A weekly Roundup from Peace Direct (www.peacedirect.org)

News Roundup:

• Sudan says it has “fundamental reservations” on talks with South Sudan over unresolved issues proposed by the African Union. South Sudan has said it seeks peace at “any cost”, and is offering “billions of dollars” to Sudan in return for giving up claims to Abyei and settling all unresolved issues since independence.
• Peace talks between South Sudan and rebels led by George Athor broke down last week.
• South Sudan has accused Khartoum of using artillery to support a cross-border attack by rebels into Upper Nile State.
• Sudan published statements, allegedly from an officer in the South Sudanese Armed Forces, which, Sudan claims, shows South Sudan’s support to rebels in South Kordofan.
• The UNHCR has said landmines and poor weather are preventing plans to move refugees away from the border regions. Hundreds of refugees in the Yida camp have protested against UN ‘inaction’ following the bombing of the camp two weeks ago by the Sudanese air force.

News in Detail

South Sudan

Sudan Tribune: Unknown armed group attack Jonglei’s Pigi County
16 Nov: Unknown gunmen attacked Door, Wunkiir-Anyang and Aluei villages in Pigi County in northern Jonglei, and, according to local sources, were looting property and setting houses on fire. Read more

Reuters: South Sudan says Khartoum backing rebels with artillery
18 Nov: South Sudan accused Sudan of supplying artillery to support a cross-border attack by “mercenaries” on its oil-producing Upper Nile state a day earlier, and called on the United Nations to investigate. Read more

Reuters: South Sudan to revamp factories shuttered by war: official
18 Nov: South Sudan plans to invite investors to revamp about eight food, cement and textile plants shut down during a decade-long civil war, in a push to create jobs and reduce dependence on imports, said an investment official. Read more

Reuters: South Sudan rulers must trim “huge” government: opposition
18 Nov: South Sudan’s main opposition leader called for the dominant ruling party to reduce the size of the country’s “huge” government and said it had not done enough to plan for a rapid decline of oil revenues in the coming years. Read more

AFP: South Sudan rebel leader vows more war after talks fail
20 Nov: South Sudan rebel chief, George Athor, vowed to continue battling the government in Juba and demanded new elections to end his bloody war. Read more

North-South Relations

Sudan Tribune: Sudan accuses South of seizing Sudapet’s shares
17 Nov: The Sudanese government blasted what it claimed was a decision by South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, to confiscate shares of its state oil firm, Sudapet. Read more

AFP: Sudan has “fundamental reservations” on talks with South
17 Nov: Sudan’s foreign ministry says the government has “fundamental reservations” with African Union proposals on key unresolved issues with the South, but it is not refusing to negotiate. Read more

Reuters: South Sudan offers billions of dollars to settle Sudan disputes
19 Nov: South Sudan is offering Khartoum “billions of dollars” if it agrees to settle all bilateral disputes and gives up claims to the contested oil-producing Abyei region, said a top government official. Read more

AFP: South Sudan says committed to peace with North
19 Nov: Newly independent South Sudan says it will avoid war with Khartoum “at any cost” and press on with negotiations on disputes outstanding since independence in July. Read more

Bloomberg: Sudan to start talks with South over disputed Abyei border
20 Nov: Sudan will start talks tomorrow with South Sudan over the disputed region of Abyei and parts of their shared border that are not properly demarcated, says Khartoum-based Foreign Ministry spokesman, Al-Obaid Murawih. Read more

North Sudan

Reuters: Sudan candidate for next Arab revolution: opposition
14 Nov: Sudan could see the next Arab revolution because anger is rising over an economic crisis and government repression worse than in Egypt before the ousting of Hosni Mubarak, said an opposition leader on Monday. Read more

Sudan Tribune: Sudan downplays report of new ICC warrant, suggesting it is not Darfur related
16 Nov: The Sudanese government downplayed reports that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will soon file a new case with the judges against Defence Minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein. Read more

AFP: Sudanese displaced by Nile dam stage sit-in
20 Nov: Around 1,000 people displaced by Sudan’s vast Merowe dam staged a sit-in on Sunday in protest at the government’s failure to compensate them as promised, said their spokesman. Read more

Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan

Sudan Tribune: Khartoum: SPLA officer confessed South Sudan support to the rebels
14 Nov: A Sudanese official agency today published statements attributed to an officer allegedly a member of the South Sudan army (SPLA), describing how they transfer ammunition and logistical support to the rebels in South Kordofan. Read more

Reuters: Sudan rebel alliance is “counterproductive” - UN
16 Nov: The chief of UN peacekeeping condemned an alliance between rebels in Sudan’s conflict-torn Darfur region and southern border states, saying it was counterproductive and would spark more violence. Read more

Reuters: Sudanese refugees at risk in unsafe border areas - UN
18 Nov: The UN reports that landmines and heavy rain are hampering plans to move Sudanese refugees deeper into South Sudan and away from the volatile border area where they are at risk. Read more

AFP: Sudan’s Nuba refugees protest UN ‘inaction’
18 Nov: Hundreds of Sudanese refugees staged demonstrations on Thursday at the lack of UN protection and humanitarian assistance at a camp in South Sudan that was bombed last week. Read more

LRA

AFP: US military in Central Africa ahead of rebel hunt
17 Nov: US military personnel deployed to help track down Lord’s Resistance Army rebels have met officials in the Central African Republic to co-ordinate an impending operation, a source told AFP on Thursday. Read more

A weekly roundup from Peace Direct (www.peacedirect.org)

News Round-up

• South Sudan has accused Sudan of bombing the Yida refugee camp in Unity State. At least 12 people are believed dead and 20 wounded. Sudan has denied the accusations and the UN has called for an inquiry. Earlier in the week, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said seven people were killed in a separate bombing raid on the Gaffa refugee camp in Upper Nile. The Satellite Sentinel Project says Sudan is upgrading air bases along the border.
• The South Sudanese army also accused Sudan of being behind a raid on a South Sudanese army camp that left 18 dead.
• Oxfam has withdrawn its staff from the border region following the escalation in violence.
• The rebels in Blue Nile and South Kordofan have allied with leading three Darfur rebel groups, SLM-Minnawi, SLM-Nur and the Justice and Equality Movement, to form the Sudanese Revolutionary Front. The rebel alliance seeks to overthrow the government of Omar al-Bashir. Sudan has accused South Sudan of sponsoring the meetings of the new group.
• Oil production in South Sudan has fallen by a quarter since independence.

News in detail

North-South relations

AFP: S. Sudan’s Kiir blames Khartoum for violence
10 Nov: South Sudan President Salva Kiir accused Khartoum on Wednesday of killing seven people in bomb attacks in Upper Nile state, a key oil producing region that borders Sudan’s war-torn South Kordofan. Read more

BBC: Sudan ‘bombs refugees’ in South Sudan’s Unity state
11 Nov: South Sudanese officials have condemned Sudan after an aerial bombardment of a refugee camp in their territory. Read more

BBC: South Sudan Unity State bombing: UN calls for inquiry
11 Nov: UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has called for an investigation into the bombing of a refugee camp in South Sudan, which became independent in July. Read more

Reuters: Sudan ‘upgrading air bases’ in volatile border region – monitoring group
11 Nov: Sudan’s military is repairing and improving air bases in its Blue Nile state, potentially helping it step up air strikes in the conflict-stricken region along the border with South Sudan, a satellite monitoring group said on Friday. Read more

AFP: SPLA says 18 dead in Sudan raid, UN seeks to calm tension
12 Nov: A cross-border attack by Sudanese troops on a military base killed 18 fighters, South Sudan’s army charged Friday, as the UN Security Council sought ways to end spiraling violence between the two states. Read more

Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan

Sudan Tribune: Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting new rebel alliance
12 Nov: The Sudanese intelligence service on Saturday accused South Sudan of sponsoring the meetings of a new rebel alliance, saying this support represents ’a clear declaration of hostility’ against Khartoum. Read more

Al Jazeera: Sudan rebels form alliance to oust president
13 Nov: Rebels in Sudan’s Darfur region and in the troubled border states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan have formed an alliance to overthrow the government of President Omar al-Bashir, a statement released by the rebels said. Read more

AFP: Darfur group joins Sudan rebel alliance
13 Nov: An alliance of rebel groups committed to regime change in Sudan said on Saturday that a key Darfur rebel movement had joined them, as they convened for a second meeting in the Nuba Mountains. Read more

South Sudan

BBC: South Sudan’s oil production slumps since independence
9 Nov: Oil production in one of South Sudan’s states has fallen by a quarter since independence four months ago, a Unity state minister has told the BBC. Read more

BBC: Oxfam withdraws staff from South Sudan border region
12 Nov: British aid agency Oxfam is withdrawing its staff from a volatile border region of South Sudan in response to increasing instability. Read more