Sudan rebels free 125 prisoners captured in fighting Entebbe, Uganda | AFP | Sudanese rebels on Sunday released at least 125 prisoners they had captured in fighting with government forces, most of them soldiers, an AFP journalist said. Their release was secured thanks to mediation from Uganda, while the International …
Read More »UN chief to visit East Africa as famine threatens region
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Kenya on Sunday for talks with leaders on regional issues, his spokesman said Friday, as South Sudan and Somalia face famine. Somalia is facing the threat of a famine while parts of northern South Sudan are …
Read More »Hiding in swamps, South Sudanese eat little more than lilies
Leer, South Sudan | AFP | Thousands of people at the epicentre of a man-made famine in South Sudan emerged from the safety of the swamps this past weekend hoping to receive emergency deliveries of food. For months now Bol Mol, a 45-year-old former oil field security officer, has struggled …
Read More »South Sudan suffering ‘man-made’ famine
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan on Monday declared famine in some parts of the country, with more than three years of war leaving nearly five million hungry in what aid groups called a “man-made” tragedy. Isaiah Chol Aruai, chairman of South Sudan’s National Bureau of Statistics, said …
Read More »Third South Sudan military official quits over ‘ethnic crimes’
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | A third top South Sudanese military official has resigned, accusing President Salva Kiir’s regime of war crimes and ethnic cleansing, according to a letter seen by AFP Saturday. Brigadier Henry Oyay Nyago, advocate general and director of military justice, was the latest military official …
Read More »South Sudan minister quits, rejoins Machar’s rebels
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan’s labour minister resigned Friday and declared allegiance to rebel leader Riek Machar, making him the second top official to quit in the war-torn country this week. Gabriel Duop Lam, who joined a unity government last year as a member of Machar’s opposition, …
Read More »US to give Uganda $25 mn in aid for refugees
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | The United States will give over $25 million in humanitarian aid to Uganda, to help the nation cope with a huge influx of refugees fleeing conflict in east Africa, the US ambassador in Kampala said Tuesday. Uganda is hosting more than a million refugees, nearly …
Read More »South Sudanese general Swaka resigns, citing ‘ethnic cleansing’
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A senior South Sudanese general has quit, accusing President Salva Kiir and top members from his majority Dinka tribe of “ethnic cleansing,” according to a resignation letter obtained by AFP Sunday. Lieutenant-General Thomas Cirillo Swaka is the country’s deputy chief of general staff for logistics …
Read More »New militias emerge in South Sudan conflict
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | New militia groups, some “opportunists”, others “downright criminal”, have emerged in South Sudan since renewed violence erupted there last July, the head of an international ceasefire monitoring team said Friday. Talking to the press in Nairobi, Festus Mogae, a former president of Botswana who leads …
Read More »UNAIDS wants Museveni to champion AIDS fight world-wide
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) wants Pesident Yoweri Museveni to become a champion in the fight suppress and eliminate the virus world-wide “We want you Mr. President to speak about the fight against HIV/AIDS. We want you to become a champion in the fight against HIV/AIDS in …
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