Sudan conflict spilling into oil-rich Abyei. South Sudan postpones its December 2024 election by two years

THE WORLD must not forget what is happening in South Sudan and Abyei, an oil-rich area on the border of South Sudan and Sudan. South Sudan postponed its first elections scheduled for December. Read more below.

Report from defenceWeb
Dated 07 November 2024 - full copy:

 Sudan conflict spilling into Abyei

UNISFA peacekeepers on humanitarian duty. Picture: United Nations.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) this week heard ongoing conflict in Sudan is “exacerbating instability” in Abyei, a 10 000 plus square kilometre contested area between Sudan and the world’s youngest country, South Sudan.

According to the world body, which has a peacekeeping mission on the ground in the oil-rich area, Abyei is claimed by both sides – RSF (Rapid Support Forces) and the Sudan Armed Force (SAF). The UN mission – UNISFA (UN Interim Security Force for Abyei) was first deployed in June 2011 and currently has 4 190 uniformed members and 3 743 civilians on its personnel strength.

Martha Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa at the UN Department of Peace Operations, told ambassadors on the Security Council the Sudan war continues to have a profound impact on the security, economic and humanitarian situations in South Sudan and Sudan.

Since the power struggle between rival militaries in Sudan began last April, Abyei and its neighbours have grappled with disruptions in oil production and surging refugee arrivals. These setbacks left already stretched resources in South Sudan under greater strain, with thousands of refugees enduring shortages of clean water, food and healthcare services.

Pobee highlighted continued proliferation of arms and heightened tensions, as observed with the recent incursion of RSF combatants into Abyei’s Aman-Aquak and Mijak counties, with reports of looting.

“The movement of armed groups is compounding the fragile security situation in South Sudan and Abyei,  particularly in relation to the pre-existing tensions between the Twic Mayardit and Ngok Dinka communities across Warrap state and Abyei,” she said.

Also this week, the African Union (AU) by way of its special envoy on the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities, added its condemnation of the ongoing Sudan conflict.

A statement has Adama Dieng saying reports of “grave crimes” including mass killing, summary executions, sexual assault, abduction, torture and looting have emerged despite a telecommunication black-out. As special envoy he urges the leaders of the two main fighting forces General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Dagalo “Hemedti” to de-escalate the fighting and, among others, refrain from targeting civilians.

View original: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/african-news/sudan-conflict-spilling-into-abyei/

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Related reports

From Al Jazeera 

Dated 14 September 2024 - excerpt:

South Sudan postpones December election by two years

Government says it needs more time to complete a census, draft a permanent constitution and register political parties.

President Salva Kiir, who has led South Sudan since it became independent from Sudan in 2011, had promised to hold elections in 2024 

[File: Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]

South Sudan’s government has announced it is postponing long-delayed general elections until December 2026, citing a lack of preparedness. This is the second time the country, which gained independence in 2011, is postponing elections and extending a transitional period that started in February 2020. 

Full story: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/14/south-sudan-postpones-december-election-by-two-years

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From What's In Blue 

Dated 06 November 2024 - excerpt:

South Sudan: Briefing and Consultations

An expected focus of tomorrow’s [07 November] meeting is the 13 September decision by the signatories to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) to extend the transitional period by 24 months. The decision postponed again the country’s first post-independence elections, which were scheduled for December 2024, until December 2026, and extended the transitional period until February 2027. The original transitional period outlined in the R-ARCSS was set to end in February 2023; it had been extended until February 2025 through a roadmap adopted in August 2022. (For background and more information, see the brief on South Sudan in our November 2024 Monthly Forecast.)

Full story: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2024/11/south-sudan-briefing-and-consultations-26.php

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From The Conversation 

By Steven C. Roach

Dated 08 November 2024 - excerpt:

Salva Kiir: South Sudan’s president fought for independence, but then fuelled division, violence and corruption

Salva Kiir Mayardit has served as South Sudan’s president since the country’s independence in 2011. South Sudan’s secession from Sudan came on the heels of a long and bloody civil war that resulted in a referendum on independence. The initial optimism about the new state faded within two years when Kiir fell out with his vice-president, Riek Machar. The resulting civil war displaced some four million people and killed an estimated 388,000 people. With the two warring sides unable to reach agreement, the government postponed elections indefinitely in 2015 amid continuing civil strife.

Full story: https://theconversation.com/salva-kiir-south-sudans-president-fought-for-independence-but-then-fuelled-division-violence-and-corruption-242747

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From The East African 

By Garang Malak

Dated 08 November 2024 - excerpt:

South Sudan holdouts agree to resume peace talks in Nairobi

President Ruto says parties to the South Sudan peace process have agreed to resume mediation

Kenya's President William Ruto makes remarks, during the swearing-in ceremony of his new Deputy President, Kithure Kindiki, at the Kenya International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on November 1, 2024. Kindiki is an academic turned politician who was thrust into the limelight when he defended his boss President William Ruto at the International Criminal Court. The 52-year-old millionaire served as interior minister for more than two years before taking over as deputy president on November 1, 2024 following the historic impeachment of his predecessor, Rigathi Gachagua. (Photo by SIMON MAINA/Agence France-Presse (AFP)/AFP

South Sudan’s holdout groups, the non-signatories to the 2018 peace agreement, have agreed to resume peace talks in Nairobi after months of expressing security concerns and dissatisfaction with the process. This development follows Kenyan President William Ruto’s visit to Juba on Wednesday, where he held talks with President Salva Kiir, First Vice President Riek Machar and other key stakeholders in the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).

Full story: https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/africa/south-sudan-holdouts-agree-to-resume-peace-talks-in-nairobi-a3ontus8

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Sudan: UN Security Council Private Meeting 29 Apr

Report from United Nations

Security Council Report (SCR)

What’s In Blue

Dated Sunday, 28 April 2024 - here is a full copy:

Sudan: Private Meeting

Tomorrow morning (29 April), the Security Council will convene for a private meeting to discuss the security and humanitarian situations in Sudan. Malta, April’s Council president, scheduled the meeting following bilateral consultations with some Council members and the parties concerned. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya are expected to brief. Sudan is expected to participate under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.

Tomorrow’s meeting comes against the backdrop of a severe escalation of violence across several parts of Sudan, particularly in the city of El-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur state. One year into the conflict that erupted on 15 April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s military leader, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemeti), the fighting continues to have devastating consequences for civilians. As at 14 April, more than 15,500 people had reportedly been killed since the onset of the conflict, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a non-governmental organisation that collects conflict-related data.

In 2023, the RSF made significant advances, taking control of parts of Darfur, Khartoum, and Kordofan. El-Fasher remains the only capital city in the Darfur region outside the RSF’s control. The final report of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee, dated 15 January, noted that amidst initial violence in April 2023 local authorities in El-Fasher had brokered a ceasefire agreement, dividing the city between the SAF, the RSF, and the armed movements in Darfur, which are signatories to the Juba Peace Agreement. This arrangement allowed the SAF and the RSF to maintain positions on the west and east sides of the city, respectively, with a central area designated as a buffer zone under the control of the joint force of the armed movements. Recently, the joint force reportedly renounced its neutrality in the conflict and pledged support to the SAF, apparently citing the RSF’s provocations, including attacks on its positions and threats to block humanitarian aid, as the reasons for its decision.

In recent days, several UN officials have raised the alarm about the potential outbreak of full-scale fighting in El-Fasher and the resulting humanitarian consequences. In a 13 April statement, Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern about escalating tensions between armed actors in El-Fasher, noting that an attack on the city “would be devastating for civilians…and could lead to an expansion of the conflict along intercommunal lines across the five Darfur states”. He reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire and a durable cessation of hostilities. He also called on the warring parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law to protect civilians and facilitate full and unrestricted humanitarian access to all areas in need.

On 19 April, Council members met to discuss the situation in Sudan, at the request of the UK, the penholder on Sudan. In her remarks, Msuya said that on 13 April, following weeks of rising tensions and airstrikes, RSF-affiliated militias attacked and burned villages west of El-Fasher. Since then, she added, there have been continuing reports of clashes in the eastern and northern parts of the city. She further noted that the continuing violence poses an extreme and immediate danger to the 800,000 civilians residing in the city and risks triggering further violence in other parts of Darfur—where more than nine million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. At the same meeting, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo informed the members that in the north of El-Fasher, clashes had erupted between the RSF and SAF-aligned members of the joint force in the district of Mellit. She added that “fighting in El-Fasher could unleash bloody intercommunal strife throughout Darfur…[and] would also further impede the delivery of humanitarian assistance in an area already on the brink of famine”. (For background and more information, see our 19 April What’s in Blue story.)

At tomorrow’s meeting, Msuya is expected to provide an update on the humanitarian situation in the region in light of the evolving security developments. A 26 April OCHA press release said that the security situation has effectively cut off humanitarian access to El-Fasher—which serves as an important hub for reaching other parts of Darfur, including for aid shipments through the Tine border crossing from Chad and from Port Sudan. It added that more than a dozen trucks with lifesaving supplies for 122,000 people remain stranded in Ad Dabbah in the Northern state, due to persisting insecurity and lack of guarantees for safe passage.

On 27 April, Council members issued a press statement, co-authored by the UK and members of “A3 plus one” grouping (Algeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Guyana). The statement expressed concern about the escalating tensions and military operations around El-Fasher. Members called on the SAF and RSF to end the build-up of military forces, take steps to de-escalate the situation and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law. They reiterated their call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, leading to a sustainable ceasefire. In addition, they urged all member states to “refrain from external interference which seeks to foment conflict and instability and instead to support efforts for a durable peace” and reminded the Sudanese warring parties and all member states to comply with the arms embargo obligations, imposed by resolution 1556 of 30 July 2004 and most recently renewed by resolution 2676 of 8 March 2023. Several members are expected to reiterate these points at tomorrow’s meeting.

Another key issue that is likely to feature in tomorrow’s discussion is the flow of arms into Sudan in violation of the arms embargo. The 15 January final report of the Panel of Experts indicated that since the onset of the conflict, the RSF had been able to secure new supply lines to and through Darfur for weapons, vehicles, and logistics, including through eastern Chad, Libya and South Sudan. The report noted that the accusations levelled by the SAF that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Chad had provided military support to the RSF through Amdjarass were found credible. Furthermore, the report found that, from July 2023 onwards, “the RSF deployed several types of heavy and/or sophisticated weapons including Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), howitzers, multiple-rocket launchers and anti-aircraft weapons such as MANPADS [Man-Portable Air Defence Systems]”, which had a massive impact on the balance of forces, both in Darfur and other regions of Sudan—in violation of the arms embargo.

Today (28 April), Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, apparently sent a letter to the Council claiming that the UAE’s support to the RSF represents a “flagrant violation” of the UN Charter and the Sudan sanctions regime. The letter requested the Council to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the “UAE’s aggression against Sudan…[and] hold it responsible for the crimes committed against the Sudanese people”. The UAE has denied these allegations on several occasions, most recently in a 21 April letter addressed to the Council, which said that “[a]ll allegations of the United Arab Emirates’ involvement in any form of aggression or destabilization in Sudan, or its provision of any military, logistical, financial or political support to any faction in Sudan, are spurious, unfounded, and lack any credible evidence to support them”.

Tags: Insights on Africa, Sudan, Sudan (Darfur)

About What's In Blue

When the Security Council approaches the final stage of negotiating a draft resolution, the text is printed in blue. What's In Blue is a series of insights on evolving Security Council actions designed to help interested UN readers keep up with what might soon be "in blue".

View original: 

https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2024/04/sudan-private-meeting.php

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SUDAN WATCH UPDATE on Mon 29 Apr 2024 22:39 GMT: The above report, originally entitled Sudan: Private Meeting has been retitled and updated by What's In Blue as follows:

Sudan: Closed Consultations*

*Post-script (29 April, 9:50 am EST): After the story’s publication, the format of the meeting was changed from private meeting to closed consultations. An earlier version of the story indicated that Sudan will participate in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. After the changing of the meeting’s format this was no longer possible, as closed consultations do not allow participation of non-Council member states. The story was amended to reflect these changes.

View original: 

https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2024/04/sudan-private-meeting.php

END 

Sudan: ASG for Africa briefs UNSC on deadly spiral of violence. UNSG appoints Martin to review UNITAMS

THE UN Secretary-General has appointed Ian Martin – a seasoned UN negotiator, who led missions in Libya, Nepal, Timor Leste as well as Ethiopia and Eritrea – to lead a strategic review of UNITAMS to provide the Security Council with options on how to adapt its mandate to fit the wartime conditions. Note that the UK is the penholder on Sudan and in November China holds the presidency of the Security Council. Read more.

From United Nations News - un.org/en
Dated Thursday, 16 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

Sudan: Deadly spiral of violence continues between military rivals

© UNICEF/Zehbrauskas A child stands with water collected from an IDP camp in Nyala, Darfur. (file)

The war between rival militaries in Sudan, which has been raging for over seven months has further intensified in recent weeks, particularly in the volatile Darfur region, a senior UN official said on Thursday.

Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, informed ambassadors on the Security Council that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have gained territory, pushing the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) out of several of its bases in the region since late October.

The RSF seems poised to advance on El Fasher in north Darfur, a major town and the last SAF holdout in the region, according to media reports.

“An RSF attack on El Fasher or its surrounding areas could result in high numbers of civilian casualties, due to the large number of internally displaced persons located there,” Ms. Pobee said.

She informed Council members that some armed groups in the region, which had so far been neutral in the conflict, have allied with the SAF.

Outside of Darfur, clashes continue in Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, with the main fighting taking place around SAF strongholds. Hostilities are also spreading into new areas, including Gezira, White Nile and West Kordofan states, Ms. Pobee added.

Humanitarian calamity

The conflict has caused a severe humanitarian crisis and increasing human rights violations in Sudan, resulting in the deaths of over 6,000 civilians, including women and children, since April.

Across the country, over 7.1 million people have been driven from their homes, including hundreds of thousands into neighbouring countries.

Despite difficulties in access, attacks on aid workers, and bureaucratic hurdles, the UN and partners have delivered life-saving aid to 4.1 million people, which is only 22 percent of the targeted assistance for 2023.

“Civilians continue to face serious violations of human rights, including sexual and gender-based violence,” she said, noting that testimonies collected by the UN mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) pointed to RSF personnel or men in RSF uniforms as alleged perpetrators.

Adapting the mission

Ms. Pobee further said that the Secretary-General has appointed Ian Martin – a seasoned UN negotiator, who led missions in Libya, Nepal, Timor Leste as well as Ethiopia and Eritrea – to lead a strategic review of UNITAMS to provide the Security Council with options on how to adapt its mandate to fit the wartime conditions.

“Mr. Martin will hold extensive consultations with key stakeholders including Sudanese authorities, civil society, regional and sub-regional organizations, Member States and relevant entities within the UN system,” she added.

Fighting is futile

In conclusion, Ms. Pobee emphasized that it is crucial for the SAF and RSF to “recognize the futility of continued fighting and prioritize dialogue and deescalation.”

She emphasized that Sudan’s situation should remain a global concern, urging the international community to renew its commitment to coordinated peace efforts led by the region.

View original: https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143687

[Ends]