Tuesday, May 21, 2013

S. Sudan army says it recaptured town from Yau Yau rebels

S. Sudan army says it recaptured town from Yau Yau rebels


Link to web article here.

May 19, 2013 (BOR) – The South Sudanese army (SPLA) says it has retaken control of an area previously held by rebels in the remote Boma town in Jonglei state.
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An SPLA tank in Bor on 18 May 2013 (ST)

Army spokesperson Phillip Aguer told Sudan Tribune on Saturday that the SPLA had restored law and order in the town, which had been under the control of David Yau Yau-led forces for days.

“The SPLA has restored law and order in Boma town. The SPLA entered Boma this morning and we have now taken control over it”, said Aguer by phone.

He said four army soldiers were killed and another 12 wounded in the ensuing battle to reclaim the rebel-held territory.

He added that 20 rebel fighters had also been killed in the clash.

“We captured lots of weapons and the army is now in the process of identifying them to find out their sources and the countries of manufacture,” he revealed.

A number of food items and alcohol allegedly imported from neighbouring Eritrea were also reportedly recovered from the rebels.

However, it remains unclear as to how the rebels obtained the goods, raising questions about a possible link between South Sudanese armed groups and elements from the neighbouring country.

A rebel group fighting in Jonglei, the country’s most populous state, claimed on Tuesday to have laid siege on Pibor town, highlighting the level of their activities in the area in recent days.

Meanwhile, the rebel’s official spokesperson, Colonel Peter Konyi Kubrin, issued an evacuation warning to civilian populations in the state capital Bor, claiming they are sending forces to attack the city.
(ST)

SAF promises decisive victory against rebels soon

SAF promises decisive victory against rebels soon


Link to web article here.

May 20, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has announced that major victory against rebellion will be declared soon and said it would be a landslide victory which will destroy "the rebels who have committed crimes and atrocities".
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The official spokesman of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Colonel al-Sawarmi Khaled Sa’ad, (ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images)

After last April rebel attacks in South and North Kordofan, Sudanese government officials and military carry out a large campaign to recruit volunteers to fight the rebels but also mobilise popular support for the government which faces economic and political difficulties.

Observers say that the killing of some local officials and tribal dignitaries by the rebels facilitated the government efforts.

SAF’s spokesperson, Al-Sawarmi Khaled Saad, told Ashorooq TV on Monday that SAF’s victory at all territories controlled by the rebel Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) is drawing near, promising good news for Sudanese people very soon.

He added that rebels continued to spread rumours aimed at deceiving the Sudanese people but to no avail, saying "SAF would cleanse the country of all rebellion and the hour of truth is approaching".

Saad further praised the Sudanese people for supporting SAF in all military operations zones and the public mobilisation which pervaded throughout Sudan, saying that it had a very strong impact on the men fighting in the frontlines.

In the past, fighting between the rebels and SAF has largely been limited to Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states bordering South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011.

But SAF rebels extended last month their attacks to Um Rawaba in North Kordofan state before to redeploys its fighters to Abu-Kershola in South Kordofan on the border with North-Kordofan state.

Since then senior Sudanese military and political officials have been talking about reclaiming all territories controlled by the rebels.

In the same context, Sudan’s defence minister, Abdel- Rahim Mohamed Hussein, and the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) director, Mohamed Atta, have visited Nyala, capital of South Darfur state, and its environs to check on the security situation.

The defence minister said in press statements Monday that his visit to Nyala aims at inspecting the security situation, noting that they held a successful meeting with the state’s governor, Adam Mahmoud, and the state’s security committee to check on security situation as well as ensure full coordination between SAF, the police forces, and the NISS forces.

He described the situation in Nyala as stable, saying that residents are living their normal life and security situation in the state is improving continuously.

Darfur has been a flashpoint for lawlessness and violence since rebel movements took up arms against the Khartoum government in 2003.

South Darfur state has witnessed a near total security breakdown in recent months with recurrent incidents of looting, banditry and murder including from pro-government militias.

On March 30, a Sudanese paramilitary force attacked El-Geneina bus stop market in Nyala on mid-day robbing merchants and bystanders at gunpoint.

In March also, a cargo train which was on its way from Nyala to the city of Daein in eastern Darfur has been attacked by unidentified armed robbers near Khor Taan area which is located 60 km east of Nyala.

Last April, the main airport in Nyala came under shelling this from rebels belonging to the Sudan Liberation Army of Minni Minnawi (SLA-MM).
(ST)

Juba summons Chinese ambassador over oil blockage

Juba summons Chinese ambassador over oil blockage


Link to web article here.

May 20, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan on Monday summoned the Chinese ambassador to Juba to complain over an alleged blockage of the flow of its oil to international markets through Sudanese territory, government sources have said.
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Sudanese repair crew work at the Heglig oil facility, after Sudan started pumping oil again from the war-damaged oil field on May 2, 2012, (file Getty)
Chinese companies dominate the South Sudanese oil industry having been welcomed into Sudan before the South seceded from the north in 2011 taking with 75% of the country’s 500,000 barrels per day of oil production.

South Sudanese oil production was halted in January 2012 due to a dispute between Khartoum and Juba over transit fees but, as part of a cooperation deal, production resumed last month. President Salva Kiir is scheduled to join his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir in to witness the first Southern crude to be exported from Port Sudan on the Red Sea for almost a year and a half.

However, sources in Juba told Sudan Tribune on Monday that on the directives of the government of Khartoum, oil from the Tharjath oil field in Unity state had not flowed into Heglig - a contested oil-producing areas on the north-south border - for the last three days.

A senior government officials at the ministry of petroleum and mining told Sudan Tribune on Monday that the pipes had been shutdown and oil workers chased away from the area by the members of Sudan’s security services. The security service personnel had been sent to the area "for the protection of the very oil workers they harassed and chased”, the source said.

The official, who requested to remain anonymous said the South Sudan’s oil minister, Stephen Dhieu Dau, on Sunday called his Sudanese counterpart, Awad Ahmed Al Jaz over the issue.

Al Jaz told Dau that "he does not know anything about the issue and he will contact field managers to know what happened and will call back the minister but did not call him back since yesterday. Our ministry decided to send in a team led by the undersecretary and the director General today. They went and found out that nuts were tied. We did not expect this”, he explained.

Sudanese intelligence and security services accused some circles in Juba of continuing to support the rebel groups who last month attacked several areas in South and North Kordofan.

Sudanese security officials say Darfur rebels who took part in the attack on Heglig in April 2012 are still have some presence in the Unity state, despite the signing of cooperation agreement.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS SUMMONED CHINESE AMBASSADOR

Officials at South Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation confirmed summoning Chinese ambassador over the alleged blockage of the oil flow by the Sudanese government.

“The ministry decided to summon the Chinese ambassador today because of the reports from the petroleum and mining ministry about the sudden blockage of the flow of oil again by the Sudanese authorities. This is a clear violation of the cooperation agreement. This is why we decided to involve our partners who are also the stakeholders in the oil production. We want to know and see what role they can play at this moment”, a senior diplomat at the ministry told Sudan Tribune on Monday.

The official who also requested anonymity said the government wants to give diplomatic efforts a chance before coming out with the details to the public, saying he hopes China will be able to convince Khartoum allow the full flow of the oil and operation of the workers without intervention.

“You see the cooperation agreement is very clear on the oil resumption. It does not limit the flow. Also we allowed Sudanese security operatives to our fields for the protection of the workers not to be involved in the technical work. These are the issues which we brought up today at the meeting with the Chinese ambassador. We made it very clear that oil workers must be allowed to do their work without interference from any side because they are technical people”, the official explained to Sudan Tribune.

Meanwhile South Sudanese Minister of Information and Broadcasting Service, Barnaba Marial Benjamin denied any knowledge of the closure of the oil follow when contacted by the Sudan Tribune on Monday.

“I cannot confirm because I do not have any information”, Marial told Sudan Tribune on Monday without giving additional comments.

However, a senior civil servant who works at national legislative Assembly in Juba told Sudan Tribune: “Minister Marial knows what is happening but he does not want to be quoted out by the media because he thinks it will generate public disquiet and possible protest which is what they want to avoid. The government wants to try diplomatic efforts. They want to handle it diplomatically.”

“It is not a secret anymore. It is already public knowledge. The government should just tell the public what happened instead of trying to sleep on what is already known. Our people in the field are communicating with us and they are saying what is happening there”, the official explained.

NO COMMENTS FOR CLOSURE

The undersecretary the ministry of petroleum and Mining, Machar Ader told Sudan Tribune that he would not comment on the issue when contacted by Sudan Tribune on Monday.

Ader was the senior official at the ministry of petroleum and Mining who led a technical delegation to the field on Monday. He is expected to make internal briefing on Tuesday to the government.

Monday, May 20, 2013

SPLM-N calls for UN humanitarian chief to visit rebel-held conflict areas

SPLM-N calls for UN humanitarian chief to visit rebel-held conflict areas


Link to web article here.

May 19, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - The rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) has called on the head of the UN’s humanitarian agency to visit areas in Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Darfur outside of Sudanese government control that have been off-limits for the past two years.
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FILE - UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos (R) holds a joint press conference with Sudanese Social Welfare Minister Amira al-Fadel Mohamed in Khartoum on January 4, 2012 (GETTY)

SPLM-N secretary-general Yasir Arman made the comments in a statement issued ahead of a scheduled three-day visit to Sudan by the head of the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Valerie Amos.

Amos, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, is due to arrive in Khartoum on Monday.

Arman says the visit comes at a critical time, with Sudan witnessing a worsening humanitarian crisis in Blue Nile, South Kordofan, North Kordofan and Darfur states.

He says an estimated 4 million civilians have been displaced as a result of the decade-long war in Darfur, while the Sudanese government continues to deny humanitarian access in the border states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, where its army (SAF) simultaneously carries out aerial and ground bombardments against the civilian population.

MAGNITUDE OF THE CRISIS

In its statement, the SPLM-N called on Amos to consider visiting rebel-held areas which have previously been off-limits in order to report to the international community the true depth of the humanitarian crisis in the region, rather than visiting areas pre-selected by the government that do not reflect the magnitude of the crisis.

There are also calls for Amos to meet with the SPLM’s political leadership and its humanitarian wing during her upcoming visit in order to obtain information from both parties to the conflict.

“Khartoum is not interested in addressing the humanitarian situation and as usual is buying time, using the visits of high profile international officials to give lip service to the humanitarian situation”, said Arman.

“The Sudanese regime and [Sudanese president] general [Omer] al-Bashir have been the largest manufacturer of the humanitarian crisis in Africa for 24 years continuously and the present regime has a long record of targeting civilian populations and destroying lives. They are permanently on the humanitarian crisis list for almost a quarter of a century - the same regime with the same personalities”, he added.

OCHA says Amos plans to meet with officials from the Sudanese government, including Bashir, as well as representatives from humanitarian organisations, with discussions to focus on ways to improve humanitarian access to people affected by conflict and displacement, particularly in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur.

The under-secretary-general is also expected to travel to Darfur to see for herself the ongoing humanitarian operation in Sudan’s western region.

TOUGH STANCE NEEDED

Arman has urged Amos to take a firm stance on the Sudanese government’s continued refusal to allow unfettered humanitarian access to conflict-affected areas, saying it constituted a war crime under international humanitarian law.

He said the SPLM-N stood ready to work with OCHA on a proposed vaccination program to target preventable diseases, such as pertussis and measles.

“We equally stated the need for a brief cessation of hostilities to carry out the vaccination plan since Khartoum [has] refused - for more than one-year - a full humanitarian cessation of hostilities. In the absence of a humanitarian agreement with Khartoum and given the war situation, there is a need to agree on where the vaccination program will originate from”, he said.

Fighting erupted in South Kordofan in September 2011 when Southern-aligned SPLM-N rebels launched an insurgency against the Khartoum government, with the conflict spreading to neighbouring Blue Nile state a few months later.

According to Arman, some 24 civilians were killed in the last three months alone in Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains, with many more injured as a result of aerial bombardments.

More than 700 people, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and SPLM-N activists, have been arrested in government-held areas. Some of them were subjected to torture, while others were sentenced to death. Those arrested include 138 in Blue Nile state and about 200 from the Nuba Mountains area in South Kordofan state, including 45 women – some of whom are pregnant – as well as more than 50 leaders of the SPLM-N.

Meanwhile, more than 200 people have been arrested from Darfur and North Kordofan, including SPLM-N activists.
(ST)

SPLM deputy chairman says the party is in trouble

SPLM deputy chairman says the party is in trouble


Link to web article here.

May 19, 2013 (JUBA) – The deputy chairman of the South Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), Riek Machar has warmed of a possible collapse of party, unless it democratically transforms and refocuses itself.
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South Sudan vice-president Riek Machar (Reuters)

Machar, also the country’s vice president, told senior officials at the party’s general secretariat that the SPLM had “lost direction and vision”, making references to reports from various state secretariats across the country, which depicts the party was largely unpopular.

He however said it was incumbent upon the south-ruling party to change the status quo.

The vice president made these remarks Saturday during celebrations to mark the party’s 30th anniversary where he was invited to deliver a speech.

The party’s occasion took place two days after the army organized a similar event, at which Machar warmed South Sudan army (SPLA) to remain neutral in the ongoing political debates.

Last year, the SPLM dispatched its most senior members to various states and carried out a country-wide performance assessment based on the party’s policies and activities at the grassroots. However, results from these assessments shockingly showed the party had lost its sense of direction and vision.

Officials are now worried that the historical party may not win the upcoming 2015 elections, after it appears to have lost the confidence of the people as the country’s ruling party.

Many blame the party for alleged failure to deliver the much-needed service to the people, while other say the SPLM has performed below peoples’ expectations.

But the party’s deputy chairman stressed that there was need to transform the SPLM in order to refocus and become a viable political party capable of leading the country to prosperity.

Speaking at the same event, the government chief whip, Atem Garang, also highlighted the challenges facing the party and expressed the need to rectify them through transformation.

Atem heads the SPLM parliamentary caucus in the national legislative assembly.

In the process of transformation, however, the south-ruling party has been discussing its four basic documents, which include the constitution, manifesto, code of conduct and rules and regulations.

Primary elections at the grassroots are expected to take place and the elected members constitute delegates to the national convention scheduled for later this year.

Last week, a presidential advisor and widow of the late founder of the SPLM, Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior, warned of what she said were "red lines" in the transformation process.

Nyandeng said it was important for the primary elections to take place prior to the convening of the convention.

Many senior party officials are also critical of the chairman’s favoured "show of hand" instead of the universal "secret ballot" voting mechanism during party elections.

Members are also critical of the chairman’s demand to handpick 5% of the candidates, saying this constitutes unfair competition, which can give him an upper hand against other contestants for chairmanship.

Senior party officials, including Machar criticised the president Salva Kiir, also the SPLM chairman, saying he has failed to provide guidance and vision.
(ST)

Speculations about ministerial reshuffle in Sudan

Speculations about ministerial reshuffle in Sudan


Link to web article here.

May 19, 2013 (KHARTOUM) — Different sources have expected a large ministerial reshuffle in Khartoum, saying that the first vice-president Ali Osman Taha might be relieved from his position.
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President Omer Al-Bashir speaks to his first vice-president Ali Osman Taha at Khartoum airport in March 2011 (file Reuters)

A presidential source told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that First Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha is one of the most prominent figure that will quit the government in the upcoming reshuffle, adding he will dedicate his time as deputy chairman to the management of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

The source further revealed that defence minister Gen. Abdel-Rahim Hussein, will also be among those who will lose their ministerial portfolios.

Abdel Rahim recently disclosed to several journalists in Khartoum that he demanded to be relieved from his position for health reasons. The minister suffers herniated disc in his back.

Gen. Bakri Hassan Saleh, minister of the presidential affairs, is among the most prominent candidates to succeed him. Saleh is appreciated from the army and at different times the military preferred to speak with him about the problems they face than Hussein.

However other sources ruled out to appoint him at this position because he holds a prominent position in the Islamist Movement. In the past also, some sources speculated that Bashir was preparing him for the presidency of the country.

Finance minister Ali Mahmoud is also cited among those who will be removed in the expected ministerial reshuffle.

Also, the presidential assistant Jaffar Al-Mirghani would be appointed minister at an important portfolio and quit his current post.

The source stressed that the reshuffle will be comprehensive and touch most of the cabinet members.

The new cabinet was scheduled to be announced before the end of April but the attacks of the rebel groups in Kordofan region forced the presidency to defer it, it was learnt.

It was also reported that presidential assistant and NCP deputy chairman Nafie Ali Nafie is strongly opposed to the ministerial reshuffle because he says the moment is not opportune to make such important changes.

He also argues that the reshuffle may create a vacuum in the executive body.

But sources said that Nafie is probably fearing that Ali Osman may delimit his role in the leadership of the ruling party.

Currently, Omer Al-Bashir is the leader of the ruling party, Ali Osman is the NCP deputy chairman for executive affairs and Nafie is the deputy chairman for the party’s affairs .

Nafie led a wing within the NCP against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement negotiated by Ali Osman Taha with the late SPLM leader John Garang and signed in January 2005.

Following Garang death, he worked to weaken and marginalise Taha who since lost his influential role in the government.

Omer Al-Bashir at different times announced that he would not seek to remain in power after the end of his current term in 2015, and asked the party to chose a new candidate to replace him.

Observers say if Taha takes the control of the party this may give him the necessary means to prepare for his election in 2015.

(ST)

The love and appreciation of Bianca's mom

The love and appreciation of Bianca's mom


One of the almost 100 runners of the S4J-2013 team's mother wrote a comment in response to a journey that started with Bianca Frost at last year's Comrades marathon. With Comrades in less than 2 weeks from now, this is such a timely guesture of appreciation. 

Read the story! It starts with the comment from Bianca's mom, then ons from another family member, ending with the article posted just after last year's Comrades marathon. Link to the original article here.

"I will never forget that day! Glen and I were in contact all day via cellphone,and especially those last few minutes after the final cut-off gun. You had not passed the finish line and Glen had no idea where you were at this stage. While he was looking for you I was praying. Tears of relief and gratitude to God and the kind people who helped you, flowed down my cheeks when I heard the news that he had found you. What a testimony of endurance you have. When I spoke to you on the phone a few minutes later you told me that even though you missed receiving the medal you were determined to finish the race and you gave God all the glory. What a picture of how we should run the race of life for our Saviour Jesus. You (running your second Comrades) and Glen (his first, mainly to support you) are already in my prayers for this year's Comrades as you have both decided to run under the banner of Sudan4Jesus. The Lord bless you and keep you both in His strength and protection. Lots of love, Mommy." 

An earlier comment be another family member:

"Bianca, This is such a beautiful story. I know you and Glen are going to do well in the Comrades this year. Praying for you both. Lots of love. Aunty Dawn."

 

Bianca made contact with us after Sunday's ultra marathon

Bianca Frost, having just completed the 89 km Comrades marathon at the Agape tent with Marietjie en Hennie Venter from club in the blue tracksuits at the back. On the right of the picture, Eddie also from the Agape Athletics Club who also just completed the race.
I felt such empathy for this young, friendly runner who seemed SO lost after having completed the Comrades marathon this Sunday 3 July. The Sudan4Jesus run team just embraced Bianca, who shares her story below:

"Your kindness, love, support + warmth will never be forgotten...

I had missed the cut off by 800m but still finished the race into the stadium where I was looking for my husband who was at the police tent which I simply could not find! I started to panic a little + didn’t know how I was going to find him in this massive crowd! Then I saw the Agape tent and warms smiles asking if they could help me. I was given a space blanket to keep me warm + a kind lady (I am so sorry I can't remember your name! it was all a bit overwhelming) let me call my husband Glen who then came to find me there.

I am a club member of Love Running and would just like to thank those who were so kind to me on Sunday after the finish. Your kindness and support will never be forgotten-specially at a moment like this!

The Lord definitely sent you to me when I needed someone the most.

With much appreciation,
Bianca Frost
Bianca much happier after being reunited with her husband Glen with Roald le Roux just behind them in the blue and red colours of the Agape Athletics Club with his wife Antoinette. Roald is also part of the Sudan4Jesus run team

Saturday, May 18, 2013

South Sudan to start oil export

South Sudan to start oil export
 
South Sudan Information Minister Benjamin said China would purchase 40 %, Malaysia 30% and India 25% of South Sudan's total oil exports 
 
World Bulletin/News Desk
Link to web article here.

South Sudan Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said that South Sudan would start oil export through Sudan after having agreed to resume pumping oil.     

Benjamin said they expected to export 360,000 barrels of petrol every day.     

President of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit will send off the first oil tanker with his Sudanese counterpart Omar al- Bashir in the next days.     

Benjamin told AA that the agreement between the two countries was very important, adding that it was a source of life for South Sudan.     

Sudan will pay 11 USD per barrel including processing and shipping, said Benjamin.     

"China will purchase 40 %, Malaysia 30% and India 25% of South Sudan's total oil exports. We are building a new country. We would like to see international investors in South Sudan not only to invest in oil but also agriculture, mining, tourism and infrastructure. We are strengthening the infrastructure and security to provide the investors with a secure environment," Benjamin said.     

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir had paid a visit to Juba, the capital of Sudan, in April and the two countries reached an agrement on oil prices and resuming pumping oil. Although South Sudan started oil production in April, processing and shipment to the port will be made in May. South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011, has been continuing works to establish its own refinery.

Khartoum behind fresh wave of violence over gold in Darfur: report

Khartoum behind fresh wave of violence over gold in Darfur: report


Link to web article here.

May 17, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - A new report argues that the Sudanese government’s struggle for control of Darfur’s gold resources, rather than inter-tribal conflicts is behind the recent surge in violence in the war-torn western region.
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UNAMID forces from Rwanda patrol in a new area for families displaced by the fighting over goldmines between Abbala and Beni Hussein at the outskirts of El Sereif, North Darfur on 13 May 2013. (photo Albert González Farran/UNAMID)

The report, titled Darfur’s Gold Rush: State-Sponsored Atrocities 10 Years after the Genocide, has cast doubt on official rhetoric from Khartoum that tribal rivalries are to blame for rising instability.

It found that the Sudanese government is complicit in a violent power play for control of North Darfur’s lucrative gold mines, as part of its heightened economic interest in the region and an ongoing campaign of “state-sponsored atrocity”.

According to the report released earlier this month by the US-based Enough Project, Arab Abbala tribesmen are being armed by Khartoum as part of a bid to wrest control of gold fields in Jebel Amer from the Beni Hussein tribe, who are the traditional custodians of the area.

“While we do not have documented evidence that the government of Sudan ordered the Abbala offensive, it’s clear that the historically state-aligned tribe, with ties to the janjaweed, was not acting without at least tacit government consent”, researchers noted.

VIOLENCE ESCALATES

The escalation of violence since January 2013 has plunged the region into the worst humanitarian crisis in recent years.

The UN estimates that some 150,000 people have been displaced following a spate of attacks by armed Abbala militias, elements of which include the notorious janjaweed forces, which hit the headlines 10 years ago for brutal atrocities allegedly committed at the behest of the Sudanese government.

The report argues that Khartoum has again reprised the role of Abbala militia as a “tool of state repression”, suggesting the government is employing the same “paralleling tactics” it used during the height of the conflict in 2003-04.

“For over a decade, the government of Sudan has pursued a strategy of economic plunder of the periphery through violence and forcible demographic change”, the report said.

A sedentary farming and cattle-rearing Arab community, the Beni Hussein have historically been exempted from attack by state-sponsored militias. However, the recent discovery of gold reserves in their home area, and intense economic pressure on the Sudanese government following South Sudan’s secession and the subsequent loss of oil revenues, has fundamentally altered that dynamic, the report said.

GOLD BOOM

Jebel Amer last year produced a third of Sudan’s gold, despite the absence of major mining operations or foreign direct investment.

Satellite imagery included in the report shows evidence of the presence of commercial mining equipment, as well as the transformation of a relatively desolate area into a thriving mining outpost within a few months.

Darfuri sources interviewed for the report also suggested that North Darfur governor Osman Yosuf Kibir was interested in securing a stake in the mines. However, due to the Beni Hussein’s control of the permit process, Kibir was only able to obtain licences for less than 20 mining sites, even though he owns the pumps needed to operate far more.

Researchers from the Enough Project say that during the height of the latest round of violence, Abbala militia leaders spoke publicly on Sudanese radio, bragging about their position within the state security forces and in many instances used state-supplied vehicles and weapons to conduct attacks.

Reports suggest that Abbala militiamen from across Darfur collected at least 4,000 horses, 2,500 camels, and 130 government-owned vehicles to carry out the attacks.

During a second wave of clashes in late February, hundreds of armed Abbala militiamen attacked al-Sref Beni Hussein, where over 60,000 displaced people had sought refuge in the aftermath of the first wave of attacks.

Internally displaced people interviewed by Amnesty International following the attack, said that armed men arrived on 150 camels and 200 horses, as well as more than 40 four-wheel drive vehicles to attack the town, leaving 53 dead and 66 injured, most of whom were civilians, including women and children.

“A scattered power base in Khartoum means that the Sudanese government no longer speaks with one voice. Instead, middle men and profiteers within the ruling party have gained influence and control. These elements see clear economic benefit from intense periods of violence, particularly in places along Sudan’s marginalised periphery”, the report said, which draws on extensive interviews with sources in Darfur, Khartoum and the diaspora community.

As part of six key recommendations, the Enough Project calls on the US and the international community to provide further support to democratic forces within Sudan and apply pressure to the Sudanese government to grant humanitarian agencies unfettered access to all areas of Darfur.

It also calls on the United States and other partners to exert pressure to ensure that those responsible for human rights abuses during the latest wave of violence are held accountable.

The Enough Project says reconciliation pledges made between the Beni Hussein and Abbala tribes must be honoured and that the international donor community should work to promote Darfur’s economic growth through sustainable and self-sufficient development.

It says companies in the gold supply chain should add Sudan to their list of countries identified as high-risk originating points for gold and that jewellers and gold exchanges “should conduct additional due diligence on gold coming out of Sudan to avoid engaging in the conflict gold trade”.
(ST)

S. Sudan warns security forces, militias over violence against civilians

S. Sudan warns security forces, militias over violence against civilians


Link to web article here.

May 17, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan president, Salva Kiir has warned armed rebel groups and “ill-disciplined” elements within the regular security forces to halt violence against innocent civilians in the country.
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South Sudan president Salva Kiir (Reuters)

The president’s warning comes in the wake of the growing violence, largely blamed on armed rebel groups, against civilians in its Jonglei state and other parts of the country.

“The Government will not tolerate any violence against its citizens or looting of any property, whether belonging to citizens or humanitarian agencies,” partly reads a strongly-worded statement from the presidency.

Kiir, in the 17 May statement, strongly warned that members of the country’s security forces engaged in violent acts will be held accountable, if implicated.

Last week, rouge elements within the army staged road blocks in Bor, the Jonglei state capital and allegedly beat up civilians, in protest over delayed salary payments.

The president, however, expressed dismay over continued distabilisation of the country and terrorising of civilians by armed militias, despite several amnesty offers for them to surrender.

He said his government was determined, at all costs, to take all the necessary steps to achieve peace and stability in the young nation.

Kiir, in the statement, particularly talks about the murder of Brig. Gen. Kolor Pino, a senior Ministry of Wildlife official and five other officers, including three rangers and two police officers, early this month.

He blamed their killing in cold blood on “rouge” elements within the country’s security forces.

“Those responsible for this reprehensive crime will be held accountable,” warned the president, who described the fallen Brig. Gen Pino as a “dedicated soldier and nationalist”, whom he personally recruited and trained, prior to his appointment to the position.

Since it independence, almost two year ago, South Sudan remains largely unstable, with tribal conflicts, rebel attacks and inter-clan clashes, seen as key in the vicious cycle of violence.

Violence, the United Nations said, could displace up to 200,000 people in the country, this year alone.
(ST)