Thursday, July 25, 2013

FULL TEXT: South Sudan's President Kiir issues decrees sacking his cabinet and deputy Riek Machar

  • South Sudan's President Salva Kiir sacks cabinet, including his deputy Riek Machar [1]
  • South Sudan's ousted cabinet barred from entering ministries [2]
  • UK Minister for Africa Mark Simmonds urges restraint after dismissal of south Sudanese Government [3]
  • UN mission closely monitoring situation in South Sudan amid political changes [4]
  • FULL TEXT Documents: Decrees issued by South Sudan's President Salva Kiir [5]
  • UN Security Council Resolution 2109 (2013) Adopted by the Security Council at its 6998th meeting on 11 July 2013 [6]
  • Darfur, Western Sudan:  UN Chief: ‘Situation in Darfur continues to regress’ - UN peacekeeping chief visits Sudan [7]
  • North Kordofan, Central Sudan:  Sudanese army repulses SRF rebels' attack in North Kordofan - Sudan army, rebels clash ahead of oil deadline [8a & 8b]
  • Seven Tanzanian UNAMID peacekeepers killed and 17 others injured in ambush in Darfur on 12 July 2013 - Tanzania bids farewell to its departed heroes [9a, 9b & 9c]
  • Sudan files complaint to African Union against Uganda's support for rebels [10]
  • DR Congo:  Heavy fighting has resumed between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group in the Mutaho-Kibati area, near Goma, in N. Kivu Province [11]
  • DR Congo:  Over 30,000 Congolese flee rebel attacks to Uganda: UN [12]
  • CAR:  Communiqué of AU PSC on situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) [13]
NOTE from the Editor of Sudan Watch:  Here below are details relating to each of the sixteen news reports listed above, in numerical order.  Yellow highlighting is mine.  Also for my own ease of reference, I have selected the reports (after trawling through hundreds) and listed them in this single blog post simply to give myself a snapshot of what is going on (a sickening nightmare) at this time in and around the two Sudans.  In my view, as stated many times before, the "rebels" are criminal gangs and ought to be treated as such.  What is Interpol doing, I wonder.  This'll go on for decades.  Only the poor will suffer.  Poverty will never be eradicated.  Life is too short, cruel and unfair.

[1]  Report by AFP published at www.france24.com on Wednesday, 24 July 2013.  Full copy:
South Sudan's Salva Kiir sacks cabinet
South Sudan's President, Salva Kiir, on Wednesday sacked his entire cabinet, including his main political rival Riek Machar. The move raises fears of political instability in a country riven by ethnic  rivalries and still reeling from decades of war.

Heavily armed South Sudanese security forces guarded key government institutions in the capital Juba Wednesday as radio broadcasts called for calm after the president suspended his cabinet and his main political rival.

Those removed by President Salva Kiir include two of the country's most influential leaders - his rival vice-president Riek Machar Machar and Pagan Amum, the secretary-general of the ruling party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

The sackings have sparked concern over potential instability in the fledgling nation, which is awash with guns, riven by ethnic rivalries and still reeling from decades of war.

"We are asking our citizens, please do your duty and go to work," said Barnaba Marial Benjamin, who until his suspension late Tuesday was the information minister and government spokesman.

All 29 ministers were suspended as well as their deputies, in addition to 17 police brigadiers.

"Give the president a chance to form his government... he has already empowered the technocrats to see the day-to-day running of the administration," Benjamin said in a broadcast on the UN-supported Radio Miraya.

Troops and armed police blocked several key roads in Juba, with a heavy deployment at the government ministry complex, but the city was reported calm, army spokesman Philip Aguer said.

"This is routine work, they are being deployed to protect the ministries," Aguer told AFP.

Many of the ministers were key figures in the rebel SPLM or its armed wing that fought a brutal 1983-2005 war against the government in Khartoum, which led to a 2011 referendum in which South Sudan voted overwhelmingly to split from the north.

Machar, from the Dok Nuer people from the key oil producing Unity state, is a controversial figure for many, but commands loyalty among many branches of the Nuer, which form an integral part of the footsoldiers of the new nation's ex-rebel army.

He has made no secret of his desire to challenge Kiir for the presidency in elections due in 2015.

However, he fought on both sides of the civil war, leading a splinter SPLM faction that sided with Khartoum, battling troops commanded by Kiir, who comes from the Dinka people.

Machar's troops are accused of a brutal massacre in the ethnic Dinka town of Bor in 1991.

"This latest move is part of an ongoing struggle in the highest levels of South Sudan's political leadership," said Akshaya Kumar of the US-based Enough Project, which campaigns for peace in the Sudans.

Last month, Machar led talks with Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to ease tensions after Khartoum threatened to halt oil flows worth billions of dollars to both impoverished neighbours.

Amum was the top negotiator with arch-foe Sudan at long-running African Union-mediated talks over a raft of issues left unresolved at independence, including border demarcation and oil exports, currently under threat of suspension again, this time by Khartoum.

The suspended party leader is to be also investigated for alleged "mismanagement of the party" by a parliamentary committee, the presidential orders broadcast on state radio said.

However, Khartoum said the suspensions would not impact oil and security pacts reached between them.

"These are agreements between two countries" not individuals, said Abubakr Al-Siddiq, spokesman for Sudan's foreign ministry.

Sudan has issued an August 7 deadline to shut down oil production -- accusing Juba of backing rebels in the north, claims Juba denies -- in the  latest in a string of threatened cuts.

South Sudan's oil minister Stephen Dhieu Dau, speaking Tuesday ahead of his suspension, said Juba will end its production by July 31, which would be the second major shutdown since independence two years ago.

No replacements have been announced, and it was not clear if any of those suspended would return, or if new blood would be brought in to the cabinet.

While Juba has been rife with rumours in recent weeks about a potential reshuffle by Kiir -- especially concerning tense relations with Machar -- the move still caught many by surprise.

"It is possible that this move could lead to increased political tension or disturbances in Juba and other parts of the country," Britain's Foreign Office warned.

The political reshuffle comes as civilians reel from heavy clashes in the troubled eastern state of Jonglei, where fierce fighting between rival ethnic groups have left hundreds of people wounded, and raised fears many others have been killed.
Source:  AFP report reprinted at http://www.france24.com/en/20130724-south-sudan-salva-kiir-sacking-security-forces-president-
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[2]  Report from Radio Tamazuj.org dated Wednesday, 24 July 2013.  Full copy:
South Sudan’s ousted cabinet barred from entering ministries
JUBA, South Sudan - The national ministers who were relieved of duty yesterday are barred from entering their former offices except under escort.
The entire cabinet of 28 ministers as well as all the deputy ministers were removed by decree of President Salva Kiir and have yet to be replaced.

Undersecretaries are now responsible for discharging the functions of their respective ministries and are to report directly to an official in the presidency, Secretary-General of the Government Abdoun Agaw.

Agaw met today with the undersecretaries, state radio in Juba announced this evening. He was quoted as saying that former ministers and deputy ministers will only be allowed into the ministries to remove their personal belongings in the presence of security personnel.

According to a witness who spent the day at one of the ministries at the main ministries complex, very few government employees reported to work today. Some entrances to the complex were unguarded but at least one entrance was manned by soldiers armed with heavy machine guns.
Source:  http://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/south-sudan%E2%80%99s-ousted-cabinet-barred-entering-ministries
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[3]  Report from African Press Organization (APO) dated Thursday, 25 July 2013.  Full copy:
UK Minister for Africa urges restraint after dismissal of south Sudanese Government                                                                                                                      
LONDON, United-Kingdom - FCO urge peaceful response to dismissal of South Sudan government and rapid appointment of new ministers reflecting country's diversity

FCO Minister for Africa Mark Simmonds said:

“I have been concerned by the growing political divisions in South Sudan over the past months, culminating in the decision of President Salva Kiir Mayardit to dismiss his Vice President and all Ministers from the Government of South Sudan on 23 July.

“At a time when South Sudan faces many challenges internally and in its relations with Sudan, it needs strong united leadership, committed to responding to the needs of its people, and resolving its internal conflicts and disputes with Sudan.

“I therefore encourage President Kiir to act quickly to appoint a new government, in accordance with the Interim Constitution, that reflects the diverse groups in South Sudanese society.

“I strongly urge all groups and individuals to respond in a measured and peaceful manner, and to work together to maintain security and the rule of law. We will look to them to engage constructively in the democratic process, for the benefit of South Sudan's peaceful development.”
Source:  APO report reprinted at http://www.icilome.com/nouvelles/news.asp?id=2&idnews=759052
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[4]  Report from Xinhua (Agencies) dated Thursday, 25 July 2013; 08:58.  Full copy:
UN mission closely monitoring situation in South Sudan amid political changes       
UN mission in South Sudan is closely monitoring the situation in the country after its president fired the vice president and dismissed the lead negotiator in talks with Sudan, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) noted that Vice President Riek Machar has publicly stated that he recognizes the President's right to dissolve the government and that he is willing to launch opposition through the electoral process, UN deputy spokesperson Eduardo del Buey told reporters at a daily news briefing.

"The Mission also notes that no actor has challenged the constitutionality of the steps taken by the President," del Buey said, adding that UNMISS is very closely monitoring the situation.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Tuesday sacked his deputy Riek Machar, dissolved the government, and suspended the top negotiator of the world's newest nation with Sudan.
Source:  Reprinted by http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/798929/UN-mission-closely-monitoring-situation-in-South-Sudan-amid-political-changes.aspx
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[5]  Report by Radio Tamazuj.org dated Wednesday, 24 July 2013.   Full copy:
Documents: decrees issued by South Sudan's President 
JUBA, South Sudan - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir announced on Tuesday [23 July 2013] over the state radio in Juba [South Sudan] he was relieving several members of his government in a series of decrees.
Among those relieved are Vice President Riek Machar, every national minister and deputy ministers, 17 brigadiers in the police service and SPLM Secretary Pa’gan Amum.

Amum will be investigated by a committee chaired by Speaker of the Assembly James Wani Igga. The SPLM Secretary is accused of ‘administrative mismanagement’ within the party, and the investigation will report back within 30 days to the president, who is also chairman of the party.

See below the following Orders issued by President Salva Kiir:

RSS/RO/J/14/2013 – Reduction and Restructuring of the Ministries of the National Government of the Republic of South Sudan

SPLM/CPO/J/01/2013 – Suspension and the Formation of the Committee to Investigate the SPLM Secretary General

RSS/RD/J/49/2013 – Relief of the Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan

RSS/RD/J/50/2013 – Relief of National Ministers of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan

RSS/RD/J/51/2013 – Relief of National Deputy Ministers of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan

Restructuring of the ministries.pdf
http://radiotamazuj.org/sites/default/files/Restructuring of the ministries.pdf
Suspension of Pagan Amum.pdf
http://radiotamazuj.org/sites/default/files/Suspension of Pagan Amum_0.pdf
Relief of VP.pdf
http://radiotamazuj.org/sites/default/files/Relief of VP.pdf
Relief of National ministers.pdf
http://radiotamazuj.org/sites/default/files/Relief of National ministers.pdf
Relieve of National Deputy ministers.pdf
http://radiotamazuj.org/sites/default/files/Relieve of National Deputy ministers.pdf 
Source:  http://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/documents-decrees-issued-south-sudans-president
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[6]  UN Security Council Resolution 2109 (2013) Adopted by the Security Council at its 6998th meeting on 11 July 2013
Excerpt re:  UN Peacekeeping operation in South Sudan:  "Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, 1.Decides to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) as set out in paragraph 3 of resolution 1996 (2011) through 15 July 2014;"
Read full document at:  http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/2109%282013%29 
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OTHER NEWS

[7a]  Report by Radio Dabanga published Monday, 22 July 2013.  Full copy: 
UN Chief: ‘Situation in Darfur continues to regress’

NEW YORK - In his latest update to the UN Security Council, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has lamented the continued deterioration of the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur.
“The situation continues to deteriorate, the implementation of the peace agreement signed two years ago in Doha is at an unacceptably slow pace, while most of it has not even commenced. The government and allied militias have imposed increased restrictions for Unamid peacekeepers to investigate insecurity. Only 25 per cent (11 out of 44 units) of the UN military and police units with armoured cars are usable for the minimum required threshold service level.”

These are Ban’s main conclusions in his latest update, signed July 13, 2013, to the Security Council concerning the Unamid peacekeeping operation in Sudan's Darfur.

The Secretary General has a different view than that of members of the Implementation Follow-Up Commission (IFC) for the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) with regard to the 12 May killing of breakaway JEM leader, Mohamed Bashar (see related coverage below).

Mohamed Bashar, leader of a breakaway faction of JEM, his deputy, Suleiman Arko, and other colleagues were killed on 12 May during an attack near the Chad-Sudanese border. Conflicting reports surrounding the circumstances of the attack were issued by JEM-Ibrahim who are accused of carrying out the deadly attack, and the JEM-Bashar faction.

The IFC members condemned the killing of Bashar; reports were conflicting at the time, but they assumed the clash took place in Chad. Members include: Qatar, Chad, China, Egypt, France, Japan, Russian Federation, Sudan, United Kingdom, United States of America, UNAMID, African Union, United Nations, European Union, League of Arab States, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Liberation and Justice Movement, and Justice and Equality Movement-Bashar.

According to Ban, Bashar was killed by another rebel group (JEM-Ibrahim) he had broken away from in order to sign a peace agreement with Khartoum. In his latest update to the UN Security Council, Ban confirms that Bashar was killed inside Darfur while returning from Chad supplied with heavy arms.

Apparently several of the people killed held Chadian nationality. According to Article 399 of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (less formally referred to as the Doha peace agreement), the government should disarm the militias before implementation of the peace agreement can start.

In the 4 June declaration, IFC members did not condemn the killing of a Nigerian peacekeeper by a pro-government militia. Neither did they mention the fact that several civilians were killed in government attacks and bombardments within sight of the Unamid team sites in Labado and Muhajeriya.

According the July report by Ban, an estimated 17,100 civilians took refuge around the two Unamid bases in the first two weeks of April. Widespread movement restrictions imposed by government forces and armed movements prevented the peacekeepers form assessing the situation and to help the casualties.

Radio Dabanga had reported that people were dying in front of the team sites, with no aid provided. The UN Secretary General says in his update: “I condemn, in the strongest terms, the attack on the Unamid base in Muhajeriya which resulted in the death of one peacekeeper.

“Such acts are reprehensible and a violation of international law. I call upon the Government to bring the perpetrators of these heinous acts to justice.”

The UN chief also reiterated that that he is deeply disturbed by the killing of Mohamed Bashar and several other members of his faction. Amongst the slain pro-government militia was its leader Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus. A case against him was scheduled at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

Jerbo and Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain were the main suspects in the killing of 12 African peacekeepers from Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Botswana in Haskanita in 2007. They were charged for war crimes including pillaging, murder and attacking peacekeepers.

Banda is now one of the main implementing officials of the peace agreement on behalf of the government. The UN does not mention the ICC, but refers instead to the Sudan government’s Special Prosecutor saying that “no further details on the types of crimes or the status of their prosecution were provided”.

Doha peace agreement

The UN chief is concerned about the scant implementation of the Doha peace agreement. Two years after the signing of the DDPD, the ceasefire and security arrangements are still pending, as is the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. The reconciliation process is delayed, a micro-finance system for income-generating activities as well as a compensation fund for victims remain outstanding. He quantified the progress as “an unacceptably slow pace”.

In the past three months Unamid was denied access and freedom of movement by the authorities to investigate insecurity 181 times, against 102 times in the previous months. In the reporting period, more than 300,000 people were displaced, as many as the total for all the previous years together.

The report said that paramilitary government forces, specifically the Central Reserve Police (Abu Tira), the Popular Defence Forces (an Islamist militia) and the border guards previously known as Janjaweed were often identified by survivors.

The UN chief hails the results of the Darfur donor conference in April 2013. A pledge of $3.6 billion was made against the $7.2 billion identified as funding needs, the main part coming from Sudan itself ($2,6 billion) and from Qatar.

The secretary general concludes that potential donors have indicated a reluctance to commit funds given the little progress in the implementation of the Doha peace agreement.

File photo: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (Mark Garten/UN Photo)
Source:  http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/53714
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[7b] A deterioration in the security situation in Darfur,  Sudan - UN peacekeeping chief visits Sudan

HERE are some extracts from a Press Release by UNAMID (the UN-AU Mission in Darfur) dated 05 July 2013 entitled "UN peacekeeping chief visits Sudan":
  • 300,000 displaced since the beginning of this year
  • On 03 July 2013 three peacekeepers were injured in an ambush on a UNAMID convoy near Labado, East Darfur, Sudan
  • On 03 July 2013 the head of UN peacekeeping Hervé Ladsous visited East Darfur, Sudan
  • On 04 July 2013 Hervé Ladsous met with Sudan's President Bashir and other senior officials of the Government of Sudan
On 05 July 2013, Hervé Ladsous, accompanied by the Joint Special Representative and head of the African Union - United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, wrapped up a visit to Sudan.

During the visit, which began on 03 July, Mr. Ladsous travelled to El Daein, East Darfur State, where he met with the Wali (Governor) and other members of local government, leaders of Native Administration and civil society, as well as internally displaced people at Neem camp. He also had extensive discussions with UNAMID personnel. In Khartoum, Mr. Ladsous met with President Omar Al-Bashir and other senior officials of the Government of Sudan.

Speaking to the press in Khartoum on 04 July, the USG expressed concern over the recent intensification of conflict in Darfur and its impact on the civilian population. “We have witnessed a deterioration in the security situation. More people have been displaced—over 300,000 since the beginning of this year—due mostly to tribal clashes,” the head of UN peacekeeping said.

Mr. Ladsous called on all parties to cease hostilities and praised the efforts of UNAMID peacekeepers, who serve in very difficult circumstances, to protect civilians, secure the delivery of aid and support the peace process.

Speaking to the press in Khartoum, Sudan on 04 July 2013, Hervé Ladsous stated that on 03 July, three peacekeepers were injured in an ambush on a UNAMID convoy near Labado, East Darfur. “Attacks on peacekeepers are a crime,” he said, adding that in violation of international humanitarian law a UNAMID ambulance was fired upon by the unidentified armed group that had mounted the ambush. Condemning the incident and noting the peacekeepers’ robust response to the attack, the USG stressed that the perpetrators must be apprehended and prosecuted.

Source:  UNAMID Press Release at:  http://unamid.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=11027&ctl=Details&mid=14214&ItemID=22527&language=en-US
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[8a]  Report by Xinhua English.news.cn published Wednesday, 24 July 2013;  22:32:57.  Full copy:
Sudanese army repulses rebel attack in North Kordofan [Central Sudan]   

KHARTOUM, Sudan - The Sudanese army on Wednesday said it had repulsed an attack by the rebel Revolutionary Front in Al-Sidra area in North Kordofan state, official SUNA news agency reported.

"The remnants of the so-called Revolutionary Front this morning launched a heinous attack against Al-Sidra village in North Kordofan state with the aim to rob citizens of their money," the agency quoted Al-Sawarmy Khalid Saad, the Sudanese army spokesman, as saying.

He further said that the Sudanese armed forces repulsed the remnants of the rebels, inflicted on them huge casualties and equipment losses and forced them to flee the attack scene.

He said the area was now under the full control of the Sudanese armed forces, noting that five soldiers were killed during the clashes with the rebels.

South Kordofan state has been witnessing armed clashes since 2011 between the Sudanese army and the People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector, which has formed the Revolutionary Front with a number of Darfur armed movements.

Last April, the rebel alliance, which brought together the SPLM/ northern sector, Darfur's Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the Sudan Liberation Army's Abdul-Wahid Mohamed Nur faction and the Minni Minawi faction, attacked Um Rawaba and Abu Karshula areas in North and South Kordofan states.

Khartoum accuses South Sudan of supporting the SPLM/northern sector, while Juba denies the allegation.  (Editor: yan)
Source:  http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/2013-07/24/c_132571074.htm
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[8b]  Report from AFP by Ian Timberlake dated Wednesday, 24 July 2013.  Full copy:
Sudan army, rebels clash ahead of oil deadline

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Sudanese rebels clashed with troops in North Kordofan Wednesday, both sides said, days before a Khartoum deadline to halt South Sudan's oil exports over allegations it is backing the insurgents. 
The Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfur-based group which is part of a wider rebel alliance, said it attacked a military convoy and captured the garrison at Sidrah, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of El Rahad town.

The attack ended weeks of relative calm in the area.

"Fighting is still going on," JEM spokesman Gibril Adam Bilal told AFP early Wednesday.

The army later confirmed an attack against Sidrah but said it forced the rebels to flee, leaving government forces in control of the area.

"The aim of their attack was to loot the civilian population," the official SUNA news agency quoted army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad as saying.

A Rahad resident told AFP: "We hear shooting and explosions.

"Authorities closed the schools and asked students to go home," the resident added, asking to remain anonymous because of the situation.

The JEM and two factions of the Sudan Liberation Army in Darfur belong to the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), an alliance with insurgents fighting in South Kordofan state south of Sidrah, and in Blue Nile.

The SRF staged its first joint operation in April, sweeping through a previously peaceful part of North Kordofan near Sidrah as part of coordinated attacks in the region.

Analysts said those rebel strikes humiliated the authorities, who took a month to retake one of the seized areas, Abu Kershola.

In June, Khartoum gave oil companies 60 days to stop transporting crude from South Sudan through a Sudanese export pipeline after President Omar al-Bashir accused the Juba government of backing the rebels in the north.

There has been confusion, however, about whether the 60 days is merely a warning period, with a shutdown possible after that deadline, which expires around August 7.

A source close to the oil industry said on Wednesday that full preparations to close the pipeline had not begun and crude was still flowing.

"Yes it's flowing," the source said.

An oil analyst earlier told AFP that 45 days would be required to complete a shutdown without damaging the infrastructure.

Juba denies supporting the insurgents and in turn says Khartoum assists rebels on southern soil.

Observers say that, in reality, both governments have aided each other's rebels.

On Monday, the African Union and east African bloc, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, inaugurated a panel to probe allegations of rebel support by each side.

Regional nations also began determining the centreline of a demilitarised buffer zone that is to straddle the 2,000-kilometre (1,250-mile) undemarcated border between the two countries.

The buffer zone is designed to cut cross-border rebel support.

While this process and the investigation of alleged rebel support take place, the AU and IGAD called on both states "to refrain from any unilateral action", an AU statement said on Monday.

South Sudan separated two years ago with most of the formerly united country's oil production but the pipelines and the Red Sea export terminal remained in the north.

After a fee dispute and intermittent border clashes, South Sudan in April resumed pumping its oil, which began slowly moving towards the Port Sudan terminal.

The South's export revenues, and the fees due Khartoum for use of the infrastructure, are potentially worth billions of dollars to both impoverished nations.

"The Sudanese government's priority is the insurgency; there are unlikely to be any positive developments in negotiations with South Sudan... if it continues," the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based independent research project, said in a briefing paper this month.

Earlier in July, Khartoum transferred Ahmed Haroun, the governor of South Kordofan, to take over the running of his native region North Kordofan.

Haroun is wanted by The Hague-based International Criminal Court on 22 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur.

Photo:  Sudanese army soldiers pictured in Abu Kershola in South Kordofan after capturing the town from Sudan Revolutionary Front rebels, May 28, 2013. Sudanese rebels clashed with troops in North Kordofan Wednesday, both sides said, days before a Khartoum deadline to halt South Sudan's oil exports over allegations it is backing the insurgents. (AFP/File)
Source:   AFP report reprinted at http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/07/24/sudan-army-rebels-clash-ahead-oil-deadline/#ixzz2ZyywOBmz
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[9a]  Seven Tanzanian UNAMID peacekeepers killed and 17 others injured in ambush in Darfur on 12 July 2013

Report from UN MultiMedia dated 18 July 2013 can be found at:
http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2013/07/seven-tanzanian-unamid-peacekeepers-killed-and-17-others-injured-in-ambush-in-darfur-sudan/
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[9b]  UNAMID peacekeepers killed, injured in South Darfur ambush

UNAMID Press Release from El Fasher, Darfur, western Sudan 13 July 2013.  Excerpt:
On 13 July, a joint patrol of the African Union - United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was ambushed in South Darfur.

The incident, which began at 9:00 hours, occurred approximately 25 kilometers west of the Mission's Khor Abeche team site.

The UNAMID team came under heavy fire from a large unidentified group. Following an extended firefight, the patrol was extracted by UNAMID reinforcements that arrived from the Mission's Khor Abeche and Manawashi team sites. Seven UNAMID military peacekeepers were killed and 17 military and Police personnel, among them two female Police Advisers, were wounded.

"The Mission condemns in the strongest possible terms those responsible for this heinous attack on our peacekeepers," said UNAMID Joint Special Representative Mohamed Ibn Chambas. "The perpetrators should be on notice that they will be pursued for this crime and gross violation of international humanitarian law."

Photo:  UNAMID peacekeepers, based in Khor Abeche, South Darfur, drive in one of the Armored Personnel Carriers that was damaged during the attack.  Photo by Albert González Farran, UNAMID.
Source:  http://unamid.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=11027&ctl=Details&mid=14214&ItemID=22537&language=en-US
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[9c]  Tanzania bids farewell to its departed heroes

Report from The National Citizen entitled "Tanzania bids farewell to its departed heroes", written by Katare Mbashiru (email the author) published Monday, 22 July 2013;  19:17.  Excerpts: 
[Tanzanian] President Kikwete, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, led senior government officials and top army officers in bidding farewell to Sergeant Shaibu Othman, Corporal Oswald Chaula, Corporal Mohammed Juma Ali, Corporal Mohammed Chokizo, Private Rodney Ndunguru, Private Fortunatus Msofe and Private Peter Muhiri Werema. [...]
The soldiers were killed when gunmen ambushed a convoy of African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (Unamid) peacekeepers in southern Darfur on July 13. Seventeen others were wounded in the worst attack in Unamid’s five-year history. 
Full story at:  http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/Tanzania-bids-farewell-to-its-departed-heroes/-/1840392/1923262/-/xjlmq7z/-/index.html
+ + + R.I.P. + + +

[10]  Report by Xinhua dated Saturday, 20 July 2013:   
Sudan files complaint to African Union against Uganda's support for rebels

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Sudan has filed a complaint to the African Union (AU) against Uganda over its support for rebel insurgency against Khartoum, Almeghar Alsyasi daily reported Saturday.  The paper quoted Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Rahamtalla Mohamed Osman as saying that the Sudanese government "is waiting for the AU's response to its complaint."
Full story at this blog's sister site Uganda Watch, Sunday 21 July 2013:
http://ugandawatch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/sudan-files-complaint-to-au-against.html
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[11]  DR Congo:  Heavy fighting has resumed between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group in the Mutaho-Kibati area, near Goma, in N. Kivu Province, DRC

Excerpt from Monday, 22 July 2013 Daily Press Briefing by the UN's Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General:
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [MONUSCO] reports that heavy fighting has resumed between the Congolese army and the M23 [23 March Movement] armed group in the Mutaho-Kibati area, near Goma, in North Kivu Province.

The Mission, MONUSCO, adds that after exchanging intermittent fire over the weekend, both sides are now using small arms, mortars and rockets.  The Mission reiterates its call for restraint and its peacekeepers in the area remain on high alert.
Source:  http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2013/db130722.doc.htm
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[12]  DR Congo:  Over 30,000 Congolese flee rebel attacks to Uganda: UN
Report from KAMPALA, Uganda by AFP dated 13 July 2013.  Excerpt:
More than 30,000 refugees from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo fleeing a rebel attack on the town of Kamango have arrived in neighbouring Uganda, UN officials said on Saturday...
Full story at this blog's sister site Congo Watch, Monday 22 July 2013:
http://congowatch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/dr-congo-over-30000-congolese-flee.html
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[13]  CAR:  Communiqué of AU PSC on situation in the Central African Republic (CAR)
From the Communiqué of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 386th meeting on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) [Last Updated on Friday, 19 July 2013]: 
"The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 386th meeting held on 19 July 2013, adopted the following decision on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR)...[...]   6. Decides, on the basis of the concept of operations, annexed to the report of the Chairperson of the Commission, to authorize the deployment, for an initial period of six months, of AFISM-CAR, which will have a total strength of 3 652, including 3 500 uniformed personnel (2,475 for the military component and 1,025 for the police component) and 152 civilians, the nucleus of which will be constituted by the contingents currently serving in MICOPAX, in order to contribute to: (i) the protection of civilians and the restoration of security and public order, through the implementation of appropriate measures; (ii) the stabilization of the country and the restoration of the authority of the central Government; (iii) the reform and restructuring of the defense and security sector; and (iv) the creation of conditions conducive for the provision of humanitarian assistance to population in need;"
Full story published at this blog's sister site Congo Watch, Friday, 19 July 2013:
http://congowatch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/car-communique-of-au-psc-on-situation.html
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Thursday, July 18, 2013

URGENT: South Sudan army says it and UN unable to protect civilians in Jonglei State. Western powers are worried the violence will escalate into full civil war. (UPDATE 1: Added YouTube video link)

  • Fighting in South Sudan cuts off 100,000 people from aid
  • South Sudan army says it and UN unable to protect civilians in Jonglei
  • Fighting in South Sudan forces thousands into bush
  • South Sudan fails to protect civilians in east, US say
  • Western powers are worried the violence will escalate into full civil war   

Note by the Editor of Sudan Watch:
HERE below is an alarming news report by Agence France Presse (AFP), published online yesterday (Wednesday 17 July 2013).  If the report is true and accurate, and considering what happened between the Lou Nuer and Murle people in December 2011 (reportedly, thousands were massacred), it could be a dreadful warning that many people in South Sudan are about to lose their lives. 

The AFP report copied below is followed by a few news reports.  I selected the reports for this blog post.  Note that one of the reports by Reuters ends by saying:  "A cycle of tribal violence has killed more than 1,600 people in Jonglei since South Sudan's secession, hampering plans to explore for oil with the help of France's Total and U.S. firm Exxon".

Finally, here are a few points taken from some of the other news reports, particularly regarding tribal clashes in Jonglei State, South Sudan:
  • Western powers are worried the violence will escalate into full civil war   
  • UN humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos said the new fighting made it impossible to supply some 100,000 people in Pibor county in Jonglei State with "life-saving assistance.  The fighting is threatening the lives of ordinary people," Amos said in a statement.   The United Nations did not have enough helicopters to deliver aid to Jonglei where overland travel is impossible in the rainy reason, she said.  
  • Medicins sans Frontiers (MSF), one of the few aid groups operating in Jonglei, said more than 120,000 people had been forced to flee clashes between the army and Yau Yau rebels.
  • Last week, the United States, South Sudan's biggest ally, said Juba was not doing enough to protect civilians and urged the army to stop attacking U.N. staff and looting aid agencies.
  • Separate tribal clashes were also reported in Unity state, site of several oilfields

South Sudan army says it and UN unable to protect civilians:  Minister
Wednesday 17 July 2013 - JUBA, South Sudan (Agence France Presse (AFP)) - South Sudan's deputy defence chief has said neither his troops nor United Nations peacekeepers are able to protect civilians in conflict-wracked Jonglei, where thousands of rival ethnic militiamen are fighting.

Video footage from eastern South Sudan's Jonglei shot by UN officials and seen by AFP show columns of heavily armed fighters from the Lou Nuer people marching past, watched on by a small force of government troops and UN peacekeepers.

"Much as we believe in the ideals of the responsibility to protect, our mandate as the government and the mandate of the UN cannot match with resources that are there," South Sudan's deputy minister of defence Majak D'Agoot told AFP late Tuesday.

The video was shot Sunday in the village of Manyabol in Pibor County, when the UN went to support the pickup of some 200 wounded fighters -- casualties from almost two weeks of fighting in the latest round of reprisal attacks sparked by age-old ethnic rivalry and cattle raiding.

The video shows fighters apparently returning towards their homelands, some leading stolen cattle.

The numbers of fighters suggest attacks on a scale comparable to those of December 2011, when some 8,000 Lou Nuer marched on Pibor, home town of their long-term rivals, the Murle people.

The UN later estimated more than 600 people were massacred in those attacks, although local officials reported the figure to have been far higher, while killings continued in a series of reprisal attacks.

D'Agoot said that in Manyabol the army had only one company, alongside a handful of UN peacekeepers, and that they were vastly outnumbered by as many as 7,000 militia gunmen.

Taking action in those circumstances would have been "suicidal", he said.

Hilde Johnson, head of the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), said she had not seen the video her force had shot, but said that peacekeepers had sighted Lou Nuer forces and were "verifying that they were moving north on their return home".

Tit-for-tat cattle raids and reprisal killings are common in this severely under-developed state, awash with guns left over from almost two decades of civil war.

But recent attacks are on larger scale, with organised and well armed forces fighting.

South Sudan's rebel-turned-official army has also been fighting in the region to crush a rebellion led by David Yau Yau, who comes from the Murle people, since 2010.

View original report reprinted at:
http://www.omantribune.com/index.php?page=news&id=148596
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RELATED NEWS REPORTS

Fighting in South Sudan cuts off 100,000 people from aid
Wednesday 17 July 2013 - JUBA, South Sudan (By Andrew Green, Reuters) - Fighting between government forces, rebels and rival tribes has cut off 100,000 people from urgently needed food and medical aid in South Sudan's east, U.N. and aid officials said on Wednesday.

South Sudan's army is facing a rebellion from local politician David Yau Yau in the vast Jonglei state, and new clashes have broken out between the rival Lou Nuer and Murle tribes.

Western powers are worried the violence will escalate into full civil war, undermining stability in the young African country, where weapons are plentiful after decades of conflict with Khartoum that led to its secession from Sudan in 2011.

U.N. humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos said the new fighting made it impossible to supply some 100,000 people in Pibor county in Jonglei State with "life-saving assistance".

"The fighting is threatening the lives of ordinary people," Amos said in a statement. The United Nations did not have enough helicopters to deliver aid to Jonglei where overland travel is impossible in the rainy reason, she said.

Medicins sans Frontiers (MSF), one of the few aid groups operating in Jonglei, said more than 120,000 people had been forced to flee clashes between the army and Yau Yau rebels.

A United Nations source said armed Lou Nuer youth had attacked several Murle villages in the past two weeks. Fighters loyal to Yau Yau, who is popular with his Murle tribe, had come to help fight back.

Separate tribal clashes were also reported in Unity state, site of several oilfields. In one incident, attackers apparently burnt a hut in a village with a woman and three children inside, said a U.N. source, asking not to be named.

The United Nations has not published any casualty figures of the Jonglei fighting despite a large presence of peacekeepers. Critics say the world body does not want to embarrass the government.

South Sudan accuses Khartoum of supplying Yau Yau with weapons. Diplomats say the claims are credible but South Sudan's army is also fuelling dissent with abuses such as rape, killings and torture committed during a state disarmament campaign.

Last week, the United States, South Sudan's biggest ally, said Juba was not doing enough to protect civilians and urged the army to stop attacking U.N. staff and looting aid agencies.

South Sudan has struggled to turn its army, a loose group of former guerrillas formed during the civil war, into a professional force.

Tribal violence has killed more than 1,600 people in Jonglei since South Sudan's secession, hampering plans to explore for oil with the help of France's Total and U.S. firm Exxon.
(Reporting by Andrew Green in Juba and Ulf Laessing in Cairo; Editing by Michael Roddy)

View original report at:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/17/uk-southsudan-fighting-idUKBRE96G11N20130717
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Fighting in South Sudan forces thousands into bush
Sunday 14 July 2013;  12:17pm EDT - JUBA, South Sudan (By Andrew Green, Reuters) - Fighting between South Sudan's army, rebels and rival tribes has sent thousands of people fleeing into the bush in the east of the country, U.N. and aid officials said on Sunday.

South Sudan's army is facing a rebellion from local politician David Yau Yau in the vast Jonglei state, and new clashes have broken out between rival Lou Nuer and Murle tribes.

Western powers are worried the violence will escalate into full civil war, undermining stability in the young African country, which is awash with arms after decades of conflict with Khartoum that led to its secession from Sudan in 2011.

The United Nations said thousands of people were hiding in the bush outside Pibor town in Jonglei to escape from conflict between the army and Yau Yau, who says he is fighting corruption, army abuses and one-party rule in South Sudan.

"The communities are in urgent need of medical attention," Toby Lanzer, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, said in a statement.

At least 200 wounded people had arrived in the Jonglei town of Manyabol after fleeing clashes between the Lou Murle and Murle, the U.N. said. Bringing in aid was difficult as the rainy season had made overland travel impossible.

A United Nations source said armed Lou Nuer youth had attacked at least three Murle villages in the past two weeks. Fighters loyal to Yau Yau, who is popular with his Murle tribe, had come to help fight back.

South Sudan's army spokesman Philip Aguer confirmed there had been new fighting in Jonglei but gave no details.

South Sudan accuses Khartoum of supplying Yau Yau with weapons. Diplomats say the claims are credible but South Sudan's army is also fuelling dissent with abuses such as rape, killings and torture committed during a state disarmament campaign.

Last week, the United States, South Sudan's biggest ally, said Juba was not doing enough to protect civilians and urged the army to stop attacking U.N. staff and looting aid agencies.

South Sudan has struggled to turn its army, a loose group of former guerrillas formed during the civil war, into a professional force.

A cycle of tribal violence has killed more than 1,600 people in Jonglei since South Sudan's secession, hampering plans to explore for oil with the help of France's Total and U.S. firm Exxon.

(Writing by Ulf Laessing in Cairo; Editing by Andrew Roche)

View original report at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/14/us-southsudan-fighting-idUSBRE96D08120130714
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South Sudan fails to protect civilians in east, U.S. says
Wednesday 10 July 2013 - JUBA, South Sudan/KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) - The United States issued a rare criticism of South Sudan on Wednesday, saying the African state was failing to protect civilians in the east where the army is fighting an insurgency.

Western powers have long urged Juba to find a peaceful solution to fighting involving the army, a rebel group and rival tribes in the vast Jonglei state but have so far mostly refrained from criticizing the government.

A United Nations source said new fighting erupted a week ago between the rival Lou Nuer and Murle tribes in the Pibor area in Jonglei, killing an unknown number of people.

More violence was expected as armed youths from both sides were amassing forces in the area, the source said. A U.N. team visiting the town said that most civilians had left Pibor, contrary to government figures, the United Nations said in a report.

The United States, South Sudan's biggest ally, said it was "deeply disappointed" that the army, or SPLA, had failed to protect civilians in vulnerable areas in Jonglei.

"The lack of action to protect civilians constitutes an egregious abdication of responsibility by the SPLA and the civilian government," the U.S. embassy in Juba said in a statement.

Washington urged the government to prevent "SPLA attacks on U.N. staff and humanitarian assets". It gave no details but soldiers had looted compounds of U.N. agencies and aid agencies in Pibor in May, according to aid sources.

South Sudan has struggled to turn its army, a loose group of former guerrillas formed the civil war with Khartoum, into a professional force since seceding from Sudan in 2011 under a 2005 peace deal. The U.S. was a driving force in pressuring Khartoum into allowing an independence vote.

The army has faced a rebellion by militia leader David Yau Yau but diplomats say the SPLA is fuelling dissent with abuses such as rape and torture committed during a state disarmament campaign.

A cycle of tribal violence has killed more than 1,600 people in Jonglei since South Sudan's secession, uprooting tens of thousands of civilians and hampering plans to explore for oil with the help of France's Total and U.S. firm Exxon.

Analysts say the roots of the tribal violence and cattle raids go back to South Sudan's failure to start development in Jonglei and elsewhere in the vast country due to corruption.

(Reporting by Andrew Green and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Michael Roddy)

View original report at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/10/us-southsudan-fighting-idUSBRE96910E20130710
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Click on labels at the end of this post to see previous reports in the archives of Sudan Watch re:  Jonglei, Pibor, Lou Nuer, Murle, Yau Yau, Unity State - at the end of each page click on the hyperlink entitled "Click HERE to scroll down" and keep on scrolling down, page by page.

This blog post was published on Thursday 18 July 2013 at 6:03pm GMT, England, United Kingdom.

UPDATE ON FRIDAY 19 JULY 2013: 
Here is a link to the above mentioned video.  The video was published (source unknown) at YouTube on Thursday 18 July 2013 together with the following title and text:

"UN and SPLA do nothing as thousands of government supported militia go by
Shocked UN peacekeeper in South Sudan village of Manyabol, Jonglei on July 14 2013 narrates video of "thousands and thousands" of member of a government supported militia thought to be returning home from ethnic violence in Jonglei state marching past them and government troops with stolen cattle after violent clashes which have already led to hundreds of wounded. No action was taken to stop them or even to make this sighting public."



Here is a link to the above video, title and text:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_fFxBIJWzw

Monday, March 25, 2013

Sudan: Interior Minister requests Interpol to arrest Darfur rebels. Central African Republic: Seleka rebel coalition seizes capital Bangui - CAR president flees to DR Congo - France sends troops to CAR (UPDATE 1: CAR president flees to Cameroon)

SUDAN'S Interior Minister has requested Interpol to arrest the leaders of three Darfur rebel groups, namely:  JEM, SLM-Abdul Wahid and SLA-Minni Minawi.  Reportedly, the three groups have recently formed an alliance with the SPLM-N -the revolutionary front alliance- with the aim of toppling the democratically elected Government of Sudan. 

Meanwhile, in Central African Republic (CAR), the Seleka rebel coalition appears to have seized CAR's capital city Bangui.  More than 170,000 people are estimated to have been displaced within CAR and others are fleeing to Chad and to DRC.  CAR President Bozize is said to have fled to DRC.  France announced on Sunday afternoon (24 March 2013) that it would be sending another 350 troops to CAR to join the 250 already there.  It is expected that the extra troops may be redeployed from Mali, where France has been fighting an Islamist insurgency.  The French have called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the deteriorating situation.

Further details here below.

Sudan's interior minister requests Interpol to arrest Darfur rebels

KHARTOUM, Sunday, 24 March 2013 (Xinhua) - Sudanese Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud has requested the Interpol to arrest leaders of the rebel movements in Sudan's Darfur region, Khartoum Almeghar Alsyasi daily reported.

The paper quoted the minister as saying that "the Darfur rebels are criminals that must be pursued by the Interpol and brought to justice."

Mahmoud further urged the rebel movements to join the peace negotiations, adding that the rebels targeted the citizens and engaged in criminal behavior for which they should be punished, according to the report.

He also noted that all the Darfur people are rejecting the rebellion.

Three Darfur rebel movements are rejecting to sit down at the negotiation table with the Sudanese government including the Justice and Equality  Movement (JEM), the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)/Abdul-Wahid Mohamed Nur faction and the SLA/Minni Minawi faction.

The three movements have recently formed an alliance with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector -the revolutionary front alliance- with the aim to topple the government.

The African Union Peace and Security Council has recently urged the Darfur armed movements to join the negotiations to reach a peaceful settlement for the conflict in the region.

Source:  English.news.cn 2013-03-24; 16:23:02.  Editor: Hou Qiang
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/2013-03/24/c_132258352.htm
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Central African Republic (CAR):  Rebels seize CAR's capital city
  • Seleka rebel coalition seizes Bangui, the capital city of CAR 
  •  CAR President Francois Bozize is said to have fled to DR Congo 
  • 170,000+ people displaced in CAR and others fleeing to Chad and to DR Congo
  • CAR has extensive deposits of uranium, crude oil, gold and diamonds
According to the below copied report from Sky News in the UK, the president of the Central African Republic (CAR) has fled to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the Seleka rebel coalition seizes CAR's capital city Bangui.

France announced on Sunday afternoon (24 March) it would be sending another 350 troops to CAR to join the 250 already there.  It is expected that the extra troops may be redeployed from Mali, where France has been fighting an Islamist insurgency.  The French have called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the deteriorating situation.

Note that the report ends by saying:  "CAR regularly languishes closes to the bottom of the lists of the world's poorest countries despite extensive deposits of uranium, crude oil, gold and diamonds".

Also, according to the below copied report from BBC News online, a Paris-based rebel spokesman Eric Massi told AFP news agency that the rebels had secured Bangui and military camps and were deploying across the capital "to launch security operations and prevent looting".  But Amy Martin of  the UN's humanitarian agency, OCHA, told the BBC World Service that looting was happening, and more than 170,000 people are estimated to have been displaced within CAR and others are fleeing to Chad and to DRC.

South African peacekeepers in CAR to support CAR government troops suffered casualties but failed to stop the rebel advance.  Observers say CAR President Francois Bozize kept his army weak because he was afraid of a military coup.  He came to power himself in a coup in 2003.  CAR, which has a population of about 4.5 million, has been hit by a series of rebellions since independence from France in 1960.

Full story at Congo Watch (a sister site of Sudan Watch) Monday, 25 March 2013:  http://congowatch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/central-african-republic-seleka-rebel.html
- - -

UPDATE 1 on Monday, 25 March 2013; 3:15pm UK:

C. African Republic president flees to Cameroon
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (Associated Press) - The president of CAR fled to neighboring Cameroon on Monday, as the rebels who overthrew him began squabbling who would now lead the impoverished nation long wracked by rebellions.   The government of Cameroon confirmed Monday [25 March] that Bozize is seeking "temporary" refuge there before leaving for another unspecified country.  Full story at:  http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/story/21782944/c-african-rebel-consider-me-head-of-state

Situation in the Central African Republic
WASHINGTON, 25 March 2013/(APO)/ - US Department of State Press Statement: http://appablog.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/situation-in-the-central-african-republic-2/

Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General on the situation in the Central African Republic
NEW YORK, 25 March 2013/ (APO)/ – The Secretary-General condemns the unconstitutional seizure of power that took place in the Central African Republic (CAR) on 24 March 2013 and calls for the swift restoration of constitutional order. He reiterates that the Libreville Agreements, negotiated by the Heads of States and Government of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), remain the most viable framework to ensure durable peace and stability in the country.  Full story at:  http://appablog.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/statement-attributable-to-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-on-the-situation-in-the-central-african-republic/
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Saturday, March 16, 2013

FULL TEXT: Nine Agreements between Sudan and South Sudan Sept. 2012 re: Cooperation, Security, Borders, Cross Border Trade, Banking, Post Service Benefits, Citizenship and Status of Nationals, Certain Economic Matters, Oil; plus two Agreements March 2013 re: Implementation Modalities for Security Arrangements & Adoption of Implementation Matrix incl. Abyei Area (TASA)

ON 27 September 2012, nine agreements between Sudan and South Sudan were signed, under the auspices of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.  The nine agreements (links to which are listed here below) concern:  Cooperation, Oil, Security, Nationals, Post Service Benefits, Trade, Banking, Border Issues, Certain Economic Matters.

On Friday 08 March 2013, an "Agreement on Implementation Modalities" was signed between Sudan and South Sudan at the Extraordinary Meeting of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) in Addis Ababa.  The agreement consists of a detailed plan and timetable for the full implementation of all the elements of the "Agreement on Security Arrangements" between Sudan and South Sudan signed on 27 September 2012. 

The "Agreement on Implementation Modalities" commits Sudan and South Sudan to a set of actions beginning on “D‐Day”, Sunday 10 March 2013, including unconditional withdrawal of all forces to their side of the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone (SDBZ) and the deployment of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM), with logistical support and logistical protection provided by the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

The two Governments committed themselves to implementing these steps in an unconditional and coordinated manner.  The signing of the "Agreement on Implementation Modalities" removes the sole remaining obstacle to the full implementation of the nine agreements signed by the two Presidents on 27 September 2012.   

Here below are links to a copy of each of the nine agreements, followed by a link to the agreement on modalities for the implementation of the "Agreement on Security Arrangements" between Sudan and South Sudan, plus a link to an agreement entitled "Adoption of Implementation Matrix by The Republic of the Sudan and The Republic of South Sudan" signed in Addis Ababa on Tuesday 12 March 2013.

SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDAN'S NINE BILATERAL AGREEMENTS 
SIGNED ON 27 SEPTEMBER 2012

- The Cooperation Agreement
- Security Arrangements
- Borders
- Cross Border Trade
- Banking
- Post Service Benefits
- Citizenship and the Status of Nationals
- Certain Economic Matters
- Oil

The Cooperation Agreement

Full text of the 27 September 2012 Cooperation Agreement creating a vehicle for ratification of the eight other agreements by national assemblies within forty days and committing to expeditiously completing negotiations on the disputed and claimed areas.  Agreement provides that the AUHIP will continue to engage on the issue of Abyei with the African Union and the UN Security Council.

Title:  The Cooperation Agreement between The Republic of the Sudan and The Republic of South Sudan
Date:  Addis Ababa, 27 September 2012
Signed by:
H.E. Omar Hassan Al Bashir, President of the Republic of the Sudan, On behalf of The Government of the Republic of Sudan.
H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Repbulic of South Sudan, On behalf of The Government of the Republic of South Sudan. 
Witnessed by:
H.E. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, Chairperson, African Union High Level Implementation Panel, On behalf of the AUHIP.
H.E. Haile Mariam Dessalegne, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, On behalf of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development.
View full copy online at: 
http://www.rssnegotiationteam.org/cooperation-framework.html - or: 
http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2012/09/The-Cooperation-Agreement-Between-Sudan-and-South-Sudan0001.pdf

Security Arrangements

Full text of the 27 September 2012 Agreement on Security Arrangements, safe demilitarised border zone and special arrangements for complete demilitarisation of 14 Mile area.

Title:  Agreement on Security Arrangements between The Republic of the Sudan and The Republic of South Sudan
Date:  Addis Ababa, 27 September 2012
Signed by: 
H.E. Lt Gen (PSC) Eng. Abdulrahim Mohamed Hussien, Minister of Defence, On behalf of The Republic of the Sudan. 
H.E. John Kong Nyuon, Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, On behalf of The Republic of South Sudan.
Witnessed by: 
H.E. General Abdusalami Abubakar, On behalf of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel for Sudan.
View full copy online at:
http://www.rssnegotiationteam.org/security-arrangements.html - or:
http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2012/09/Agreement-on-Security-Arrangements-2709120001.pdf

Borders

Full text of the 27 September 2012 agreement to "soft border" principles and commitment to demarcate the border through a joint demarcation committee.

Title:  Agreement between The Republic of the Sudan and The Republic of South Sudan on Border Issues
Date:  Addis Ababa, 27 September 2012
Signed by:
H.E. Idriss Abdel Gadir, On behalf of The Republic of the Sudan. 
H.E. Pagan Amum Okiech, On behalf of The Republic of South Sudan.
Witnessed by:  H.E. Pierre Buyoya, On behalf of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel.
View copy online at: 
http://www.rssnegotiationteam.org/borders.html - or:
http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2012/09/Agreement-on-Border-Issues-2709120001.pdf

Cross Border Trade

Full text of the 27 September 2012 agreement committing to establish a joint ministerial committee on trade relations to address bilateral trade questions including customs cooperation, banking relations, combating cross-border smuggling and money-laundering, trade related dispute mechanisms and usage of ports for non-oil goods.

Title:  Agreement on Trade and Trade Related Issues between The Republic of the Sudan and The Republic of Sudan Sudan
Date:  Addis Ababa, 27 September 2012
Signed by:
H.E. Idriss Abdel Gadir, On behalf of The Republic of the Sudan. 
H.E. Pagan Amum Okiech, On behalf of The Republic of South Sudan.
Witnessed by:  H.E. Pierre Buyoya, On behalf of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel.
View full copy online at: 
http://www.rssnegotiationteam.org/cross-border-trade.html - or:
http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2012/09/Agreement-on-trade-Sudan-South-Sudan-2709120001.pdf

Banking

Full text of the 27 September 2012 agreement to establish Joint Central Banks Committee and confirming the protection of the rights of commercial banks operating in both countries.

Title:  Agreement on a Framework for Cooperation on Central Banking Issues between The Republic of the Sudan and The Republic of South Sudan
Date:  Addis Ababa, 27 September 2012
Signed by: 
H.E. Idriss Abdel Gadir, On behalf of The Republic of the Sudan.
H.E. Pagan Amum Okiech, On behalf of The Republic of South Sudan.
Witnessed by:
H.E. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, Chairperson, African Union High Level Implementation Panel, On behalf of the AUHIP.
View full copy online at:
http://www.rssnegotiationteam.org/banking.html - or:
http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2012/09/Agreement-on-Banking-2709120001.pdf

Post Service Benefits

Full text of the 27 September 2012 agreement recognising reciprocal obligation to pay pensioners benefits notwithstanding change in citizenship and commitment to establish Joint Technical Committee on Pensions.

Title:  Framework Agreement to Facilitate Payment of Post Service Benefits between The Republic of the Sudan and The Repubic of Sudan Sudan
Date:  Addis Ababa, 27 September 2012
Signed by:
H.E. Idriss Abdel Gadir, On behalf of The Republic of the Sudan. 
H.E. Pagan Amum Okiech, On behalf of The Republic of South Sudan.
Witnessed by: 
H.E. General Abdusalami Abubakar, On behalf of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel.
View full copy online at: 
http://www.rssnegotiationteam.org/post-service-benefits.html - or:
http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2012/09/Agreement-on-Post-Service-Benefits-SudanSouth-S0001.pdf

Certain Economic Matters

Full text of the 27 September 2012 agreement between the parties that Republic of Sudan retain all external debt liabilities and assets as predecessor state with corresponding commitment to joint-creditor outreach strategy.

Title:  Agreement between The Republic of the Sudan and The Republic of South Sudan on Certain Economic Matters
Date:  Addis Ababa, 27 September 2012
Signed by: 
H.E. Idriss Abdel Gadir, On behalf of The Republic of the Sudan.
H.E. Pagan Amum Okiech, On behalf of The Republic of South Sudan.
Witnessed by: H.E. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, Chairperson, African Union High Level Implementation Panel, On behalf of the AUHIP.
View copy online at:
http://www.rssnegotiationteam.org/certain-economic-matters.html - or:
http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2012/09/Agreement-on-Certain-Economic-Matters-2709120001.pdf

Citizenship and the Status of Nationals

Full text of the 27 September 2012 agreement affirming mutual commitment to recognising the four freedoms of nationals of the other state and committing to establish a Joint High Level Committee to oversee adoption and implementation of relevant measures.

Title:  Framework Agreement on the Status of Nationals of the Other State and Related Matters between The Republic of the Sudan and The Republic of South Sudan
Date:  Addis Ababa, 27 September 2012
Signed by:
H.E. Idriss Abdel Gadir, On behalf of The Republic of the Sudan. 
H.E. Pagan Amum Okiech, On behalf of The Republic of South Sudan.
Witnessed by:  H.E. Pierre Buyoya, On behalf of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel.
View full copy online at:
http://www.rssnegotiationteam.org/citizenship-and-the-status-of-nationals.html - or:
http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2012/09/Nationals-Agreement-2709120001.pdf

Oil

Full text of the September 27, 2012 agreement between the parties codifying August 3 agreement on oil transport fees, transitional financial arrangement, mutual forgiveness of oil related claims and resumption of oil production, processing and transportation.

Title:  Agreement between The Government of the Republic of South Sudan and The Government of the Republic of the Sudan on Oil and Related Economic Matters
Date:  Addis Ababa, 27 September 2012
Signed by: 
H.E. Idriss Abdel Gadir, On behalf of The Republic of the Sudan.
H.E. Pagan Amum Okiech, On behalf of The Republic of South Sudan.
Witnessed by:
H.E. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, Chairperson, African Union High Level Implementation Panel, On behalf of the AUHIP.
View full copy online at: 
http://www.rssnegotiationteam.org/oil.html - or:
http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2012/09/Oil-Agreement-between-SudanSouth-Sudan0001.pdf
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Agreement on Modalities for the implementation of the Security Arrangements Agreement between Sudan and South Sudan

The "Agreement on Implementation Modalities", signed at the Extraordinary Meeting of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday 08 March 2013, commits Sudan and South Sudan to a set of actions beginning on “D‐Day”, Sunday 10 March 2013, including unconditional withdrawal of all forces to their side of the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone (SDBZ) and the deployment of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM), with logistical support and logistical protection provided by the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

Title:  Implementation Modalities for Security Arrangements agreed on 27th September 2012 Between The Republic of the Sudan and The Republic of South Sudan, Addis Ababa 08 March 2013
Date:  Addis Ababa, 08 March 2013
Signed by: 
H.E. 1st Lt. Gen (PSC) Eng. Abdul Raheem Mohammad Hussein, Minister of Defense, Government of Sudan.
H.E. Gen. John Kuong Nyuon, Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs, Government of South Sudan.
Witnessed by:
H.E. Gen. Abdulsalami A. Abubakar, African Union High Level Implementation Panel for Sudan and South Sudan.
View full copy online at:
http://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/document-implementation-modalities-security-arrangements - or:
http://radiotamazuj.org/sites/default/files/Sudan%20&%20South%20Sudan%20Implementation%20Modalities%20for%20Security%20Agreement.pdf
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Agreement on Implementation Matrix for Agreements

On Tuesday 12 March 2013, Sudan and South Sudan adopted an integrated Matrix to facilitate the coordinated implementation of their commitments as reflected in the Agreements referred to in the "Cooperation Agreement" of 27 September 2012.  In particular, the Parties shall be guided by the principle of good faith and the principles set forth in the Preamble of the "Cooperation Agreement".

Title:  ADOPTION OF IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX by The Republic of the Sudan And The Republic of South Sudan
Date: Addis Ababa, 12 March 2013
Signed by:
H.E. Idris Mohame Abdel Gader, On behalf of the Government of the Republic of the Sudan.
H.E Pagan Amum Okiech, On behalf of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan.
Witnessed by:
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, Chairperson, African Union High Level Implementation for Sudan and South Sudan, On behalf of the AUHIP.
View full copy (courtesy of Matthew Russell Lee, Inner City Press.com 12 March 2013) at:
http://www.innercitypress.com/sudansouthsudanmatrix031213icp.pdf
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POSTSCRIPT BY THE EDITOR OF SUDAN WATCH

Here's wishing all the Parties the very best of luck.  God bless all the peace makers and the children of Sudan and South Sudan and keep them from harm.  Please stop the greedy, ambitious evil doers and rebels and their misguided friends in Washington from promoting violence and sanctions in order to get what they want for themselves.  Violence and sanctions add to the suffering of poor and poorly people who are in urgent need of access to safe drinking water, food, shelter, medical care and security - not forgetting the welfare of animals and the wellbeing and voting rights of nomads.

Note that an additional agreement, entitled "Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for Administration and Security of the Abyei Area (TASA)", has been included in the Adoption of Implementation Matrix for Agreements between Sudan and South Sudan.  According to a Press Release issued by the African Union Commission, Tuesday 12 March 2013 (see full copy here below - courtesy of APO):   "The Implementation Matrix also includes an agreement on the modalities and timelines for the implementation of the Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area, in particular the establishment of the Abyei Area Administration, the Abyei Area Council, and the Abyei Area Police. The Chairperson of the Commission urges Sudan and South Sudan to adhere to the timelines, which are necessary to ensure that the return of displaced persons and the seasonal migration of nomadic groups can continue in a peaceful atmosphere."

Press Release


The African Union welcomes the signing of the implementation matrix for the agreements signed between Sudan and South Sudan

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, March 12, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ – The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, welcomes the signing, in Addis Ababa, in the early hours of 12 March 2013, of the Implementation Matrix for the Agreements  between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan.

This Matrix elaborates the modalities for the implementation of the nine Agreements signed by President Omar Hassan al Bashir and President Salva Kiir Mayardit in Addis Ababa, on 27 September 2012.  It comes four days after the signing of the Implementation Modalities for Security Arrangements, during the extraordinary meeting of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) held in Addis Ababa on 8 March 2013. The Implementation Matrix confirms D-Day for the implementation of all the Agreements as 10 March 2013. Among other things, this latest Agreement paves the way for the resumption of oil production and the transit of South Sudan’s oil through Sudan.

The Implementation Matrix also includes an agreement on the modalities and timelines for the implementation of the Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area, in particular the establishment of the Abyei Area Administration, the Abyei Area Council, and the Abyei Area Police. The Chairperson of the Commission urges Sudan and South Sudan to adhere to the timelines, which are necessary to ensure that the return of displaced persons and the seasonal migration of nomadic groups can continue in a peaceful atmosphere.

The Chairperson also notes with appreciation that both governments have commenced withdrawal of their armed forces from their common border, as stipulated in the Agreement on Security Arrangements signed on 27 September 2012 and agreed in the Implementation Modalities for Security Arrangements signed on 8 March 2013.  She stresses that this augurs well for the full normalization of relations between the two countries.

The Chairperson of the Commission commends the leadership of the two countries for their commitment, and looks forward to the planned visit of President Al Bashir to Juba, as the next step in cementing mutually cooperative relations between them. The Chairperson of the Commission notes that the Final Status of the Abyei Area and the resolution of the Disputed and Claimed Areas are the only remaining outstanding issues, and expresses the belief that the positive atmosphere created by the most recent Agreements, and the commitment to their implementation, provide the basis for the resolution of these outstanding matters.

The Chairperson would like to thank President Thabo Mbeki and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, for their continued commitment and unstinting efforts to assist Sudan and South Sudan to resolve their outstanding issues and build two viable and mutually cooperative states.

Source:  African Union Commission (AUC)
http://appablog.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/the-african-union-welcomes-the-signing-of-the-implementation-matrix-for-the-agreements-signed-between-sudan-and-south-sudan/
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Related Reports

(Sudan Watch) - Saturday, 09 March 2013: 
Sudan, South Sudan sign agreement for implementation of security arrangements: "D-day is March 10 2013 plus 4 days" -Mbeki, AUHIP. UN Chief Ban Ki Moon welcomes new border agreements
http://sudanwatch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/sudan-south-sudan-sign-agreement-for.html

(Sudan Watch) - Wednesday, 02 May 2012: 
FULL TEXT:  UN Security Council Report May 2012 Sudan and South Sudan
http://sudanwatch.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/full-text-un-security-council-report_02.html

(Sudan Watch) - Tuesday, 01 May 2012:
FULL TEXT:  African Union Peace and Security Council Roadmap for action by Sudan and South Sudan
http://sudanwatch.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/full-text-african-union-peace-and.html

Thank you for reading SUDAN WATCH.

Saturday, March 09, 2013

Sudan, South Sudan sign agreement for implementation of security arrangements: "D-day is March 10 2013 plus 4 days" -Mbeki, AUHIP. UN Chief Ban Ki Moon welcomes new border agreements

GOOD news.  Sudan and South Sudan on Friday, 08 March 2013, signed an agreement for practical implementation of the security agreements, which the two countries signed in September last year. 

Defence ministers from both sides met on Friday for a new round of talks in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. to set up a buffer zone along their frontier.

The two countries signed the agreement at the conclusion of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) meeting started last Thursday (07 March) and co-chaired by Defence Ministers Abdel Rahim Muhammed Hussein of Sudan, and John Kong Nyuon of South Sudan in Addis Ababa.

The two Ministers together with former President Abubakar Abdulsalam of Nigeria on the side of the AUHIP signed the agreement for translation into action of the security agreements reached on September 27 in Addis Ababa.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who chairs the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP), said the two had agreed to order their forces out of the demilitarised zone by 14 March 2013.

"D-day is March 10. The agreement calls for immediate orders (for withdrawal) to be issued within D-day plus four days," Mr. Mbeki told a news conference in Addis Ababa on Friday (08 March). 

The two countries will finish withdrawing their troops from the demilitarised zone by 05 April 2013, according to a timetable agreed by both sides seen by Reuters.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon welcomes the agreement signed on Friday (08 March) by Sudan and South Sudan on the establishment of the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone, the deployment of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism and the activation of all security related mechanisms as of 10 March 2013.  With this agreement, there should be no further conditions in the way of immediate implementation of the other signed 27 September agreements, including the agreement on oil.

According to tweet posted on Twitter by @AUHIP, AUHIP arrived in Addis Abba for the Sudans talks Wednesday, 06 March 2013. 

Here below are further details in a news round-up consisting of ten reports including a copy of:

- a report by VOA regarding the resignation of Sisto Olur Erista, the Secretary-General of the main opposition party in South Sudan, the SPLM-DC -- and news of a three-day meeting of the SPLM politburo being chaired by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir ahead of an extraordinary convention of the SPLM, which is scheduled to be held next week.

- a report by Sudan Vision Daily saying the Sudanese government considers that a report of the UN that JEM has a military base in South Sudan was a declaration of what was confirmed by Sudan that the Government of South Sudan harbours a number of Sudanese armed movements, including SPLM-N.  Sudan has been calling on Juba to refrain from hosting armed movements fighting the Sudanese government, as well as disengagement between it and the SPLM-N, according agreements signed between the two countries.

- a report by Xinhua featuring Ibrahim Ghandour, NCP official in charge of external relations, in an exclusive interview to Xinhua.  Mr. Ghandour noted that the negotiations in Addis Ababa follow up the implementation of what was agreed upon in September during the summit between the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Southern Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir Mayardit.  Ghandour explained that the two countries mainly divide on the affiliation of the Mile (14) area and bicker over the link between South Sudan's army and the 9th and 10th infantry divisions in Sudan's South Kordofan and Blue Nile States.  "Resolving these two issues will likely to lead to the implementation of all the other agreements including the establishment of the demilitarised zone, demarcation of the joint border and resumption of South Sudan's oil pumping and exporting via Sudan's territories," noted Ghandour.  He further said that the oil issue has already been agreed on, explaining that "we are only looking forward to implementing the security measures because without security, the oil exportation will not be possible.  Security is the base of any successful economic cooperation between the two countries."

Note, on 01 March 2013 Russia assumed the rotating Presidency of the UN Security Council. 
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon Latest Statements

UNITED NATIONS, New York, Friday 08 March 2013 - Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on the establishment of the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone between Sudan and South Sudan and the activation of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism

The Secretary-General welcomes the agreement signed today by Sudan and South Sudan on the establishment of the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone, the deployment of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism and the activation of all security related mechanisms as of 10 March 2013.  With this agreement, there should be no further conditions in the way of immediate implementation of the other signed 27 September agreements, including the agreement on oil.

The Secretary-General reiterates the United Nations readiness to support the operations of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism  and assist the parties in the implementation of these agreements.

Source:  http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6644
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Ban welcomes new border agreements between Sudan and South Sudan

(UN News Centre) Friday 08 March 2013 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed an agreement on signed today by Sudan and South Sudan which aim to strengthen border security and lead to the permanent resolution of outstanding issues between the two countries.

Today’s agreement, according to a statement [http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6644] released by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson, concerns the establishment of a safe demilitarised border zone, the deployment of a joint border verification and monitoring mechanism and the activation of agreed security-related mechanisms as of 10 March 2013.

Even though the birth of South Sudan was the culmination of a six-year peace process, which helped bring an end to the long-running conflict between South Sudan and Sudan, the peace between the two countries has been threatened by armed clashes along their common border and outstanding post-independence issues that have yet to be resolved, notably the status of the oil-rich area of Abyei.

Last year, the two countries’ leaders met in Ethiopia, reaching, on 27 September, a key framework agreement for cooperation on security, the common border and economic relations.

“With this agreement, there should be no further conditions in the way of immediate implementation of the other signed 27 September agreements, including the agreement on oil,” Mr. Ban’s spokesman said in his statement today.

Through today’s statement, the Secretary-General also reiterated the United Nations readiness to support the operations of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism and assist the parties in the implementation of these agreements, the spokesperson said.

Source:  http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44328&Cr=sudan&Cr1=#.UTqa5Bl0F2I
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Sudan, South Sudan sign agreement for implementation of security arrangements

ADDIS ABABA, Friday 08 March 2013 (Xinhua) - Sudan and South Sudan on Friday signed agreement for practical implementation of the security agreements, which the two countries signed in September last year.

The two countries signed the agreement at the conclusion of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) meeting started last Thursday and co-chaired by Defence Ministers Abdel Rahim Muhammed Hussein of Sudan, and John Kong Nyuon of South Sudan here in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The JPSM has been discussing the implementation of the agreements that were signed in September last year, said former President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, who is Chairperson of the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP).

The two Ministers together with former President Abubakar Abdulsalam of Nigeria on the side of the AUHIP signed the agreement for translation into action of the security agreements reached on September 27 in Addis Ababa.

Stating that the JPSM meeting had been held in December, January and now to work on the practical implementation program, Mbeki said: "Fortunately and happily, those discussions have now been concluded."

They are not general documents; they are specific documents which will require implementation of all the elements of security agreements in last September, said Mbeki.

(Editor: yan)
Source:  http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-03/09/c_132219567.htm
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Sudan, South to withdraw forces from border zone

ADDIS ABABA, Friday 08 March 2013 3:35pm EST (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan agreed on Friday to order their forces out of a demilitarised border zone within a week, a mediator said, possibly opening the way to the resumption of oil exports from the south.

South Sudan seceded from the north in 2011 after decades of war but border disputes and disagreements over oil pipeline fees have dragged on, delaying much-needed economic development.

The landlocked South shut down its oil production of 350,000 barrels per day more than a year ago during a row over how much it should pay the north to pipe its crude to a coastal terminal for export.

With oil the lifeline of both economies, the move has strained their state budgets, weakened currencies, stoked inflation and worsened economic hardship.

Defence ministers from both sides met on Friday for a new round of talks in Addis Ababa to set up a buffer zone along their frontier.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who chairs an African Union mediation panel, said the two had agreed to order their forces out of the demilitarised zone by March 14.

"D-day is March 10. The agreement calls for immediate orders (for withdrawal) to be issued within d-day plus four days," he told a news conference in the Ethiopian capital.

The two countries will finish withdrawing their troops from the demilitarised zone by April 5, according to a timetable agreed by both sides seen by Reuters.

The former civil war foes have made a number of agreements about border security in the past, but have failed to implement them.

After teetering on the brink of full-scale conflict in April with the worst border clashes since their split, the two countries agreed in September to set up a buffer zone, which could defuse tensions enough for the South to resume oil output.

But neither side had pulled its army back from the almost 2,000-km (1,200-mile) border due to the mistrust left over from one of Africa's longest civil wars.

Friday's talks were the first in nearly two months.  Two meetings between Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and South Sudan's Salva Kiir in Addis Ababa in January failed to break the stalemate.

Animosity runs high between Bashir's government in Khartoum and his former foes up the Nile in Juba.

Nearly 2 million people died in the north-south civil war, which left South Sudan economically devastated and awash with guns.

Khartoum accuses Juba of backing rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, two Sudan states bordering the South.

The SPLM-North, made up of fighters who sided with the South during the civil war, controls part of the Sudan side of the border, which complicates setting up the buffer zone.

South Sudan has denied supporting the rebels.

(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Alexander Dziadosz and Jon Hemming)
Source:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/08/us-sudan-south-borders-idUSBRE92711H20130308
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Sudan, South Sudan agree to pull troops from demilitarised zone

(CNN) Friday 08 March 2013; 23:31 GMT (07:31 HKT) - Sudan and South Sudan signed an agreement Friday to soon withdraw their respective military forces from a demilitarised zone between the two African countries, officials from both nations said.

Signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the deal was brokered by former South African President Thabo Mbeki. Defence ministers from both Sudan and South Sudan promised they'd implement the agreement later this month.

South Sudan became independent from Sudan in July 2011, following a popular referendum. But the two nations have remained at odds on some issues, including defining their borders and oil exports.

(Reporting by CNN Staff)
Source:  http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/08/world/africa/sudan-south-sudan-agreement/
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South Sudan opposition feuds as ruling SPLM meets

(Voice of America News) Thursday 07 March 2013 - The secretary general of the main opposition party in South Sudan, the SPLM-DC, has resigned, accusing the exiled chairman of his party of stoking divisions.

SPLM-DC Secretary General Sisto Olur Erista said party chair, Lam Akol, has encouraged tribalism in the party.

Akol, who went into exile after South Sudan became independent in July 2011, saying he felt his life was in danger, denied the charges in a telephone interview with VOA News from the Middle East.

As the SPLM-DC was riven by divisions, the ruling SPLM party's political bureau, the main decision-making body of the party, gathered for the first time since the country gained independence two years ago, to discuss changing the party's constitution and manifesto.

The last time the political bureau of the SPLM met was in April 2008, which was also the last time the party held elections.

SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum told reporters before the closed-door politburo meeting that one thing to be discussed is how to help win over voters to the party.

The three-day meeting of the SPLM politburo is being chaired by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, and comes ahead of an extraordinary convention of the SPLM, which is scheduled to be held next week.
Source:  http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-opposition-feud-ruling-splm-meets/1617088.html
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Interview: Khartoum's ruling NCP urges Juba to show political will to overcome differences

KHARTOUM, Wednesday 06 March 2013 (Xinhua) - Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) urged the South Sudanese government Wednesday to show the necessary political will to overcome the differences between the two countries ahead of their new round of negotiations.

"We are looking forward to an active political will on the part of our brothers in South Sudan to reach a comprehensive settlement for the issues of difference," said Ibrahim Ghandour, NCP official in charge of external relations, in an exclusive interview to Xinhua.

He noted that the negotiations, slated to resume in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Thursday [07 March], will follow up the implementation of what was agreed upon in September during the summit between the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Southern Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir Mayardit.

He explained that the two countries mainly divide on the affiliation of the Mile (14) area and bicker over the link between South Sudan's army and the 9th and 10th infantry divisions in Sudan's South Kordofan and Blue Nile States.

"Resolving these two issues will likely to lead to the implementation of all the other agreements including the establishment of the demilitarized zone, demarcation of the joint border and resumption of South Sudan's oil pumping and exporting via Sudan's territories," noted Ghandour.

He further said that the oil issue has already been agreed on, explaining that "we are only looking forward to implementing the security measures because without security, the oil exportation will not be possible. Security is the base of any successful economic cooperation between the two countries."

Ghandour expressed optimism over this round of talks, saying "I expect it to be more positive than the previous ones, but we are looking forward to an active will on the part of South Sudan's leadership."

"After the conclusion of the presidential meeting in September, they refused to implement the agreement regarding the Mile (14) area despite the fact that it was signed by President Salva Kiir," said Ghandour. "They also rejected the border agreement despite the fact that it was presented by the technical committee to the two presidents who signed  it."

That said, Ghandour reiterated the NCP's commitment to what was agreed on with the south.

The African Union mediation, led by Thabo Mbeki, recently urged Sudan and South Sudan to resume their talks.

He urged the two countries to implement what they have agreed on and fulfill their commitments, warning them against any unjustified delay.

Mbeki is also expected to ask the two countries' presidents to meet on the sidelines of the forthcoming African Union summit in Addis Ababa, since recent rounds of talks between Khartoum and Juba have ended without any progress.

On Sept. 27, Sudan and South Sudan signed a package of agreements on various issues during a presidential summit in the capital of Ethiopia.

Witnessed by the members of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan, the two sides inked three deals on cooperation, security and post-secession matters. However, the signed agreements did not tackle the issues of Abyei and border demarcation.

(Editor: yan)
Source:  http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-03/07/c_132213922.htm
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Sudan, South Sudan to resume security talks in Addis Ababa Thursday

KHARTOUM, Wednesday 06 March 2013; 17:10:32 (Xinhua) - Meetings of the joint political and security committee between Sudan and South Sudan are to resume on Thursday [07 March] in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa after failing to resume by mid of last February, Khartoum's Al-Intibaha daily reported Wednesday.

"The political and security committee of Sudan and South Sudan will resume its meetings in Addis Ababa on Thursday with the participation of the two countries' defence ministers," the report said.

"Khartoum is adherent to its proposal according to the security agreement signed by the two countries," the paper quoted a security source in the committee as saying, noting that the Sudanese government delegation has left for Addis Ababa.

However, until Tuesday Juba has not yet submitted its proposals to the African committee of experts regarding the border differences, the report said.

It added that the African Union mediation mechanism on the outstanding issues between the two countries was expected to present a negotiating document to Sudan's delegation concerning the negotiation with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector.

Head of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP) Thabo Mbeki has recently called on Sudan and South Sudan to resume the negotiations with the participation of what he termed as key players.

Mbeki expressed hope that the coming round of negotiations between Khartoum and Juba would be successful.

On September 27 last year, Sudan and South Sudan signed a package of agreements on various issues during a presidential summit in the capital of Ethiopia.

Witnessed by the AUHIP members, the two sides inked three deals on cooperation, security and post-secession matters.

However, the signed agreements did not tackle the issues of Abyei and border demarcation.

Though months elapsed since the two sides have signed the cooperation agreement, yet they failed to implement it on the ground.

(Editor: Sha Sha)
Source:  http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/2013-03/06/c_132213397.htm
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Sudan delegate: UN Security Council supports Sudan position

KHARTOUM, Friday 08 March 2013 (Sudan Vision Daily) - Representative of the Sudan to the UN, Ambassador Dafallah Al-Haj Ali said that the assurances of the UNSC sanctions team that the South government harbouring the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the presence of SPLA forces in a number of Sudanese locations considered the first document issued by the UN and matches what demanded by the Sudan to the Government of the State of South Sudan to lift her hand on the armed movements and rebels support.

Ambassador Ali said that the report of the Sanctions Committee in this regard is as a result of the complaints that have been provided by Sudan's mission to the Security Council about the excesses of Juba government and its support for the rebels. He revealed that Sudan's mission will ask the Security Council to take clear action to pressure on the South government to stop its support of the rebel movements.

On the other hand, the government considered that the report of the UN that JEM has a military base in South Sudan was a declaration of what was confirmed by Sudan that the Government of South Sudan harbours a number of Sudanese armed movements, including SPLM-N.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Abu Bakr Mohamed Al-Amin said, in a press statement, that the report represents an evidence from an international body, which cannot be accused of bias for Sudan.

He added that Sudan has been calling on Juba to refrain from hosting armed movements fighting the Sudanese government, as well as disengagement between it and the SPLM-N, according agreements signed between the two countries.

(Reporting by Staff Writer)
Source:  http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=220261
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Postscript by the Editor of SUDAN WATCH

On March 01, 2013 Russia assumed the rotating Presidency of the UN Security Council.

The main theme of Russian presidency will be Afghan reconciliation.

Russian presidency will focus on problems of Middle East and further efforts of the Quartet to accomplish all-encompassing regional reconciliation.  The UN SC work on reconciliation Sudan and Southern Sudan will be continued.

The Security Council will consider the situation in Southern Sudan and the activity if the deployed there UN peacekeeping mission. 

Issues of the activity of the UN SC Commissions for Iran sanctions, for Somalia and Eritrea will be touched upon.

Full story at:  http://www.thepresidentpost.com/?p=25942

Thank you for reading SUDAN WATCH.