Abyei in Sudan & South Sudan: UNISFA peacekeepers are on high alert to ensure peace and security in Abyei

Today, @UNISFA_1 military observers carried out routine vehicle and foot patrols across villages in southern #Abyei. UNISFA peacekeepers are on high alert as they ensure peace and security in #Abyei. pic.twitter.com/ck6TJTWBXM

— UNISFA (@UNISFA_1) December 7, 2023

________________________________

Related

Map showing oil rich Abyei Area on the border of Sudan and South Sudan:

The Abyei Area (Arabic: منطقة أبيي) is an area of 10,546 km² or 4,072 sq mi^[2] on the border between South Sudan and Sudan that has been accorded "special administrative status" by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict (Abyei Protocol) in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War.^[3] The capital of the Abyei Area is Abyei Town. Under the terms of the Abyei Protocol, the Abyei Area is considered, on an interim basis, to be simultaneously part of both the Republic of South Sudan and Republic of Sudan, effectively a condominium. -Wikipedia

_____________

THIS ACLED map shows Abyei near E. Darfur and W. Kordofan in Sudan:

Source: UN OCHA Sudan Humanitarian Update 7 Dec 2023

To view a larger map visit the original report and click on

Download attachment

(PDF | 1.08 MB) 

_____________

Sudan

ACLED update on Sudan situation 28 Oct - 24 Nov 2023

'Unravelling the conflict dynamics in Darfur' 

https://acleddata.com/2023/12/01/sudan-situation-update-december-2023-unraveling-the-conflict-dynamics-in-darfur/

_____________

South Sudan

UN OCHA latest report on South Sudan

'Severity of humanitarian conditions and number of people in need'

Download report with map: https://www.unocha.org/south-sudan

_____________

Abyei Area on the border of Sudan and South Sudan

ACLED analysis on Abyei Area March 2023

'Deadly violence in the disputed Abyei Area'

https://acleddata.com/2023/03/17/sudan-march-2023-situation-update-deadly-violence-in-the-disputed-abyei-area/

END

South Sudan: Anglican Communion Sec-Gen Bishop Anthony Poggo calls for peace, free and fair elections

THE Secretary General of the Anglican Communion Bishop Anthony Poggo is visiting South Sudan with a delegation of church leaders from England on Monday. Read more in the following report.

 

From Radio Tamazuj - radiotamazuj.org/en
Dated Wednesday, 22 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

Anglican Communion Secretary General calls for peace, free and fair elections

Secretary General of the Anglican Communion Bishop Anthony Poggo. (Photo: Radio Tamazuj)

(Juba City - 22 Nov 2023) - The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion who is visiting South Sudan with a delegation of church leaders from England on Monday reiterated the Canterbury’s commitment towards consolidating sustainable peace and reconciliation to fast-track the realization of free, fair, and credible elections next year.

Speaking to the press, Bishop Anthony Poggo, said he paid a courtesy call to Central Equatoria State Governor Emmanuel Adil to brief him about his visit and to discuss the impact of the joint visit of Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.

“It is a courtesy call to brief him on our visit to the country. We discussed the impact the joint visit of the Pope, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland had on the country,” he stated. “We also wanted to hear from him how things are, the state of affairs in his state, and also the preparations for elections,” he stated “This is an important step because we want to continue to support this country in prayer.”

“The Anglican Communion continues to follow what is happening in South Sudan as our desire is for peace to prevail but also for peaceful, fair elections to happen in this country,” Bishop Poggo added.

For his part, Derick Derickson, the spokesperson in the office of the Governor of Central Equatoria State, said Governor Adil appreciated the role the vital and tireless role the Anglican Communion plays in making sure there is sustainable peace in South Sudan.

‘’The governor commended the tremendous role that the Anglican Communion and church organizations are playing in the country as per propagating messages for peace and unity and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to work together with the religious leaders for the development of the country,” he said.  About the fourth coming elections, the governor also reiterated the need for the religious leaders to continue supporting the government in its preparatory efforts.”

Bishop Poggo who traveled from Canterbury in the United Kingdom was accompanied by key members of the Anglican Communion ahead of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan (ECSS) House of Bishops meeting expected to start later this week.

 

View original: https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/anglican-communion-secretary-general-calls-for-peace-free-and-fair-elections

[Ends]

S. Sudan deploys first unified forces after peace deal

Report from Asharq Al Awsat
Dated Thursday, 16 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

S.Sudan Deploys First Unified Forces After Peace Deal

President Salva Kiir of South Sudan. (Reuters)

Hundreds of former rebels and government troops in South Sudan's unified forces were deployed at a long-overdue ceremony on Wednesday, marking progress for the country's lumbering peace process.

The world's newest nation has struggled to find its footing since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, battling violence, endemic poverty and natural disasters.

The unification of forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his rival, Vice President Riek Machar, was a key condition of the 2018 peace deal that ended a five-year conflict in which nearly 400,000 people died, according to AFP.

Tens of thousands of former fighters were integrated into the country's army in August last year but none have been deployed until now, with the delays fuelling frustration in the international community.

The first battalion comprising nearly 1,000 soldiers will be deployed to Malakal in northern Upper Nile State, which has received huge numbers of South Sudanese refugees fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Sudan.

At the ceremony on the outskirts of the capital Juba, Santino Wol, the country's chief of defence forces, urged the battalion to remain united, saying: "Be a soldier and don't get involved in politics."

The unity government led by Kiir and Machar has largely failed to meet key provisions of the peace agreement, including drafting a constitution and electoral legislation ahead of polls now set for next year.

Kiir has vowed to hold the country's first ever presidential ballot by December 2024, but UN envoy Nicholas Haysom warned in August that the authorities needed to create a conducive environment to ensure "peaceful, inclusive and credible elections".

"We are going for elections and you are to make sure that peace prevails so that elections can proceed peacefully," Information Minister Michael Makuei told the soldiers on Wednesday.

One of the poorest countries on the planet despite large oil reserves, South Sudan has spent almost half of its life as a nation at war and continues to be roiled by outbreaks of politically motivated ethnic violence.

View original:  https://english.aawsat.com/world/4671621-ssudan-deploys-first-unified-forces-after-peace-deal

 

[Ends]