South Sudan says clashes with Sudan ahead of talks

Hereward Holland and Ulf Laessing ReutersMarch 31, 2012

Featured Documentaries: Sudan: Fight for the heart of the South

JUBA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) – South Sudan said on Saturday the Sudanese army had bombed its positions in the oil-producing border area, resuming a conflict that had eased earlier this week, just hours ahead of new talks.

Trading accusations, Khartoum said South Sudan had supported a rebel attack on a border town in South Kordofan state and was building up troops at the poorly-marked frontier where fighting flared on Monday and Tuesday.

Those skirmishes ended when southern troops moved out of the disputed Heglig oil field, on the Sudan side of the border, where they had gone in response to what they said was Khartoum’s bombing of southern oil fields.

It was the worst direct confrontation between the neighbors since South Sudan became independent in July under a 2005 agreement that ended decades of civil war.

Both sides are to resume talks in Addis Ababa on Saturday but diplomats see no breakthrough after Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir called off a summit with his southern counterpart Salva Kiir due to the violence.

Philip Aguer, spokesman for South Sudan’s army, the SPLA, said on Saturday the Sudanese army had bombed SPLA border positions.

“They have been bombing our positions since yesterday at 5 p.m. Their target seems to be to invade Unity (state) oil fields. They are the ones bombing our forces in different places and pushing southwards,” he said.

South Sudan’s Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said the clashes were “minor” and did not amount to an escalation.

NEW TALKS

Sudanese army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad accused the SPLA of helping rebels of the SPLM-North conducting an assault on the border town of Talodi in South Kordofan.

“South Sudan supported the rebels with tanks and artillery,” he told state news agency SUNA late on Friday, adding that rebels had failed to take the town and had fled to regroup.

He also said the SPLA army was amassing troops at the border south of Heglig. “The goal is to attack the Heglig area another time,” Saad said.

Aguer denied the SPLA had supported the rebel attack.

The Heglig field is key to Sudan’s economy because it produces around half of the country’s oil output of 115,000 barrels a day.

The field was awarded to Sudan by the Permanent Arbitration Court in 2009 but some southern officials have laid claim on it.

The border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile are home to populations which sided with the south during the civil war but were left on the Sudan side of the border. The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-North in both states since last year.

(Writing by Uf Laessing; Additional reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-sudan-fightingbre82u08j-20120331,0,999110.story

Sudan and South Sudan accuse each other of border attacks

By Hereward Holland and Aaron Maasho | Reuters

 

JUBA/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Sudan and South Sudan have accused each of launching further attacks in the oil-producing area straddling their border, dashing hopes for a new round of talks designed to end the dispute.

Clashes first broke out on Monday in the worst direct confrontation between the two since South Sudan became independent in July 2011 but died down two days later when South Sudanese troops moved out of the disputed Heglig area, inside Sudan.

But on Friday Sudan launched an aerial bombardment on South Sudanese army border positions, according to South Sudan’s army. A Sudanese army spokesman in Khartoum said it attacked with artillery, not aircraft, and only in response to an earlier South Sudanese artillery attack on Heglig.

The United Nations and the United States have both warned that the clashes could reignite a civil war that stretched for decades between the mainly Muslim north and the Christian and animist South.

The Heglig field is key to Sudan’s economy because it accounts for around half of the 115,000 barrels of oil Sudan produces each day. The field was awarded to Sudan by the Permanent Arbitration Court in 2009 but some southern officials have laid claim on it.

At the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, the first set of talks since violence erupted were due to begin on Saturday but would now not take place until at least Sunday, diplomats there said.

“We are here and we are ready to talk,” Idris Abdelgadir, head of Sudan’s negotiation team, told Reuters as he arrived, but his counterpart accused Khartoum of delaying.

“We are still waiting for talks but they never showed up,” Juba’s top negotiator Pagan Amum told Reuters. “That’s because they are planning to carry out more attacks on South Sudan.”

Diplomats see no breakthrough after Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir called off an April 3 summit with his southern counterpart Salva Kiir, due to the violence.

A diplomat and Sudanese source said Khartoum was ready to talk about rescheduling the presidents’ summit but nothing had been decided yet.

GUERILLA ATTACK

Sudanese army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad said the SPLA, South Sudan’s army, was also supporting rebels of the SPLM-North in an attack on the town of Talodi in South Kordofan by covertly slipping regular soldiers over the border.

Philip Aguer, spokesman for the SPLA denied it was supporting the rebel attack.

The Sudanese states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile are home to populations which sided with the south during the civil war but were included in Sudan when the border was drawn. The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-North rebels in both states since last year.

Sudan holds air superiority over South Sudan and has greater land firepower than the SPLA – an army drawn from former rebel militias created during the civil war.

(Writing by Ulf Laessing; Additional reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz; Editing by Ben Harding)

http://news.yahoo.com/sudan-south-sudan-accuse-other-border-attacks-204436226.html

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SSLA FORCES DESTROYED ISRAELI MADE TANKS AND CAPTURED ONE IN GOOD CONDITION

SSLA FORCES DESTROYED ISRAELI MADE TANKS AND CAPTURED ONE IN GOOD CONDITION

For Immediate Release

SSLA Headquarters, Mayom, South Sudan

March, 30, 2012

The gallant forces of SSLA, under the command of fierce generals Kolchara Nyang and Mathews Pul Jang, defeated the SPLA forces in a battle that took place on March, 30, 2012. After SSLA captured Lalop town on Tuesday, March, 27, the SPLA army launched an offensive to recapture the lost town. The SPLA forces were composed of 6,000 soldiers commanded by Deputy Chief-of-staff for Administration, Lt. Gen Pieng Deng Majiok, Deputy Chief-of-staff for Political Orientation, Lt. Gen. Obuto Mamuor Mete, Unity State Divisional Commander, Maj. Gen. James Gatduel Gatluak and Lakes State Divisional Commander, Major Gen. Bol Kong.

The SPLA forces attacked SSLA’s position at 11am Friday and the battle lasted until 5:30pm. Our forces destroyed three Israeli made Merkava Mark IV tanks and captured one in good condition. The Merkava Mark IV captured in good condition was made in 1989 by Israeli Defense Force and its main armament is 120 mm MG253 smoothbore gun and its secondary armament is 12.7 mm MG. The tank carries the Israeli Elbit Systems BMS (Battle Management System).

The SSLA will soon release the picture of Merkava Mark IV captured as a proof to the whole world that Israel armed Salva Kiir’s regime to kill its own people. The SSLM/A, after destroying three Israeli made tanks, realized that the state of Israel was deceived by Kiir’s tribal government because of geopolitical game between Arabs and the State of Israel. Unfortunately, the Israeli tanks are now being used against South Sudanese fighting against tribal apartheid and dictatorship. The state of Israel might have acted emotionally in supporting the SPLA army without realizing that Dinka’s domination caused the ongoing civil war in South Sudan. Israel would now realize that its investment in South Sudan by arming one tribe to fight sixty two tribes would end in catastrophe. The cost of three Merkava tanks the SSLA destroyed is $18 million dollars. When the cost of the captured one is added, the cost of four is $24 million dollars.

Our gallant forces, after humiliating four SPLA generals, would keep matching to liberate South Sudan from the grip of tribal domination and would soon bring Bentiu town under its control. Our message to state of Israel is to stay away and stop meddling in the affairs of South Sudan by supporting one tribe to dominate others. South Sudan is composed of sixty three ethnic groups and Dinka tribe is composed of 25% of the population. The people of South Sudan have rejected tribal domination of Salva Kiir and have decided that the only salvation would come from the barrel of the gun.

The SSLA forces counted hundreds of dead bodies of the SPLA on the ground and captured twenty four SPLA soldiers alive and a lot of military equipment ranging from AK-47s to RPG-7. SSLA forces lost only fifteen martyrs and twenty four wounded. On Saturday, March, 31^st, the SSLA operational commanders, Maj. Gen. Kolchara Nyang and Maj. Gen. Pul Jang, will launch an offensive towards Bentiu town.

The SSLA is once again alerting the NGOs, UN personnel and civilians to evacuate the city for their own safety. The civilians and UN personnel should bear in mind that the SPLA army most of the times uses civilians as human shields. It is in the best interest of civilians and UN personnel to prioritize safety and evacuate the town until it’s liberated from Salva Kiir and Taban Deng Gai. SSLA forces would not be responsible for hardship that individuals who fail to evacuate will go through if it happens that the SPLA forces protecting criminal Governor Taban Deng Gai use civilians as human shields in the town to create some sort of urban warfare.

For contact:

Information Department

SSLA Headquarters

Mayom, South Sudan

Email: southsudanliberationarmy@hotmail.com

 

SSLA KILLED SPLA BRIG. GEN AND TWO COLONELS

For immediate Release

SSLA Headquarters, Mayom, South Sudan

April, 1^st, 2012

SSLA gallant forces attacked SPLA position on Saturday, April, 1^st and inflicted a lot of casualties on the enemy. The battle took place at 4:30 am and ended at 8:00am. The SSLA forces conducted reconnaissance after the end of the battle and founded the body of Brig. Gen. Gatwech Gai Marial and other two colonels from Dinka tribe. The SSLA forces recognized Gen. Gatwec Gai because he was a colleague of SSLA operation commanders when they were part of South Sudan Defense Force (SSDF) from 1997 to 2006. Brig. Gen. Gatwec joined the SPLA after Paulino Matip signed Juba Declaration on January, 9, 2006. The names of the other two colonels killed were unknown because they didn’t have ID cards to identify them.

 

The SSLA operational commanders are now matching towards Bentiu town and will soon liberate it from the tribal government of Salva Kiir. Our forces captured much equipment and destroyed two tanks. One hundred and fifty enemy soldiers have been killed today. Operation Ending Corruption will liberate Unity State soon so that the liberation of Warrap and Lakes States shall commence.

 

The SSLA military commanders call up on the SPLA forces to join the revolutionary forces by arresting Salva Kiir and his henchmen. The SSLA is not fighting the SPLA soldiers who are victims of Kiir’s corruption. One of the reasons the SSLA is fighting tribal government of Salva Kiir is to restore the dignity of SPLA forces so that they get their salaries on time and shall get benefits such as healthcare allowances. Salva Kiir treats members of SPLA army like toys that is why most of the times the soldiers don’t receive their salaries on time. The only salvation for SPLA forces is to join the revolutionary forces by emulating the Mali’s soldiers who staged a coup and took control of the palace. The SPLA forces in Juba and Central Equatoria state should free themselves by staging a military coup to restore the dignity of the people of South Sudan.

 

It is a complete joke for Salva Kiir Mayardit to order state governors to recruit youth to fight the SSLA while he is the very person fighting Nuer and Murle youth in Jonglei. It is the same Salva Kiir who refused to integrate the forces of Peter Gatdet and Gabriel Tang to the SPLA who is now crying calling for public mobilization because the SSLA is capturing Unity State. The people of South Sudan will not listen to pleas of a dying horse and would rather join the revolutionary forces to liberate South Sudan from corruption. Salva Kiir should arm his four boys to go to frontline to defend his regime instead to rely on victims of his tribal government.

 

The SSLA congratulates the UN personnel that left Bentiu town on Friday after realizing that the town would be soon captured by our forces. We urge all NGOs to evacuate the entire Unity State immediately for their own safety. The SSLA will capture Bentiu town in coming days and there is no illusion about that unless members of NGOs want to endanger their lives. We alerted civilians in the town to leave and most of them are doing so. Therefore, the NGOs should know that the reason why citizens of Unity State are leaving the town is because SSLA will control it soon. The forces of Taban Deng Gai may attempt some resistance; however, they would not withstand SSLA forces who have high morale and enthusiasm to liberate the South from corruption.

For contact:

Information Department

SSLA Headquarters

Mayom, South Sudan

Email: southsudanliberationarmy@hotmail.com

Sudan says cessation of support to rebels prerequisite to peaceful relations with south

March 29, 2012 (KHARTOUM/JUBA) —

Sudan’s foreign minister Ali Ahmed Karti reaffirmed that talks are the only choice Juba has to settle the disputed issues between the two countries but warned that being peaceful neighbours involves stopping any support to rebel groups operating in Sudan.

Ali Karti, Sudan’s Foreign Minister.

Karti’s statements follow a speech by Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir at the Arab summit in Bagdad where he said that his government is firmly committed to achieve peace and build good relations with Juba as well as to avoid a return to war. He also denounced foreign conspiracies aiming to obstruct peace between the two countries.

The Sudanese army repulsed an attack on Monday 26 March on Heglig oil field, which produces 60,000 barrel per day, around the half of Sudan’s production. Khartoum said the assault was carried out by the South Sudanese army and Sudanese rebels. On Monday South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, claimed his country’s army was responsible for the attack.

Different sources in Juba told Sudan Tribune that the announcement of the attack by Kiir had caused consternation among ministers and members of the government because the cabinet, in an extraordinary meeting earlier on Monday, had decided to work with Khartoum for a negotiated settlement over the pending issues and to support the efforts of the chief negotiator, Pagan Amum.

South Sudan’s security services are being accused of mounting the attack on Heglig with the Sudanese rebels who were annoyed by the recent deals reached by the negotiating teams of the two countries in Addis Ababa and the announced visit of the Sudanese president to Juba.

Speaking after the return of the Sudanese delegation from Bagdad, the Sudan’s foreign minister Ali Karti told reporters in Khartoum that “the only way available to the government of the South Sudan is a return to the negotiating table.” Pointing out that the attack on Heglig contradicts with the message brought by its delegation led by Pagan Amum, last week.

Karti went to say that the attack on Heglig reveals “the deep divisions in the ranks of the Government of South Sudan and indicates that there are parties who do not want the voice of peace to prevail.”

The minister stressed further that the will of those who came to Khartoum to invite Bashir to visit Juba was overshadowed by others who wanted to stop the rapprochement between the two countries.

He pointed out that President Salva Kiir committed a big mistake “when he went overjoyed to announce during a public meeting saying ’We have got what we want to be reached through negotiations’, even without checking and make sure that the attackers have controlled or not Heglig effectively.”

On Monday 26 March Kiir said his government contests Sudan’s sovereignty over Heglig and wanted to discuss the issue peacefully with Khartoum but the South Sudanese army repulsed an attack by the Sudanese army and now control the Heglig.

Karti further said the Sudanese army “repelled the attack and is ready for dialogue if the other party is serious.” He stressed that what happened was an attempt by the rebels to pressure Juba’s government.

Regarding the Sudanese rebel groups, the minister said Juba harbours Darfur and South Kordofan rebels and this represents “clear intentions of aggression”.

Referring to the efforts carried out by the African Union in Addis Ababa, Karti said the technical committees meeting there should focus on the security issue before to go through the other files.

In Juba, reliable sources said the SPLM Secretary General and top negotiator was one of those who reacted negatively against the reports by intelligence services about the attack and its circumstances.

The issue shows that the Sudanese rebels can impact on the South Sudan government, said a Western diplomat. The added that Juba’s leaders should not believe it can use their former comrades who fought together with them against Bashir’s government without such risk.

He further warned that the “card of regime change” played by Juba might discredit its leadership before the international community which seeks to bring peace and stability in the region.

“This is why we endorsed the South Sudanese will for an independent nation several months ago,” he said.

(ST)

http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudan-says-cessation-of-support-to,42078

South Sudan welcomes IGAD capacity building initiative Sudan Tribune March 29, 2012 (JUBA) – As newly independent South Sudan embarks on post-war recovery efforts, East African regional body IGAD has launched an initiative aimed at strengthening capacity building in the country’s public service.

Where is the Foundation of Academics? AllAfrica.com By Dhieu Abraham Machar, 30 March 2012 I was shocked on the 19th, March when the fearful students of the Republic of South Sudan sat for the foreign National Examination of the Sudan-the politically deserted brotherhood whose education is Islamic based …

Japan Oil Imports for Power Surge as South Sudan Supply Is Lost BusinessWeek By Jacob Adelman on March 30, 2012 Japan lost oil supplies from South Sudan, even as its total crude purchases for generating power surged because of the need to replace electricity from idle atomic reactors. The country imported 1.75 million … Japan Oil Imports for Power Surge as South Sudan Supply Is Lost Bloomberg Japan lost oil supplies from South Sudan, even as its total crude purchases for generating power surged because of the need to replace electricity from idle atomic reactors. The country imported 1.75 million kiloliters of oil, or about 369000 barrels a … South Sudanese delegation ends visit to Angola AngolaPress Luanda – A delegation of South Sudan Government, headed by the minister of Cabinet Affairs of the President of the Republic, Deng Alor Koul, ended Friday its three-day visit to the country, which was considered positive due to the objectives achieved. Recovering From the Lord’s Resistance Army AllAfrica.com Yambio, South Sudan — It happened three years ago, but Anna* remembers it vividly. “They attacked our village on a Wednesday,” she says. It was the school holidays and Anna, then 19, was visiting her parents in Gbado village in northern Democratic …

Sudan, South pledge peace as crisis talks delayed

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Israeli foreign ministry recommends postponing deportation of South Sudanese Haaretz On April 1, collective protection for South Sudan nationals is set to expire; Jerusalem District Court also issues an injunction forbidding any deportation of South Sudanesenationals before April 15. By Barak Ravid Israel’s foreign ministry …

South Sudan wants to learn basketball with Angola AngolaPress Luanda – The minister of Youth and Sports of South Sudan, Cirino Hiteng Ofuho Thursday in Luanda said that his country is interested in cooperating specifically in basketball for considering Angola the greatest power on the African continent.

South Sudan says it pulls back troops from border Longview Daily News South Sudan said Wednesday it has pulled out its troops from a contested area along the border with Sudan shortly after clashes between the two countries’ armies sparked fears of a return to war. Military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said that southern …

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Sudan, South pledge peace as crisis talks delayed Pakistan Daily Times ADDIS ABABA: African-brokered crisis talks between Sudan and South Sudan after days of border clashes were delayed Thursday but the rival sides pledged to stop an escalation into full-blown war. The talks in the Ethiopian capital were likely to be …

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South Sudan forms committee to investigate Wau plane crash Sudan Tribune By Ngor Arol Garang March 29, 2012 (JUBA) – South Sudan has formed a technical fact finding committee to investigate the cause of a plane crash at Wau Airport on Thursday morning, according to officials. Multiple eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that no …

Sudan wants to live peacefully with S Sudan: Bashir Zee News Baghdad: Sudan wants to resolve peacefully all disputes with South Sudan and build up good relations with the former civil war foe, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Thursday, after two days of border clashes between the two countries.

CPJ: Corruption a no-go zone for South Sudan’s journalists

By Tom Rhodes/CPJ East Africa Consultant

Pagan Amum, secretary-general of South Sudan’s ruling party, was awarded defamation damages from two newspapers who reported on a corruption case. (CPJ)

Last week, South Sudan’s ruling party secretary-general, Pagan Amum, won an important court battle, absolving him of allegations that he received a $30 million corrupt payment in 2006. The accusations came from former Finance Minister Arthur Akuien Chol, who alleged earlier this year that he had received orders from “above” to transfer the public money, according to local reports. The court acquitted Amum based on insufficient evidence. The money, however, remains unaccounted for, according to local reports. And the odds of any journalist in South Sudan investigating the matter further are slim.

For reporting on the corruption charges, two independent newspapers, The Citizen and Al Masir, were ordered by a court in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, to pay 100,000 South Sudanese pounds (US$37,000) each in damages to Amum, local journalists told CPJ. If the papers do not publish an apology within 15 days, the court ruled, the fine would increase to 1 million South Sudanese pounds to be paid in three months.

Like most papers the world over, The Citizen survives on a shoe-string budget and couldn’t withstand such fees, Chief Editor Nhial Bol told me. “We are going to appeal this decision,” he said. “All we did was quote the former finance minister — there is nothing libelous about that.”

Speaking to journalists outside the courtroom, Amum said the verdict sent a clear message that freedom of expression “should be exercised in such a measured, responsible manner that ensures the rights of others are not hammered or taken away,” according to local reports.

The ruling sent another message to reporters in Africa’s newest country: Reporting about corruption can be detrimental to your media houses’ survival. “They are trying to silence the media from reporting on corruption issues,” Bol said. Many of Bol’s colleagues agree. “Such heavy fines can easily lead to the creation of a state of fear in the media,” New Nationcorrespondent Anthony Kamba told me. Simon Tongun from the critical Catholic radio stationBakhita FM agrees: “As for the performance of the media after this issue, it is honestly going to be difficult for us to publish information on corruption but we will not give up.”

The problem, local journalists tell me, is that they are working in a legal vacuum without any media laws in place to assist in their defense. A proposed media law, first introduced nearly five years ago, would have provided an independent press ombudsman to mediate the case, but the law is yet to be passed. Despite pledges made to me last year by Information Minister Barnabas Marial that the bills would be tabled “soon,” most journalists in South Sudan are not holding their breath. “The media in South Sudan still operates under what I have often termed playing a game of football without rules,” said Jacob Akol, chair of the Association of Media Development in South Sudan, an organization that is campaigning for passage of the law. “We are told that the media is free to report anything within the law; but what law?” Akol said. While a court can use the penal code to fine a newspaper any amount providing it is not “excessive,” the press has no legal means to counter such unlimited fines.

Other sensitive issues such as security are also no-go areas for South Sudanese journalists. The government of South Sudan confiscated copies of the independent biweekly newspaperThe Juba Post last year for quoting a dissident group claiming it would launch an attack on Juba. Security tensions between Sudan and South Sudan have reached a boiling point along their border, with both sides targeting each other’s oil fields. Accurate coverage of these events will no doubt prove another challenge for South Sudan’s independent journalists.

Tom Rhodes is CPJ’s East Africa consultant, based in Nairobi. Rhodes is a founder of southern Sudan’s first independent newspaper. Follow him on Twitter:@africamedia_CPJ

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1366070f95f8bf68

War Between North and South Sudan

By Mogga Josephson

Between nations, guns may fall silent, but the ethics of how any war has been carried out cannot and should not stop at the doors of any peace that falls between the worrying nations. Revisiting the conventions of war, (Geneva and Hague can help us chart the course of action to take in a time of our choosing sooner than later. 

(read  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_crime)

What constitutes war crimes indeed is why damage assessment is important, and not just the disengagement, or silence of guns. That is not in many peoples view, the end of war or beginning of peace. For undisciplined governments that respects no Humanitarian law, or those who violate the laws applicable in armed conflict should not be let go free. There should be reparations for any damages by unlawful acts by any party found guilty.

The one guilty should be punished as to deter recklessness of careless resorts to war bombing anything including civilian infrastructures, not military assets. The issue of North Sudan resorting to damaging the oil infrastructure of South Sudan brings to our concerns the need to challenge the North Sudanese on their conduct of war in a court of law.

(read  Sudan’s parliament warns the government not to deal with South by reactions SudaneseOnline-Speaker of Sudan’s parliament cautioned against dealing with the incidents that recently erupted in Heglig area in South Kordofan by excessive zeal, underlining the need …Full story)

They know that, the oil is the life line of South Sudanese and their own life line too. They also know the environmental effects of any leakages should oil spill into the environment, accidentally or deliberately. Oil companies are always punished for that therefore anyone causing such leakages should as well be treated to same punishment.

The parliament of the North (Read Sudan online), has warned the (meaning the army) the nation not to resort to reactions with South Sudan in any negative way to solve problems. This in my view is because they are possibly aware of later consequences should the South wake up to know that their legal right to pursue reparations for damages to their civilian infrastructures in consequences of the Norths senseless war or greed.

The Liberal Democratic party of the North has warned the governments (Read SudaneseOnline: سودانيزاونلاين

Sudan online http://www.sudaneseonline.com/english/news/5247-liberal-democratic-party-on-the-recent-conflict-between-sudan-south-sudan.html)

To stop targeting the oil production areas of the two parties and not bombing any oil field or facilities related thereto, since such actions are listed under the economic & environmental crimes and impacts the public health & safety,  which is absolutely unacceptable.

War reparations is not new. In the first and second world wars, and recently also the Iraq war when it invaded Kuwait causing massive damage to infrastructure and by a resolution 687, of the United nations Security Council which declared Iraq’s financial liability for damage caused in its invasion had to pay the reparations amounting to US$350 billion.

According to the UN, the prioritization of claims by natural people, ahead of claims by governments and entities or corporations (legal persons), “marked a significant step in the evolution of international claims practice.”
So fresh in our memories is also when Eritrea went into war with Ethiopia. See what happened Tuesday, 18 August 2009 . (Ref:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8208285.stm)

Eritrea to pay Ethiopia millions

Both were ordered to pay each other damages for the 1998-2000 border war, but the verdict leaves Eritrea with $10m (£6m) more to pay. An international tribunal in The Hague has ruled that Eritrea will have to pay Ethiopia millions of dollars in compensation for war damages.

The ruling covers compensation for businesses and goods lost and villages destroyed during the bitter conflict.

Eritrea has already said it accepts the ruling of the tribunal.

The Claims Commission, set up at the end of the war, ruled on awards across a range of issues.

It gave a monetary value to the damage suffered by Ethiopians during a notorious incident when Eritrean jets dropped cluster bombs on a school in the town of Mekele.

So in my view, as we become natural enemies and neighbors same time, how Sudan behaves with us should be established by rules and if not International jurisdictions. Letting any thing go un punished, even if it is companies to complain for damages to their equipment (By the way we are also paying for that), plays negative to our tolerance or innocence.

This idea of is shared here to provoke a necessary positive thinking, on ways and or plans for action. This is in view of the serial, un necessary, un provoked bombings of our land, our civilians as well as our oil fields in sustained provocations inside our sovereign territory. More over they are even still occupying  some Southern Sudan’s sovereign territories along the boarder, some even after ruling of the Hague in the like Abyei,  got invaded plunging the natives into untold misery worth millions in monetary terms of individual losses.

Consider it as now an undisputed South Sudan territory, is the occupation justified or fighting for temporary capture of Heiglig more natural and allowed without penalties and not Abyei? The freedoms of movement should be scrapped to deny the Missiriya Arabs access to the land and the resources of the south ungratefully. Also in same vein, SPLA should have right to retake Abyei just as SAF regained control of Heighlig even if its ownership is still disputed.

Now or later as we still face a monster, who is bent on grabbing part of economically resourceful South Sudan or damage it directly or indirectly. In fact the use of militia in war, is a criminal way of avoiding responsibility and by intention to avoid providing direct evidence for any claims of war reparations. That is the criminal or forensic signature (behavior) of Sudan’s wars which should now on not be let continue.

Mogga, S J
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OPEN LETTER FROM SOUTH SUDANESE CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS TO PRESIDENT SALVA KIIR MAYARDIT

Dear all – Please find below and attached an open letter from South
Sudanese civil society organizations to President Salva Kiir regarding
the government of South Sudan’s invitation to President Omar al-Bashir
to attend the April 2012 presidential summit in Juba.

Best,
South Sudanese civil society
___________________________________

OPEN LETTER FROM SOUTH SUDANESE CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS TO
PRESIDENT SALVA KIIR MAYARDIT

Regarding the government of South Sudan’s invitation to President Omar
al-Bashir to attend the April 2012 presidential summit in Juba

29 March 2012

Dear President Salva Kiir Mayardit,

We, the undersigned South Sudanese civil society organizations, with
the support of human rights organizations across the African
continent, are writing to express our deep concern about the
invitation that the government of South Sudan has extended to
President Omar al-Bashir to attend the April 2012 presidential summit
in Juba. With open fighting now reported along the border between
Sudan and South Sudan, it appears increasingly unlikely that Bashir
will accept the invitation. Nonetheless, we urge the government of
South Sudan to adopt a policy of holding any meetings with Bashir and
other Sudanese officials wanted by the International Criminal Court
(ICC) outside of South Sudan.

No nation knows President Bashir’s cruelty more than South Sudan.
Since Bashir came to power in a military coup in 1989, countless
numbers of our people have been killed and displaced by the actions of
his regime. Over the course of the war, Khartoum extended its criminal
warfare methods to other marginalized regions in Sudan. In Darfur,
Bashir’s regime instituted a particularly brutal campaign of mass
killings and ethnic cleansing that left more than 300,000 people dead
and several million displaced.

In response to these grave violations of international human rights
and humanitarian law, the United Nations Security Council issued
Resolution 1593 (2005), referring the situation in Darfur to the ICC.
The Resolution called on all United Nations member states—whether or
not they were party to the Rome Statute—to cooperate fully with the
Court and its prosecutor.

Four years later, the ICC issued two warrants for Bashir’s arrest on
charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Overnight, Bashir’s ability to travel became severely restricted. In
accordance with Resolution 1593, responsible nations across the globe
have refused to receive him. With each refusal, the survivors of
Bashir’s atrocities come closer to seeing justice done in their
lifetime and to knowing that Bashir will never again subject others to
a similar pain and torment.

As a nation that has suffered so much at the hands of Omar al-Bashir,
South Sudan has a moral obligation to the survivors of his atrocities
take a principled stance on the warrants for his arrest. The millions
of South Sudanese who have lost loved ones to Bashir’s criminal acts
have the same interest in seeing him held accountable as the women and
children that continue to be raped in killed in Darfur and the
hundreds of thousands of people that are now at risk of
conflict-induced famine in Southern Kordofan and Southern Blue Nile.

We congratulate you and your negotiating team for maintaining open
channels of communication with representatives of the government of
Sudan and for making progress on the ‘four freedoms’ agreement. The
presidential summit and its implications for peace between Sudan and
South Sudan should not be understated.

But to host the international fugitive, Omar al-Bashir, in Juba, to
turn a blind eye to the warrants for his arrest, to grant him leave to
set foot on South Sudanese soil for the first time since independence,
does a disservice to the survivors of his atrocities. For little more
than a public relations exercise, South Sudan could join the short
list of countries that have tacitly condoned Bashir’s crimes by
failing to respect the ICC’s warrants for his arrest.

Your Excellency, we strongly urge you to adopt a policy of holding any
meetings with Omar al-Bashir and other Sudanese officials wanted by
the ICC outside of South Sudan. We also call on the government of
South Sudan to demonstrate that it is committed to rule of law and
accountability by moving quickly to ratify the Rome Statute and
international human rights treaties.

Yours sincerely,

Signatories:

Agency for Independent Media (AIM)
Assistance Mission for Africa (AMA)
Care for Children and Old Age in South Sudan (CCOSS)
Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO)
Generation Agency for Development Transformation-Pentagon (GADET-Pentagon)
Kush, Inc.
Legal Research and Human Rights Initiative (LERHI)
Nuer Peace Council (NPC)
South Sudan Human Rights Society for Advocacy (SSHURSA)
South Sudan Law Society (SSLS)
Unist Development Organization
Voices for Change

With support from:

Action of Christian Activists for Human Rights in Shabunda
(ACADHOSHA), Democratic Republic of the Congo
Africa Legal Aid (AFLA)
African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO), Senegal
African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)
Association of Human and Prisoner Rights (ADHUC), Republic of Congo
Benin Coalition for the International Criminal Court, Benin
Cameroon Coalition for the International Criminal Court, Cameroon
Central African Republic Coalition for the International Criminal
Court, Central African Republic
Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law, Sierra Leone
Children Education Society-Tanzania (CHESO), Tanzania
Citizens for Justice and Accountability (COJA)
Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), Nigeria
Darfur Relief and Documentation Center (DRDC)
Human Rights Watch, with offices in South Africa, Kenya, the
Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda
The Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists, Kenya
League for Peace, Human Rights and Justice (LIPADHOJ), Democratic
Republic of Congo
Nigerian Coalition on the ICC (NCICC), Nigeria
Synergy of Congolese NGOs for Victims (SYCOVI), Democratic Republic of Congo
West African Bar Association

Israeli foreign ministry recommends postponing deportation of South Sudan nationals

The Jerusalem District Court issued an injunction forbidding any deportation of South Sudanese nationals before April 15.

By Barak Ravid

Israel’s foreign ministry recommended Thursday that the Interior Ministry extend the protection from deportation collectively afforded to refugees from South Sudan by an additional six months. On Sunday, April 1, the collective protection for the citizens of the new nation is set to expire. This would mean that any South Sudanese citizen that will not leave ion his or her own accord will be deported.

In addition to this recommendation by the foreign ministry, the Jerusalem District Court issued an injunction forbidding any deportation of South Sudanese nationals before April 15. The state has until that date to respond to a petition by aid organizations against the Interior Ministry’s decision not to extend the collective protection.

	Sudanese refugees in Tel Aviv celebrate South Sudan’s independence, July 10, 2011.
	Photo by: Sara Miller

A senior Foreign Ministry official said that the recommendation to extend the collective protection for the South Sudanese for another six month is due to the fact that the conditions for their return haven’t yet matured – not on the part of Israel and not on the part of South Sudan.

“The arrangements required for the return have yet to be completed and more time is required to coordinate the arrangements with the government of South Sudan,” the source said.

The Population and Immigration Authority stated that the authority to extend the protection isn’t held by the foreign of interior ministries, rather it lays in the hands of the prime minister.

On Wednesday, a special foreign ministry delegate to South Sudan returned to Israel after a short stay at the country’s capital Juba. He held consultations with the vice president and with members of international organizations in the country, and discussed the refugees return to South Sudanese. The visit was also intended to see if the conditions in the country have improved enough to allow for their return.

On Wednesday, following three days of fighting, which included airstrikes and tank shelling, Sudan and South Sudan agreed to work together to settle their differences.

The decision to work together came after the Unaited Nations Security Council issued a statement of concern over the fighting along the border, which could deteriorate to another civil war in the region.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-foreign-ministry-recommends-postponing-deportation-of-south-sudan-nationals-1.421564

Court delays deportation of South Sudanese

By BEN HARTMAN

03/29/2012 

Just 3 days before potential forced deportations, Jerusalem court issues injunction barring move until mid-April.

By Ben Hartman

Only three days before South Sudanese in Israel were to face the potential of forced deportation, the Jerusalem District Court issued an injunction Thursday barring the deportations until April 15th.

The decision was in response to a petition issued earlier in the day by a series of NGOs including the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), the Hotline for Migrant Workers, the African Refugee Development Center, the Assaf Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel, and Physicians for Human Rights.

The petitioners argued that returning South Sudanese at this point in time would gravely endanger their lives, considering the dire living conditions and sporadic fighting plaguing the country.

Also Thursday, the Foreign Ministry sent a letter to the Population, Immigration, and Borders Authority (PIBA) on Thursday, asking for them to consider delaying the deportations, so that the ministry can have more time to examine the situation on the ground in South Sudan.

As of Sunday, April 1st, the community of around 1,000 South Sudanese in Israel was to face forced deportation in keeping with a government decision announced by PIBA on January 31st. PIBA stated that following the establishment of South Sudan as an independent country last July, they will no longer be considered refugees come April 1st and should prepare their departure.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor said Thursday that the letter sent to PIBA asked for them to wait while the ministry discusses the matter with an envoy sent by the Foreign Ministry to Juba. The envoy was scheduled to return on Thursday, and will brief the ministry on the situation on the ground in Juba.

Palmor said the ministry asked for more time so that they can examine the envoy’s recommendations about returning South Sudanese to their country, as well as opinions from sources in the international community on the matter. Palmor said the recommendations could encourage them to request that the government extend group protection for South Sudanese.

Palmor added that the ministry did not ask for any specific time frame, as opposed to reports Thursday in the Israeli press.

Sabine Haddad from PIBA confirmed that the organization had received the letter on Thursday but added that the decision about extending group protection for South Sudanese lies with the Prime Minister’s office.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=264036

South Sudan may reconsider Glencore oil deal Ahram Online South Sudan may reconsider a scrapped contract with Glencore for crude marketing and other services if the oil trading major agrees to revise terms seen as unfavourable to the African producer, an oil official said on Thursday.

SOUTH SUDAN: Briefing on Heglig clashes IRINnews.org LONDON/JAU, 29 March 2012 (IRIN) – Borderland fighting between Sudan and South Sudan broke out on 25 March, raising fears that the fragile peace that has more or less held since a 2005 accord (CPA) ended decades of civil war, could break down entirely.

Israeli foreign ministry recommends postponing the deportation of South Sudan … Haaretz The Jerusalem District Court issued an injunction forbidding any deportation of South Sudanesenationals before April 15. By Barak Ravid Tags: Israel immigration Africa Israel Israel’s foreign ministry recommended Thursday that the Interior Ministry …

Sudanese conflict quiets, UN says UPI.com UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (UPI) — The conflict between the Sudanese and South Sudanesemilitaries appears to be subsidizing as both sides head to the negotiating table, a UN official said.South Sudanese officials accused the Sudanese military of …

Bodies, destroyed tanks at scene of Sudan battle: AFP

By Abdelmoneim Abu Edris Ali | AFP

Dead bodies and destroyed tanks lay in Sudan’s southern oil centre of Heglig on Wednesday after government forces and South Sudanese troops clashed along the border, sparking international alarm.

Smoke still rose from a destroyed residence of oil workers, just metres (yards) from an unscathed oil well.

An AFP reporter observed the war debris while accompanying Sudan’s Oil Minister Awad Ahmad al-Jaz who spent about six hours in the area with Ahmad Harun, governor of surrounding South Kordofan state.

The correspondent saw three bodies and two tanks but the mangled tanks carried no visible identifying markings.

Some of the dead bore the insignia of rebels from the Darfur-based Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

Sudan’s military has alleged JEM “exploited” the north-south clash to target Sudanese troops in the Heglig area before being repulsed.

JEM on Wednesday repeated its earlier denial of involvement in the battle.

The movement’s spokesman, Gibril Adam Bilal, said the dead might be government troops dressed in rebel garb.

“We as JEM, we confirm we are not part of that battle in Heglig at all,” which was entirely a clash between South Sudan and Sudanese troops, Bilal said by telephone.

Two destroyed Land Cruisers at the battle scene also carried JEM insignia.

Both north and south claim parts of Heglig, an oil-rich territory that witnessed heavy fighting during Sudan’s devastating 22-year civil war.

The town is surrounded by numerous oil wells, on flat land scattered with acacia trees, but none of the oil infrastructure appeared damaged.

“Now there are no soldiers from our enemy inside Sudanese territory and the area is completely secure,” said Abdelmoneim Saad, operations commander for the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Heglig town is about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the disputed frontier’s closest point.

South Sudan said its forces had taken the area on Monday when they pushed back Khartoum’s troops which had moved over the frontier into Unity state following air strikes.

A large contingent of Misseriya nomads from the paramilitary Popular Defence Force (PDF), a key battle force for the Sudanese military, patrolled the Heglig area on foot and by motorcycles, with rifles but without uniforms.

“Our border was won in 1956 and we will fight for this border even without the government’s permission, to protect our land,” said Ismail Hamdien, a Misseriya leader who travelled to the battle scene to assess the situation.

Police, intelligence agents and members of the regular armed forces — some riding cannon-mounted vehicles — added to a heavy security presence.

Sudan and South Sudan both said ground clashes had ended by Wednesday.

Oil operations in Heglig are run by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC), a consortium led by China’s state oil giant CNPC.

“There is serious concern among us,” one Chinese oil worker said.

“How can we work in this situation? We want the government to protect us because we are working for the people of Sudan.”

Jaz said the fighting had not affected oil production.

But a Sudanese oil engineer said normal daily output of 60,000 barrels in the area — about half the country’s total — had fallen to 40,000 because some wells were affected by the fighting. He gave no further details.

Although both countries claim parts of the Heglig area, an analyst said it “is firmly in north Sudan”.

Analysts said there are elements in Khartoum, as well as the South, opposed to recent moves towards warmer relations between the two countries and suggested the latest flare-up was an effort to sabotage a rapprochement.

Border tensions have mounted since South Sudan split from Sudan in July last year after an overwhelming vote for secession that followed Africa’s longest war.

Earlier in March, after months of failed negotiations, an escalating row over oil fees and mutual accusations of backing rebels on each other’s territory, South Sudan’s chief negotiator Pagan Amum said relations had improved.

Amum and a South Sudanese delegation visited Khartoum last week to invite their “brother,” President Omar al-Bashir, to an April 3 summit in the southern capital Juba, and said he had accepted.

But after Monday’s fighting Khartoum said it had suspended the meeting.

http://news.yahoo.com/bodies-destroyed-tanks-scene-sudan-battle-afp-162659030.html

South Sudan: Situation On South Sudan-Sudan Border Cools As Parties Express … AllAfrica.com Tensions stemming from military clashes in the border area between Sudan and South Sudanappear to be de-escalating as both parties have stated their willingness to meet in the coming days in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to prevent a new eruption of violence …

Fighting Ceases Along Sudan-South Sudan Border Voice of America (blog) Fighting has apparently ended along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, where air strikes and ground attacks took place this week. By Thursday morning, troops were reported to have pulled back from both sides of the border.

Aid agencies warn of huge crisis at South Sudan camps AFP Aid agencies say that unless supplies reach the Jamam refugee camp in South Sudan in the next few weeks, thousands of lives could be put at risk. Currently there isn’t enough water for the 35000 people who have fled gunfights and aerial bombings in …

Sudan and South Sudan may slide back to war, world powers warn CNN A burnt military vehicle sits where South Sudanese troops and Sudan government forces clashed along the border near Hegleg, the central area for Sudan’s oil production. Sudan and South Sudanmay be sliding back toward war, the United States and other …

South Sudan says it pulls back troops from border The Oshkosh Northwestern By Michael Onyiego, AP JUBA, South Sudan (WTW) — South Sudan said Wednesday it has pulled out its troops from a contested area along the border with Sudan shortly after clashes between the two countries’ armies sparked fears of a return to war.

South Sudan troops withdraw from oil area after clashes The Daily Star By Ulf Laessing HEGLIG OIL FIELD, Sudan: South Sudan’s troops have pulled out of Sudan’s oil-producing Heglig area, both sides said on Wednesday, easing tensions after two days of clashes between the neighbours threatened to escalate a simmering…

Sudan and South Sudan say no to war, but violence continues Christian Science Monitor Core issues from South Sudan’s independence from Sudan remain unresolved, like sharing oil revenue. But the current rhythm of fight, talk, fight, talk is unsustainable, says guest blogger. By Alex Thurston, Guest blogger / March 29, 2012 South Sudanese …

South Sudan may reconsider Glencore oil deal Reuters Africa By Hereward Holland and Alexander Dziadosz (Reuters) – South Sudan may reconsider a scrapped contract with Glencore for crude marketing and other services if the oil trading major agrees to revise terms seen as unfavourable to the African producer, …

South Sudan Prepares For Blackout as Fuel Supplies Dwindle Jakarta Globe South Sudan’s capital is braced for a complete blackout in the coming days due to fuel shortages, local media reported on Thursday. “The remaining fuel quantity has reached its lowest point ever,” David Deng, the minister of electricity, …

Nets for Relief as Refugees Flee AllAfrica.com By Sue Valentine, 29 March 2012 Against the backdrop of renewed hostilities between South Sudan and its northern neighbour, a fresh initiative aims to provide some relief from an ever-present threat that is killing refugees even as they flee the …

Sudan seeks good relations with the South Capital FM Kenya BAGHDAD, Mar 29 – Sudan seeks good relations with newly independent South Sudan, President Omar al-Bashir told an Arab summit on Thursday, after border clashes this week sparked international alarm. “We are committed to go forward in resolving these …

Sudan, South Sudan vow no war after border battles

JUBA  – Sudan and South Sudan vowed Wednesday to step back from the brink of all out war after three days of border violence including airstrikes and tank battles prompted international concern of a wider conflict.

Fighting on the ground had reportedly ceased on both sides of the undemarcated border but dead bodies and destroyed tanks lay strewn in Sudan’s contested oil centre of Heglig, the site of bloody battles that began Monday. Both Juba and Khartoum said senior envoys would meet in the Ethiopian capital Thursday in a bid to stave off further violence.

“What we expect to achieve is the cessation of hostilities,” South Sudan’s top negotiator Pagan Amum said. “We will stop the fighting that is there, and ensure that this does not erupt into war between the two countries.”

Sudanese foreign affairs official Rahamatalla Mohamed Osman, said Khartoum did not want a war with the South.

, but warned “if they want to accelerate, we will defend ourselves.”

Sudanese warplanes on Monday launched air raids on newly independent South Sudan, while the rival armies clashed in heavy battles.

Both sides claim the other started the fighting, the worst since South Sudan declared independence from Khartoum last July after decades of civil war.

The African Union, UN Security Council and European Union have called for an end to the violence, while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Khartoum bore the responsibility for the renewed hostilities.

The pan-African body said Wednesday it was deeply concerned at an “escalating security situation” on the border between the former civil war foes, and called for troops to pull back 10 kilometres (6 miles) either side of the border.

The unrest jeopardises AU-led efforts to resolve contentious border and oil disputes that have ratcheted up tensions between Juba and Khartoum.

The last round of AU-mediated talks in Addis Ababa closed this month with an agreement on nationality and border issues, which was hailed as a major breakthrough in dragging negotiations, but the mood has soured since.

Juba said northern bombers and troops had struck first on Monday, moving into Unity State before Southern troops fought back and took the Heglig oil field, parts of which are claimed by both countries.

Sudan later retook the field.

“Heglig and all around it is completely secure,” Bashir Meki, the Sudanese local army commander, told an AFP reporter who visited the region with Sudan’s Oil Minister Awad Ahmad al-Jaz.

A large contingent of Misseriya nomads from the paramilitary Popular Defence Force (PDF), a key battle force for the Sudanese military, patrolled the Heglig area with rifles and motorcycles, but without uniforms.

“We will fight for this border even without the government’s permission, to protect our land,” said Ismail Hamdien, a Misseriya leader who travelled to the battle scene to assess the situation.

Rebel forces that both Juba and Khartoum accuse are backed by the other were also reported to have joined in the fighting, and AU Commission chief Jean Ping called for a “halting of any support to rebel forces.”

Oil operations in Heglig are run by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC), a consortium led by China’s state oil giant CNPC.

“There is serious concern among us,” one Chinese oil worker said. “How can we work in this situation? We want the government to protect us because we are working for the people of Sudan.”

Southern soldiers were on high alert along the border fearing fresh attacks after pulling out of Heglig, said Southern army spokesman Philip Aguer.

“It is not our policy to attack and occupy, but only to defend ourselves against unwarranted aggression,” said Aguer, adding there had been no ground fighting Wednesday.

“We are monitoring the movement of large SAF (Sudan’s army) convoys near the border … our forces are ready to respond,” he added.

More than two million people died in Sudan’s 1983-2005 civil war between Khartoum and southern rebels before a peace agreement which led to South Sudan’s independence.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/29-Mar-2012/sudan-south-sudan-vow-no-war-after-border-battles

Sudan, S Sudan vow no war after battles

Thursday March 29, 2012

Sudan and South Sudan have vowed to step back from the brink after three days of border conflict including air strikes and tank battles prompted international concern of a wider conflict.

Fighting on the ground had reportedly ceased on both sides of the unmarked border but dead bodies and destroyed tanks lay strewn in Sudan’s contested oil centre of Heglig, the site of bloody battles that began on Monday.

Both Juba and Khartoum said senior envoys would meet in the Ethiopian capital on Thursday in a bid to stave off further violence.

‘What we expect to achieve is the cessation of hostilities,’ South Sudan’s top negotiator Pagan Amum said. ‘We will stop the fighting that is there, and ensure that this does not erupt into war between the two countries.’

Sudanese foreign affairs official Rahamatalla Mohamed Osman, who had arrived in Addis Ababa ahead of the talks, said Khartoum did not want a war with the South, but warned ‘if they want to accelerate, we will defend ourselves.’

Sudanese warplanes on Monday launched air raids on newly independent South Sudan, while the rival armies clashed in heavy battles.

Both sides claim the other started the fighting, the worst since South Sudan declared independence from Khartoum last July after decades of civil war.

The African Union, UN Security Council and European Union have called for an end to the violence, while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Khartoum bore the responsibility for the renewed hostilities.

The pan-African body said on Wednesday it was deeply concerned at an ‘escalating security situation’ on the border between the former civil war foes, and called for troops to pull back 10 kilometres either side of the border.

The unrest jeopardises AU-led efforts to resolve contentious border and oil disputes that have ratcheted up tensions between Juba and Khartoum.

Juba said northern bombers and troops had struck first on Monday, moving into Unity State before Southern troops fought back and took the Heglig oil field, parts of which are claimed by both countries.

Sudan later retook the field.

‘Heglig and all around it is completely secure,’ Bashir Meki, the Sudanese local army commander, told an AFP reporter who visited the region with Sudan’s Oil Minister Awad Ahmad al-Jaz.

A large contingent of Misseriya nomads from the paramilitary Popular Defence Force (PDF), a key battle force for the Sudanese military, patrolled the Heglig area with rifles and motorcycles, but without uniforms.

‘We will fight for this border even without the government’s permission, to protect our land,’ said Ismail Hamdien, a Misseriya leader who travelled to the battle scene to assess the situation.

Rebel forces that both Juba and Khartoum accuse are backed by the other were also reported to have joined in the fighting, and AU Commission chief Jean Ping called for a ‘halting of any support to rebel forces.’

Oil operations in Heglig are run by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC), a consortium led by China’s state oil giant CNPC.

‘There is serious concern among us,’ one Chinese oil worker said. ‘How can we work in this situation? We want the government to protect us because we are working for the people of Sudan.’

Southern soldiers were on high alert along the border fearing fresh attacks.

http://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=734067&vId=

Arkangelo Paul Lorem: From South Sudan to Yale

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF; Published: March 28, 2012

Paul Lorem is a freshman at Yale University.

Paul Lorem epitomizes a blunt truth about the world: talent is universal, but opportunity is not.

Lorem, 21, is an orphan from a South Sudanese village with no electricity. His parents never went to school, and he grew up without adult supervision in a refugee camp. Now he’s a freshman at Yale University.

All around the world, remarkable young men and women are on edge because today they finally hear of admissions decisions from Yale and a number of other highly competitive universities. So a word of encouragement: No one ever faced longer odds than Paul Lorem, and he made it.

“How I got to Yale was pure luck, combined with lots of people helping me,” Lorem told me as we sat in a book-lined study on the Yale campus. “I had a lot of friends who maybe had almost the same ability as me, but, due to reasons I don’t really understand, they just couldn’t make it through. If there’s one thing I wish, it’s that they had more opportunity to get education.”

Lorem’s family comes from a line of cattle-herders in the southeastern part of South Sudan. The area is remote. Villagers live in thatch-roof huts, and there is no functioning school or health clinic. The nearest paved road is several days’ walk away.

As Lorem was growing up, the region was engulfed in civil war, and, at age 5, he nearly died of tuberculosis. In hope of saving his life, his parents dropped him off at theKakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya. They returned to their village and later died, and Lorem was raised in the camp by other refugee boys who were only a bit older.

Boys raising boys might seem a recipe for Lord-of-the-Flies chaos, but these teenagers forced Lorem to go to school, seeing education as an escalator to a better life. And Lorem began to soar.

His class sometimes consisted of 300 pupils meeting under a tree, and Lorem didn’t have his own notebooks or pencils or schoolbooks, but he practiced letters by writing in the dust. His friends died of war, disease and banditry, but he devoured the contents of a tiny refugee camp library set up by a Lutheran aid group.

Teachers took increasing pride in their brilliant student and arranged for Lorem to leave the refugee camp and transfer to a Kenyan school for seventh and eighth grades. That way he could compete in nationwide exams and perhaps get into high school.

Just one problem: those exams were partly in Swahili, a language that Lorem did not speak. But he poured himself into his schoolwork, and classmates helped him. Lorem ended up earning the second highest mark in that entire region of Kenya.

That led to a scholarship to a top boarding school near the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and then to the African Leadership Academy in South Africa. On his school vacation between junior and senior year of high school, Lorem undertook an epic journey across Africa to his native village. Then he guided his younger brother and sister to the refugee camp where he grew up so that they, too, could get an education.

Lorem loves Yale, but, academically, it has been a tough transition, partly because English is Lorem’s fifth language (he also speaks Didinga, Toposa, Arabic and Swahili). Jeffrey Brenzel, the Yale admissions director, puts it this way: “On the one hand, these adjustments are greater for him than for many, but, on the other hand, he has already overcome far greater challenges than other students have just to get here.”

The vast majority of children in poor countries never enjoy such opportunities. The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal of all children completing primary school by 2015 will almost certainly be missed. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain is calling for the creation of a Global Fund for Education to help meet the goal, and I hope the United States backs the initiative.

Lorem plans to return to South Sudan after graduation to help rebuild his country. As I interviewed him in the tranquility of Yale, he choked with tears as he recalled the many people who had helped him: the boys in the camp who looked after him; the German nun, Sister Luise Radleimer Agonia, who enveloped him in love and helped pay his school fees; the bus driver in Juba, South Sudan, who put Lorem up in his shack for weeks while he struggled to get a passport to travel to Yale.

Education is the grandest accelerant for human potential. So congratulations to Lorem as well as to college applicants who receive great news today — and let’s work to help all those other Paul Lorems out there, at home and abroad, step onto the education escalator.

I invite you to visit my blog, On the Ground. Please also join me on Facebook andGoogle+, watch my YouTube videos and follow me on Twitter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/opinion/kristof-from-south-sudan-to-yale.html?_r=1

Sudan and South Sudan may slide back to war, world powers warn CNN International By the CNN Wire Staff A burnt military vehicle sits where South Sudanese troops and Sudan government forces clashed along the border near Hegleg, the central area for Sudan’s oil production. (CNN) — Sudan and South Sudan may be sliding back toward war …

From South Sudan to Yale New York Times Lorem, 21, is an orphan from a South Sudanese village with no electricity. His parents never went to school, and he grew up without adult supervision in a refugee camp. Now he’s a freshman at Yale University. All around the world, remarkable young men …

Corruption a no-go zone for South Sudan’s journalists CPJ Press Freedom Online (blog) By Tom Rhodes/East Africa Consultant Last week, South Sudan’s ruling party secretary-general, Pagan Amum, won an important court battle, absolving him from allegations of receiving a $30 million corrupt payment in 2006. The accusations came from former …

Mosaic News 3/27/2012: Syria Accepts Ceasefire Plan as Assad Tours Former … linktv Syria accepts Annan’s ceasefire plan as Assad tours former rebel stronghold, Tunisia’s Ennahda to preserve secular basis of the state, Sudan suspends summit with South Sudan following clashes, and more. Today’s headlines in full: Syria accepts Annan’s …

Israel Deporting the South Sudanese? ‘That’s not what you do to a friend’

South Sudan Pulls Back From Disputed Northern Town Voice of America March 28, 2012 South Sudan Pulls Back From Disputed Northern Town Gabe Joselow | NairobiSouth Sudan has withdrawn its troops from a contested area north of the border in Sudan following clashes this week with Sudanese armed forces.

South Sudan: AU Calls for Ceasefire in Latest Sudan Spat AllAfrica.com By Lordrick Mayabi, 28 March 2012 Nairobi — The chairman of the African Union Commission Jean Ping has warned Sudan and South Sudan that military means can never provide a long-term answer to the bilateral issues affecting the relations of the two …

Angola, South Sudan sign verbal cooperation deal AngolaPress Luanda – The Republics of Angola and South Sudan Wednesday, in Luanda, signed a verbal process that sets future lines of cooperation between both African countries. The agreement was signed by the Angolan minister of Foreign Affairs, George Rebelo …

South Sudan says it pulls back troops from border Palm Beach Post AP JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan says it has pulled out its troops from a contested area along the border with Sudan shortly after clashes between the two countries armies sparked fears of a return to war. Military spokesman Col.

Sudan-South Sudan Clashes Raise Global Concern New York Times KHARTOUM, Sudan — After a brief, halting step toward reconciliation, military clashes along the long, disputed border between Sudan and newly independent South Sudan have stirred fears of a renewed conflict between the two sides.

Deporting the South Sudanese? ‘That’s not what you do to a friend’ The Times of Israel Earlier this month, Deng visited Israel on a different advocacy mission: trying to convince the government to reconsider its decision to expel South Sudanese asylum seekers after March 31 — this weekend. (South Sudan became officially independent of …

Security Council alarmed at Sudan-South Sudan border clashes which it says … The Republic EDITH M. LEDERER AP UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council expressed deep alarm Tuesday at military clashes along the border between Sudan and newly independent South Sudanwhich it said are threatening to reignite their civil war.

Sudan sends warplanes over South Sudan as border conflict rages Charlotte Observer NAIROBI, Kenya — Sudan sent military aircraft over a key South Sudanese city Tuesday as part of a two-day bombing campaign that has targeted South Sudanese military positions along the two nations’ disputed border. No explosives fell from the aircraft …

Israel’s Sudanese refugee crisis and the citizen solution Jerusalem Post By Ben Hartman Recently, I took a stroll around the south of Tel Aviv near the central bus station where countless war refugees from Sudan congregate. Older generation Israelis are a minority in the area. Quickly they shuffle by on the polluted …

Sudan and South Sudan to meet in Addis Ababa amid border conflict

Sudan and S.Sudan start negotiations on possible cease fire in in the Ethiopian capital to avert all out war following days of airstrikes and bloody border violence

AFP , Wednesday 28 Mar 2012

Senior leaders from Sudan and South Sudan will meet Thursday in the Ethiopian capital to avert all out war following days of airstrikes and bloody border violence, officials on both sides said.

Sudan’s Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Rahamatalla Mohamed Osman said he was in Addis Ababa “to represent my country in the negotiations… with regards to security along the border.”

South Sudan official Pagan Amum said he would travel to Ethiopia for African Union-mediated talks to stop the bitter clashes escalating into war.

“What we expect to achieve is the cessation of hostilities,” Amum said by telephone from the South Sudanese capital. “We will stop the fighting that is there, and ensure that this does not erupt into war between the two countries.”

Sudanese warplanes on Monday launched air raids on newly independent South Sudan, while the rival armies clashed in heavy battles.

Both sides claim the other started the fighting in contested oil-rich border regions, the worst since South Sudan declared independence from Khartoum last July after decades of civil war.

The meeting was scheduled to take place before fighting broke out Monday.

Osman said the mood remained tense, which could jeopardize further talks between the two countries.

“We are talking about security arrangements at a time when there are attacks,” he told AFP. “I am not sure we can accept any more offers (from the South),” he added, warning the clashes could create a stalemate.

However, Amum urged both sides to “rescue the positive spirit” of earlier talks, and said he remained confident fighting will stop after the meeting.

The African Union and the UN Security Council have called for an end to the violence, while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Khartoum bore the responsibility for the renewed hostilities.

The pan-African body said Wednesday it was deeply concerned at an “escalating security situation” on the border between the former civil war foes, and called for troops to pull back 10 kilometres (six miles) either side of the border.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/37914/World/Region/Sudan-and-South-Sudan-to-meet-amid-border-conflict.aspx

South Sudan official says Sudan bombs oil field BusinessWeek By MICHAEL ONYIEGO Sudan’s military bombed an oil field in South Sudan on Tuesday, a South Sudan official said, as a dangerous flare-up in border violence appeared to scuttle plans for a presidential summit between the two countries.

A Letter From South Sudan – Rearmament in Warrap State AllAfrica.com Sent to gather the guns of the civilians of Warrap State, they were part of the next round of rural disarmament in South Sudan. The Titweng were often cited as the principle target for disarmament. In contrast to previous disarmament attempts, …

AU Hopes Sudan-south, Sudan Meeting Will Have Positive Outcome Bernama ADDIS ABABA, March 28 (BERNAMA-NNN-ENA) — The chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission has expressed hope that the meeting between the leaders of Sudan and South Sudanin Juba early next month will have a positive outcome.

Sudan and South Sudan may slide back to war, world powers warn CNN By the CNN Wire Staff (CNN) — Sudan and South Sudan may be sliding back toward war, the United States and other international powers are warning, amid reports that Sudan is bombing its newly independent neighbor. The White House is “alarmed” by recent …

Camp Sees Influx From Sudan, South Sudan AllAfrica.com Twenty years later, the refugee camp in north-western Kenya is now filling up again with a new influx of people fleeing conflict in parts of South Sudan and Sudan. More than 4500 people have arrived in Kakuma camp so far this year, over 76 per cent of …

Sudan and South Sudan to meet amid border conflict Ahram Online Senior leaders from Sudan and South Sudan will meet Thursday in the Ethiopian capital to avert all out war following days of airstrikes and bloody border violence, officials on both sides said. Sudan’s Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Rahamatalla …

Sudanese refugees to leave Israel infolive.tv Israel and South Sudan are working out a deal for the return of some 1500 refugees to their homes in the African republic, starting April 1. Refugees have returned voluntarily to South Sudan in the past. This happened on a small scale and did not …

KHARTOUM: Sudan govt announces liberation of border areas

Source: Kuwait News

KHARTOUM, March 27 (KUNA) — Sudanese forces have liberated all areas seized yesterday by the army of South Sudan in the border Kordofan State, director of security and intelligence said Tuesday.    Mohammad Ata, at a news conference, said the Sudanese armed forces liberated Al-Kahraba area, three kilometers inside the Sudanese borders. He explained that the South sudan army forces entered the area yesterday, but the Sudanese troops liberated the area and were still pursuing the attackers. Ata said oil-related operations were not affected by the incident. President of South Sudan Silva Kiir announced yesterday that his country’s army seized the oil Hjeilej area in retaliation of what he said the Sudanese army shelling. The incident forced suspension of Sudanes president Omar Al-Bashir’s visit to South Sudan, scheduled for April 3, to thrash out outstanding issues.

http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2230127&Language=en

South Sudan Pulls Back From Disputed Northern Town

Gabe Joselow | Nairobi

Photo: AFP

New recruits for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) train in a secret camp in the Nuba mountains of South Kordofan, FILE July 11, 2011.

South Sudan has withdrawn its troops from a contested area north of the border in Sudan following clashes this week with Sudanese armed forces.  The renewed fighting has set back efforts to resolve multiple disputes between the two sides.

SPLA soldiers withdraws

South Sudan’s Deputy Defense Minister Majak D’Agoot says the army, known as the SPLA, has “disengaged” from the contested town of Heglig.

SPLA soldiers had pursued Sudanese forces into the area following purported air strikes in South Sudan’s Unity State earlier this week.  Khartoum has denied carrying out the air strikes, and has accused Juba of instigating the fighting.

D’Agoot told VOA that all SPLA troops had drawn back from Heglig by Tuesday, and are now conducting patrols south of the border. He said the move was an effort to calm tensions and to put African Union-mediated negotiations with Khartoum back on track.

“We have moved back because there was no strategic policy directing basic retaliatory action by our forces to pursue the aggressors into the contested zone because we want to settle this matter amicably, as part of the ongoing process under the AU in Addis,” D’Agoot said.

Dispute over oil

Khartoum and Juba had been involved in talks in Addis Ababa to settle a number of issues left unresolved when South Sudan declared independence from the north in July last year, following two decades of civil war.

On top of the agenda is a dispute over oil.  South Sudan shut down oil production in January after accusing Sudan of stealing oil being pumped through northern pipelines.  Khartoum says it was confiscating oil to compensate for unpaid transit fees.

African Union chairman Jean Ping has expressed “very deep concern” about escalating tensions between the sides.

In a statement issued late Tuesday, Ping said said “military means will never provide a long-term answer” to the issues affecting relations between the two countries.

Set-backs

The sides signed a memorandum of understanding last month agreeing to refrain from violence during the peace process.

South Sudan’s D’agoot says Khartoum was quick to violate the pact.

“Right from the time we signed the memorandum of understanding, they kissed it goodbye as soon as it was signed.  The following day they started air attacks on our territories and a number of land aggressions, so this is part of their strategy to continue to destabilize South Sudan,” he said.

Talks between the two sides appeared to be making progress on some remaining disputes before the recent clashes.

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir was scheduled to attend a summit in Juba on April 3 to discuss citizenship issues and the final demarcation of the border with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. Sudanese media reported this week the trip was canceled due to the violence.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/South-Sudan-Pulls-Back-From-Disputed-Northern-Town-144653005.html

UN Council ‘deeply alarmed’ by Sudan, South Sudan clashes

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council expressed alarm on Tuesday at recent clashes between Sudan and South Sudan along their disputed border and urged both sides to halt military operations, warning the fighting could escalate into a new war.

Sudan and South Sudan blamed each other for the fighting. South Sudan said its neighbor Sudan launched air strikes on major oilfields in its Unity state on Tuesday, in one of the most serious reported confrontations since the South declared independence from Sudan in July.

“The Security Council call upon the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to exercise maximum restraint and sustain purposeful dialogue in order to address peacefully the issues that are fueling the mistrust between the two countries,” the 15-nation council said in a statement.

South Sudan won its independence under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war with Khartoum, but distrust still runs deep. Both sides are still at loggerheads over the position of their shared border and how much the landlocked south should pay to transport its oil through Sudan.

“The Security Council are deeply alarmed by the military clashes in the region bordering Sudan and South Sudan, which threaten to precipitate a resumption of conflict between the two countries, worsen the humanitarian situation and lead to further civilian casualties,” 15-nation council said.

Sudan denied launching air strikes but said its ground forces had attacked southern artillery positions which had fired at the disputed oil-producing area of Heglig that is partly controlled by Khartoum.

‘PATH OF PEACE’

“Our armed forces are ready to defend every inch of our territorial integrity whether it’s an attack or aggression from the government of South Sudan or the rebel movements,” Sudan’s U.N. ambassador, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, said on Tuesday.

He told reporters that while the U.N. Security council statement was not as strong as Khartoum would have liked, Sudan hoped it would “draw the attention of the south to come to their senses and respect the path of peace.”

Analysts have long said tensions between the countries could erupt into a full-blown war and disrupt the surrounding region, which includes some of Africa’s most promising economies.

The latest violence has already set back efforts to resolve the countries’ disputes. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has suspended talks with his southern counterpart Salva Kiir aimed at resolving them, state media reported.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was worried about the fighting, which started on Monday along the border.

The Security Council also voiced concern about South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. It said council members stressed “the grave urgency of delivering humanitarian aid … in order to avert a worsening of the serious crisis in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states, Sudan.”

Clashes broke out between Sudan’s armed forces and rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in South Kordofan last June, then spread to Blue Nile state in September. Both areas border newly independent South Sudan.

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE82R00E20120328?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&sp=true

Sudanese border region sees second day of fighting over oil fields

South Sudan accuses neighbouring Sudan of dropping bombs on area as Ban Ki-Moon appeals both countries for calm.

Sudan People’s Liberation Army spokesman Colonel Philip Aguer and South Sudan government spokesman Barnaba Marial Benjamin said South Sudan will not return to war with Khartoum. Photograph: Waakhe Wudy/AFP/Getty Images

South Sudan has accused its neighbour Sudan of waging war against it after a second day of fighting in the oil-rich border region – the worst confrontation since the countries split last year.

Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general, appealed for calm between the antagonists, which fought a long civil war before South Sudan gained independence in July last year. Oil is still the main source of hostility between the countries, which continue to spar over the border demarcation and other unresolved issues.

In a trade of claim and counter-claim, South Sudan alleged that Antonov warplanes dropped at least three bombs near oil fields in the town of Bentiu, Unity state, on Tuesday. “They are hovering and dropping over the northern part of town in the oil fields, the main Unity oil fields,” Gideon Gatpan, information minister for Unity, told the Associated Press. Sudan denied any air strikes.

The claim came a day after Sudan and South Sudan forces clashed in the border town of Jau. Each accused the other of starting the fighting.

South Sudan’s information minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, claimed that, “without any provocation”, Sudan bombed Jau before its ground forces and militia fighters moved in. South Sudan repulsed the “invading forces” back to the town of Heglig, Sudan, he added.

After the ominous flare-up on the border, Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, told a meeting in the capital, Juba: “It is a war that has been imposed on us again, but it is they [Sudan] who are looking for it,” he said.

But Sudanese authorities accused South Sudan of making the first move. Sudanese second vice-president Al-Haj Adam Yousif told state television: “These attacks are the responsibility of the SPLA [South Sudanese military] and the South Sudanese government. The SPLA attacks have targeted our oil and our army.”

Sudan alleged that the Darfur-based rebel group Justice and Equality Movement, or JEM, fought alongside the SPLA during Monday’s clash.

Mohamed Atta al-Moula, head of Sudan’s national security and intelligence services, told journalists in Khartoum: “We hope this will be no full war. We have no intentions beyond liberating our land.”

Analysts said the incidents could be the latest move in a long game of political chess. John Ashworth, a church adviser in South Sudan and resident for 29 years, said: “It’s too early to say whether this is an irreversible escalation or whether it is just another gambit in the extreme brinkmanship practised by both sides, attempting to improve their position in the on-and-off negotiations about a range of issues affecting both nations.”

Asian oil group GNPOC – the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, a consortium led by China’s CNPC – confirmed Tuesday’s bombing. Hollywood actor and activist George Clooney has urged the United States to engage China on the issue, noting that China’s oil supply has been hit so there is an opportunity to appeal to its economic self-interest.

Ashworth added: “China probably has more influence in Khartoum [Sudan’s capital] than it does in Juba. There are plenty of other countries who can help South Sudan develop its oilfields, whereas Khartoum is short of friends to provide military hardware and protect it in the UN security council.

“It would be in China’s interest to protect its investment in both Sudan and South Sudan by attempting to moderate Khartoum’s military ambitions.”

The UN’s refugee agency warned that fighting in the Lake Jau border area was endangering Sudanese refugees in the nearby Yida settlement.

“Our concerns are heightened by clashes reported [on Monday] between the national armies of Sudan and South Sudan in Lake Jau and other border areas,” UNHCR’s chief spokesperson, Melissa Fleming, said in Geneva.

She added that UNHCR was in regular discussion with refugee leaders in the South Sudan settlement of Yida about “the urgent need to relocate in order to avoid civilian casualties among a population that has already endured a great deal of trauma.”

The fresh violence prompted Sudan to cancel President Omar al-Bashir’s trip to meet President Kiir next week. The leaders had been due to resume negotiations left over from a 2005 peace deal that eventually saw South Sudan secede from Sudan.

South Sudan had given assurances that Bashir would not be detained and handed over to the international criminal court, which has issued a warrant for his arrest.

Yousif said: “The visit of President Bashir was tied to good neighbourly relations. There is no way for this summit to take place now.”

But Barnaba Marial Benjamin said South Sudan still expects Bashir to attend the meeting next week. He said the “forces of war” in Khartoum were trying to derail the peace process, but not Bashir himself.

“Our president has said clearly we will not be dragged into a senseless war,” he told AP. “We will not be dragged into a conflict with Sudan.”

Earlier this year South Sudan stopped pumping oil because it said Sudan, which owns the crucial pipelines, was stealing its oil. Both countries have accused each other of supporting rebel groups on either side of the border, though both deny the allegations.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/27/south-sudan-oil-fields-fighting?newsfeed=true

Sudanese Ruling Party Official Rejects South Sudan Attack Claims

Peter Clottey

Photo: Reuters

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir welcomes his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir for his first visit since southern secession to discuss key unresolved issues that have undermined north-south relations, during his arrival at Khartoum Airport, Sudan, October 8, 2011.

The spokesman for Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) said the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) is to blame for attacks on South Sudan’s oil fields.

Rabie Abdelati Obeid said South Sudan President Salva Kiir previously admitted the SPLA “invaded and attacked the oil areas,” in that neighboring country.

“This is turned upside [down] because, yesterday [Monday], Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, declared that forces of SPLA invaded and attacked an area which is a part of Southern Sudan,” said Obeid.  “This accusation is actually against what has been declared and what was acknowledged by the president of Southern Sudan.”

Obeid’s comments came after Kiir said Sudan’s air force bombed two areas in the South Sudan’s Unity state.

Kiir said, after the bombing, the Sudanese army also attacked South Sudanese forces and the militia, but were able to repel them.  South Sudan insisted it will not be dragged into a senseless war with its northern neighbor.

Obeid said the allegations against Sudan sharply contradict Kiir’s admission.

“The armed forces of the South Sudan government came close to the petroleum area, about four kilometers inside the region, which belongs to the north,” said Obeid.  “That is why our government chased them far away from the area.  Our forces tried to negotiate with them and would not allow them to lift the flag of South Sudan government in that area.  They refused to do so, and then our government tried to drive them away.”

Obeid insists the army was protecting the country’s sovereignty, as well as maintain stability and peace within Sudan’s border.

The violence comes a day after both sides accused the other of crossing the tense, poorly marked border separating the two countries.  Both sides claimed they were acting in self-defense and declared victory following the fighting.

After Monday’s clashes, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir suspended a scheduled April 3^rd summit with Kiir that were to be aimed at discussing disputes over the border and oil revenues.

Obeid said the SPLA attacks undermine the scheduled talks between leaders.

“They attacked our area and it is not going to be accepted.  This caused the suspension the summit between the two presidents expected to be held to resolve all the outstanding points,” said Obeid.  “[The attack] undermines all the procedures of achieving the resolution of the different points that are still being built between the two parties, which are the outstanding points of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement [CPA].”

Obeid said tensions between the two neighboring countries do not create a positive atmosphere for scheduled negotiations between the leaders.  And, he warned South Sudan to stop attacking Sudanese territory.

“They will lose by war what they have gained by peace.”

The United States has strongly condemned renewed military violence between Sudan and South Sudan and called on both sides to end the air strikes and attacks on the ground.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Sudanese-Ruling-Party-Official-Rejects-South-Sudan-Attack-Claims–144473675.html

South Sudan oil field “bombed”, Sudan says hopes to avert war Reuters By Hereward Holland and Ulf Laessing | JUBA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan and South Sudanaccused each other of launching fresh attacks on oil-producing areas either side of their contested border on Tuesday but Sudan said it hoped the conflict would not …

Sudanese Ruling Party Official Rejects South Sudan Attack Claims Voice of America March 27, 2012 Sudanese Ruling Party Official Rejects South Sudan Attack Claims Peter Clottey The spokesman for Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) said the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) is to blame for attacks on South Sudan’s oil …

SUDAN-SOUTH SUDAN: Hamid Yussef Bashir, “People end up fighting at the water … IRINnews.org JAMAM, 27 March 2012 (IRIN) – Hamid Yussef Bashir, 30, is one of around 37000 refugees in Jamam camp in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State, a place beleaguered by chronic water shortages, a diet of sorghum that refugees say is not enough, and where most …

US alarmed by rising Sudan-South Sudan violence

US alarmed by rising Sudan-South Sudan violence Atlanta Journal Constitution By MATTHEW LEE AP WASHINGTON — The Obama administration expressed alarm Tuesday about an escalation of violence between Sudan and South Sudan and called for the leaders of the two nations to meet to resolve their differences. Secretary of State …

South Sudan oil field “bombed”, Sudan says hopes to avert war The Province By Hereward Holland and Ulf Laessing, Reuters March 27, 2012 1:02 PM The chief of Sudan’s powerful intelligence service, Mohammed Atta, briefs the media on the tense situation between north and south Sudan with border clashes threatening a recent …

A Joint Taskforce to Smoke Out Kony Commissioned in Juba AllAfrica.com By Matata Safi, 26 March 2012 Juba — It may not business as usual for Joseph Kony and his group as a joint taskforce comprising of Uganda, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central Africa Republic (CAR) was launched on Saturday the …

South Sudan official says Sudan bombs oil field; Sudans’ presidential summit canceled after clash

South Sudan official says Sudan bombs oil field Boston.com By Michael Onyiego AP / March 27, 2012 JUBA, South Sudan—Sudan’s military bombed an oil field in South Sudan on Tuesday, a South Sudan official said, as a dangerous flare-up in border violence appeared to scuttle plans for a presidential summit …

South Sudan official says Sudan bombs oil field Seattle Post Intelligencer JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — An official in South Sudan’s Unity State says Sudan’s military has carried out an aerial attack near oil fields. Unity State Minister of Information Gideon Gatpan said Sudan dropped three bombs Tuesday near oil fields in the …

US adds South Sudan to a preferential trade program Sudan Tribune “I have determined that the Republic of South Sudan should be designated as a beneficiary developing country under the GSP (Generalized System of Preferences)” said the statement on the White House website. According to the Office of US Trade …

Sudans’ presidential summit canceled after clash CBS News JUBA, South Sudan — Sudan’s vice president says a summit planned between the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan has been canceled in the face of new violence along the countries’ shared border. Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha said late Monday …

Saving the lives of south sudanese mothers one midwife at a time TrustLaw A woman holds a candle during South Sudan’s independence day celebrations in Juba July 9, 2011. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic By Andrew Green* JUBA, Mar 24, 2012 (IPS) – Martha Borete Angela’s gaze sinks to the ground as she admits neither of her two …

South Sudan, Sudan Clash Along Tense, Disputed Border Voice of America March 27, 2012 South Sudan, Sudan Clash Along Tense, Disputed Border VOA News South Sudan is accusing Sudan of launching a second day of airstrikes on oil-rich territory along their disputed border, one day after a rare direct military confrontation …

Weapons link South Sudan’s White Army to prominent rebel groups Christian Science Monitor Support for South Sudan’s White Army is complex. Some say backing comes from a diaspora of armed youth, local politicians eager to stoke violence, and militias, writes a guest blogger. By Annette LaRocco, Guest blogger / March 27, 2012 • A version of …

South Sudan Delegation in Luanda AllAfrica.com Luanda — A delegation of South Sudan, led by its Minister of President’ Cabinet Affairs, Deng Alor Kuol, arrived this Tuesday in Luanda, for an official three-day visit in the country, under the bilateral cooperation between the two state.

UN Concerned Over Refugee Safety As Fighting Persists Near South Sudan-Sudan … AllAfrica.com The United Nations refugee agency today voiced concern over recurring fighting near the Yida refugee settlement in South Sudan, close to the border with Sudan, saying the clashes are putting residents of the camp at risk. “Our concerns are heightened …

ISRAEL: Deportation looms for South Sudan migrants IRINnews.org TEL AVIV, 27 March 2012 (IRIN) – Asylum-seekers from South Sudan living in Israel have until 31 March to return “home” or face deportation, but some have asked to stay, saying conditions are not yet conducive for their safe return.

Malaria Takes Center Stage and Center Court as Americans Rally to Save Lives … MarketWatch (press release) CHICAGO, March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Since last June, more than 130000 refugees–and counting–have entered South Sudan and neighboring countries to escape fighting on the border of Sudan. As the situation worsens, the United Nations …

President Obama suspends Argentina from trade program, adds South Sudan The Hill (blog) Meanwhile, the president also said that the Republic of South Sudan would join the GSP. “The suspension of Argentina’s GSP eligibility is based on a finding that the country is not in compliance with the statutory GSP eligibility criteria set by …

Brent crude stays above $125 on Fed comments, Iran Reuters * Bernanke comments indicate easy monetary policy to continue * Investors’ appetite for riskier assets boosted * Sudan president suspends meeting after clashes with South Sudan By Florence Tan SINGAPORE, March 27 (Reuters) – Brent held steady above …

Sudan Suspends Summit with South Sudan Following Clashes Voice of America (blog) Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has suspended an upcoming summit with South Sudanfollowing a series of fresh clashes between the two countries on Monday. President Bashir had been set to travel to Juba on April 3 to discuss disputes about oil …

The Fulfilled Drama of South Sudan Benydit and Guandit Not Bandit Sudan Tribune The thorny crown was prepared inside the chamber of the South Sudan Legislative Assembly, especially with the provocation that emanated fromthe summoning of Mr. Uncle Commander Elijah Malok, former Governor of the Bankof Southern Sudan who has his …

Race for South Sudan Mint India?s ONGC is in talks to build refining infrastructure in South Sudan. But Mint?s Utpal Bhaskar says that with other countries also eyeing the opportunity, India will face stiff competition.

South Sudan says Sudan bombs oil fields in border region Reuters UK JUBA (Reuters) – South Sudan said the Sudanese air force had bombed the main oil fields in Unity state near the border with Sudan on Tuesday, as violence between the two escalated. “This morning as you called I heard the Antonov hovering over Bentiu …

US drops trade preferences for Argentina BusinessWeek Nearly all the world’s countries get the US preferences, which as of Monday apply as well to the Republic of South Sudan, Kirk announced. That leaves Argentina in the company of Syria, Belarus and the rest of Sudan as the only countries not eligible, …

Preferential Treatment: U.S. extends trade benefit program to South Sudan

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Monday added oil exporter South Sudan to a U.S. trade program for developing countries, allowing the newly independent nation to ship oil and thousands of other goods to the United States without paying U.S. import duties.

“The GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) program is an important tool for helping developing countries to grow their economies through increased trade,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement.

Kirk urged the young country to use the GSP program “to continue needed economic reforms.”

South Sudan seceded from its northern neighbour, Sudan, last year. The United States helped lay the groundwork for that move, which capped a 2005 peace deal that ended a long civil war.

The new country accounts for about 75 percent of the formerly united country’s oil output of roughly 500,000 barrels per day, the biggest share of which is bought by China.

Oil is the largest import under both the GSP program and a separate U.S. program known as AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) that South Sudan also aspires to join.

Obama designated South Sudan as a “least developed” beneficiary country, which means nearly 4,900 products from South Sudan will be eligible for duty-free treatment under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program once the presidential action takes full effect.

Current U.S. tariffs on oil range from 5.25 cents to 52.5 cents per barrel, depending on the type of petroleum.

GSP eligibility is a prerequisite for AGOA membership, so Obama’s decision on Monday is “an important step” toward South Sudan joining the broader program, Kirk said.

Andrea Mead, a spokeswoman for the Kirk’s office, said South Sudan’s oil reserves “were not a factor” in the administration’s consideration of trade benefits for the country.

Several newly independent countries, such as East Timor, Montenegro and Kosovo, requested and receivedGSP benefits shortly after independence, she said.

“We want to help strengthen the economy of this new nation and help its government bring jobs and greater prosperity to the South Sudanese people,” Mead said.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in December eased sanctions to allow investment in South Sudan’s oil sector.

Senior congressional Democrats welcomed Obama’s decision to add South Sudan to the GSP, and called for action on a bill to add the country to the AGOA program and renew a textile provision of the AGOA legislation set to expire soon.

“African producers tell us that, due largely to uncertainty about this provision’s renewal, importers began to shift their orders out of Africa during the second half of 2011,” said Democratic Representative Charles Rangel.

“I will continue to push my Republican colleagues to pass the non-controversial bill renewing the third-country fabric provision and adding South Sudan as a possible AGOA beneficiary as soon as possible,” he said.

(Reporting By Doug Palmer; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

http://www.euronews.com/newswires/1456894-us-extends-trade-benefit-program-to-south-sudan/

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk Comments on Presidential Actions Related to the Generalized System of Preferences

South Sudan Added to Program, Argentina’s Eligibility Suspended

Washington, D.C. – United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk issued the following statement on today’s presidential proclamation that designates the Republic of South Sudan as a new beneficiary of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program and suspends the GSP eligibility of Argentina:

“The GSP program is an important tool for helping developing countries to grow their economies through increased trade,” said Ambassador Kirk. “The President’s designation of the Republic of South Sudan as a GSP beneficiary country provides an opportunity for this newly independent nation to use trade to boost its economic development and, we hope, will encourage it to continue needed economic reforms. The President’s action is also an important step toward consideration of South Sudan’s eligibility for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). We look forward to working with Congress on near-term passage of legislation extending AGOA’s third-country fabric provision, which is crucial for continued success of the program.”

The designation of South Sudan as a GSP beneficiary country follows a request by the Government of South Sudan for such designation and a subsequent interagency U.S. Government review of South Sudan’s GSP eligibility, based on the criteria set forth in the GSP statute. The President also designated South Sudan as a least developed beneficiary developing country, which means that once the presidential action takes full effect, nearly 4,900 products from South Sudan will be eligible for duty-free treatment upon entry into the United States. GSP eligibility is a prerequisite for consideration of a country’s eligibility for trade benefits under AGOA.

“The suspension of Argentina’s GSP eligibility is based on a finding that the country is not in compliance with the statutory GSP eligibility criteria set by Congress,” said Ambassador Kirk. “Specifically, the Argentine government has failed to pay two longstanding arbitral awards in favor of U.S. companies. We urge the Government of Argentina to pay the subject awards. This would allow us to consider reinstating Argentina’s GSP eligibility and promote the growth of a mutually beneficial U.S.-Argentina trade and investment relationship.”

The GSP action on Argentina, which becomes effective 60 days after the publication of the presidential proclamation in the Federal Register, follows an interagency U.S. Government review of two separate petitions submitted by U.S. companies. The petitions sought the removal of Argentina from GSP eligibility based on the Government of Argentina’s failure, in contravention of the GSP statutory eligibility criteria, to act in good faith in recognizing as binding and enforcing arbitral awards in favor of U.S. companies rendered under the United States-Argentina bilateral investment treaty and the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID Convention). The subject awards, totaling about $300 million plus interest, were rendered by ICSID arbitral tribunals in 2005 and 2006 and were subsequently upheld against challenge by Argentina in ICSID annulment proceedings. The Government of Argentina has not paid the awards, despite repeated requests to do so by the two petitioners and the United States Government. In 2011, U.S. imports from Argentina benefiting from GSP treatment totaled $477 million (about 11 percent of total imports from Argentina), making Argentina the ninth-ranking source of imports under the GSP program last year.

Congress created the GSP program in the Trade Act of 1974 to help developing countries expand their economies by allowing certain goods to be imported to the United States duty-free. Under the GSP program, 129 beneficiary developing countries, including 42 least-developed countries, are eligible to export up to 4,881 types of products to the United States duty-free. In 2011, the total value of imports that entered the United States duty-free under GSP was $18.5 billion. For more information on the GSP program, please visit the GSP page.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was established in 2000 to provide eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access for a broader variety of products than is available under GSP, including apparel, footwear, and some agricultural and processed food products. AGOA’s third-country fabric provision allows most sub-Saharan African AGOA beneficiaries to use fabric from any source in the production of qualifying duty-free apparel subject to duty-free treatment when imported into the United States. This provision is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2012. For more information on AGOA, visit the AGOA page.

http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2012/march/us-trade-representative-ron-kirk-comments-presidenti

Sudan and South Sudan clash in border region–SPLA Capture Heglig, and President Bashir Suspends his Planned Visit to Juba

Jubilation After The Capture of Heglig By SPLA – SPLA Oyee Dear all, Jubilation and Happiness filled the hearts of all the People of South Sudan after hearing the Good News from our President, Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit when he announced that our SPLA Gallant Forces today at 05:00 PM South Sudan Local time have taken full control of Heglig. SPLA Oyee.

March 26 2012 

Sudan armies clash in border region

Sudan and South Sudan have been at loggerheads over a series of issues since the south’s independence last year.   26 Mar 2012

Clashes have broken out between the armed forces of Sudan and South Sudan in several disputed border regions, both sides said.South Sudan’s army, or SPLA, said the Sudanese air force had attacked the disputed areas of Jau and Pan Akuach. The SPLA had also repelled an attack by Sudanese forces in the area of Teshwin inside South Sudan, SPLA spokesperson Philip Arguer said on Monday. Sudan’s army spokesperson Sawarmi Khalid Saad confirmed the fighting in the border area of Sudan’s South Kordofan state and the southern Unity state, without giving the exact locations. He did not say who had started the fighting. “I think due to this attack, the government now is changing its strategy to deal with the southern government,” Rabie Abdul Atti, an advisor to Sudan’s Minister of Information, told Al Jazeera. The fighting has forced President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to suspend plans to visit South Sudan on April 3, Sudan’s state radio reported. In a brief text message, the broadcaster said  the suspension came after an attack on the oil-producing area of Heglig, parts of which are claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. Bashir had been due to hold talks with his southern counterpart Salva Kiir during his visit to the southern capital Juba to resolve tensions that have surged since South Sudan seceded from Sudan last year.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/03/2012326214010519420.html#.T3D8KRbRAYo.facebook

By Reuters

Juba/Khartoum – Clashes broke out between the armed forces of Sudan and South Sudan in several disputed border regions on Monday, both sides said.

South Sudan’s army, or SPLA, said the Sudanese air force had attacked the disputed areas of Jau and Pan Akuach. The SPLA had also repelled an attack by Sudanese forces in the area of Teshwin inside South Sudan, SPLA spokesman Philip Arguer said.

Sudan’s army spokesman Sawarmi Khalid Saad confirmed fighting in the border area of Sudan’s South Kordofan state and the southern Unity state, without giving the exact locations. He did not say who had started the fighting. – Reuters

http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/sudan-and-south-sudan-clash-in-border-region-1.1264231

South Sudan accuses Khartoum of airstrikes, ground assault

AFP MARCH 26, 2012 2:11 PM

South Sudan accused Sudan of attacking it with aircraft and troops Monday.

JUBA, South Sudan — Sudanese aircraft and ground troops attacked multiple positions in South Sudan’s oil rich border regions Monday, sparking fierce battles and prompting Southern President Salva Kiir to warn of war.

“This morning the (Sudanese) airforce came and bombed . . . areas in Unity state,” Kiir said at the opening of a ruling party meeting in the southern capital Juba.

“After this intensive bombardment our forces . . . . were attacked by SAF (Sudan Armed Forces) and militia,” he added, noting his troops had since fought back and crossed into a key northern oil field.

“It is a war that has been imposed on us again, but it is they (Khartoum) who are looking for it,” said Kiir, adding that he did not want conflict to resume.

However Sudanese army spokesman, Sawarmi Khaled Saad, said only “limited clashes” had occurred between his forces and those of South Sudan along the disputed border between the two countries.

Kiir said Southern troops, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA), had driven northern forces back across the undemarcated border and seized Khartoum’s key oil field of Heglig, parts of which are claimed by both sides.

“They attacked our forces and our forces were able to repulse them.. and they ran,” Kiir added. “The last information that came to me was that our forces have also taken over Heglig.”

South Sudanese army spokesman Philip Aguer said that fighting was ongoing when he last spoke to frontline troops, just over an hour before dusk.

“There are casualties but we don’t have the full report . . . at the last communication, which is very difficult, there was still fighting,” Aguer said, but also added the army was not wanting the clashes to spiral into war.

“This was an act of self-defence on behalf of the SPLA, and we still commit ourselves to all the security agreements between us — despite all this fighting we are committed to peace,” Aguer added.

© Copyright (c) AFP

Read more:http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/South+Sudan+accuses+Khartoum+airstrikes+ground+assault/6361309/story.html#ixzz1qFzLVcJt

Sudan, South Sudan armies clash in border region Reuters JUBA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Clashes broke out between the armed forces of Sudan and South Sudan in disputed border regions on Monday, both sides said in a rare direct confrontation ahead of a meeting of their two presidents that was meant to ease …

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South Sudan: Technical Trade Message to Congress Regarding South Sudan AllAfrica.com … duty-free treatment under the generalized system of preferences and for other purposes as well as a message to Congress signed by the President today regarding Argentina and a message to Congress signed by the President today regarding South Sudan.

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