Jonglei, S. Sudan: Mostly Lou-Nuer women and children killed in Akobo massacre by group of Murle from the east

Survivors of south Sudan massacre short of food-UN
Thu Aug 6, 2009 10:53am EDT
By Andrew Heavens

KHARTOUM, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Survivors of a tribal massacre that killed 185 people in southern Sudan are desperately short of food, a senior U.N. officer said on Thursday.

Mostly women and children were killed in the raid by heavily armed members of the Murle tribe on a fishing camp in Sudan's swampy Jonglei state on Sunday, in what is thought to be a revenge attack for earlier fighting.

The killings, near the town of Akobo, were the latest in a string of ethnic clashes in Sudan's oil-producing south, many of them attacks and counter attacks provoked by cattle rustling.

Traditional disputes have been exacerbated by a ready supply of arms left over from more than two decades of a north-south civil war that ended in a fragile 2005 peace accord.

The head of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) in the south, who has just returned from the Akobo area, said she saw piles of bodies and signs of food shortages.

"I saw dozens and dozens of dead bodies. The stench and the vultures gave us a clue to the magnitude," Michelle Iseminger said in a statement. "Clearly women and children were the majority of victims.

"People said that a group of Murle from the east attacked them and pushed them into the river, and, using machine guns, spears and other arms, continued killing them," Iseminger said.

Jonglei officials said most of the victims were from the Lou Nuer group, locked in a tribal war with the Murle that has already claimed more than 700 lives this year.

They estimated 185 people, including a small unit of southern soldiers protecting the camp, were killed in the raid which was later condemned by the U.N. Security Council.

Iseminger said dried fish was the only food she could see for sale in Akobo markets and that some 350 children, suffering from earlier food shortages, were being treated for severe malnutrition in the town's hospital.

"Food assistance is the number one humanitarian need in Akobo, besides protection," said Iseminger.

Emergency food supplies in the area started running low after members of the Jikany Nuer tribe, who have also been fighting the Lou Nuer, attacked a convoy of barges carrying U.N. aid long the Sobat river, close to the border with Ethiopia, towards Akobo in June.

Since then, the United Nations has had to use aircraft and helicopters to fly in smaller loads of food at greater expense.

The 2005 peace accord that ended Sudan's civil war promised national elections, due in April next year, and a referendum on southern secession in 2011. But many in the south are frustrated by the continuing lack of development and economic stagnation. (Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Bring all Jonglei attackers to justice

Sudan Tribune - Zechariah Manyok Biar - ‎13 hours ago‎

August 5, 2009 — On July 29, 2009 armed youth from Uror County of Jonglei State attacked Twich East County of the same State, ...

UNSC deplores deadly attacks in Sudan

Hindu - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

The killings took place on Sunday in Akobo in Jonglei state and the victims reportedly include more than 100 women and children. At least 60 people from the ...

Tribal clashes death toll reaches 185 in Akobo County

ReliefWeb (press release) - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

The Deputy Governor of Jonglei State, Hussein Mar Nyot, confirmed on Monday that State authorities have deployed reinforcements from the Sudan People's ...

Akobo County appeals for immediate humanitarian aid

ReliefWeb (press release) - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

Roads leading to Akobo County in Jonglei State have been blocked following the recent tribal clashes in the area. Commissioner of Akobo, Goi Jooyul Yol, ...

Analysis: Hurdles on the road to Sudan peace

IRINnews.org - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

Southern leaders have started to blame the north over related inter-communal clashes in Jonglei State, between the Murle and the Lou sub-section of the Nuer ...

Click on Jonglei label here below for related reports and updates.

Sudan Football Association boss publicly shreds letter from Nigeria Football Federation

Kamal Shaddad has poured more salt into injury in the row between the Sudan FA and their Nigerian counterparts...

From Goal.com by Samm Audu, Thursday 06 August 2009:
Sudan FA Boss Publicly Shreds Letter From Nigerian Counterparts

The raging war between Sudan Football Association (SFA) and their Nigerian counterparts is not about to ease after SFA president, Kamal Shaddad, further showed his total disrespect for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) by publicly shredding a letter sent to his association in respect of disputed loan transfers by Sudanese club Al Hilal.

According to Wednesday's Sudanese sports newspaper, Al Sadda, Shaddad made a public display of putting into the shredder a letter signed by NFF secretary-general, Bolaji Ojo-Oba, in which the NFF dismissed as forgeries two request letters for the International Transfer Certificates of Ajibade Omolade and a Brazilian, Quarresma.

The newspaper quoted Shaddad as saying that he does not receive official correspondences by courier, but rather via email.

However, the newspaper questioned Shaddad's position, revealing that several emails from the NFF to the Sudan FA on this transfer disappeared from the system.

Shaddad had earlier dismissed the NFF as "not a credible organisation".

In their own reaction, the NFF told the Sudan FA boss to take care of his "dubious agents in Sudan". A formal protest letter to Shaddad was also fired to Sudan.

Local rivals El Merriekh have already protested against Al Hilal for parading DR Congo's Tshubi Kabundi and Edward Sadomba from Zimbabwe in their CAF Champions League Group A clash last month.

El Merriekh argue that these two players were registered for the competition after Al Hilal illegally got rid of Omolade and Quarresma.

Officials of Kano Pillars are set to protest against Al Hilal, should they use Sadomba in their Champions League match-up on August 14 in Khartoum. The Zimbabwean featured for Al Hilal in Wednesday's league match.

- - -

Africa: Sudan FA is Fraudulent - NFF

AllAfrica.com - ‎Aug 4, 2009‎

The Nigeria Football Federation has lambasted the Sudan Football Association for its claims over a transfer scam involving Sudanese top club, Al Hilal FC. ...

Sudanese FA accuses NFF of dishonesty over Omolade's transfer

The Guardian - Nigeria - ‎Jul 31, 2009‎

... President of the Sudan Football Association (SFA), Kamal Shaddad, has lashed out at the NFF, accusing it of dishonesty. The Sudanese FA is blaming the ...

Sudan FA Blast Nigerian Counterparts As 'Not Credible'

Goal.com - ‎Jul 30, 2009‎

The president of the Sudan Football Association (SFA), Kamal Shaddad, has lashed out at the NigeriaFootball Federation (NFF) over the on-going transfer ...

Sudanese FA accuses NFF of dishonesty over Omolade's transfer The Guardian - Nigeria

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NFF Bristles over Sudan FA Falsehood

THISDAY - ‎Aug 2, 2009‎

The Nigeria Football Federation has lambasted the Sudan Football Association for its claims over a transfer scam involving Sudanese top club, Al Hilal FC. ...

Sudanese gov't calls for concrete US action

From Sudan Radio Service, Thursday 06 August 2009:
GONU Calls for Concrete US Action in Sudan

(Khartoum) – The Government of Sudan has requested that the United States government lay down a timetable for the implementation of what it describes as a "new policy" towards Sudan.

Presidential advisor Mustafa Osman Ismail made the point during a meeting organized by the government media office in the Republican Palace in Khartoum.

[Mustafa Osman Ismail]: “We are demanding that the American administration lay out its timetable to implement the issues we have been discussing. They keep sending envoys, then after a while, when they find out that the envoy is useless, they get rid of him. They bring in another envoy, who tells us good and nice words. Bush sent us four or five envoys; each of them came with good words, and they left with bad words. This time we are demanding that there should be a timetable, as a commitment from both parties, in which it will be shown what should be achieved in a specific period of time - what is required from us, and what is required from the American administration. Their intentions are good, but the manner by which they manipulate issues is different from Bush. Now we would like to translate these discussions into concrete action.”

Mustafa Osman Ismail said that President Barack Obama should show more interest in creating a meaningful and serious dialogue with Sudan.

- - -

Secretary Clinton Urged to Address Darfur

Voice of America - Joe De Capua - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

Human rights activists are urging Secretary of State Clinton, during her African trip, to call for strong action to end the Darfur crisis. ...

Women's groups worldwide must unite to help Lubna Hussein stop men from killing and lashing women and children in Sudan

Quote of the Day
“There is a lot of violation of women rights in Sudan, and we consider this as a violation of human rights and it is also a violation of women's security in Sudan. These violations have been there for so long but now it has taken on a new dimension.” - Nahid Jabrallah

From Sudan Radio Service today, Wednesday 05 August 2009:
Women's Groups in Khartoum Back Lubna Hussein

(Khartoum) – Following Lubna Hussein's court appearance on Tuesday, Sudanese women's activists are calling on the government to focus on issues affecting Sudanese women rather than concentrating on their dress-codes.

At a demonstration in front of the Khartoum North court where Hussein’s case was being heard, the SPLM Chairperson for the northern sector, Ikram Awad, told Sudan Radio Service that the government was losing sight of its primary responsibilities.

[Ikram Awad]: “Instead of focusing on women’s clothes, let the government focus on the problems facing women. We women have a lot of problems. We urged the government to solve all our problems and not the problems of how we dress. Because today, Lubna or anyone can be arrested for dressing in tight clothes but at the same time there are other women who are homeless, living under bridges and even walking naked and nobody is arresting them - because they are poor! Why is the government focusing on the way some women dress? We women in the SPLM say that the issue of clothing is up to the individual.”

Nahid Jabrallah, a Communist party activist, complained of the restrictions on women which prevent them from exercising their rights in Sudan.

[Nahid Jabrallah]: “There is a lot of violation of women rights in Sudan, and we consider this as a violation of human rights and it is also a violation of women's security in Sudan. These violations have been there for so long but now it has taken on a new dimension.”

Lubna Ahmed Hussein’s case has attracted international attention.

Right on, Nahid Jabrallah!  For starters, what about all the women recently killed by men in Jonglei State, South Sudan? Note this excerpt of a report filed here at Sudan Watch yesterday:

The Commissioner of Akobo County, Goi Jooyul Yol, told Miraya FM that the recent death toll from the clash in Akobo, Jonglei State, southern Sudan has risen to 185 including twelve soldiers.

Jooyul said that bodies are being retrieved from the river for burial, adding that most of the dead are women and children. Further details here below.

Repeat. The clashes claimed the lives of more than 180 people, mostly women and children.

Here's hoping that women of the world unite in support of Team Lubna to help stop men from lashing and killing women and children in Sudan (and Chad, and Uganda, and DR Congo, and ...)  

Click on label 'Sudan women 'lashed for trousers' (here below) to see related reports and how one can support Ms Hussein's campaign on Facebook to help change archaic laws in Sudan that discriminate against females.



Photo: Lubna Hussein (C), a former journalist and U.N. press officer, gestures outside the court after her trial in Sudan's capital Khartoum August 4, 2009. Dozens of protesters rallied outside a Khartoum court on Tuesday in support of Hussein, who faces 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public, in a case that has become a public test of Sudan's indecency laws. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallh (SUDAN CRIME LAW SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY) (Hat tip: Reuters' correspondent Andrew Heavens in Khartoum: "Re widespread Sudan trouser woman coverage - I didn't see police beating anyone - tear-gassing, shoving yes, beating no". - Twitter/AndrewHeavens 5/8/09)

USSP on GoSS: Insecurity in S. Sudan is due to the LRA, men on horseback from N. Sudan, armed groups and individuals

From Sudan Radio Service, Wednesday 05 August 2009:
USSP Official Criticizes GOSS Security Policy

(London) – The deputy leader of the United South Sudan Party, Brian Badi, is calling on the Government of southern Sudan to contain insecurity and prepare southern Sudanese for the next elections and the referendum.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service by phone from London on Wednesday, Badi described the situation as he saw it in southern Sudan.

[Brian Badi]: “As far as security is concerned, I think I would categorize the causes of insecurity in southern Sudan into five categories, 

A, is the LRA, the Ugandan rebels. 

B, is the Ambororo, the Janjaweed or people on horseback who come from the north. 

C, is the armed groups or militias in the south. 

D, I would say are the individuals who possess illegal arms or weapons, individuals roaming about in southern Sudan with illegal weapon in their hands. 

E, is the soldiers who take the law into their own hands and use their guns to commit crimes.

Because, one, they misunderstand their own national role and their obligation to the citizens and the civil population.   Two, because they are not paid salaries and of course if you don’t pay people salaries, you don’t give them their dues, how do you expect them to live and how do expect their families to survive? These make them take the law into their own hands and of course they go about robbing people in the villages, looting and raping etc.”

Badi said the Government of southern Sudan should start asking itself what it has achieved in the last four years.

[Brian Badi]: “The Government of southern Sudan has been in power for four years, four years is a long period. It is actually the full length of the government and if a government has not performed in four years then it can ask itself - or the citizens have a right to ask - what have they been doing? 

They have always been giving lame excuses that south Sudan has just come out of war. The war ended a long, long time ago and they have been in power for four years. That is a long enough period for them to have made substantial improvements.”

The deputy leader of the United South Sudan Party, Brian Badi, was speaking to Sudan Radio Service from London on Wednesday.

No lashings for Lubna as she had UN immunity when arrested but what about those without UN immunity?

The defence lawyer for Lubna Hussein says he thinks the court will drop the case, because at the time she committed the alleged action, Lubna was working with the UN and she was enjoying the UN’s immunity, and the immunity was not revoked at that time.  

The new date for the trial, 7 September, falls in the middle of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month when Muslims are supposed to renounce violence and refrain from all intolerant behaviour, dedicating the fast to peaceful contemplation.

From Sudan Radio Service, Tuesday, 04 August 2009:
Khartoum Trouser Trial Adjourned

(Khartoum) – Lubna Ahmed Hussein, the Sudanese journalist who has been accused by a court in Khartoum of dressing indecently, has had her case adjourned for a month.

Hussein spoke to Sudan Radio Service after the hearing. She explained why she chose to have her UN immunity lifted so that she could appear before the court.

[Lubna Hussein]: “The judge told me to choose between continuing the case and insisting on having UN immunity. I told him that I respect the agreement between the Sudan government and the UN, and because of that I will resign from the UN, so I don’t violate the agreement and that’s what happened. I have resigned from the UN because I belong to this nation, and because there are ten of thousands of women who are being lashed every day and the have no immunity and don’t work for the UN.”

The defense lawyer of the accused journalist, Nabil Adib, spoke to Sudan Radio Service from Khartoum immediately after the court appearance on Tuesday.

[Nabil Adib]:”What happened is that when the court started the session, the judge said that after he checked the documents, he decided that the court should not continue the case before checking with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whether or not Lubna had UN immunity when she was arrested. The case was adjourned for one month so the judge can contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify this issue.”

Adib said that he expects that the case might be dropped.

[Nabil Adib]: “I think the court will not continue with this case, because we know that at the time she committed the alleged action, Lubna was working with the UN and she was enjoying the UN’s immunity, and the immunity was not revoked at that time, so this is the response we are expecting from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If the ministry confirms this, the court will drop the case.”

Lubna Hussein’s defense lawyer, Nabil Adib, was speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Khartoum.

So, it looks like good news, no lashings for Lubna as she had UN immunity when arrested. But what about all the Sudanese women and girls without UN immunity? Are they to be lashed by men for wearing trousers?

Click on label 'Sudan women 'lashed for trousers' (here below) to see related reports and how one can support Ms Hussein's campaign on Facebook to help change an archaic dress code law in Sudan that discriminates against females.

- - -

From the Guardian, today - Lubna Hussein: justice deferred - excerpt:

The new date for the trial, 7 September, falls in the middle of Ramadan. This will work in Hussein's favour. Ramadan is a month when Muslims are supposed to renounce violence and refrain from all intolerant behaviour, dedicating the fast to peaceful contemplation.

S. Sudan: Junior competition 4-8 Aug kicks off at Juba Football Stadium

A football tournament involving junior teams from all the ten states of Southern Sudan kicked off on Tuesday at Juba Football Stadium, South Sudan.

The final winning team will represent Southern Sudan in the East African secondary school sports competitions due to start at the end of this month in Uganda.

Another tournament for under 17's, where about 14 African countries will participate, is expected to begin on 19 August 2009 in Juba.



Photo: A team of young girls football players parading at Juba Football Stadium shortly before the matches began, August 4, 2009 (James G. Dak/ST)

Source: Sudan Tribune, Wednesday 5 August 2009 02:30 am, by James Gatdet Dak - South Sudan prepares for East African sports competitions:

August 4, 2009 (JUBA) – A football tournament involving teams from all the ten states of Southern Sudan kicked off on Tuesday in the semi-autonomous region’s capital, Juba.

The participants comprising boys and girls teams were drawn from various secondary schools in the region.

The Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Professor Job Dhuruai, said the final winning team would represent Southern Sudan in the East African secondary school sports competitions due to start at the end of this month in Uganda.

The four-day competitions from 4th to 8th August were opened by the Vice President Dr. Riek Machar who lit the torch, marking the beginning of the tournament.

It will be for the first time that Southern Sudan participates in the Kampala tournament that will witness participation of many countries in East Africa.

Another tournament for teenaged boys and girls under 17 years old, where about 14 African countries will participate, is also expected to begin on 19th August in Juba.

Sudan’s national capital, Khartoum and Wad Medani town in Northern Sudan are also selected to host a number of teams’ competitions.

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Gabriel Changson Chang, has requested for an amount of 400,000 Sudanese pounds, which the cabinet has approved, to make necessary preparations for the Juba tournament.

Government of Southern Sudan has embarked on developing and promoting sports and cultural activities which it views as sectors of potential excellence for the region internationally.

Jonglei, S. Sudan: Khartoum 'arming Sudan militias'

Quote of the Day
"There must be a force somewhere, a force that keeps arming these militias, a force that keeps sending ammunition to the militias.  There is not another force in this way that can keep arming and sending ammunition to the local population apart from the Sudanese army" - SPLA's Maj-Gen Kuol Deim Kuol, 04 August 2009.

From BBC News at 18:03 GMT, Tuesday, 04 August 2009 19:03 UK:
Khartoum 'arming Sudan militias'

A general in South Sudan's army has told the BBC the government in the north is arming militias accused of being behind recent ethnic violence.

Maj-Gen Kuol Deim Kuol said his SPLA army was trying to disarm the local population but was being hampered by the continuing supply of weapons.

At least 185 Lou Nuer people were killed in Jonglei state when reportedly attacked by Murle fighters on Sunday.

Several hundred people have died in such clashes this year.

The UN says this is more than in Sudan's Darfur conflict.

Violence over land and cattle in South Sudan is exacerbated by a ready supply of firearms following the 22-year civil war with the north, which ended in 2005.

"There must be a force somewhere, a force that keeps arming these militias, a force that keeps sending ammunition to the militias," Maj-Gen Kuol told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

"There is not another force in this way that can keep arming and sending ammunition to the local population apart from the Sudanese army and the [northern governing] National Congress Party," he said.

Northerner officials have previously denied similar accusations, claiming southern politicians want to shift the blame for their failure to establish peace and restore security since the end of the war.

Officials in Jonglei said members of the Lou Nuer community had gone fishing south of Akobo town amid a severe food shortage when they were attacked.

Eleven SPLA soldiers, who were guarding their camp, were among those killed.

An aid worker who has worked in the area told the BBC's World Today programme that the clashes in Jonglei have escalated.

"Many people have been displaced into Akobo town, some have gone south into Pibor - everyone is worried because this hasn't happened on this scale before," she said.

"Since 2005 there have been some disarmaments but there are still very many people in South Sudan in these two tribes who are still armed," she added.

Analysts say the violence comes at a critical time for Sudan, as tensions grow in the north-south unity government.

Elections are due in April 2010, the first chance to vote for many in decades.

After that, a 2011 independence referendum is due for the south, which many believe will see Africa's biggest nation split fully in two.

Could clashes herald new conflict?

Further reading

See Sudan Radio Service's report at  Sudan Watch, Tuesday, August 04, 2009 - S. Sudan: SPLA accuses Sudanese army of involvement in Akobo, Jonglei clashes.

Report from Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi) via AllAfrica, 04 August 2009:
Sudan: 185 Killed in Ethnic Clashes, Catholic Radio Says

Juba — At least 185 people have been killed and another 31 wounded in inter-ethnic violence in South Sudan.

Catholic Radio Bakhita FM confirmed to CISA that thousands of other people have been displaced in Jonglei State following an attack on Mareng Village near Akobo County by alleged Murle tribesmen on Sunday.

The number of casualties was confirmed to Bakhita FM by Goi Jooyul Yol, Akobo's County Commissioner, who spoke to the radio station by telephone from Malakal.

Jooyul said that the Sunday attacks were the latest round of fighting between the Murle and Lou Nuer communities which started in March. There is a big food crisis in Akobo because many people have been displaced and the insecurity disrupted agricultural activities, the County Commissioner said.

"The first attacks of March displaced some 50, 000 people. Because of hunger around Akobo, there are a lot of people moving to town. They are in thousands. It is becoming worse because there is no rain and people could not cultivate because of insecurity around their home", Jooyul explained.

It is believed that the March clashes between Murle and Lou Nuer claimed over 1,000 lives.

Jooyul spoke from Malakal where he had gone to discuss the opening of the Sobat River corridor with the governor of Upper Nile State and the Commissioner of Nasser County.

The river was closed in June when the Jikany Nuer attacked a UN barge convoy bringing food to Akobo. Some 100 people, mostly SPLA soldiers escorting the flotilla, were killed in the raid.

During the rainy season, River Sobat is the only way to access Akobo. The World Food Program has been flying food to Akobo County, but it is too expensive and not enough to meet the needs of the displaced persons.

Jooyul said the alternative is to buy food from Ethiopia but there is no road in Akobo linking the two countries.

Click here for Jonglei State Map at ReliefWeb.

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Sudan: 185 Killed in Ethnic Clashes, Catholic Radio Says

AllAfrica.com - ‎1 hour ago‎

Catholic Radio Bakhita FM confirmed to CISA that thousands of other people have been displaced in JongleiState following an attack on Mareng Village near ...

BigPond News

UN urges action over south Sudan clashes

BigPond News - ‎3 hours ago‎

'The Secretary-General notes with extreme concern the August 2 attack in Akobo, Jongleistate, southern Sudan, and condemns the reported killing of 161 ...

Ban extremely concerned over deadly Sudan attack

SmartBrief - ‎4 hours ago‎

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned an attack that killed more than 160 people, mostly women and children, in southern Sudan. ...

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BBC Afrique - ‎11 hours ago‎

At least 185 Lou Nuer people were killed in Jonglei state when reportedly attacked by Murle fighters on Sunday. Several hundred people have died in such ...

Scores dead in South Sudan clash

AngolaPress - ‎12 hours ago‎

Their camp is some 25 miles (40km) south-west of Akobo town, in Jonglei state. Akobo commissioner Goi Jooyul Yol said that 185 bodies had been counted, ...

Afrik.com

South Sudan: Distrust and violence ahead of vital polls

Afrik.com - Konye Obaji - ‎13 hours ago‎

Tribal war has continued to widen the divide between North and South, as well as tribes of South Sudan, buttressing the necessity for division, ...

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ISRIA - ‎14 hours ago‎

The Secretary-General notes with extreme concern, the 2 August attack in Akobo, Jonglei State, Southern Sudan, and condemns the reported killing of 161 ...

'Families wiped out' in southern Sudan raid

Toronto Star - Sarah El Deeb - ‎14 hours ago‎

The camping area overlooks the Geni River, near the Ethiopian border, in Jonglei state. Yol, who gave the death toll, blamed the attack on the rival Murle ...

Over 180 killed in tribal violence in southern Sudan

Xinhua - Wang Guanqun - ‎15 hours ago‎

An unknown number of the armed men raided the Lou Nuer village near Akobo County in Jonglei state in the worst violence in three months, according to the ...

Japan & WFP sign agreement to provide humanitarian aid to Sudan

ReliefWeb (press release) (press release) - ‎16 hours ago‎

The meeting will also discuss the situation in the South after the Jonglei and Upper Nile incidents, in addition to the repercussions caused by activities ...

Click on Jonglei label here below to see previous reports and further updates.

Khartoum Criminal Court judge adjourned Lubna Hussein's trouser trial for a month

Today, while the police broke up the demonstration outside the Khartoum Criminal Court, the judge adjourned Lubna Hussein's trial for a month to seek clarification from Sudan's foreign ministry.

Defence lawyer Jalal al-Sayed told reporters Tuesday the judge wanted to know whether Hussein still has immunity because her superiors have not yet accepted the resignation. Further details from Associated Press here below.



Photo: A Sudanese activist march in support to Lubna Hussein, who faces a punishment of 40 lashes on the charge of "indecent dressing." Tuesday Aug. 4, 2009, outside a Khartoum court where Hussein is going on trial for wearing trousers in public, a violation of the country's strict Islamic laws. Arabic slogan read as "Lubna case, is all women case". (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)



Photo: Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein, right, who faces 40 lashes on the charge of "indecent dressing", flashes a victory sign to her supporters as she enters the court in Khartoum Tuesday Aug. 4, 2009, where she is going on trial for wearing trousers in public, a violation of the country's strict Islamic laws. Arabic slogan read as "No, for exporting our rights by the name of law". (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)



Photo: Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein, right, is kissed by a supporter as she enters court in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday Aug. 4, 2009, on charges of wearing trousers in public. Hussein faces a punishment of 40 lashes on the charge of "indecent dressing", a violation of the country's strict Islamic laws.(AP Photo/Abd Raouf)

Police beat women opposing Sudan dress code trial
AP report by Mohamed Osman, Tuesday, 04 August 2009 - excerpt:

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudanese police fired tear gas and beat women protesting outside a Sudanese court Tuesday during the trial of a female journalist accused of violating the Islamic dress code by wearing trousers in public.

Police moved in swiftly and dispersed about 50 protesters, mostly women, who were supporting Lubna Hussein, a former U.N. worker facing 40 lashes on the charge of "indecent dressing." Some of the women demonstrators wore trousers in solidarity with Hussein while others wore more traditional dress.

Trousers are considered indecent under the strict interpretation of Islamic law, adopted by Sudan's Islamic regime which came to power after a coup led by President Omar al-Bashir in 1989. But activists and lawyers say the implementation of the law is arbitrary.

Hussein was among 13 women arrested July 3 in a raid by the public order police on a popular cafe in Khartoum. Ten of the women were flogged at a police station two days later and fined 250 Sudanese pounds, or about $120.

But Hussein and two others decided to go on trial. She has sought to publicize her case internationally, inviting human rights workers, Western diplomats and fellow journalists to witness her trial.

"I am not afraid of flogging. ... It's not about flogging. It's not about my innocence. It's about changing the law," Hussein said, speaking to The Associated Press after the hearing Tuesday.

She said she would take the issue all the way to Sudan's constitutional court if necessary, but that if the court rules against her and orders the flogging, she was ready "to receive (even) 40,000 lashes."

Hussein wore the same clothes Tuesday she wore when arrested, including the dark-colored pants that authorities found offensive. Although she was required to wear the same outfit to court so the judge and others could see the clothing, Hussein said she's been wearing it every day to highlight her case.

In the clashes outside the courtroom, witnesses said police wielding batons beat up one of Hussein's lawyers, Manal Awad Khogali, while keeping media and cameras at bay. No injuries were immediately reported.

"We are here to protest against this law that oppresses women and debases them," said one of the protesters, Amal Habani, a female columnist for the daily Ajraas Al Hurria, or Bells of Freedom in Arabic.

While the police broke up the demonstration outside the Khartoum Criminal Court, the judge adjourned Hussein's trial for a month to seek clarification from Sudan's foreign ministry.

Defense lawyer Jalal al-Sayed told reporters Tuesday the judge wanted to know whether Hussein still has immunity because her superiors have not yet accepted the resignation.

Hussein's hearings first opened last Wednesday but immediately adjourned to give her the opportunity to resign.

Hussein has lauded her supporters, saying they showed that "Sudanese women from different political parties and groupings stand with us."

Click on label in footnote here below for previous reports and updates.

Tear gas fired at protesters outside Lubna Hussein trial

Times Online - Tristan McConnell - ‎6 hours ago‎

Lubna Hussein, a widow in her 30s, has drawn attention to her case in a bid to change clause 152 of the Sudanese penal code that makes women liable to be ...

Sudan: Lubna Hussein to learn if she will be flogged for wearing ... Telegraph.co.uk

Police beat women opposing Sudan dress code trial The Associated Press

Protesters back woman in trousers case Reuters

The Week Magazine - CBC.ca

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S. Sudan: SPLA accuses Sudanese army of involvement in Akobo, Jonglei clashes

The Commissioner of Akobo County, Goi Jooyul Yol, told Miraya FM that the recent death toll from the clash in Akobo, Jonglei State, southern Sudan has risen to 185 including twelve soldiers. 

Jooyul said that bodies are being retrieved from the river for burial, adding that most of the dead are women and children. Further details here below.  

Repeat.  The clashes claimed the lives of more than 180 people, mostly women and children.  

This terrible story does not make sense.  Sudanese men killing defenceless Sudanese women and children?  Why?  Surely, there is more to this story than meets the eye.    



Photo: A Murle gunman moves with his rifle in a village. (Photo Source: Bor Globe/Sudan Tribune)

From Sudan Radio Service, Tuesday 04 August 2009:
SPLA Accuses SAF of Involvement in Akobo Clashes

(Juba) – The SPLA has accused SAF of being behind the fighting on Monday which left more than 180 people dead after clashes in Akobo county, Jonglei state, between Lou Nuer and Murle communities.

SPLA spokesman Major General Kuol Diem Kuol spoke to Sudan Radio Service from Juba on Tuesday.

[Kuol Diem Kuol]: “Before the civil war, the Jonglei area was well-known for cattle rustling incidents. The situation escalated when the Sudanese army armed the people in these areas with automatic weapons, including Kalashnikovs, RPGs and Doshkas. There are clear indications that SAF is behind all the problems in southern Sudan. We have information that helicopters belonging to SAF fly over Murle areas, and that some injured Murle people are being taken to hospital in El-Obeid. The National Congress Party is arming both communities. Riak Gai is arming the Lou Nuer and other elements are arming the Murle.”

SAF has dismissed the SPLA accusations.

SAF spokesman Lieutenant-colonel Abdul Sameei Haj Ahmed described the allegations by SPLA as “baseless” and “nonsense.”

[Abdul Sameei Haj Ahmed]: “These are incorrect and baseless accusations and the situation doesn’t exist on the ground. How can SAF arm militias in southern Sudan to create conflict? They always accuse SAF whenever they have problems in the south. I don’t know why they accuse us. Our army has nothing to do with what is happening in the south, this is nonsense.”

Lieutenant-colonel Abdul Sameei Haj Ahmed was speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Khartoum.

From Miraya FM Tuesday, 04 August 2009
Calm presides over Akobo following tribal clashes

Calmness returned to River Geni area in Akobo County in Jonglei state, following tribal clashes on Sunday between the Murle and Lou Nuer. The clashes claimed the lives of more than 180 people, mostly women and children. The Deputy Governor of Jonglei State, Hussein Mar Nyot, told Miraya FM the region is totally calm now after sending military forces to the area.

Mar Nyot said the humanitarian and health situations are extremely poor which calls for immediate assistance.

The Commissioner of Akobo County, Goi Jooyul Yol, told Miraya FM that the recent death toll from the clash has risen to 185 including twelve soldiers.

Jooyul said that bodies are being retrieved from the river for burial, adding that most of the dead are women and children.

Meanwhile, a delegation from the government is expected to visit Akobo County today, to inspect the security and humanitarian situation on the ground.

In the same context, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, expressed his sorrow over the magnitude of the developments in Akobo.

Moon expressed his condolences to the Government of South Sudan and the families of the victims.

He also directed the UN Mission in Sudan, UNMIS, to extend all possible assistance to those affected by this heinous act and work with local authorities to restore calm.

Ban Ki Moon further urged the local authorities in south Sudan to bring to justice all those responsible for these events.

Some of the many comments at Sudan Tribune article [by Philip Thon Aleu, 04 August 2009 - Bloody day in Sudan’s Jonglei, U.N. chief condemns violence] suggest that the attack in Akobo, Jonglei State was engineered.  

Note the following report from GoSS USA website dated last April and the text I have highlighted in red:

Jonglei clashes stakeholders commit to peace
THURSDAY, 30 APRIL 2009
Source: Miraya FM

The leaders of the warring tribes in Jonglei State have pledged to end the fighting and refrain from violence.

This came following mediation efforts led by a joint fact-finding committee from the State government and the United Nations Mission in Sudan.

Speaking to Miraya FM, the Governor of the Jonglei State, Kuol Manyang, said the fact-finding committee managed to convince the leaders of the Lou-Nuer and Murle tribes to stop fighting each other.

In return, the State government said it will implement a disarmament plan in their areas and provide them with basic services.

The Governor described the visit to the affected areas as successful.

Meanwhile, Governor Manyang hinted that parties from outside the region may have stood behind the tribal clashes which claimed the lives of hundreds of people in the last few weeks.

Governor Manyang said he cannot name these parties adding that all indicators show they are instigating the fighting by smuggling arms into the area.

He further called on the Government of South Sudan to investigate the matter.

Click on Jonglei label here below for related reports and latest updates.

Also, note Sudan Watch, January 14, 2009: Ugandan LRA are agents of forces who are against South Sudan's peace agreement

U.S. reshaping Darfur policy - Statement of Senator Barack Obama on negotiations with the Government of Sudan

From Los Angeles Times August 4, 2009:
U.S. reshaping Darfur policy
The Obama administration is working on a new approach that may soften some sanctions against the Sudan government, which is implicated in the killing and displacement of tens of thousands.

By Peter Wallsten and Edmund Sanders
Reporting from Washington and Nairobi, Kenya

After years of worldwide outrage over suffering in Darfur, the Obama administration will soon launch a new policy that could soften some longtime U.S. sanctions against the Sudanese government implicated in the large-scale killings and displacement of African tribespeople.

White House officials say that specific conditions would have to be met before sanctions would be lifted, and that Sudan could face even tougher sanctions if its leaders act in bad faith. But President Obama's handpicked envoy to Sudan, J. Scott Gration, said in an interview Monday that the Khartoum government, which expelled humanitarian groups this year after an international court accused Sudan's president of war crimes in Darfur, has shown a willingness to work toward stabilizing Darfur in order to allow aid to be delivered.

"We see that there is a spirit of cooperation and an attitude of wanting to help," Gration said.

The American envoy acknowledged that lifting sanctions could help bolster the Sudanese government, but he said the new policy would be prudent and cautious.

"There's ways that we can roll back these sanctions in a way that allows us to lift the restrictions we need, such that the government continues to be sanctioned and military equipment continues to be sanctioned," he said.

The new approach has sparked fierce debate among Obama's advisors and is causing consternation among some of his strongest supporters, who had expected the president to toughen U.S. policy toward a government that he had sharply criticized as untrustworthy during last year's presidential campaign.

Broad restrictions were enacted by the Clinton administration 12 years ago against the Islamist-led regime in response to Khartoum's alleged harboring of terrorists such as Osama bin Laden in the 1990s and to the oppression of Christians and other minorities as part of Sudan's civil war.

U.S. foreign aid and almost all commercial ties are severely restricted.

Even floating the idea of lifting some sanctions -- something the Bush administration also contemplated -- is politically controversial.

Darfur has for years unified an unusual and vocal coalition of Hollywood stars, human rights activists, African Americans and evangelicals. As candidates last year, Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton all vowed to maintain a hard line with Khartoum.

Obama's United Nations ambassador, Susan Rice, who as an advisor to the Clinton administration helped draft the sanctions, has argued for a tougher stance, declaring that genocide continues in Darfur.

Supporters of the more cooperative approach, such as Gration, argue that deaths have declined in Darfur and that U.S. sanctions are hurting efforts to build roads and other projects in southern Sudan that need to be in place by 2011. That is the year the region is expected to vote to secede from the country in a referendum that is a key component of a 2005 U.S.-brokered peace treaty that ended Sudan's 21-year civil war.

Gration cited as evidence of Khartoum's new cooperation the government's willingness to ease its stance against several international humanitarian organizations that had been forced to leave the country and accused of spying after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir in March.

Nearly a dozen aid groups were kicked out, but now several others have been granted entry -- though critics note that the initial banning has hampered delivery of aid.

The new White House policy is not likely to be announced for several weeks, but in interviews and congressional testimony, administration officials have begun to sketch it out.

They say the new policy would not contradict the president's campaign promises -- and would result in tougher restrictions if Khartoum failed to adhere to promises.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity while discussing internal policy deliberations, said any possible incentives would be presented as part of a package to entice the Sudanese regime to bring peace to Darfur and abide by the terms of the 2005 peace accord.

The International Criminal Court estimates that about 35,000 people have been killed by government troops and allied militias in the six-year war in Darfur against rebellious tribes. At least 100,000 more have died from disease and starvation, the ICC says.

The Obama policy will outline "what sort of steps we'd be prepared to take that would be attractive to the government of Sudan in response to changed conditions on the ground," the White House official said.

The official said the new approach would be contingent upon concrete action by the Khartoum regime to stabilize security nationwide and end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

"We have to see verifiable change for the Sudanese people," said the official, calling it a "misconception" that "somehow we want to take the [regime] out for ice cream and then think that that changes everything in Sudan."

Potential conciliation is particularly sensitive because of the war crime charges against Bashir. Some advocacy groups are planning for a marketing blitz designed to convince the White House to maintain pressure on Sudan in light of Gration's push to engage Khartoum.

The media effort will include YouTube videos and viral ads highlighting campaign promises from Obama and his team pledging tough action to save Darfur.

"We fear [Gration is] being too concessionary," said Randy Newcomb, president of Humanity United, a foundation that gets its money from the founders of EBay and is bankrolling the publicity campaign.

"These are people in the administration we've been friendly with, but we've got to keep the pressure on them to make sure they are very aggressive," Newcomb said.

Another advocate for a continued strong stance against Khartoum is Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.), chairman of an Africa subcommittee, who said Gration's approach sounded "a little too gentle considering what [the Sudan government is] doing and what they've done in the past."

One quote likely to be used in the advocacy groups' effort comes from an Obama statement in April 2008, still available on the campaign website, in which he blasted possible normalization of relations with Sudan as "reckless and cynical" because it would "reward a regime in Khartoum that has a record of failing to live up to its commitments."

Administration officials said that engaging the Sudanese government reflects Obama's broader foreign policy goals of talking with adversaries, and it also fits with his outreach to the Muslim world.

But the deliberations have been contentious.

Gration, who traveled with then-Sen. Obama to Africa in 2006 and has developed a close rapport with the president, has pushed for engagement. He has even broken with official U.S. policy in declaring that the Darfur genocide is over, and only "remnants" remain.

Obama, like U.N. Ambassador Rice, has continued to use the term "genocide" in reference to current conditions in Darfur. However, he has remained in touch with Gration, meeting with him privately as recently as last week in the lead-up to the envoy's appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in which he argued for rolling back sanctions.

Gration said Monday that his actions and statements fall solidly within the bounds of what he expects the U.S. policy will be. "Obviously I'm staying in that framework, because I know what we're debating," he said.

Support for that change is driven in part by the Khartoum government's close cooperation with the CIA and FBI in sharing anti-terrorism intelligence related to Iraq, Pakistan and Somalia -- although some critics say Sudan's help has been exaggerated and began only after Sept. 11, when the regime feared being targeted by the U.S.

Sudanese officials accused the Bush administration of reneging on a promise to normalize relations in exchange for agreeing to the 2005 peace deal.

Now officials in Khartoum are praising Gration.

The envoy is "creating a healthy environment, rather than poisoning it, which will lead us to a place where people can sit and talk," said Sudanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Samani Wasila.

He added that the government in the past has been alienated by U.S. envoys who have tried to rush through reforms or condemn the government.

Still, Wasila declined to say what steps his government has taken or will take in the coming weeks in exchange for improved U.S. relations.

More than 2.5 million people remain displaced in Darfur, where the crisis continues.

peter.wallsten@latimes.com

edmund.sanders @latimes.com

---

From www.barackobama.com:
Statement of Senator Barack Obama on negotiations with the Government of Sudan
Chicago, IL, April 18, 2008

"I am deeply concerned by reports that the Bush Administration is negotiating a normalization of relations with the Government of Sudan that would include removing it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. This would reportedly be in exchange for Khartoum's agreement to allow Thai and Nepalese troops to participate in the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur.

This reckless and cynical initiative would reward a regime in Khartoum that has a record of failing to live up to its commitments. First, no country should be removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism for any reason other than the existence of verifiable proof that the government in question does not support terrorist organizations. Second, the Bush Administration should be holding the Government of Sudan accountable for its past promises to let UN peacekeepers operate within its borders – Khartoum's record of inaction and obstruction when it comes to the deployment of the AU-UN force must not be rewarded. Third, the Bush Administration should be holding Sudan accountable for failing to implement significant aspects of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), imperiling the prospects for scheduled multiparty elections in 2009. Finally, Khartoum has yet to fully account for the murder of John Granville, the American citizen and USAID official gunned down on New Year's Eve.

A grassroots movement of Americans has joined with Congress to push for implementation of the CPA, and to push the Bush Administration to acknowledge that the Government of Sudan has pursued a policy of genocide in Darfur. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children have been killed in Darfur, and the killing continues to this very day. Meanwhile, lasting peace will not come without implementation of the CPA. The Bush Administration and Congress have imposed sanctions in an effort to change Khartoum’s behavior; to suddenly offer to normalize relations before that change takes place, particularly without close consultation with Congress, makes no sense.

Washington must respond to the ongoing genocide and the ongoing failure to implement the CPA with consistency and strong consequences. For years, the Government of Sudan has thwarted the will of the United States and the international community, and offended the standards of our common humanity. Before we improve our relationship with the Government of Sudan, conditions must improve for the Sudanese people. We cannot stand down – we must continue to stand up for peace and human rights.”