Showing posts with label Agar SPLM-N. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Agar SPLM-N. Show all posts

Sunday, April 06, 2025

The US has revoked visas for South Sudanese. Is Sudan’s conflict merging with South Sudan's conflict?

THE US has abruptly revoked the visas of all South Sudanese, saying the country’s government has failed to accept the return of its citizens “in a timely manner.” The decision means South Sudanese could be returned to a nation again on the brink of civil war or unable to seek the US as a haven. 


Tension is rising in South Sudan after the vice president was put under house arrest. South Sudan is on the brink of another civil war, the United Nations has warned, after weeks of escalating violence and rising tensions between VP Machar and President Kiir. In short, Sudan's conflict could be merging with South Sudan's conflicts. Read more in four reports below.

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From The Associated Press (AP) 
By Cara Anna
Dated Sunday, 06 April 2025, 5:35 PM GMT - full copy:

The US has revoked visas for South Sudanese while civil war threatens at home

South Sudan soldiers patrol the street in Juba, South Sudan on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) 


FILE - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir attends the swearing-in ceremony for Kenya's new president William Ruto, at Kasarani stadium in Nairobi, Kenya on Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)


FILE - South Sudanese president Salva Kiir Mayardit, left, shakes hands with Pagan Amum Okiech, leader of the Real-SPLM group, during the launch of high-level peace talks for South Sudan at State House in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) 


The United States once cheered the creation of South Sudan as an independent nation. Now the Trump administration has abruptly revoked the visas of all South Sudanese, saying the country’s government has failed to accept the return of its citizens “in a timely manner.”


The decision means South Sudanese could be returned to a nation again on the brink of civil war or unable to seek the U.S. as a haven.


There was no immediate response from South Sudan’s government, which has struggled since independence from Sudan in 2011 to deliver some of the basic services of a state. Years of conflict have left the country of over 11 million people heavily reliant on aid that has been hit hard by another Trump administration decision — sweeping cuts in foreign assistance.


Here’s a look at South Sudan, whose people had been granted temporary protected status by the U.S. because of insecurity at home. That status expires on May 3.


A deadly divide


The euphoria of independence turned to civil war two years later, when rival factions backing President Salva Kiir and deputy Riek Machar opened fire on each other in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, in 2013.


The two men’s tensions have been so much at the heart of the country’s insecurity that Pope Francis once took the extraordinary step of kneeling to kiss their feet in one of his pleas for lasting peace.


Five years of civil war killed hundreds of thousands of people. A peace deal reached in 2018 has been fragile and not fully implemented, to the frustration of the U.S. and other international backers. Notably, South Sudan still hasn’t held a long-delayed presidential election, and Kiir remains in power.


His rivalry with Machar, compounded by ethnic divisions, has simmered through multiple attempts to return Machar as a vice president. Machar has long regarded himself as destined for the presidency, citing a prophecy years ago by a seer from his ethnic group.


Late last month, the threat of war returned. Machar was arrested and his allies in the government and the military were detained following a major escalation: A militia from Machar’s ethnic group had seized an army garrison upcountry. The government responded with airstrikes. Dozens of people were killed. A United Nations helicopter was attacked.


View original: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-revoked-visas-south-sudanese-163537095.html

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Related


South Sudan on brink of civil war, UN's Haysom warns

UN News by Vibhu Mishra 24 March 2025:

“The time for action is now because the alternative is too terrible to contemplate” -Nicholas Haysom, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2025/03/south-sudan-on-brink-of-civil-war-uns.html

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Is South Sudan heading to another civil war?

AlJazeera English video report (28 mins) 28 March 2025:

Tension is rising in South Sudan after the vice president is put under house arrest.

South Sudan is on the brink of another civil war, the United Nations has warned, after weeks of escalating violence and rising tensions between Vice President Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir.

https://www.aljazeera.com/video/inside-story/2025/3/28/is-south-sudan-heading-to-another-civil-war

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Is Sudan’s war merging with South Sudanese conflicts?

AlJazeera English article by Mat Nashed 29 March 2025:

New alliances in Sudan’s conflict risk sparking a regional conflict by drawing in neighbouring South Sudan, analysts tell Al Jazeera. The biggest development was an alliance in February between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who established a government to rival Sudan’s current de facto leadership.

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Friday, February 16, 2024

Sudan: Malik Agar explains his 3-day visit to S. Sudan

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Here is a copy of two reports by Mr Malik Agar Eyre, Deputy Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council

The reports, posted at X and date stamped Feb 14, 2024 are separated into short posts accompanied by photos taken using Mr Malik's phone. 

The reports are in full because news outlets (Sudan Tribune is one of the worst offenders) have a habit of stealing other people's work, rearranging words and passing it off as their own research and news without credits.

It is mean spirited and makes my blood boil. Professional journalists and writers spend hours researching, writing, editing, fact-checking and polishing their reports under strict guidelines. What's troubling is that news outlets take it upon themselves to twist words to suit their own agenda.

I've followed Sudan Tribune for 20 years. Not sure if it's still based in France. Its ex deputy editor in chief Wasil Ali@wasilalitaha is a prolific poster at X. 

He's quick witted and can be hilarious. 2 photos (pictured) on his page at X suit his cheeky, playful, irreverent, strong personality. Thanks for the laughs.

Wasil Ali@wasilalitaha

Also, below is a copy of Mr Malik Agar's bio at Wikipedia. Note, under the heading of 'Ideology' it says: "Agar rejects President Omar al-Bashir's vision of an Arab-Islamic state, and has argued instead for a multicultural civil democracy". I saw footage of Mr Agar walking to/from a plane during below mentioned trip, he appeared to have trouble walking like he was in pain.

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Post from X microblogging platform (formerly Twitter) split into 4 posts

By Malik Agar Eyre | مالك عقار اير @MalikAgarEyre 

Date stamped 5:56 PM · Feb 14, 2024 - here is a full copy, showing splits:




I went on an official working visit to the State of South Sudan on February 12, 2024 for the purpose of meeting with His Excellency the President of the Republic, Salva Kiir. The Minister of Finance, Dr. Jibril Ibrahim, accompanied me during the first meeting with the President, which touched on issues concerning the two countries. Our meeting was renewed this afternoon.  1/4

I gave him an explanation about the current military positions and explained to him the extent of the progress made by the armed forces and the specific strikes that the army carried out on the rebel forces.


In the conversation, we touched on the Sudanese position on regional initiatives from the African Union and IGAD 2/4


I explained to him the reasons for freezing our membership in IGAD, and he understood this position well. We also discussed the situation and the political movement that had occurred recently.


The talk about the Jeddah platform was at the end of the agenda of our meeting, and I assured the president that returning to the Jeddah platform is linked to the rebel forces implementing what was agreed upon. 3/4


From ending the occupation of citizens’ homes, among others. At the conclusion of the meeting, we renewed our commitment to resolving the problems of African countries within the African House. I renewed our confidence in the state of South Sudan and praised the treatment they received of the Sudanese coming from the war zones in Sudan.


May God protect Sudan and the people of Sudan 4/4

View original: https://twitter.com/MalikAgarEyre/status/1757826186254700549

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Post from X microblogging platform (formerly Twitter) split into 8 posts

By Malik Agar Eyre | مالك عقار اير @MalikAgarEyre 

Date stamped 7:51 PM · Feb 14, 2024 - here is a full copy, showing splits:







Today, my visit to the State of South Sudan, which lasted for three days, concluded with two separate meetings, the first meeting included a group of ambassadors and heads of missions of the Troika countries and the European Union in South Sudan 1/8


followed by another meeting that included African ambassadors in South Sudan and the representative of the African Union in South Sudan. As well as the Ambassador of Sudan in Juba, Jamal Malik 2/8


where a short film documenting the crimes and violations of the rebel Rapid Support Forces was presented, exposing the killings, rape of women, the ethnic targeting of citizens, the destruction of infrastructure and other violations in the long list of atrocities 3/8


committed by the rebel forces in violation of the international humanitarian law and the International human rights Law.


We’ve also touched on the stages of the development of the rapid support forces from the Janjaweed forces to support forces called 4/8


the border guards and then to rebel rapid support forces in 2023, and i assured them that the government of Sudan is open and working to alleviate the suffering of the Sudan and end the war in a way that preserves the country's sovereignty, unity and national security. 5/8


I’ve also stressed that it is not possible to talk about any political process under the bangs of cannons and bullets, and that the attempts made by some now are nothing but a shot outside the goal, which will not achieve any result, and 6/8


that the slogans of the rebel forces, that is bringing democracy and fighting Islamists have failed before the test of international humanitarian law and international human rights law through the series of violations committed by them in all the areas they entered in Sudan. 7/8


I concluded the meeting with alerting of the consequences of what will happen in the Horn of Africa region in the event of the collapse of Sudan and the details of the impact of such catastrophe on the entire region.


May God protect Sudan and the people of Sudan 8/8

View original: https://twitter.com/MalikAgarEyre/status/1757855209412264384

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HERE is a bio of Mr Malik Agar from Wikipedia Friday, 16 Feb 2024:


Malik Agar is a Sudanese politician and former insurgent leader who was active in the insurgency in Blue Nile state. Since 2023, he has been the deputy chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Sudan's ruling military junta.


Early life

Malik Agar was born Nganyofa Agar Eyre Nganyofa to an Ingessana chief in Blue Nile State. He did not know he was a Muslim until he was eight. His headteacher gave him the name "Malik" and told him he was a Muslim. From then on, he was called "Malik Agar Eyre"


Second Sudanese Civil War

Agar joined the Sudanese armed opposition shortly after the beginning of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. 


In the 1990s, he was the commander of a section of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) military forces along the Ethiopia–Sudan border south of the Blue Nile to Geissan. SPLM units under his command captured the towns of Kurmuk and Qaissan in 1997.


Agar was close to John Garang, and shared his goal of overthrowing the Government of Sudan, as opposed to fighting for the secession of South Sudan


After Garang's death, Agar, along with others who shared a desire for a revolution in Sudan, were marginalised by the new SPLM leadership. Agar expressed his disapproval of the secession of South Sudan to a US official in 2009, stating that it would cause the eventual splintering of the rest of Sudan.


He was elected governor of Blue Nile State in the Republic of the Sudan in April 2010. Agar was one of the few high-profile members of the Sudanese opposition to run in the election, and was the only non-National Congress Party (NCP) candidate to win a governorship. Agar defeated the NCP candidate, Farah Ibrahim Mohamed Al-Aggar, by 108,119 to 99,417 votes.


In February 2011 Malik Agar also became chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North, the part of the SPLM that operates in northern Sudan. The southern portion of the SPLM became a separate political party in South Sudan when the country seceded from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011.


On 2 September, Agar was deposed as governor on the orders of President Omar al-Bashir. He fled to the southern part of the state and was reportedly planning a counterattack. He warned that the Sudan–SPLM conflict may ignite a wider Sudanese civil war.


In February 2012 Agar helped found the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF); a coalition of Sudanese opposition groups that aims to overthrow the Sudanese government and replace it with a democracy.[4] In February 2012, Agar was elected president of the SRF.


On 2 February 2021, he was appointed as a member of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan.


Ideology

Agar rejects President Omar al-Bashir's vision of an Arab-Islamic state, and has argued instead for a multicultural civil democracy.


Read more, including references, at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malik_Agar


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Related


Radio Dabanga English website

South Sudan president discusses civil bloc outcomes with Minawi

Dated Wednesday, 14 February 2024. 14:29 JUBA - excerpts:


Consultative sessions aimed at reaching an end to the war in Sudan concluded in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Monday. In attendance were several Sudanese political and civil blocs, a delegation of which met with South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday. 


Moataz El Fahl, a leader in the Forces for Freedom and Change-Democratic Bloc (FFC-DB) and Secretary-General of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), told Dabanga in an interview that the meeting concluded with the “formation of a mini-mechanism for communication with the Sovereignty Council, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and other political and civil forces”. 


The meeting included several political and civil blocs, most notably the FFC-DB, the National Movement Forces coalition, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N Agar), led by Sovereignty Council Vice President Malik Agar.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit meets with a Sudanese delegation in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Monday (Photo: @ArkoMinawi via X)


Full story: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/south-sudan-president-discusses-civil-bloc-outcomes-with-minawi

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Sudan Watch - February 14, 2024

Darfur tribal leaders agree with Sudanese Sheikh Musa Hilal to lead initiative to stop war in Sudan

A civil delegation of tribal leaders in Darfur states announced that it has agreed with the head of the Revolutionary Awakening Council, Sheikh Musa Hilal, to lead a national initiative to stop the war between the army and the Rapid Support.


The delegation, which included the principals of the tribes of Tarjum, Fallata and Rizeigat and notables of a number of tribes in the states of South, East, Central and West Darfur, visited Sheikh Musa Hilal in the suburb of Mistriha in North Darfur state, and the delegation spent about a week during which he held several meetings with notables of the region.

Full story: https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/02/darfur-tribal-leaders-agree-with.html


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