IGIHE

Category: News

  • Sudan Abyei Dispute: AU Endorses Mediation Proposal

    {{The African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) on Wednesday unanimously endorsed an initial proposal prepared by the mediation seeking to settle a conflict over the ownership of Abyei, between South Sudan and Sudan.}}

    The AUHIP proposal calls to hold Abyei’s referendum in October 2013 and only the Misseriya residing Abyei can participate in this vote. The text comes in accord with the South Sudanese position but not with the Sudanese one. Khartoum supported the partition of the disputed area.

    The Council’s approval of the proposal comes a day after the African mediation circulated a new proposal seeking to extend negotiations for a further six weeks, according a South Sudanese official in Addis Ababa.

    The purpose of the extension, which was criticised by Juba, was to allow the two parties to “voluntarily” reach a consensus on the remaining outstanding issues including the final status of Abyei.

    Luka Biong Deng, a Co-Chair of Abyei Joint Oversight Committee on Wednesday said the Council had endorsed the initial proposal without changes. He commended the Mbeki’s team for demonstrating exemplary leadership with courage and commitment to bring peace and stability to the region.

    “I am delighted to inform you that the AUPSC has unanimously endorsed the African Union High Level Implementation Panel Proposal on the final status of Abyei area that was presented to our President Salva Kiir and President Bashir on 21st September as final and binding solution,” Biong told Sudan Tribune from Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

    The official further said he attended the opening session of the meeting of African Union Peace and Security Council in which South Sudan Minister of Foreign Affairs; Nhial Deng Nhial gave a presentation on the disputed issues, and the humanitarian in South Kordofan and Blue Nile that has affected over 900,000 people.

    Luka further added that the representatives of the permanent members of the UN Security Council particularly US, France, UK and EU Special Envoy have made strong statements in support of the 21 September Proposal on the final status of Abyei.

    They also asked the Council to endorse the Proposal and reassured the meeting that the UN Security Council will equally endorse it.

    “China was keen to support any African solution and Russia was not available. Uganda was in support of the 21st Sept proposal on the final status of Abyei,” Biong said.

    Moscow which seeks to enhance its economic relations with Khartoum, said supporting Abyei’s partition.

    South Sudan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Nhial Deng Nhial, in a speech before the Council said that for the sake of peace and regional stability, his government compromised and accepted the decisions of the international community and implemented it, citing the acceptance of the arbitration rule, which reduced the size of Abyei .

    Nhial also refuted Sudan’s demand to divide the area saying “Sudan’s novel contention that Abyei should be partitioned between the two states, would not only amount to a travesty of justice for the Ngok Dinka whose Abyei Homeland is being progressively chipped away by Khartoum,

    ..but would also re-open the debate over Abyei, with potentially fatal political consequences for the two states,” he stressed, before the closed door meeting which resolved to endorse the AUHIP proposal in its totality.

    The new Chairperson of the African Union commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told the 339th ministerial level meeting of the AU’s Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) that the “AU will stand by” Sudan and South Sudan while they address their remaining issues.

    “The establishment of sustainable and cooperative relations between Sudan and South Sudan requires the final delineation of their common border, a decision on the future status of Abyei Area, as well as the peaceful resolution of internal conflicts within each state,” she added.

    Khartoum does not yet announce or react to the decision.

    UN Security Council is expected to discuss the issue soon.

  • Israel Accused of Bombing Sudan Arms Factory

    {{Sudan said on Wednesday that an Israeli air strike had caused the huge explosion and fire at an arms factory in Khartoum that killed two people, while Israel’s defence minister declined to comment.}}

    Sudan, which analysts say is used as an arms-smuggling route to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip via neighbouring Egypt, has blamed Israel for such strikes in the past but Israel either has refused to comment or said it neither admitted nor denied involvement.

    Asked by Israel’s Channel Two News about Sudan’s accusations, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said: “There is nothing I can say about this subject.”

    A huge fire broke out late on Tuesday at the Yarmouk arms factory in the south of the capital which was rocked by several explosions, witnesses said. Firefighters took more than two hours to extinguish the fire at Sudan’s main factory for ammunition and small arms.

    “Four military planes attacked the Yarmouk plant … We believe that Israel is behind it,” Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman told reporters, adding that the planes had appeared to approach the site from the east.

    “Sudan reserves the right to strike back at Israel,” he said, saying two citizens had been killed and that the plant had been partially destroyed. Another person was seriously injured, he added.

    Around 300 people gathered in the evening at the courtyard of a government building where the Sudanese cabinet was meeting at an emergency session, shouting “Death to Israel” and “Remove Israel from the map.”

    “Israel is a country of injustice that needs to be deterred,” Vice President Ali Osman Taha, standing next to President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, told the crowd. “This attack only strengthens our firmness.”

    The governor of Khartoum state initially had ruled out any “external” cause for the blast but officials later showed journalists a video from the vast site. A huge crater could be seen next to two destroyed buildings and what appeared to be a rocket lying on the ground.

    Osman said an analysis of rocket debris and other material had shown that the attack had been engineered by Israel, which Sudan views as an enemy.

  • Tanzanian Soldier Dies on Training in Rwanda

    {{Private Kaila Ally Shabani from Tanzanian Army died in the East African Military Field Training under “Ushirikiano Imara, 2012”.}}

    The training is being conducted in Gako Camp Bugesera District in the Eastern Province of Rwanda.

    The in charge of Medical Treatment in“Ushirikiano Imara 2012”, Dr. Lt Col. Muvunyi Zuberi revealed that death was caused by a heart attack during exercise.

    “We didn’t expect such death to happen. Even those who came with him didn’t know he has heart problems” Commented Dr. Muvunyi.

    Brig. Gen. Mathew Sukambi of Tanzanian delegation lamented the death noting that it’s a big loss to Tanzanian forces.

    He said they have already sent condolence message to the family of the deceased soldier.

    Together with Tanzanian Embassy in Rwanda, the body was sent to Tanzania for funeral.

  • Kayonza: Visually Impaired Lacking White Cane

    {{The Blind or visually impaired people in Kayonza District have complained against the lack of white canes which help them as a mobility tool used to detect objects in the path of a user.}}

    During the celebration of International Day of White Cane, the Blind said the cost of the cane is high with reference to their financial capacity.

    In 2010, MINISANTE conducted a study on visually impaired people and found that in 64,000 blinds country wide include 144, 000 with one eye while only 10% of three thousand members of Rwanda Union of the Blind possess white canes.

    The Chief Executive of Rwanda Union of Blinds, Kanimba Donatile said the Union will continue to advocate for them.

    Initially, one white cane costs around Rwf 25000 to Rwf 30 000.

  • RTUC Student Commits Suicide

    {{Harezimana Innocent, 26 who was a student at Rwanda Tourism University College has killed himself after silently suffering with uncontrollable conditions for years.}}

    The witnesses said the incidents happened a while after rain when Harezimana Innocent hang himself in a small house situated in Remera near the Airtel office.

  • 50 Witnesses Testify Against Bugingo

    {{A Norwegian court trying former Rwandan businessman Sadi Bugingo this week started hearing more than 50 witnesses by video conference from Kigali.}}

    Bugingo, 47, is accused of playing a key role in the 1994 genocide against Tutsis in the former Kibungo, eastern Province, in 1994. He has been living in Norway since 2001.

    The hearings are set to continue until November 29. The witnesses are testifying from a room in the Supreme Court in Kigali which has video conference equipment.

    The trial proceedings are being conducted in Norway with translation into Kinyarwanda, the language of the witnesses.

    Bugingo was arrested in Norway in 2010. This is the first genocide trial before a Norwegian court. It is expected to last several months and to close in early 2013.

  • Amani to Discuss Regional Instability

    {{Rwanda Parliamentary Forum “Amani” intends to determine the root causes hindering peace and sustainable development in the Great Lakes region.}}

    “There are too many armed groups in the Great Lakes region, particularly in the eastern DRC. We want to know how these groups receive foreign support, how they dig and sell minerals for funding, “said Sen. John Damascene Bizimana, current president of the Amani Forum.

    He made the remarks at a press conference that announced the workshop that focuses on the way to avoid violence and terrorism that spread armed groups in eastern DRC.

    The workshop will be held at Rubavu (West), from 26 to 28 October 2012.

    Parliamentarians from seven countries have confirmed their participation at the workshop. They include DRC, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya.

    Other delegates from the East African Parliament (EALA) and four other members of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) will be present at the meeting.

    “Amani invited them to discuss the proliferation of light weapons and small arms. This is a project that began long before the birth of M23 in the DRC, “said Senator Bizimana.

    He noted that the workshop will analyze the nature of armed groups in the region.

    He regretted that UN group of Experts reports and NGOs saying they are insufficient and are not at the root of conflict.

    It will also analyze the impact of armed groups in the population, with internally displaced persons and refugees abroad while also focusing on justice issues facing this challenge.

    Ministers of defense, foreign affairs, refugees, and the UN agency for Refugees (UNHCR) will contribute to clarify the issue of armed groups.

  • 20,000 Farmers Covered Against Extreme Weather

    {{20,000 Rwandan farmers in the provinces of West and South have obtained an insurance product at the low cost to deal with extreme weather events.}}

    This offer has been made possible through a partnership between the insurer SORAS, the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture and One Acre Fund.

    According to the Ecofin Agency specializing in African finance, micro-insurance program “Kilimo Salama – Agriculture secure” allows farmers to compensate financial losses they may incur in the event of extreme weather events (drought, rain abundant…).

    “Kilimo Salama” allow farmers to repay the money they have incurred for the purchase of seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs.

  • Interpol Arrests Key Rwanda Genocide Suspect

    {{Interpol has arrested a key suspect of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, who has been on the run for the last 18 years.}}

    Vedaste Banguwiha, a former prominent figure in the genocidal regime and a member of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND), was arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

    During and before the Genocide, Banguwiha was a famous businessman in western Rwanda and was awarded a tender to purchase and supply weapons that were used to massacre Tutsis.

    He is also alleged to have incited the Interahamwe militia to erect a roadblock in the former Cyangugu town (now Rusizi), near Hotel des Chutte with an aim of stopping and killing the Tutsi.

    Witnesses accuse Banguwiha of facilitating the Interahamwe by transporting them and rewarding them for killing the Tutsi.

    A local newspaper said that Banguwiha was arrested in Katanga and later transferred to the capital Kinshasa.

    Kigali is in contact with Kinshasa to have the fugitive transferred to Rwanda to stand trial.

  • Late Turatsinze to be Burried at Rusororo

    {{The Body of slain Turatsinze Theogene a Rwandan national who was kidnapped and killed by unknown people in Mozambique has arrived in Rwanda he will be burried.}}

    Grieving family members and friends of late thronged Kingali International Airport to recieve the casket carrying the body of Turatsinze.

    A requiem mass will Thursday October 25, be held at Regina Pacis in Remera ahead of the burial at Rusororo.