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
- North and South Sudan signed a border agreement on Sunday. The agreement opens ten border crossing points along a demilitarised border zone, which will be monitored by 300 teams of Ethiopian peacekeepers. Around 80% of the border is now agreed between the two countries. However, problems remain and last week South Sudan accused the North of blocking trade routes, causing severe inflation.
- North Sudan has banned the SPLM-N and 16 other ‘Southern’ parties. The government says the parties are now considered ‘foreign parties’, and the leadership and most members have lost Sudanese citizenship.
- North Sudan’s parliament approved the government’s military action in Blue Nile. The UN says 100,000 people have been displaced by the violence.
- UN says over 8,000 people have fled into South Sudan away from the violence in South Kordofan. More than 80,000 have been displaced overall.
- Fighting in Darfur for the first half of 2011 dropped 70% according to the UN.
- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has appointed the first Vice President from Darfur. The two largest rebel groups in Darfur dismissed the move.
- At least 46 people killed in a cattle raid in Unity State, South Sudan.
- The Sudan Tribune reports that the security service in North Sudan is ordering newspapers not to report on rebels in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
- President Obama is scheduled to meet South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, when the UN General Assembly meets on Wednesday.
News in detail
North Sudan
Sudan Tribune: Sudan orders newspapers not to report on rebels 15 Sept: Sudanese security authorities have instructed newspapers to steer clear of reporting on statements or activities of rebel groups in the country, the latest action against freedom of press. Read more
Reuters: Sudanese pound hits new low as inflation soars 15 Sept: The Sudanese pound hit a new low against the dollar on Thursday amid a scarcity of hard currency, while annual inflation in the African country accelerated to 21.1 per cent in August due to a jump in food prices. Read more.
BBC: Sudan bars SPLM-North and other 'Southern parties' 16 Sept: Sudan has ordered 17 political parties to stop their activities, saying most of their leaders and members come from newly independent South Sudan and so are now foreigners. Read more
International
AFP: European Parliament condemns Sudanese army killings 15 Sept: The European Parliament condemned Thursday the Sudanese military "invasion" of South Kordofan and Blue Nile where it says summary executions are being waged. Read more
CNN: UN official urges Darfur rebel groups to join peace efforts 15 Sept: The United Nations-African Union joint special representative to Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari, has called on leaders of Darfur rebels to join the peace process. Read more
AFP: Obama to meet South Sudan leader at UN 16 Sept: US President Barack Obama will meet with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, the White House said. Read more
Reuters: Sudan minister attacks U.N. over rights 16 Sept: Sudan's justice minister told the U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday that his country was the victim and not the perpetrator of violence in the South of the country, and the United Nations had its facts wrong when it accused Khartoum. Read more
IPP Media: EAC postpones Northern Sudan request to join bloc 17 Sept: The Eat African Community (EAC) Council of Ministers has postponed a request by Northern Sudan to join the bloc due to continuous fighting with the Southern Sudan. Read more
Darfur
Reuters: Sudan's Bashir names first Darfur vice president 14 Sept: Sudan's President on Tuesday appointed his first vice president from the Darfur region -- but rebels from the strife-torn territory dismissed it as an empty gesture that would not answer their call for a bigger say in government. Read more
AFP: Hostilities drop in Darfur between January-July: UN 15 Sept: Fighting in war-ravaged Darfur involving Sudanese government forces and armed groups have dropped by 70 per cent in the first seven months of the year, the head of the peacekeeping mission in Darfur said Wednesday. Read more
South Sudan
VOA: Lakes State Disarmament Effort An Early Success 13 Sept: 1,000 guns handed in by cattle herders in first week of program aimed at ending the deadly cycle of livestock raids and tribal violence Read more
Reuters: Cattle raiders kill 46 in South Sudan 15 Sept: At least 46 people were killed and around 5,000 cows stolen in the latest tribal violence in newly independent South Sudan, authorities said on Thursday. Read more
Donors name 13 South Sudan graft kingpins 15 Sept: Western donors have named 13 South Sudan officials who allegedly amassed fortunes through controversial deals while in government over the last six years. Read more
AFP: Japan plans to send engineers to South Sudan 16 Sept: Japan plans to send a 300-strong military engineering team to South Sudan as part of a UN mission to help the African nation build badly needed infrastructure, a report said Saturday. Read more
Blue Nile
AFP: Sudan parliament okays Blue Nile military action 13 Sept: Sudan on Monday approved military action over the embattled state of Blue Nile bordering South Sudan just days after the rivals agreed to withdraw their troops from another flashpoint border region. Read more
Business Week: Sudan Fighting in Blue Nile State Displaces 100,000, UN says 14 Sept: Clashes between the Sudanese armed forces and rebels in Blue Nile state are displacing tens of thousands of people who can’t be reached by aid agencies due to government restrictions on movement, the United Nations said. Read more
North-South Relations
AFP: Juba accuses Khartoum of blocking trade routes 14 Sept: South Sudan on Tuesday accused Khartoum of blocking its trade routes, saying that was the major cause of runaway inflation that has become a major challenge for the newly-created nation. Read more
Reuters: Sudan, South sign security deal over tense border 18 Sept: Sudan and South Sudan signed a border security agreement on Sunday, making a step towards improving ties after tensions built up for weeks over violence in border areas and sharing of oil revenues. Read more
South Kordofan
UN: Thousands flee to South Sudan to escape Southern Kordofan violence 16 Sept: More than 8,000 civilians have fled to South Sudan to escape fighting in the state of Southern Kordofan in neighbouring Sudan, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Read more
