last Sunday.

The appearance of Machar, a Nuer by ethnicity, where he preached peace and reconciliation among the people of South Sudan, stunned some of the church members who walked out in protest last week.

However, on Sunday, seven days later, some of the members decided to not allow the pastor in charge, who invited Machar last week, to continue leading the church, accusing him of inviting an enemy to the church.

Angry protesters, allegedly agitated by some politicians matched to the podium inside the Emmanuel Jieng Parish and interrupted the church secretary of information while announcing the routine weekly church reports on Sunday.

An eyewitness reportedly said an unidentified protester started the match to the podium with a banner banner bearing the names of Dinka army Generals who were killed by opposition forces of Machar during the 21 years of the civil war which ended in August 2015.

The names the protesters displayed inside the church for the members to see included late Gen. Kuol Malith Reech, late Gen. Abraham Jongroor Deng and late Gen. Ajak Yek Alier who were killed in the conflict between 2013 and 2014 while commanding government troops against Machar's forces.

When the church leadership attempted to stop the man from displaying the dead Generals, other protesters stoop up in support of his action. The situation forced majority of the members of the congregation to walk out, while others tried to calm down the situation.

Security personnel had to be called in by the church leaders and arrested the protesters.

While army generals and politicians who attended the church service remained seated, the church leadership tried to calm the situation to prevent people from leaving.

Pastor Achiek then decided to announce his resignation from leading the church leadership after seeing the unbelievable situation.

The row inside the Dinka church occurred last Sunday when the First Vice President, Machar, addressed the church, encouraging their members to preach peace and reconciliation among the people of the world's youngest country and to support the implementation of the peace agreement.

It was the fourth church in four weeks which Machar visited and shared prayers with since his return to Juba on 27 April, 2016.

On Sunday, May 29, Machar also visited a fifth church, St Thomas Parish of Munuki area, in his fifth Sunday in Juba, where he also called on the congregation to embrace reconciliation and forgiveness among the divided people of South Sudan.

His press secretary, James Gatdet Dak, said that he was welcomed at the church, predominantly of Equatorians.

“His [Machar's] message about reconciliation and forgiveness was well received by the members and leadership at St Thomas Parish,” Dak told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

(ST)

May 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Director for East Africa at the German Foreign Ministry Anke Feldhusen has renewed her country's keenness to convince the opposition holdout groups to join Sudan's national dialogue process.

The internal dialogue conference was inaugurated in Khartoum on October 10th, 2015 amid large boycott from the major political and armed opposition.

The national dialogue committees chaired by President Omer al-Bashir have finished works late February. The recommendations are waiting the approval of the General Assembly of the Secretariat General.

The visiting German diplomat on Sunday was briefed by the secretary general of the national dialogue Hashim Ali Salem on the latest developments of the dialogue conference.

In press statements following Feldhusen's meeting with Salem, German Ambassador to Khartoum Rolf Welberts said he is optimistic about the future of dialogue and peace in Sudan.

He underscored the rapid improvement of German-Sudanese relations, saying that Feldinsia was briefed by Salem on the outcome of the national dialogue conference.

Germany had signed a strategic partnership agreement with the AU High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) by the end of 2014 allowing it to work with the Sudanese parties to facilitate a process aiming to bring peace and achieve democratic transformation in the east African country.

Thanks to the German efforts, Sudanese opposition holdout groups, in a meeting held in Berlin last February, declared their readiness to participate the national dialogue preparatory meeting despite their previous reserves.

For his part, Salem said he briefed the visiting diplomat on the latest stages of the dialogue conference and the political parties, armed groups and national figures participating in it.

He pointed out that European countries became more interested in promoting relations with Sudan due to its important role in achieving security and stability in the region.

Officials from a number of European countries had recently visited the dialogue conference and were briefed by the secretary general on its latest developments.
They expressed their countries keenness to contact the opposition holdout groups to convince them to take part in the process.

Earlier this month, the British envoy to Sudan and South Sudan Matthew Cannell visited the dialogue conference and stressed his country's strong support for the dialogue and promised to lead efforts to convince the holdout opposition to join it.

Hold out opposition refuse to take part in the conference before the creation of a conducive environment and the implementation of specific confidence-building measures.

(ST)

May 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Leaders of Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) would arrive in Doha on Monday to discuss with the Qatari mediation the peace process in the region.

JEM leader Gibril Ibrahim (C) speaks at the opening session of Darfur negotiations flanked by SLM-MM leader Minni Minnawi in Addis Ababa on 23 November 2014 (Photo courtesy of AUHIP)

Last January, the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud met in Paris with the leader of JEM Gibril Ibrahim and SLM-MM leader Minni Minnawi on their request to discuss their demand to open the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) for discussions.

The two sides agreed to continue their discussions in Doha late this month.

Earlier this month, Ibrahim told Sudan Tribune that they intend to ask Qatar for joining the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by Thabo Mbeki in order to have a united framework for negotiating a number of issues on Darfur and the comprehensive peace in Sudan.

However, the Sudanese presidency rejected the armed movements' proposal describing it as “an attempt to circumvent the (AUHIP-proposed) roadmap which was not signed by the two armed movements”.

In a press statement extended to Sudan Tribune Sunday, SLM-MM said a senior delegation from the movement headed by Minnawi would arrive in Doha Monday within the framework of the ongoing consultations with the Qatari mediation.

The statement pointed that the visit is part of the continued “consultations on the vision of JEM and SLM-MM on how to achieve a just and comprehensive solution that addresses the root causes of the Sudanese crises in general and in particular the Darfur issue and to unify the international [mediation] efforts and create an enabling climate to move forward the stalled peace process”.

It added that the government doesn't have a true will to achieve peace, saying the “comprehensive peace is a strategic choice that the SLM-MM wouldn't abandon and will seek to achieve by all means including negotiations to end the totalitarian regime, stop the war and build a state that is based on equal citizenship”.

“The regime speaks about peace while its warplanes kill children in Heiban and burns villages [in south Kordofan] and its militias carry out massacres in Darfur's peaceful villages such as the recent incident in Azirni in West Darfur” the statement read.

The SLM-MM renewed its commitment to support the Sudanese people demands to achieve the comprehensive peace, democracy and the state of law.

The Doha brokered the Darfur peace negotiations resulted in the signing of the DDPD by the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in July 2011. JEM which had initiated the process rejected the deal.

The two groups have engaged in peace talks with the government under the auspices of the AUHIP. However, several rounds of talks between the two groups and the government in Addis Ababa have stalled and no progress on the pending issues was made.

JEM and SLM-MM call for opening the DDPD for negotiations, saying some issues were ignored or not fairly treated, but Khartoum rejects such request.

(ST)

May 29,2016 (JUBA) – A tribal informal advisory body for the South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, the Jieng [Dinka] Council of Elders (JCE), has revealed that President Kiir recently acted in accordance with their proposal to appoint presidential advisers.

South Sudan president Salva Kiir arrives at Khartoum Airport on 3 Sepember 2013 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

But they added that one of their recommendations to create a new position for a presidential assistant, besides the two vice presidents, was not yet acted upon by the President.

Justice Ambrose Ring Thiik, the chairman of the tribal Dinka organization, the Jieng Council of Elders, revealed to Sudan Tribune that he and his group had recently recommended to President Kiir positions and names of individuals for appointment as presidential advisers.

President Kiir actually appointed 10 presidential advisers, but nobody was aware that the positions and names were proposed to him by the JCE.

But Thiik, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Sudan, revealed that they recommended former deputy speaker, Daniel Awet Akot, to become the presidential assistant, but was instead appointed as presidential advisor for military affairs.

He however said the Dinka Council of Elders welcomed the appointment of the rest of the presidential advisers despite the minor change on the particular case of Daniel Awet Akot.

Speaking in an interview on Wednesday with Sudan Tribune from Wau town of the newly created Wau state, or Western Bahr el Ghazal state, Ambrose Riiny Thiik, who heads the JCE, said the council welcomed the appointment of presidential advisors but had preferred Daniel Awet Akot as assistant president.

“The council welcomes and thanks the president on the appointment of the advisers. It was one of our [JCE] proposals to ensure nobody is left out,” he proudly revealed.

“We proposed the creation of the post of presidential assistant and Daniel Awet Akot was one of the people we proposed to be appointed as a presidential assistant,” said Ambrose in response to the question asking what the JCE thought of the appointment of the presidential advisers.

“But it is okay he is appointed if this is how the president sees it.”

The Jieng [Dinka] Council of Elders is a self-appointed body of intellectuals and senior politicians from the Dinka ethnic group, where President Kiir hails. They represent all Dinka major clans in Greater Bahr el Ghazal and in Greater Upper Nile regions.

JCE, according to their objectives, works for the interest of the Dinka ethnic group as well as for the national interest of the nation. It has been however blamed for some of the seemingly negative decisions President Kiir had allegedly made in the past.

The Council's leadership in the past, for instance, revealed that they were behind the proposal of the controversial 28 states, which the President decreed into being on 2 October, 2015, in violation of the August 2015 peace agreement as they also attempted to annex to Dinka inhabited states lands from other neighbouring communities.

The Council members were also known for opposing the peace agreement, preferring to militarily crash the forces of the current First Vice President, Riek Machar.

The agreement is silent about presidential advisers and has not provided for their sharing, leaving the matter to the parties to agree on how to maintain the posts and how to fill them.

The JCE's chairman, however told Sudan Tribune that the matter was a prerogative of the president to appoint the presidential advisers unilaterally, including individuals he wanted.

“The appointment of the advisers falls within the prerogative of the president and it should not be a big deal. They will be advising him in his capacity as the president and so it is him to decide who to appoint as his advisor. It cannot be a general issue,” Thiik explained.

He did not however explain as to why his JCE group proposed a position for Presidential Assistant which is not stipulated in the IGAD-brokered peace deal which ended 21 months of civil war.

(ST)

Niger battles multiple terror threats

Five United Nations peacekeepers are killed and another is seriously injured in an attack in central Mali.

Up to 700 migrants are feared drowned in a series of shipwrecks off the coast of Libya in the last few days, the UN refugee agency says.

Zoo officials shoot dead a gorilla after it grabbed a four-year-old boy who fell into its enclosure in the US city of Cincinnati.

Five United Nations peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in central Mali earlier today, with another &#39blue helmet&#39 seriously injured, according to preliminary information reported by the country&#39s UN mission, which deplored the &#8220heinous act of terrorism&#8221 as all the more shocking because it occurred on the day set aside for the global community to honour UN peacekeepers.

May 28, 2016 (EL-FASHER) - Gunmen riding camels on Saturday shot dead a Sudanese soldier during a pursuit of the fleeing cattle raiders outside Tawilla locality, 30 km west of El-Fasher, capital of North Darfur state.

A cattleman walks with cows before they are slaughtered at an abattoir near Khartoum on 26 March 2011 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

The armed men who looted a number of cattle from Tabit area in Tawilla clashed with the security forces that were hunting them.

The dead soldier was killed during the clashes.

The Commissioner of Twailla County Adam Yagoub Gadid told Sudan Tribune on Saturday that the security forces managed to recover the stolen cattle, adding that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) soldier was killed during the operation.

Gadid regretted their failure to arrest the raiders despite tracking them for a long distance, adding that the police identified them.

He further said that the incident occurred at 02:00am on Saturday morning

However, the commissioner stressed that security situation in Twailla is stable and better than it was in the past, saying that they established a number of police stations to reduce crime.

Last March, a group of heavy armed men riding three four-wheel-drive vehicles looted over 20 heads of cattle in Al-Galabat area located north of Tabit

(ST)

May 28, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan's armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) under the leadership of First Vice President, Riek Machar, has commended the council of ministers of the transitional government of national unity (TGoNU) for finally recognizing the presence of SPLA-IO forces in Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr el Ghazal, saying it is a giant positive step in the implement of the security arrangements in the country.

SPLA-IO chief of general staff, First Lieutenant General Simon Gatwech Dual (C), with members of JMCC from SPLA-IO, Juba, 28 May 2016 (ST Photo)

Earlier, former government under the leadership of President Salva Kiir, vowed not to allow opposition forces to assemble in the two regions, arguing that they had no forces in there.

However, in a “heated” debate of the council of ministers on Friday, the cabinet finally approved to allow opposition forces to assemble, and their cantonment sites with names to be identified by the Joint Monitoring Ceasefire Committee (JMCC), a body that monitors implementation of the ceasefire and security arrangements per the August 2015 peace agreement.

Media official of the First Vice President, Machar, said the leadership commended the positive step despite previous delays.

“The leadership of the SPLM/SPLA (IO) commends this positive step by the new cabinet in recognizing the presence of our forces in Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr el Ghazal regions,” said James Gatdet Dak, opposition leader's spokesperson.

“It is important that our forces in the two regions should be cantoned in accordance with the implementation of the security arrangements,” he said.

JMCC was directed on Friday by the cabinet to immediately begin to identify locations and names of the cantonment areas for the opposition forces in Greater Equatoria and assess the level of opposition forces in Greater Bahr el Ghazal in order to locate cantonment areas as well.

Reacting to the development, General Dau Aturjong, Deputy Chief of Staff for Training in the command of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA-IO) said the decision of the cabinet, if implemented "without reservations and agitations, would be the only way the country could return to stability".

The top armed opposition commander described initial attempts to deny the national outlook of the movement a clear demonstration of lack of commitment on the government side to implement the agreement.

He said it was not logical to deny the presence of armed opposition in the two regions when they know they have politicians and army commanders in the cabinet and in the joint command.

Commenting on the other contentious issues such as the status of the 28 states, Dak
also expressed hope that will as well be resolved in the next cabinet meetings in accordance with the peace agreement which is based on the current 10 states.

“I think it is important that all the parties in the agreement respect the terms of the peace deal and stop the unnecessary feet dragging in the implementation. Time is of essence,” he said.

He revealed that the reconstitution of the national parliament and provision of vehicles for the newly appointed ministers were part of the Friday's cabinet agenda for resolution, but added that they were not discussed because a large amount of time was consumed on deliberations on cantonment of opposition forces in the two regions.

SPLA-IO FORCES NOT RESPONSIBLE

Dak dismissed accusations that the opposition forces could be responsible for the ongoing killings of people on the roads in Greater Equatoria.

Michael Makuei Lueth, minister of information in President Kiir's faction in the cabinet on Friday told reporters that armed men who lynch people on the roads claimed to have belonged to the SPLA-IO.

But Dak said their forces are disciplined and would not target civilians on roads, but added that it was best that they should be cantoned in order to identify who the killers were.

“These could be criminals taking advantage of the fact that SPLA-IO forces have not been cantoned in Greater Equatoria region,” he said.

International partners and donors seem to have attached the condition of releasing funds for the new government on progress of implementing the peace agreement, forcing the parties to comply.

Observers however say it may take time for the donors to have full confidence and begin to provide financial assistance.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

May 28, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – More Ethiopian children who were abducted by a South Sudanese militia group have been recovered and safely returned to their home.

Ethiopian troops carrying some of the recovered children abducted by Murle armed men, 11 May 2016 (Facebook photo)

The president of Gambela region, Gatluak Tut said seven more children were brought back to the region from where they were kidnapped last month.

The number of children so far freed from South Sudanese abductors has reached 63.

Their release comes after South Sudan's deputy defense minister in collaboration with regional administrators and clan leaders made negotiations with the Murle tribesmen.

Tut said efforts to bring back all the kidnapped children would further be strengthened.

“The agreement between Ethiopia and the South Sudanese government to collaborate in resolving the problem peacefully will guarantee the return of the children and looted cattle” he added.

Officials say at least 60 more children are still missing and their release according to sources is being difficult as unidentified demands of abductors have not yet met.

It is feared that abductors could trade the children to other communities with the exchange of cattle.

A military official, who preferred anonymity, told Sudan Tribune Saturday that Ethiopian defense forces will “certainly carryout punitive military operations” should abductors refuse to free the remaining children.

Ethiopian forces are already in South Sudan to rescue the children but have not yet carried out military action, giving ongoing negotiations a chance to peacefully settle problems.

Critics accused Ethiopia's government of doing little to immediately rescue the children.

“How could a border of country which prides it self as a militarily strong could be so porous to an extent that thousands of foreign armed men invade the nation” Biniyam Daniel, a politician based in Addis Ababa told Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

“Where were the Ethiopian security forces, the Air force while they kidnap them and cross the border on foot? Why haven't they acted in time?” he added.

Last month, an estimated 2,000 attackers from South Sudan's Murle tribe armed with machine guns, raided 13 villages in Ethiopia's western region of Gambela and killed 208 Ethiopian villagers, abducted over 140 children and stole at least over 2,000 cattle.

Gambella region is a shelter for over 280,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled to Ethiopia to escape the conflict that broke out in the young nation in December 2013.

(ST)

May 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Ethiopia's Minister of Information and Communication Getachew Reda said the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is almost 70% complete.

The Grand Renaissance Dam is under construction on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia. (Photo AFP/William Lloyd-George)

In an interview with the Saudi-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper Friday, Reda said that 50 percent of construction work and most civil engineering projects were complete.

“When turbines are installed, 70 percent of the project will be complete” he added

Commenting on Egyptian reports that Ethiopia seeks to buy time until the consultancy firms complete the impact studies, Reda said the work of the firms has nothing to do with the construction of the dam but to see whether it harms interests of the Nile basin partners or not.

“The dam will not harm the interests of Sudan and Egypt," he said, stressing that the people of all three Nile basin countries would benefit from it.

“But if some [parties] believe that they will be harmed by it, then this is not Ethiopia's problem,” he added.

The Ethiopian minister underscored that his country doesn't want to buy time, saying their side didn't promise to stop construction work pending the completion of technical studies.

Last year, the three countries had selected two French and Dutch consultancy firms to conduct technical studies on the impact of the dam on the downstream countries – Sudan and Egypt.

Reda stressed that Sudan had earlier said the dam would serve its interest and “we say the dam wouldn't harm the interests of Sudan and Egypt” he added

“The dam became a reality that couldn't be changed but the peoples of the three nations would benefit from it” Reda pointed out

Commenting on whether the low water levels of the Blue Nile this year had resulted from the building of the dam or not, the minister said the river water is running normally, pointing that his country didn't do anything to divert the waters.

“It would be impossible for us to stop the water flow because this is against nature. The [Blue Nile's] poor water revenue for this year was due to the drought that hit the region” he said

The Ethiopian minister said the water levels would return to normal once the environmental conditions were improved.

The multi-billion dollar dam is being constructed on the Blue Nile, about 20 kilometres from the Sudanese border, and has a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, and is expected to generate electrical power of up to 6,000 megawatts.

Egypt is concerned that the dam could reduce its quota of 55.5 billion cubic meters of the Nile water, while the Ethiopian side maintains that the dam is primarily built to produce electricity and will not harm Sudan and Egypt.

(ST)