Africa

April 9, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on the Sudanese government to investigate the tribal attacks in West Darfur and to hold accountable the perpetrators.

Marta Hurtado, Spokesperson of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday issued a statement to condemn the new tribal violence between Masalit and Arab tribes in El Geneina that resulted in the death of 125 people and injured over 200 others.

"We are appalled by the latest resurgence of violence" in West Darfur, said Hurtado. "We are also disturbed by the slow progress in ensuring accountability for this and previous violence, despite repeated calls by victims and their families" she added.

The region witnessed similar attacks between the Massalit and the Rizeigat that occurred in El-Geneina in December 2019, and January 2021.

The Sudanese Attorney General announced that 15 prosecutors have been sent to West Darfur to investigate the recent violence.

Also, the prosecution referred 33 alleged perpetrators for trial over the clashes in January 2021 and established a committee to investigate December 2019 violence.

The statement welcomed the steps taken by the authorities to contain the situation in El Geneina after the deployment of additional troops and stressed the need for concrete measures to address the disputes over land, pasture and water resources which are the root causes of the violence.

"Independent, impartial and thorough investigations into these acts of violence must be initiated without delay. Effective accountability processes must be established to pave the way for genuine reconciliation and lasting peace".

Further, the spokesperson urged the transitional government to ensure prompt, transparent and effective follow-up to these investigations. All those responsible for human rights abuses must be held accountable".

"Grievances from both sides must be tackled after decades-long ethnic disputes stoked by the previous regime".

West Darfur Governor Mohamed al-Doma on Thursday urged to restore the state authority and to collect weapons, as well as protecting civilians.

He said the state authorities have requested the interior and defence ministries in vain to send more troops.

The governor who is from the Massalit tribe said he offered his resignation but the transitional government rejected it to avoid igniting further rifts on ethnic bases similar to what happened in Kassala state.

The OHCHR official urged the Sudanese government to protect civilians and to accelerate the implementation of the National Plan for the Protection of Civilians.

(ST)

April 9, 2021 (JUBA)- Aweil community leadership in South Sudan's Northern Bahr el Ghazal state has requested to remove Governor Tong Akeen Ngor, warning a failure would wreak chaos in a peaceful community.

The request comes after the arrest of an activist who campaigned against the governor management of state affairs and his efforts to create a new constituency.

In a petition to President Salva Kiir on Friday Awel Community elders accused the governor of causing social disharmony and disunity instead of implementing peace in the state.

"He is dividing people. He is arresting people and he is diverting resources to enrich himself," reads a statement signed by Aweil Community elders extended to the Sudan Tribune.

The statement elders further said the governor ordered the arrest of a young man called Samuel Garang Dut because he questioned the basis of a decision to divide some areas in Aweil to form a new constituency. Also, he shared on social media a picture showing a new house of the governor.

“For peace and unity of our people, this governor, your Excellency, must be removed. His actions are stoking anger, the statement reads. "We will not accept and we will accept nothing but his removal", it adds.

Police authorities in Aweil confirmed Dut's, pointing to his activities on social media.

"We are acting on directives given to us. If you want to know ask the governor or someone in his office. (The governor) is now at the airport going to Juba. If you want to know, wait for him at Juba airport and he will speak to you about this arrest", a policeman told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

The Sudan Tribune failed to reach the governor after his arrival in Juba. Also, his office was not available for comment on Dut's arrest.

Governor Ngor who was picked for the position by President Kiir has joined the SPLM after the 2005 peace agreement after working with Khartoum for long years.

Those who took part in the liberation struggle contest the appointment of such people who are often described as South Sudan's National Congress Party (NCP) in reference to the former ruling party in Sudan.

Contested authority

Many veteran politicians and senior officers in the army turned down assignments offered to them by the governor, preferring to stay without assignments than working under his authority.

"This is a clear humiliation. Nothing explains this. When I was a commanding officer fighting the government in Khartoum, this guy was busy fighting us. He mobilized Murrahallen and came to fight us in 2001 in the battle of Tit Chok Mareng. Have you not heard about it?"

"He was on the other side of the enemy and I was in the liberation struggle fighting to liberate our people. If the leadership has forgotten my contribution and the cause of war, then I better stay in my home," a liberation veteran told Sudan Tribune on Friday when asked to comment on the demand of the community.

The veteran who preferred anonymity said the governor feels the lack of acknowledgement and legitimacy so, he tries to impose his authority.

"Ngor feels small in their eyes and therefore wants to exert his rule using force and intimidation," he said.

(ST)

The permanent closure of a top venue symbolises the struggle many performers are facing.

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has urged authorities in Sudan to protect citizens “without discrimination” in the wake of the latest resurgence of deadly violence in West Darfur. 

April 8, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and Qatar agreed to reactivate bilateral agreements, said the head of the Sovereign Council at the end of his first visit to the gas-rich Gulf Arab state on Thursday.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan concluded a two-day visit to Doha where held talks with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad, his government officials, Qatari businessmen and the large Sudanese community in Doha.

Before returning to Khartoum, al-Burhan told reporters in Doha that he agreed with Tamim to "reactivate bilateral agreements and visits".

Al-Burhan said that there are more than 36 agreements and protocols between Sudan and Qatar that will be reactivated. Also, a government and businessmen delegation will visit Khartoum next week to discuss cooperation and investment in Sudan.

Also, he requested that Qatar continue its support for peace in Sudan pointing to its previous efforts to end the conflict but also as one of the guarantors of the Juba Peace Agreement.

On 31 January 2021, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo "Hemetti" visited Doha where he met with the Emir and government officials.

Hemetti, at the time, spoke about "was frank and direct" with Tamim about bilateral relations, as the Sudanese government official abstained from visiting his country during the rift with Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain.

(ST)

The city near Luxor has been hailed as one of the most important finds since Tutankhamun's tomb.

A tax dispute has led to a shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and HIV testing kits in Kenya.

People in conflict-affected areas of South Sudan collect food from WFP (WFP/eter Testuzza Photo)

April 8, 2021 (JUBA) - The World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday said it is cutting food rations for nearly 700,000 refugees and internally displaced people in South Sudan, citing the significant funding gaps.

The WFP Representative in South Sudan, Matthew Hollingworth said effective from April, refugees and internally displaced people will start receiving 50 per cent of a full ration, from 70 per cent.

“It is a very painful decision to take from the hungry to give to the starving, but this is the reality; because of the alarming rise of food insecurity in remote locations, WFP has to reduce the size of its rations in some communities, including refugees and internally displaced people, who are in a less precarious situation,” he explained.

The agency said its resources in South Sudan are stretched thin at a time when levels of food insecurity are at their highest in a decade and donors are grappling with the economic impact of COVID-19.

“We must try to save the lives of those likely to face famine during the lean season if they do not receive sufficient assistance. WFP simply does not have enough resources to provide full rations to all of those in South Sudan who rely on our assistance to survive,” said Hollingworth.

WFP said it urgently needs $125 million for its food assistance operations for the next six months to provide food in sufficient quantities, including larger food rations for refugees and the displaced.

Those affected reportedly include some 440,000 internally displaced people in Bentiu, Bor, Juba, Malakal, Mingkaman and Wau as well as nearly 260,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Sudan, who rely on WFP assistance to meet most of their food needs.

The situation remains dire across the country as almost 7 million people or 60 per cent of the population are struggling to find enough food each day, aid agencies say.

South Sudan has been struggling to recover from five years of a civil war that killed almost 400,000 people, according to reports. A coalition government formed in February last year between President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar is implementing a revitalized peace agreement that is behind schedule, while deadly violence continues in parts of the country.

(ST)

April 8, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The death toll from tribal violence in West Darfur State has risen to 125, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) said in a statement on Thursday.

Fresh clashes between the Arab Rizeigat and Masalit communities erupted in the capital of West Darfur State on Saturday 3 April despite the deployment of troops in the region to prevent such violence.

"The CCSD recorded further 38 deaths and 17 wounded, bringing the total death toll to 125 deaths and 208 wounded," said the medical group.

The new Inter-communal fighting displaced over 109,000 people and generated new needs.

For its part, the government declared a state of emergency in the state and deployed more troops to prevent escalation of the violence.

The UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) in Sudan said the intercommunal fighting has affected the distribution of humanitarian assistance to some 700,000 people in West and Central Darfur states.

Citing the government Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), the OCHA said that two internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps and four gathering sites have been partially burnt during the recent attack.

The death toll and number of IDPs are likely to increase as more information becomes available.

The security forces that patrol El Geneina have been authorized to open fire if needed to stop the tribal attacks and to collect weapons.

The West Darfur Governor Mohamed Al-Doma Thursday blamed the transitional government for not implementing the state of emergency.

"There is a carelessness towards (the situation in) the state, and I feel injustice as a result of this negligence," added the governor who is a member of the Massalit group.

Also, he said that these gunmen who committed the recent attacks came from Chad.

"These militias can be dismantled according to a plan in which the countries of the region participate. The United Nations can also participate in the protection of civilians, he said.

(ST)

April 8, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - A Senior Sudanese official rejected an initiative by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to settle the border dispute with Ethiopia saying it aims to divide the claimed Al-Fashaga area between the two countries.

"The UAE wants to divide our land and we will not accept that," said Malik Agar member of the Sovereign Council and SPLM-N faction leader in remarks delivered during an event at the Horn of Africa Studies and Research Center in Khartoum on Wednesday.

Agar is the first Sudanese official to speak about the content of the UAE initiative which was disclosed by the Sudanese cabinet last month. Also, Khartoum dispatched the foreign and defence minister to Abu Dhabi to discuss the initiative without elaborating on it.

"The UAE wants to distribute our land. This is a biased initiative that will cast its shadow and repercussions on the region," added the former rebel leader who hailed from the Blue Nile region bordering Ethiopia.

According to several Sudanese officials, the UAE proposed to withdraw the Sudanese troops from the border areas that it has controlled since November 2020, divide the income of the UAE investment projects in Al-Fashaga by 40% for Sudan, 40% for the Emirates and 20% for Ethiopian farmers.

Agar said that there were no Ethiopian claims in the past but the ousted regime created this crisis.

His statements allude to the reported deal between the former president and the late Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi providing to prevent the Eritrea-supported Sudanese rebel groups from sneaking into Sudan through his country. In return, al-Bashir allows the Ethiopian farmers to cultivate a fertile area.

"I was leading a rebellion and I know well that what is happening now is nothing but the creation of myths," he said about the claims by the government of Abiy Ahmed who reconciled his country with Eritrea.

Al-Burhan who spent most of his career in the border army repeats everywhere that al-Bashir was responsible for the current crisis because he had ordered to abandon the border military stations and redeploy troops leaving the Al-Fashaga area to Ethiopian farmers and their militias.

The border dispute gave al-Burhan an opportunity to increase his popularity as the army retook control of 95% of the Sudanese border.

The crisis dashed hopes for a regional economic market in the Horn of Africa after the end of a 20-year border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

(ST)

The UN and partners are “following with deep concern” new reports of violations against civilians in northern Mozambique, the UN Spokesperson said on Thursday. 

Kenyans urge potential lenders to stop giving the government money over fears of growing debt.

The humanitarian situation in Tigray, Ethiopia, remains “dire”, the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday.  

The failure of Libya to investigate the unlawful arrest and torture of a women’s rights activist is a clear rights violation, the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), said on Wednesday.

Victim blaming continues to trap survivors of sexual and gender based violence in a cycle of trauma.

In a bid to represent African culture, Chioma Inyang set out to wear an Ankara-styled gown on her wedding day.

Days of tribal clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur have left scores dead and thousands fleeing their homes, the UN envoy to the country said on Tuesday. 

Levels of hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are at a “staggering” record high, now affecting one-in-three people, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday. 

Support for climate adaptation in Africa is crucial, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday in appealing for greater action to provide renewable energy to hundreds of millions who still lack access to reliable and affordable electricity.

With a deteriorating security situation in central and northern Mali, the UN peacekeeping chief told the Security Council on Tuesday that ‘blue helmets’, the Malian Defence and Security Forces, continue to suffer repeated attacks and significant losses, while some large towns “live under constant threat from armed groups”.