News Roundup:
- Rebels have attacked a town in Unity state, killing up to 80 people. Rebels have urged aid agencies to leave Unity state, saying more violence is on the way. Rebels have made a similar claim in Warrap state. The South Sudanese Government has dismissed the claims.
- South Sudan intends to end Arabic schooling and switch to English. It has also expressed a desire to join the Commonwealth.
- The IMF believes South Sudan's oil production will halve by 2020. South Sudan is engaged in talks with international companies such as Halliburton in order to increase oil production.
- South Sudan says it is willing to offer the North discounted oil and financial assistance if the North gives up its claim on Abyei.
- The North Sudanese army claim it has captured a rebel military camp in Blue Nile, and is closing in on Al-Kurmuk, a rebel stronghold. The UN has said aerial bombings in Blue Nile have forced nearly 2,000 people to flee into Ethiopia.
- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said his government gave military support to the Libyan rebels.
- Hundreds protested in Khartoum in support of anti-government Syrian protesters.
News in Detail:
South Sudan
AFP: South Sudan moves to end Arabic schooling
27 Oct: Newly independent South Sudan will change the language of schooling to English this year, shrugging off decades of Arabic imposed from the North, the Government announced on Wednesday. Read more
Reuters: South Sudan oil production to halve by 2020 -IMF
28 Oct: South Sudan, Africa's newest nation, needs to use current windfall oil revenues to diversify its economy as oil production is expected to halve by 2020, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. Read more
Reuters: South Sudan talks to Halliburton to boost oil production
28 Oct: New African oil producer South Sudan wants to boost oil production by applying better technology with the help of foreign firms and by making new discoveries, a senior Government official said on Friday. Read more
NY Times: South Sudan Turns Toward British Heritage
29 Oct: The new nation of South Sudan has expressed a desire to join the Commonwealth, and said that it would change the language used in schools from Arabic to English. The two actions reinforce its shift from the Arab world of northern Africa toward the largely Anglophone east. Read more
BBC: South Sudan rebel group attacks town in oil-rich state
29 Oct: Rebels from the South Sudan Liberation Army have attacked a town in the oil-rich Unity State and at least 75 people have died, the national army has said. Read more
Reuters: South Sudan rebels threaten Warrap state, call for evacuation
29 Oct: A rebel group in South Sudan threatened on Saturday to attack Warrap state to bring down the local government, and called on the United Nations and residents to leave within three days. Read more
AFP: South Sudan rebels warn of violence over rights ‘abuse'
29 Oct: A South Sudan rebel group has urged aid agencies to leave oil-rich Unity state within a week for their own safety, warning on Friday that locals will resort to violence against the governor over alleged rights abuses. Read more
AFP: Some 80 killed in rebel attack in oil-rich South Sudan state
30 Oct: Around 80 people, including 60 rebels, were killed on Saturday when government forces in the oil-rich South Sudanese state of Unity repelled an attack by rebel militia, officials said. Read more
AFP: South Sudan dismisses rebel warning of looming advance
30 Oct: South Sudan on Sunday dismissed a rebel group's warning that it was poised for a fresh assault in oil-rich Unity state and neighbouring Warrap, a day after an attack left more than 80 people dead. Read more
South Kordofan and Blue Nile
Reuters: Sudan says army seized rebel camp in border state
27 Oct: Sudan's armed forces launched an attack on rebels in the country's main oil state on Wednesday and seized a rebel military camp, an army spokesman told a state-linked news website. Read more
Sudan Tribune: Sudan says closing in on rebel stronghold in Blue Nile state
27 Oct: The Sudanese government on Thursday claimed that its forces are now on the outskirts of Al-Kurmuk district which is currently under control by rebel forces. Read more
BBC: Sudanese flee Blue Nile ‘bombing'
28 Oct: Aerial bombings in Sudan's Blue Nile state have forced nearly 2,000 people to flee to neighbouring Ethiopia, the UN refugee agency has said. Read more
North Sudan
Reuters: Sudan hopes tourism will spur growth in east
26 Oct: Sitting in his empty seafood restaurant in Sudan's historic port of Suakin, Hashem Abdullah is dreaming of better times - particularly the hope that foreign tourists will one day visit his run-down hometown. Read more
BBC: Sudan armed Libyan rebels, says President Bashir
26 Oct: Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says his country gave military support to the Libyan rebels who overthrew Col Muammar Gaddafi. Read more
AFP: Sudan condemning deported Eritreans to ‘certain abuse'
26 Oct: Sudan has condemned more than 300 Eritreans asylum seekers to "certain detention and abuse" by deporting them to one of the "most brutal" countries in the world, a rights group said on Tuesday Read more
Reuters: Sudanese demonstrate in support of Syrian protesters
28 Oct: Hundreds of Sudanese Islamists and others staged a rare demonstration in central Khartoum on Friday in solidarity with Syria's anti-government protesters and called for an end to President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown. Read more
Abyei
Sudan Tribune: Khartoum replaces representative in Abyei joint committee
26 Oct: Sudan's government named Elkheir Elfaheem Almaki as its new representative to the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee on 25 October replacing the outgoing Omer Suleiman. Read more
Reuters: South Sudan offers oil and money if Khartoum gives up Abyei
South Sudan said on Friday that it was offering Khartoum oil at discounted prices and financial help, if it gives up a claim to the disputed border region of Abyei. Read more
Darfur
Sudan Tribune: Sudanese army denies presence of JEM leader in Darfur
30 Oct: The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) on Saturday said that the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, Khalil Ibrahim, is not inside the country after his departure from Tripoli. Read more
