Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | A deadly upsurge in intercommunal violence in South Sudan has to stop and those responsible must be swiftly brought to justice, the UN human rights chief insisted Friday. Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights, slammed the “appalling” attacks that have reportedly left hundreds dead in the …
Read More »S. Sudan rivals face fresh feud over control of states
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan’s main rivals were at loggerheads Friday over who will control the country’s 10 internal states, an issue that analysts and diplomats worried could jeopardise a power-sharing deal reached earlier this year. President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, old foes whose fallout in 2013 sparked civil …
Read More »South Sudan’s road to peace marred by ‘unconscionable’ violence
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | The cattle rustlers were asleep, resting ahead of a raid, when automatic gunfire tore through their camp. Ambushed by rival herdsmen, encircled and outgunned, they were cut down, one by one. Koba Ngacho was lucky. Shot three times and left for dead, the young rustler …
Read More »In starving South Sudan, peace is no guarantee of a meal
Mogok, South Sudan | AFP | The villagers hear the distant roar of jet engines before a cargo plane makes a deafening pass over Mogok, dropping sacks of grain from its hold to the marooned dust bowl below. There is no other way to get food to this starving hamlet in …
Read More »Sudanese refugees cautioned against self repatriation
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | South Sudanese refugees living in camps in the West Nile districts of Arua, Koboko, Yumbe, Obongi and Adjumani have been warned against voluntarily leaving the camps to return to their country without clearance. Dozens of refugees have reportedly left Bidi-Bidi camp in Yumbe district for …
Read More »South Sudanese demand leaders ‘show us there is peace’
Wau, South Sudan | AFP | From behind the razor-wire fence that she is too afraid to leave, under armed protection in her own land, Jenty John Musa hears that peace is apparently coming to South Sudan. “We just hear on the radio, ‘There is peace, there is peace.’ But we’re …
Read More »S.Sudan rebels reject president’s peace compromise
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan rebels rejected on Sunday a peace offer by President Salva Kiir to return to a system of 10 states, paving the way for a unity government. The rejection by rebel chief Riek Machar dashes hopes of breaking a deadlock and ending a six-year …
Read More »No more delays to South Sudan peace deal, East Africans warn
Addis Abeba, Ethiopia | AFP | East African nations said Sunday there could be no more delays in forming a power-sharing government in war-torn South Sudan, despite talks between rival leaders ending in deadlock. President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, whose fall out in 2013 sparked a conflict …
Read More »S.Sudan talks fail to end impasse over state boundaries
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | The latest round of peace talks between South Sudan’s two rival leaders has failed to strike a deal on the vital issue of internal boundaries, mediators said on Friday. Critics have accused President Salva Kiir of reorganising state boundaries to shore up his power and …
Read More »US slaps sanctions on two S.Sudan ministers over peace delay
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on two sitting ministers in South Sudan, accusing them of obstructing the young country’s peace efforts despite promises to form a unity government. The order against Defense Minister Kuol Manyang Juuk and Martin Elia Lomuro, minister of cabinet …
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