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Tag: GreatLakesNews

  • US Tells South Sudan to End Fighting

    US Tells South Sudan to End Fighting

    {{U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a senior South Sudan official on Thursday that the Juba government needed to end the fighting in the African country, as the State Department brandished the threat of sanctions.}}

    In a meeting with South Sudan’s minister of the office of president, Awan Riak, Kerry said: “We will not stand by while the hopes of a nation are held hostage to short-sighted and destructive actors.”

    In a statement about the meeting, the State Department pointedly noted that President Barack Obama last week authorized possible targeted sanctions against those committing human rights abuses in South Sudan or undermining democracy and obstructing the peace process.

    A civil war in South Sudan between the government and rebels has created a humanitarian crisis in the country, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011 but has since been plagued by disorder.

    Thousands of people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced since fighting erupted in mid-December, triggered by a power struggle between the government of President Salva Kiir and rebels led by former Vice President Riek Machar. The conflict has also disrupted oil output, which provides a hefty portion of the government’s revenue.

    The failure of peace talks so far has frustrated Western backers of the world’s youngest country, who are pressing both sides to lay down their weapons.

    Relief agencies have expressed concern about access to aid because of the warring parties’ suspicions of U.N. relief efforts.

    The State Department said Kerry noted “his grave concern” about the situation and urged the government “immediately to stop the fighting, provide full humanitarian access, and cease harassment and threats against the U.N. mission.”

    Kerry called on the country’s leaders “to prioritize the interests of the South Sudanese people over their own personal or ethnic interests.”

    {wirestory}

  • Kenya Deports 82 Somalis

    Kenya Deports 82 Somalis

    {{Eighty two aliens have been deported to Somalia in the ongoing crackdown following increased terror threats.}}

    Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku says 102 suspects are still being detained for further interrogation at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium which has now been gazetted into a police station.

    Those being detained there were previously moved to police stations in the night but will now be held at the stadium throughout after its gazettement.

    “Those who have refugee documents are taken back to their respective camps, while those who are found to have broken the law, are taken to court.”

    He said police are currently holding a total of 472 people in other police stations.

    “The operation will continue within the law and so far, there are no reported cases of people being mishandled,” he affirmed. “This is not a place of incarceration.”

    The Cabinet Secretary who was accompanied by Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo said the terror crackdown will go on despite protests from politicians, envoys and humanitarian organisations which have been denied access to the stadium.

    During a controlled visit for the media and human right activists, he refuted claims of police harassing those detained, saying they were being handled professionally.

    “As a Government we are very concerned when we hear individuals implying that what is going on is not within the law, we have gazetted this place as a police station where screening of those who have been arrested in the swoop are taken,” he said.

    “Police have clear instructions that they will work in a professional way. That’s why we have invited you here to tell the truth.”

    There was a scramble as more than 50 local and international journalists went through the process to ascertain the condition of those who were arrested. “You want to cause a stampede?” Ole Lenku at some point posed.

    “The event has received coverage almost similar to what was happening during inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta, there are too many (journalists),” an officer manning the entry said.

    Inside, there is a room for officials from the Immigration Department and the National Police Service involved in the screening process.

    The room has computers and other electronic gadgets meant to establish identification documents that are genuine.

    One of the women arrested, an Ethiopian who was at the service desk when we visited said, “they are saying my documents are okay, I’m now in the final stage. I am a refugee…I don’t know whether they will take me back to my country.”

    Asked whether she would like to go back to her home country, she shook her head in the negative, with teary eyes.

    Outside the room, those arrested queue waiting for their turn to be served.

  • Sudan Rejects Juba’s Claims of SAF Military Activity Along Borders

    Sudan Rejects Juba’s Claims of SAF Military Activity Along Borders

    {{The Sudanese government today rejected accusations by Juba of conducting “unusual movements” along the borders describing it as “lies”.}}

    On Tuesday, South Sudanese army (SPLA) spokesperson Colonel Philip Aguer told Sudan Tribune in an exclusive interview that such activities undermine regional stability and efforts to improve bilateral relations between the two countries.

    Furthermore, the Unity state’s deputy governor Stephen Mabek Lang told media on Tuesday that “there have been reports since last week from our forces about unusual movement of the Sudanese army along the border area, which is a clear evidence of [a] lack of respect and coercion and intimidation”.

    Lang said his country would continue to respect the terms of a government agreement, but would not accept any revisions of the border line outside the previous agreement between the two countries.

    “As the government we will continue to respect the terms of the agreements with the government of Sudan, especially the cooperation agreement, which was why our president visited Khartoum recently. It was to show the commitment of the government of the Republic of South Sudan,” Lang said.

    “But now it is appearing that someone wants to redefine the boundaries by force, which is a clear violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty of another independent state,” he added.

    Lang said several local sources in Pariang county witnessed Antonov bomber and MiG jets flying over the Panyang area between about 9am and noon (local time).

    He further claimed that Sudanese jet fighters dropped at least 10 bombs, destroying one car and forcing civilians to flee from Panyang to Pariang.

    On Wednesday, South Sudan’s government officially accused Khartoum with which it contests the ownership of areas separating the two nations, of harbouring rebels fighting to depose president Salva Kiir, despite a cooperation agreement between the two sides.

    “The rebels of Riek Machar have been carrying out attacks on the positions of the SPLA in Upper Nile for the last few days. They carried out attacks on the 6th and today on 9 April, in Kaka Tajaria. They carried out [the] attack aided by the militia group based in South Kordofan, which is against the cooperation agreement,” Aguer told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

    He said the attack forced troops loyal to the government to “tactically withdraw” from the area.

    “The attack on Baliet and Adong by the rebels of Riek Machar, who uses Galachel as the base of their operation and attacks comes from Sudan,” Aguer said in a statement broadcast by the state-owned South Sudan Television (SSTV) on Wednesday.

    However, the spokesman for the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), Colonel Al-Sawarmi Khaled Saad, hit back at Juba’s accusations, saying that Khartoum has been monitoring the ongoing war in South Sudan and that its position remains the same, in that it is seeking an end to the current crisis and to lay the foundations for security and stability with an emphasis on the legitimacy of Juba’s government.

    In a statement released on Wednesday, Saad denied SAF troops had made hostile movements along the borders between the two countries.

    He said the allegations had caught SAF by surprise and that the remarks by other South Sudanese officials included lies, describing the claims as implausible and lacking credibility.

    “We affirm that we have [made] no movements toward the state of the South and there is no hostility nor war or deployments there, and we are more keen on advanced relations between the two countries, and we are awaiting for the positive outcome of the recent visit by South Sudan’s head of state to Sudan in order to further agreements of mutual cooperation between the two states,” the SAF spokesman said.

    He added that Khartoum is also awaiting the fulfillment of promises made regarding the implementation of security arrangements to determine the zero line, opening of border crossings and the formation of joint monitoring mechanisms between the two countries to verify implementation of these agreements.

    “However, we have not seen any implementation or response to implement these mechanisms on the part of [the]South Sudan state. We are still waiting for the reply which was promised during the recent visit of president Salva Kiir,” Saad said.

    Violence erupted in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, in mid-December last year killing thousands and displacing more than a million people. President Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of instigating the violence, which the latter vehemently denied.

    Prior to the South Sudanese conflict Juba and Khartoum agreed to normalise relations and to implement a cooperation agreement signed in 24 September 2012. The two countries have, however, failed to deploy a joint force to monitor the border due to differences over the baseline for the demilitarised security zone, known as the zero line.

    The Sudanese president has maintained support for his South Sudanese counterpart since his visit to Juba on 6 January. However, the two countries denied they had agreed to sign a security agreement to deploy a joint force to protect South Sudan’s oil fields from rebel attacks.

    (ST)

  • DR Congo Urged to Deal with Impunity for Rapes

    DR Congo Urged to Deal with Impunity for Rapes

    {{The UN rights chief urged Democratic Republic of Congo authorities to “fight against impunity for crimes of sexual violence,” as she presented Wednesday the latest UN report on the scourge.}}

    The United Nations documented 3,635 victims of sexual violence in DR Congo between January 2010 and December 2013, and nearly three-quarters of the victims were women, according to the new report from the UN joint human rights office.

    Sexual assaults are often vastly underreported by victims or are hard to document. Previous tallies from Congolese government have been far higher, with 15,352 cases counted in seven provinces in 2013, alone.

    Rights chief Navi Pillay hailed progress by DR Congo in the area of military justice for sexual assaults, but added “there is still a long way to go” and the political will — when it exists — “is not sufficiently translated on the ground.”

    She called on Congolese authorities to “promptly complete effective and independent investigations, and to prosecute alleged perpetrators, including those suspected of having command responsibility.”

    The report also recommended authorities provide free legal aid to the victims, create a reparation fund, and adopt a law protecting victims and witnesses — who often face threats and intimidation.

    Just over half the rapes documented in the UN report were committed by members of armed groups that operate in eastern DR Congo. The remainder were attributed to state agents, including soldiers in the military, or FARDC, who were implicated in around one in three rapes.

    But members of armed groups nearly always escape justice, and prosecutors rarely charge high-level FARDC officers: of 136 soldiers convicted during the 2010-2013 period, only three were high level officers.

    In total, just 187 people were convicted of sexual assaults by military tribunals. They were given sentences ranging from 10 months to 20 years.

    Meanwhile, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said that the persistent security concerns in eastern DR Congo are an aggravating factor for the rape crisis.

    The Congolese government needs to restore its authority, to “fill the vacuum” as soon as any part of the territory is freed from the grip of armed groups, Ladsous said.

    The publication of this report coincides with a trial of Congolese soldiers prosecuted for a November 2012 incident in Minova, in eastern DR Congo, for mass rape, murder and looting. The public ministry Monday asked for life sentences for most of the 39 accused.

    wirestory

  • UN Alarmed by Growing Violence & Displacement in Darfur

    UN Alarmed by Growing Violence & Displacement in Darfur

    {{The United Nations has concern over the escalation of violence in Sudan’s western region of Darfur and its impact on civilians and relief efforts.}}

    In an interview, the UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Ali al-Zaatari, said the killings in Darfur must be stopped, describing the situation there as “too troubled”.

    Zaatari was speaking just hours before he was scheduled to travel to the North Darfur state capital, El-Fasher, as part of a delegation that included the envoys of the United States and European Union.

    He said that reports reveal increased rates of displacement and continuing rape incidents committed by different culprits who are sometimes described as people in military uniforms or Arabs on camels and horses and in other cases there is no specific description.

    “It is difficult to say that a specific party that is committing these acts because anyone can wear any uniform and commit the crime, but the situation has become so common to the point where it should not be tolerated whether religiously or morally or conscience-wise,”Zaatari said.

    The governor of North Darfur Osman Yusuf Kibir told the delegation of UN officials and EU and US ambassadors that tension has returned to areas west of El-Fasher.

    He accused rebels of attacking a group of shepherds, killing some and looting their camels after which they headed out towards the area east of the mountain.

    It was reported that four shepherds were killed in the state by unknown gunmen as well as two others in a separate incident inside Zamzam IDP camp.

    Kibir added that outlaws took advantage of the incident to attack villages and citizens and their property including Zamzam IDP camp.

    He cleared the Rapid Support Force (RSF) from any violations, saying that it was outlaws committing it according to testimony of citizens. He affirmed that they have undertaken a package of measures to contain the situation and enforce the law, as well as preserve lives and property of citizens.

    Zaatari called for the latest crisis to be resolved through dialogue and negotiations rather than violence. He also welcomed president Omer Hassan al-Bashir’s recent call for national dialogue.

    He confirmed the readiness of the UN and other actors of the international community to help the people of Darfur in overcoming adversity, pointing to the large displacement witnessed in some areas as a result of ethnic conflicts and clashes between the government and the armed movements adding that necessitated assessing the situation on the ground in order to identify needs.

    Last month, the head of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), Tijani El-Sissi, warned against the rapidly deteriorating security situation in North and South Darfur states, criticising government for failing to restore security in the region, which has witnessed rebellion since 2003.

    Sissi further said that insecurity in North and South Darfurcontinued to hampers the implementation of development projects.

    “What happens there will not be a catalyst to start any reconstruction effort in those areas,” he said.

    {sudantribune}

  • U.S. Warns Burundi Against ‘Dark Days’

    U.S. Warns Burundi Against ‘Dark Days’

    {{The United States urged Burundi’s president on Tuesday to drop planned constitutional changes that could upset a delicate ethnic power balance, warning that the country risked a return to the “dark days” of civil war.}}

    Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations met President Pierre Nkurunziza – who might be allowed to run for a third term under a new constitution – and told him he should leave the current system in place.

    “What we stressed was that the president has a tremendous legacy and he has built with the people of Burundi some great successes from 2005 until the very present,” Power told a news conference in Bujumbura after her meeting.

    “We believe that his legacy should be one of respect of the constitution, thus we urge again that the constitution, the rule of law and human rights be respected.”

    The proposed constitutional amendments have stirred the worst political crisis in the east African country since the 12-year civil war ended in 2005, and raised fears of new turmoil.

    The plan would mean a single powerful prime minister from the ruling party replaces two vice president posts currently shared between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi ethnic groups.

    In March, the ruling CNDD-FDD party failed to win parliamentary approval for the constitutional changes, but the government said they might be put to the people in a referendum instead.

    On her Twitter account, Power called for international intervention to prevent matters deteriorating in Burundi.

    “Burundi needs international attention now to ensure that it doesn’t return to the dark days of its past. (We) must engage early and persistently,” she wrote.

    In a previous tweet, she said Burundi’s post-civil war progress had begun to unravel as the “government moves to strip political freedoms and stifle dissent”.

    Power said the United States would provide $7.5 million to support Burundi’s efforts to hold elections in 2015.

    The constitutional dispute has driven a wedge between the Hutu-dominated CNDD-FDD and its junior governing partner, the Tutsi-led Uprona party whose leadership believes Nkurunziza is maneuvering to stand for a third term, beyond the prescribed two elected terms.

    Burundi’s political stand-off has raised the risk of another explosion in a volatile region already grappling with unrest in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Central African Republic.

  • AU Welcomes Launch of SPLM intra-party Dialogue Forum

    AU Welcomes Launch of SPLM intra-party Dialogue Forum

    {{The African Union Commission has welcomed Saturday’s launch of South Sudan’s ruling party (SPLM) dialogue forum, saying the process should enable its leadership examine in-depth the underlying causes of the crisis facing the governing entity and the conflict that engulfed the new nation.}}

    An advance team of the SPLM Politburo members convened in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa in preparation for the party’s leadership review and a self-assessment forum.

    Initiated within the framework of the IGAD-led peace process for South Sudan, the forum reportedly provides critical contribution to the ongoing broader political dialogue towards national reconciliation and healing.

    “The Chairperson of the Commission underlines the importance of this process, which should enable the SPLM leadership to examine in-depth the underlying causes of the crisis facing their party and of the conflict in South Sudan,” partly reads a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

    Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the AU Commission chairperson urged all stakeholders to take advantage of the intra-party talks, expected to run concurrently with the IGAD-led mediation efforts, to advance the cause of peace, security, stability, reconciliation and good governance in South Sudan.

    She also commends the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the African National Congress (ANC) for having accepted to facilitate the forum.

    The meeting was chaired by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn of Ethiopia, who also doubles as the IGAD chairperson.

    The AU commission boss, however, expressed concerns about South Sudan’s continued conflict and untold suffering inflicted on the civilian population in the nation.

    She renewed the AU’s full support to the IGAD mediation, appealing to parties in the conflict to put the interest of their country and people above any other consideration.

    (ST)

  • Uganda’s Policy on EAC Integration Ready

    Uganda’s Policy on EAC Integration Ready

    {{Uganda has crafted a national policy on integration, which officials say would be used to guide its cooperation with member states – Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.}}

    According to Lawrence Mujuni, an official at the Ministry of East African Affairs, the objective of the policy is for Uganda to identify and exploit opportunities presented by the East African Community, mainstream the integration agenda in government policies, define roles of various stakeholders and create awareness of the integration agenda among the public.

    The policy looks at various sectors, which Uganda can explore to increase competitiveness with the East African Community spheres and beyond.

    Agriculture, Education, Tourism and Industry are the major sectors that Uganda is looking at to anchor its leverage within the region.

    The policy would be reviewed every five years to take into account contemporary developments.

    “It is important to underscore the fact that EAC integration project is dynamic in nature which requires constant review and adaptation to foster a shared vision in managing the implementation of the National Policy Framework on East African Integration,” Mujuni said.

    By crafting a policy on integration, Uganda joins the league of Rwanda. Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi are also cooking up policies that would guidance their integration process.

  • Vodacom Clients in Sub-Sahara Africa Get Broadband Connectivity

    Vodacom Clients in Sub-Sahara Africa Get Broadband Connectivity

    {{Mobile communications company Vodacom will deliver broadband connectivity to its SOHO & SME customers in sub-Saharan African}}

    Vodacom will offer a differentiated broadband service aimed at the small office/home office (SOHO) and small/medium enterprise (SME) customers within sub-Saharan Africa.

    “Our agreement with Intelsat will enable Vodacom to provide our SME and enterprise customers with high quality, reliable, secure and cost-effective connectivity,” stated Vuyani Jarana, chief officer of Vodacom Business.

    Vodacom will be provided with Ku-band satellite broadband capacity from Intelsat, who will deliver a fully integrated and managed solution, using Hughes broadband satellite technology, the company said.

    “This new and innovative solution demonstrates Intelsat’s leadership in satellite broadband connectivity,” stated Grant Marais, Intelsat’s regional vice president, Africa.

    “We worked closely with Vodacom to address their future business demands, providing capacity through traditional wide and high-throughput satellite spot beams to locations where our customers need it most,” Marais added.

    {africanreview}

  • Ethiopian Govt Slams Door on Islamic Bank

    Ethiopian Govt Slams Door on Islamic Bank

    {{The Ethiopian government has denied accreditation to what would have been the country’s first Islamic banking service, citing new banking and terrorism laws.}}

    According to a statement issued June 2 by its board of directors, Zam-Zam Bank applied for a zero-interest banking service compatible with Muslims.

    However, the National Bank of Ethiopia, which supervises all banks in the country and is directly under prime minister Meles Zenawi, declined to assent to the application.

    The Ethiopian government last year issued a new banking law which outlaws interest-free Islamic banking and authorises authorities to block money suspected to finance terrorism.

    The refusal to licence the service also douses the hopes of 6,800 shareholders of establishing a new Islamic bank after years of dispute with the National Bank.

    The “interest-free” banking project with an initial capitalisation of $57 million will now be forced to dissolve.

    “They told us it is impossible to establish a full ‘zero interest rate’ bank and rather advised us to create a sub-window to give the zero-interest rate service along with a regular banking operation,” a board member, who declined to be named due to his dealings with another private bank, told the Africa Review’s reporter.

    The potential liquidation of Zam-Zam coincides with growing rancour between the government and the country’s Muslims over the last four months.

    Since March, Muslims in the Horn of Africa country have been protesting government interference in affairs of their religion.

    The Ethiopian government has recently tightened security and accused some Muslim groups of favouring extremism and terrorism under the cover of religious freedoms.

    After Zam-Zam Bank two years ago applied for a licence, the government issued a revised Banking Bill which excludes the formation of a banking service affiliated to religion.

    The revised law on grounds of blocking the flow of “terror financing” authorises the government to access details of any suspected money transfer deposit or other transaction.

    Mr Ibrahim Miftah, a financial expert, said such kind of interest free banks are viable in Islamic economics and operate in accordance with Sharia.

    “The idea is developed by modern scholars of Islam and seeks not only to enforce Islamic regulations but also to implement broader economic goals and policies,” Mr Ibrahim said.

    Muslim banking revolves around the main tenets of Islam; charitable giving (zakat), borrowing and lending without payment of fixed interest (riba), insurance, inheritance, and socially responsible investing.

    Since most other religions also favour charitable giving and socially responsible investing, the key difference from other financial services is the non interest rule.

    At least 60 countries practice Islamic banking, mainly in the middle East countries.

    Ethiopia has so far licensed 15 private banks.

    NMG