Category Archives: Southern Sudan

South Sudan rebels force army from eastern base and town

Posted on May 9, 2013 by

South Sudanese rebels have seized a military base and town after clashing with the army in the east, in an escalation of violence that has already uprooted thousands of people and hampered plans to explore for oil. The rebels, led by David Yau Yau and known as the South Sudan Democratic Army (SSDA), say they want to end corruption and the one-party system led by the Sudan Liberation People’s Movement. In March, the army launched an offensive against Yau Yau in the eastern state of Jonglei, the country’s largest, where the government wants to search for oil with the help of French firm Total. The recent fighting has uprooted tens … Continue reading →

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Darfur war crimes suspect rebel Jerbo ‘killed in Sudan’

Posted on April 25, 2013 by

A Sudanese rebel charged with war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been killed, his defence team has said. Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus died on Friday afternoon during fighting in North Darfur, the statement said. He was due to go on trial in May 2014 over a deadly attack on African peacekeepers in Darfur in 2007. Mr Jerbo and fellow Darfur rebel leader Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain face three war crimes charges relating to the killing of 12 African Union peacekeepers in an attack on the AU’s Haskanita camp in September 2007. The two men, who voluntarily surrendered to the ICC in 2010 to face the … Continue reading →

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Five Indian UN troops killed in South Sudan

Posted on April 10, 2013 by

Five Indian peacekeepers escorting a UN convoy in South Sudan have been killed in an ambush by rebels, the office for the UN secretary-general has said. The peacekeepers were serving with the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (Unmiss). Two Unmiss national staff and five civilian staff contractors were also killed in the attack. Nine others were injured, some seriously. The violence happened in Jonglei state, a haven for armed groups. Unmiss has been in South Sudan since the country’s creation in 2011, with a remit to preserve peace and security. In a statement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “appalled” by the attack in Gumuruk, and … Continue reading →

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Sudan Darfur donor conference raises $3.6bn

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

Donor countries have pledged $3.6bn (£2bn) for the development and reconstruction of Sudan’s Darfur region, to be paid over six years. The announcement was made at the end of a two-day international donor forum hosted by the Gulf state of Qatar. Organisers had sought some $7.2bn in development aid aimed at making the region more self-sufficient. Around 300,000 people are thought to have died during a decade of conflict in Darfur, according to UN estimates. As many as 1.4 million remain homeless. The pledged figure includes $2.65bn from the government in Khartoum as part of a peace deal signed in Qatar in 2011. “These pledges cover more than the $177m … Continue reading →

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South Sudan pulls first troops from border with Sudan

Posted on March 18, 2013 by

South Sudan began pulling its army out of a buffer zone with its old civil war foe Sudan on Sunday and thousands of troops streamed out of this border garrison town. The creation of a demilitarised buffer zone is seen as a crucial first step in resuming landlocked South Sudan’s oil exports through Sudan, which Juba shut off in January last year during a row with Khartoum over fees. On Thursday, South Sudan’s petroleum minister said the oil firms had been given orders to resume production, which he estimated would take two to three weeks. Two columns of infantry carrying guns, mortars, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, chairs, buckets, radios, chickens and … Continue reading →

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North and South Sudan set to resume border talks

Posted on March 7, 2013 by

Sudan and South Sudan will resume stalled talks today (Thursday) to set up a demilitarised border zone, Sudan’s state news agency SUNA said on Wednesday, in a new attempt to resolve a conflict over oil and land.The African neighbours came close to war in April in the worst border clashes since South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 under a 2005 deal which ended decades of civil war. After mediation from the African Union, both countries agreed in September to set up a buffer zone along their disputed border and resume oil exports from landlocked South Sudan through Sudan. Oil is vital to both economies. But neither side has withdrawn its … Continue reading →

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Both Sudans fail to reach deal on oil and border security

Posted on January 21, 2013 by

South Sudan and Sudan have failed to reach an agreement on how to carry out security arrangements and resume oil exports, officials said Saturday after several days of talks. The two sides were in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, to talk about setting up a safe demilitarized border zone, which would require both countries to withdraw their armies at least six miles from the contested border region. South Sudan broke away from Sudan in 2011, but disputes remain over their common border and the sharing of oil revenues. A major sticking point has been the demilitarization of a contested 14-mile strip of land bordering the Darfur region in Sudan and the … Continue reading →

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African mediators press Sudans to end stand-off

Posted on January 15, 2013 by

The African Union sought on Monday to defuse hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan that brought them close to war last year and end a freeze on oil exports that threatens to wreck their economies. South Sudan seceded from the north in 2011 after decades of wars but border disputes and disagreements over oil pipeline fees have dragged on, delaying the economic development that would bring hope to their war-weary populations. The South shut down its oil production of 350,000 barrels per day a year ago to try to force a cut in the fees it pays the north to pipe its crude to a coastal terminal for export. With … Continue reading →

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Sudanese leaders agree on setting up buffer zone

Posted on January 6, 2013 by

The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan agreed Saturday to set up a demilitarized zone along their disputed border, a condition for restarting oil exports, an African Union mediator said without giving a time frame. Sudan’s Gen Omar Hassan al-Bashir and South Sudan’s Gen Salva Kiir had agreed in September to withdraw their armies from the border area, a move both say is necessary to allow oil to flow again from landlocked South Sudan through Sudan. After weeks of deadly clashes early last year, the two came close to all-out war but agreed a ceasefire in April. However, South Sudan says Sudan has bombed its side of the border several … Continue reading →

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Sudanese leaders Bashir and Kiir to meet in Ethiopia

Posted on January 5, 2013 by

The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan are to meet to address disputes that brought them close to war following the South’s independence in 2011. Presidents Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and Salva Kiir of South Sudan are set to discuss speeding up the implementation of a deal reached last September. The talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, follow reports of renewed clashes on the disputed border. Tensions over oil and security brought them to the brink of war last April. Western governments have urged both sides immediately to withdraw their forces from what is intended to be a demilitarised border zone. The two men have arrived in Addis Ababa … Continue reading →

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