Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact joel@insightonconflict.org or complete the form below.
News roundup
- South Sudan said the North had declared “economic war” by launching a new currency so soon after Southern independence. The South says the move will cost them $700 million in old Sudanese pounds they believe are now worthless. The North says the new currency will be introduced gradually to give people a chance to convert the old currency.
- The South is also angry over the introduction of a transit fee for oil. They say the North is asking for $22.80 a barrel, a figure the South calls “daylight robbery” compared to the expected cost of 60 cents to $2 a barrel.
- South Sudan has joined the African Union.
- Human Rights Watch have called for an international peacekeeping force to be sent to South Kordofan to prevent atrocities. Khartoum has hit back at allegations of atrocities, saying there is no evidence for them. The government has admitted to moving bodies by trucks, but that this was to prevent disease and all bodies were disposed of properly with the help of the Red Crescent.
- Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement declared that the end of the Doha peace talks mean a “return to war”.
- The mandate for the UN mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has been extended by one year. The UN has reported airstrikes in Darfur which have forced people to flee their homes.
News in detail
South Kordofan
AFP: International presence 'urgently needed' in Sudan state 27 Jul: An international peacekeeping presence is urgently needed in Sudan's embattled state of South Kordofan to document the alleged human rights abuses there and prevent further atrocities, a rights group said on Wednesday. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iJqaGBsbLykhycH2pIEgTiu9s0Lw?docId=CNG.259d978e5386bee2f4d1714fe4a141a2.391
Sudan Tribune: Sudan slams U.S envoy’s remarks on South Kordofan 27 Jul: Sudan’s government has described as baseless allegations of abuses echoed by Susan Rice, the U.S envoy at the UN Security Council, against the country’s army in South Kordofan State. http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudan-slams-U-S-envoy-s-remarks-on,39667
Reuters: Sudan says open to talks in oil state conflict 27 Jul: Sudan said on Tuesday it was ready to negotiate an end to fighting in its main oil state of South Kordofan but accused armed groups there of trying to prolong the violence by teaming up with rebels in neighbouring Darfur. http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE76Q02Q20110727
Sudan Tribune: Sudan admits to moving corpses via trucks in South Kordofan 27 Jul: The Sudanese government on Wednesday acknowledged that authorities in South Kordofan collected dead bodies on trucks for burial during the course of fighting in the oil-rich state. http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudan-admits-to-moving-corpses-via,39663
North-South relations
Reuters: South Sudan says North wages economic war with oil fee 25 Jul: South Sudan said its former civil war foe Khartoum, which controls the pipelines for its oil exports, had declared economic war against the new African nation by demanding a transit fee of almost $23 a barrel. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/25/uk-sudan-oil-idUKTRE76O4S420110725
AP: North's new currency is 'economic war' – South Sudan 26 Jul: A Southern Sudanese official on Monday accused Northern Sudan of declaring "economic war" by issuing a new currency just weeks after the South's independence, a move that could leave the struggling new government with coffers full of useless currency. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g7LF9eK05lb9d3X7PMhwAxIFQ2ww?docId=28ac9dba7a2e46fda3bea8573c3674a3
South Sudan
Guardian: Macmillan ordered to pay $17m for corruption in South Sudan 25 Jul: Macmillan Publishers has been ordered to pay $17m and banned from World Bank tenders for at least three years for paying officials to win an education deal in South Sudan http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/jul/25/macmillan-education-deal-South-sudan
Bloomberg: Cows-for-Bride inflation spurs cattle theft among Mundari in South Sudan 26 Jul: Emmanuel Gambiri said an educated wife in his cattle-herding Mundari tribe in South Sudan costs 50 cows, 60 goats and 30,000 Sudanese pounds ($12,000) in cash. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-26/cows-for-bride-inflation-spurs-cattle-theft-among-mundari-in-South-sudan.html
CNN: South Sudan admitted to African Union as 54th member 29 Jul: The African Union has admitted South Sudan as its 54th member, marking another recognition for the world's newest nation. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/07/29/South.sudan.au/
North Sudan
AFP: Sudan jails second journalist for reporting rape 25 Jul: Sudan on Monday jailed a journalist for reporting the alleged rape of a female opposition activist by security forces, her lawyer said, in a trial that has already seen one reporter imprisoned. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jZ3zDOunb9RwGvAd6Tdsv0SrLiYw?docId=CNG.2f4c3f361e19b350ea9a262722bcc053.2a1
Darfur
Sudan Tribune: Closure of Doha process means return to war in Darfur – JEM 27 Jul: The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said the closure of peace talks in Doha for a negotiated and peaceful settlement to the eight year conflict means a return to war again in Darfur region. http://www.sudantribune.com/Closure-of-Doha-process-means,39665
AFP: Villagers flee deadly air strikes in South Darfur: UN 28 Jul: Air strikes in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region killed one civilian and prompted villagers to flee their homes, the joint African Union-UN peacekeeping force (UNAMID) said on Wednesday. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hkOQaI6EKTuNeSZHt7VF29prTa7A?docId=CNG.b8ddcd45fb4de7570a444013d5b8e3ad.761
AFP: UN renews Darfur peacekeeping mission 30 Jul: The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region (UNAMID) for one year. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gaDMPVgneZ9aKg71F3V8aqWApt_A?docId=CNG.22b1051d0cf8f4129baecceecc4cef7a.621
