United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
Media & Spokesperson Unit
Communications & Public Information Office
M ED IA M ON I TOR ING R EPORT
FRIDAY, 07 MARCH 2014
NATIONAL
 Situation ‘desperate’ in South Sudan, UN envoy says (Gurtong)
 South Sudanese security seize UN weapons in Lakes State
(Sudantribune.com)
 UN to investigate weapons seized on its trucks in Lakes State (Radio Miraya
News)
 Shots fired near UN compound in Juba following military clashes
(Sudantribune.com)
 South Sudanese army denies allegations of killing foeigners harbouring
Nuers (Sudantribune.com)
 Officials tour abandoned areas in Juba (The Citizen)
 Rebels downplay Salva Kiir’s formation of SPLM committee
(Sudantribune.com)
 South Sudan officials on ‘coup-convincing’ tour (VoA News)
 New camp in Juba will house 10,00 South Sudan displaced (Gurtong)
 Red Cross to assist over 100,000 conflict affected South Sudanese (Catholic
Radio Network)
 Foreign minister Marial Benjamin invited to attend Arab League meet (Radio
Miraya News)
 Thousands from Duk, Twic, sheltering in Bor (Radio Tamazuj)
 Three boys died in crossfire near Juba barracks (Radio Tamazuj)
 Warrap officials split over minister’s resignation (Sudantribune.com)
REGIONAL
 IGAD troops to help safeguard vital oilfields – South Sudan minister (Radio
Miraya News)
 Preferential treatment of UPDF sparked Juba violence – rebels
(Sudantribune.com)
 Over 40,000 South Sudanese refugees arrive in Sudan – UN (Xinhua)
OPINION
 OPINION - The power struggle dividing the country (by Nikolai Hegertun on
Sudantribune.com)
NOTE: Reproduction here does not mean that the UNMISS Communications & Public Information Office
can vouch for the accuracy or veracity of the contents, nor does this report reflect the views of the United
Nations Mission in South Sudan. Furthermore, international copyright exists on some materials and this
summary should not be disseminated beyond the intended list of recipients.
Highlights
Situation 'desperate' in South Sudan, U.N. envoy says
United Press International Juba, 06/03/14 - Lingering conflict in South Sudan is leaving
the civilian population in a desperate situation, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the
country said.
Conflict erupted in South Sudan in December when President Salva Kiir accused former
Vice President Riek Machar of trying to overthrow the government.
Toby Lanzer, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, told the U.N. News
Center fighting was ongoing and the situation was dire.
"People are crying out for help," he said in an interview published Wednesday. "We're at a
really desperate moment in South Sudan."
Africa's Intergovernmental Authority on Development, which led South Sudanese peace
talks, said Tuesday it called on all parties to the conflict to show their "political will and
commitment to end the war."
The United Nations estimates "thousands" of people died as a result of the conflict and an
estimated 870,000 people were forced to flee their homes since fighting erupted midDecember.
Despite IGAD's mediation, Lanzer said the people of South Sudan are frightened for their
future.
"We need a cease-fire that works, that works for civilians on the ground; that enables them
to move, to go back to their homes, to look after their livestock, to plant and to cultivate,"
he said. (Back to Top)
South Sudanese security seize UN weapons in Lakes state
Sudantribune.com Rumbek, 06/04/13 - Security officials in South Sudan’s Lakes state
claimed they intercepted 11 United Nations trucks ferrying an assortment of firearms and
military uniforms destined for neighbouring Unity state.
Authorities, claiming the items were being transported allegedly to aid rebels fighting in
Unity state, have now instituted an investigation into the matter.
"There were all type of weapons, ammunition and blankets. Those items were on route to
Unity state and rebel controlled areas," a senior military official told Sudan Tribune,
without further details.
The world body, in a statement*, said the seized cargo were meant for its Ghanaian
peacekeepers recently deployed as additional forces in the country following the midDecember outbreak of violence.
"In connection with the transport of cargo of general goods belonging to the Ghanaian
battalion on its way to Bentiu, several containers were wrongly labelled and inadvertently
contained weapons and ammunition This is regrettable," partly reads its statement issued
Thursday.
"It is the policy of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) that during the
crisis in South Sudan all arms and ammunition for peacekeeping contingents are flown into
respective areas of deployment and not taken by road. This is an important security
measure."
The UN, however said, its headquarter intends to dispatch a high level investigation team to
look into this matter on an urgent basis, in cooperation with South Sudan government.
Full text of the press statement appears in a separate attachment. (Back to Top)
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UN to investigate weapons seized on its trucks in Lakes State
Radio Miraya News Juba, 07/03/14 – Investigators from the UN headquarters are expected
in Juba to carry out investigations on the weapons that were seized by the South Sudanese
army this week.
The investigation is in response to reports that weapons allegedly been carried by UN
trucks were seized in Rumbek, Lakes State, on transit to Bentiu.
UNMISS Spokesperson Ariane Quentier said that there was an error in transportation and
that the UN will investigate this matter urgently.
“This is an error from UNMISS and it is very regrettable,” she said.
“UNMISS now has asked the United Nations headquarters that has agreed to send a high
level delegation to be able to undertake a high level investigation that will be done in
cooperation with the South Sudanese government and on a very urgent basis,” Ms. Quentier
further revealed. (Back to Top)
Shots fired near UN compound in Juba following military clashes
Sudantribune.com Juba, 06/03/14 - The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has
expressed concern on Thursday after shots were fired near its compound in Juba, injuring at
least one person, with the incident linked to military clashes which erupted in the capital on
Wednesday.
“Firing also occurred close to the UN House yesterday (Wednesday) evening. However, the
situation within the compound is calm,” the spokesperson told media, citing the latest
information from UNMISS.A UN spokesperson told journalists in New York that the
gunfire was in the vicinity of the UN House, with fighting also occurring close to the site
on Wednesday evening.
The spokesperson said the situation in the capital remains “tense”, calling on all parties to
“respect the work and inviolability of UN premises”.
Clashes broke out between military units at the Geida military barracks in southern Juba on
Wednesday after a reported salary dispute turned violent.
The sound of heavy gunfire erupted about 9am (local time) on Wednesday, sparking
widespread panic across the city.
The barracks, which is the headquarters of the Commando unit and hosts the presidential
brigade known as Tiger, was the same site where fighting erupted on 15 December between
soldiers aligned with former vice-president Riek Machar and those loyal to president Salva
Kiir before spreading to other regions across the country.
Meanwhile, the South Sudan army (SPLA) on Thursday revised the official death toll from
the clashes to 25, with the figure initially put at five.
Brig. Gen. Malaak Ayuen, the SPLA director of information and communication, told
Sudan Tribune by phone on that Thursday that an assessment on the ground had revealed
more dead bodies buried under rubble near the Geida military barracks in southern Juba.
“It is difficult to give exact figure [of dead] because the fighting happened in offices but
now there are 25 killed,” he said without providing further details.
Ayuen has blamed Wednesday’s shootings on undisciplined soldiers trying to stir panic in
the city.
“The soldiers were pre-empting a situation,” he said, adding that no soldiers had been
arrested in connection to the incident.
His comments apparently contradict earlier statements, in which he said four officers
accused of instigating the clashes had been arrested.
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Ayuen said the death toll could climb further, with the large amount of rubble from
collapsed buildings as a result of shelling in the area making assessments on the ground
difficult.
“We don’t know how many [dead bodies] are there under the stones,” he added.
A soldier at the scene in Juba told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday that he had counted 27
bodies at the scene, while other sources claimed the death toll could be at least 30.
Cabinet affairs minister Martin Elia Lomoru has confirmed that salaries were in the process
of being paid to soldiers when heavy gunfire heavy erupted inside the barracks.
It is alleged that some soldiers attempted to collect the salaries on behalf of some of their
colleagues who were not on the payroll, but this was refused as government employees are
now required to collect payments in person. The measures have been implemented to
ensure wages are not paid to so-called “ghost” workers or those who do not show up during
the payment period.
A thick column of smoke was seen billowing from the facility, where a military store was
reportedly hit by a rocket propelled grenade.
Residents in the Tongping, Munuki and Geida areas reported hearing sporadic gunfire
overnight on Wednesday, with the security situation on Thursday remaining relatively
stable.
Wednesday’s clashes are the most serious incident since the mid-December violence,
which saw thousands flee their homes. The UN is currently providing protection to some
43,000 civilians in its sites in the capital. (Back to Top)
South Sudanese army denies allegations of killing foreigners habouring Nuers
Sudantribune.com Juba, 06/03/14 - The South Sudanese army (SPLA) has described as
"unfounded" allegations that its forces killed foreign nationals habouring members of the
Nuer, the country’s second largest ethnic group.
The allegations emerged in the wake of Wednesday’s outbreak of violence at Giyada, a
military barracks south-west of the capital, Juba following a dispute among soldiers over
salaries.
“What happened yesterday [Wednesday] as I have said before was limited to shooting
between limited individual soldiers in a limited place. It did not go beyond the military
barrack. So it is not correct that some soldiers went out to hunt from members of Nuer and
killed foreign nationals claimed to have hide him from being killed," said Malaak Ayuen,
the army’s head of information and public relations told reporters on Thursday.
"This is unfounded allegations and unacceptable propaganda," he added.
Ayuen, however, regretted the sporadic shooting which later followed in the night, saying
some were denotations of unexploded ordinances, while another similar incident in
Thongpiny was allegedly due to "understanding" between security forces.
But residents, in series of interviews with Sudan Tribune, said Thursday that more than 12
civilians, including a six-year old boy, were shot dead in both accidental and targeted
killings during the skirmishes that occurred at the military facility.
The clash reportedly starred when the army’s payment committee restricted payment only
to its actively serving members present on duty, while excluding those who had fled to the
United Nations camp for safety reasons in December last year.
But the soldiers, whom the army had branded deserters, could hardly take the committee’s
directive lightly and reportedly turned violent over their salary arrears.
Three civilians were shot dead by soldiers at Nyakuron, a residential neighborhood to the
barracks, which witnessed the genesis of the mid-December outbreak of conflict.
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“Two government soldiers in full military attires with guns came to the compound and
demanded they be shown where Nuer lives. It likes they knew that some Nuer were living
in this compound, but we all kept quiet. We did not talk, but they kept asking where is
where the Nuer lives here? They kept asking then one Ethiopian national, a man, also living
with in the same compound replied that the Nuer residents had gone away two days ago.
They accused him of lying and immediately shot him dead and then went into the house
where two Nuer members were reportedly hiding and shot them dead”, an eyewitness told
Sudan Tribune on Thursday.
Another resident claimed two Ugandans living in Jabarona and five Somalis residing
Gudule area died in Wednesday night’s shoot-out, while a South Sudanese national was
reportedly also hit by stray bullets in Jabarona market area.
The actual numbers of people killed remains unclear, although civilian and military
ambulances were seen moving in town with alarm sound indicative of carrying people to be
rushed to the hospitals. Government soldiers continued to patrol streets, with several
roadblocks set up in key strategic areas and installations. (Back to Top)
Officials tour abandoned areas in Juba
The Citizen Juba, 06/03/14 – Offivials including foreign affairs minister Barnaba Marial,
Central Equatoria State Deputy Governor Mannaseh Lomole Waya, Juba City Mayor
Christopher Sarafino and Juba County Commissioner Stepehen Wani on Tuesday toured
Mango Ten, Hai Referendum, Jondoki and Camaro – the most affected areas in Juba that
were also abandoned by the people during the political crisis.
Addressing the media at Hai Referendum market, Marial said the tour was geared towards
preparing the ground and ensuring security ahead of the return home of all those in the IDP
camps.
He urged the communities in the residential areas, especially those in Juba, to tell their
fellow brothers and sisters in the UNMISS camp to return to their homes saying it is their
country and that the government will avail full security to them.
“We should live as a comunit and not a group of tribes because this country belongs to
everybody,” he said.
Mr. Marial also said that he was going to update the international community so that they
know the government is concerned about its citizens.
Juba County Commissioner Stephen Wani pointed out that during the tour they realized
that most of the houses were loted and empty, adding that it now remains the responsibility
of the government to provide security to the people.
“As we all know, the situation in the UNMISS camps is deplorable because the rainy
season is at hand and it will be very diffivult for them to stay in those camps. Besides,
schools are due to open and by allowing our people to keep staying there, we sahall be
subjecting them to illiteracy,” Deputy Governor Mannaseh Lomole added.
The deputy governor noted however that getting the IDPs out of the camps required
collective efforts from his government, the local government and the national government.
The most difficult part, he noted, is the provision of security to the returnees, he added.
(Back to Top)
Rebels downplay Salva Kiir’s formation of SPLM committee
Sudantribune.com Addis Ababa, 06/03/14 - The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In
Opposition (SPLM-In-Opposition), has questioned the legality and authority of president
Salva Kiir forming a joint committee from members of the party’s politburo, including
those that have rebelled against the party chairman.
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South Sudan president Salva Kiir has formed a preparatory committee tasked with making
the arrangements for an upcoming meeting expected to bring together rival groups within
the leadership of the SPLM.
The committee is a mixture of government loyalists, rebels and former detainees or third
bloc officials. Its members are Daniel Awet Akot, Paul Mayom, Akol Paul, Jemma Nunu,
Deng Alor, John Luk Jok, Kosti Manibe and Taban Deng Gai.
The eight-member committee will be primarily responsible for preparing the agenda for the
next meeting of the SPLM political committee, which was proposed in the Ethiopian
capital, Addis Ababa, by the mediators of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
(IGAD).
It is not clear what issues the committee will discuss, but multiple sources and officials
with direct knowledge of the arrangement have told Sudan Tribune that the focus of the
meeting would be on internal reconciliation among the party’s leaders.
However, the spokesperson for the rebel leader, Riek Machar, questioned the legality by
Kiir to form such a joint committee including their senior rebel leaders.
"First of all, the proposal for internal reconciliation between the two SPLMs, as a new
mechanism to try and resolve the ongoing violent conflict, was not initiated by Salva Kiir.
Further, he is not the leader of some of those groups he has appointed to his committee, and
therefore the formation of such a joint committee is unnecessary and procedurally illegal,"
said Machar’s spokesperson, James Gatdet Dak in statements to Sudan Tribune on
Thursday.
He said the forum proposal was initiated by members of the IGAD mediating team, which
he said the two parties had to simply study, and if acceptable, they would develop their
respective positions or listen to the mediators if they have a draft.
"Kiir knows very well that, for instance, comrade Taban Deng Gai is our Chief Negotiator,
whom he has no authority over him. He also dismissed him [Gai] from memberships of
both the Political Bureau and SPLM party as well as charged him of alleged treason," Dak
wondered, saying the leadership of the opposition was surprised to read about it in the
media.
He said the president who also chairs the party was the very person who resisted numerous
calls to hold the political bureau meeting in 2013, which the rebel leader’s spokesperson
said would have resolved the misunderstandings that have now "consequently culminated
in the ongoing violence."
He further added that if the government was "excited" to form a committee which included
members of the opposition, the first attempt they should have procedurally done was to
‘reverse Kiir’s decrees that were based on one man’s decision to charge and dismiss at will
officials from the party.”
Dak however said if there will be need for specialised committees from both sides to tackle
the reconciliation process, each side in the conflict will appoint its respective committee.
(Back to Top)
South Sudan officials on 'coup-convincing' tour
VoA News Juba, 06/03/14 - South Sudan has dispatched a three-man team to try to
convince African leaders that months of fighting in the young country were triggered by a
botched coup bid led by former vice president Riek Machar -- a message Juba has had
difficulty convincing others is true.
The delegation led by Ateny Wek Ateny, President Salva Kiir's spokesman, has already
travelled to Cairo, Kampala and Khartoum and was in Nairobi on Wednesday, where Ateny
briefed reporters on the message South Sudanese authorities are trying to get across.
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The government of South Sudan is not happy with media coverage in neighboring countries
of the events that triggered the conflict, he said.
“What happened on the 15th of December, in our own definition and what we believe to
have happened, was a mere military coup that failed," Ateny said.
"The definition that was made outside seems to be gaining momentum, simply because the
world of today has become where the truth is bought and sold,” he said.
The government has insisted since December that Machar, whom Kiir fired along with the
rest of the cabinet in July, led a failed bid to oust the president, which snowballed into
months of unrest across South Sudan, resulting in thousands of lives being lost and some
900,000 people being forced from their homes.
Machar, who went into hiding shortly after the fighting broke out, has denied having
anything to do with a coup bid, although he has said since the violence erupted that he is in
open rebellion against Kiir's government.
As part of its mission to convince others that the government's version of events in South
Sudan is the correct one, the South Sudanese delegation has been handing out booklets
entitled, "The truth about the aborted coup of Dr. Riek Machar and his group."
Ateny told reporters in Nairobi that the fighting in South Sudan was sparked by a political
rift, and was not a tribal war, and they should report it that way..
The officials will continue their tour for several more weeks, with the next stop an
undisclosed country in West Africa.
Goi Jooyul, an anti-government delegate at peace talks for South Sudan in Addis Ababa,
which are currently adjourned but due to resume in two weeks, called the tour a waste of
time and "the last kick of a dying horse."
"Selling the idea of a coup... Everybody knows that there was no coup," he said, adding that
the tour could disrupt the "conducive atmosphere for the peace talks" at a time when the
two sides are "moving towards reconciliation... towards an SPLM leadership meeting...
towards governance issues to be solved in the next round."
Jooyul said the opposition has no plans to hold a similar tour to win over media to their
way of seeing the events in South Sudan.
Meanwhile, as Ateny and his team pursued their efforts, ruling party officials in South
Sudan said Kiir has set up a committee to charge several officials with treason if a court
finds them guilty of taking part in the alleged coup.
Among those the committee has in its sights are Machar, Taban Deng Gai, former governor
of Unity state and the lead negotiator for the opposition at the peace talks in the Ethiopian
capital, and Pag'an Amum Okiech, the former secretary general of the ruling SPLM party.
Amum is one of four SPLM political figures who are still in detention in Juba, months after
they were taken into custody after fighting erupted in the capital in December.
The other three, who could also face treason charges, are former deputy defense minister
Majak D'Agoot; Oyai Deng Ajak, former national security minister, and Ezekiel Lol
Gatkuoth, who served as head of the government liaison office in the United States.
Machar, Gai and former environment minister Alfred Lado Gore fled South Sudan or went
into hiding and will be tried in absentia.
South Sudan Justice Minister Paulino Wanawilla said in January that government
investigators have found enough evidence to charge all seven men with treason for their
part in what the government insists was a coup attempt that the accused say never
happened. (Back to Top)
New Camp in Juba will house 10,000 South Sudan displaced
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Gurtong Juba, 07/03/14 - United Nations officials have signed an agreement with the
government of South Sudan and the Chinese embassy to build a new camp in Juba to house
thousands of South Sudanese who were forced from their homes by nearly three months of
fighting.
The new camp will be used to house some of the thousands of displaced people who sought
shelter at U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) bases after fighting erupted in Juba in
December and quickly spread around the country.
The South Sudanese government provided land for the 600,000 square metre site, adjacent
to the UN House base in the Jebel.area of Juba, and Chinese companies led by the China
National Petroleum Corporation will provide machinery and $1.6 million to fund the
project, which is expected to accommodate more than 10,000 people.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Charles Manyang, Chinese Ambassador Ma
Qiang and UNMISS Deputy Director of Mission Support Anne Marie van den Berg signed
the agreement Tuesday to build the new camp.
Van den Berg said the new site would provide better shelter, drainage, sewage structures
and other infrastructure than those available on UNMISS bases, where she said almost
30,000 people have sought refuge since fighting broke out nearly three months ago.
Many of the displaced "fear going home", she said, even though Juba has been relatively
calm for the past two months.
But staying at the U.N. bases, which were not built to accommodate tens of thousands of
displaced, would lead to other problems, both for the people seeking refuge and for
UNMISS, said van den Berg.
“Very soon the rainy season will start and our compounds will not be safe because rain will
enter into the areas where they are housed," she said. Manyang said the new camp would
allow "our citizens who are not staying in their own houses not to be met with rains when
they don’t have adequate shelter.”
“We will cooperate with the United Nations, but that does not construe in any way that the
safety of our people will not be in the hands of our government,” he added.
Construction of the new camp will begin immediately and is expected to be completed in
about six weeks, said Ambassador Qiang, who led a delegation for a ground-breaking
ceremony at the site in Jebel.
“It is good that we are making further efforts to help the South Sudanese people overcome
difficulties," Qiang said. "On the other hand, these kinds of difficulties should not have
happened,” he added.
Thousands are believed to have been killed and some 900,000 displaced since South Sudan
plunged into violence in December. (Back to Top)
Red Cross to assist over 100,000 conflict affected South Sudanese
Catholic Radio Network Juba, 07/03/14 - The International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies IFRC launched an emergency appeal of 4 million Swiss francs to
assist 105 thousand conflict affected South Sudanese.
South Sudan Red Cross Deputy Secretary General John Lobor said "conditions in the
temporary settlements are extremely challenging for families who have had to leave almost
everything behind."
He explained that sanitation facilities could not meet the demands of thousands of people
accommodated.
Mr Lobor predicted an outbreak of water-borne diseases during rainy season.
He added that it was difficult to get the accurate picture of how many people are in need of
assistance due to continue instability in many parts of the country.
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IFRC Eastern Africa regional representative Finn-Jarle Rode expressed commitment to
work with the South Sudan Red Cross to carry out the emergency operation and prepare for
future disaster response. (Back to Top)
Foreign Minister Marial Benjamin invited to attend Arab League
Radio Miraya News Juba, 07/03/14 – Foreign Minister Benjamin Marial has been invited
to attend the Arab League summit due on March 25th to 26th 2014
The Arab League summit is held to discuss the current developments in, and relations
between, the member states.
Although South Sudan is not a member of the Arab League, the Minister says he has been
invited by the Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil El Araby, to brief the Arab
countries about the current crisis in South Sudan.
“It is our duty as a government to inform these Arab countries so that they can also assist
in the Republic of South Sudan. As you know there are a lot of Arab countries that are
interested in investment. Some of the Arab countries also want to give humanitarian
assistance. They cannot only do that until we brief them how those things can be done and
what the situation is. And as you South Sudan we are a friend of everybody,” he said. (Back
to Top)
Thousands from Duk, Twic sheltering in Bor
Radio Tamazuj Bor, 06/03/14 - Tens of thousands of people fleeing attacks in Duk and
Twic counties have arrived in Bor, according to the Jonglei State Relief and Rehabilitation
Commission (RRC).
In an interview with Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, Jonglei State RRC Director Gabriel
Deng Ajak explained that the number of displaced from this area has swelled massively.
“These citizens ran from Duk and Twic East counties, they came to Bor town, and now
some of them crossed the river to Awerial County of Lakes State, while some of them
stayed in Bor and decided to stay there until the security situation improves in the areas of
Duk and Twic, after which they will return,” said Ajak.
Asked the number of people who had fled from Duk and Twic counties to Bor, he said,
“Approximately 45,000 arrived; we are doing registration and once it is finished we’ll
calculate exactly how many people.”
The surge in new arrivals was confirmed also by a recent UN report. The report did not
mention the total number of displaced in Bor itself, but estimated the rate of arrivals from
Duk and Twic at 1,000 daily.
The report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Monday
stated, “People continued to leave Jonglei State for Minkaman and surrounding areas in
Awerial County in Lakes State due to ongoing tension in Duk and Twic East counties.
Partners reported around 1,000 new arrivals per day.”
According to the Jonglei relief agency, RRC, various aid organizations are coordinating
with the government and United Nations to help the people in Bor, but nothing much has
been done so far.
He explained that the refugees “want food and humanitarian things to support them during
the period that they stay in Bor.”
“From the side of the government, it still hasn’t done anything, it is waiting for the Crisis
Management Committee working in Juba to send us anything that could be given to those
people staying there,” he said.
Duk County, a rural area 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Bor, borders on northern parts
of Jonglei that remain strongholds of the SPLM/A opposition faction led by Riek Machar.
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Last Thursday, Duk County Commissioner Elijah Mocnom said that these forces overran
several payams of the county including Payuel, Patuonoi, Ager, Padiet and Mareng
payams.
He put the total number of displaced from the county at 60,000, some of whom are staying
in Twic County, not Bor. (Back to Top)
Three boys died in crossfire near Juba barracks
Radio Tamazuj Juba, 06/03/14 - Fighting that left dozens of soldiers dead at the SPLA
Giyada base in Juba yesterday also resulted in the presumably accidental killing of three
boys, according to an eyewitness.
The gunfight at Giyada started with a dispute over pay involving senior officers. At issue
was whether soldiers accused of having defected or gone absent without leave should be
paid in Juba or not.
A businessman who lives in Juba recounted that he walked past the Giyada base soon after
the initial gunfight on Wednesday morning, during a lull in the clashes.
He says that around 10:00 a.m. yesterday he was cutting across Meidan Simba from the
direction of Juba University heading toward Jabarona neighborhood in order to visit a sick
friend.
Lying in the field were the bodies of three children, he said, recognizing them as boys who
normally washing cars in Meidan Simba. Nearby also was the body of an SPLA officer.
Meidan Simba, an open field in front of Giyada, sometimes serves unofficially as an area
for washing cars. Commonly in Juba the children doing this kind of work are adolescent
boys about 10 to 15 years old.
The total death toll from the clashes Wednesday morning and evening is not known. Earlier
reports suggested at least six other civilians died in two separate incidents. In terms of
military deaths, the official tally was today revised upward to 25, according to Brigadier
General Malaak Ayuen, one of the spokesmen of the SPLA. (Back to Top)
Warrap officials split over minister’s resignation
Sudantribune.com Juba, 06/03/14 - Officials in South Sudan’s Warrap state are reportedly
divided following last month’s resignation of its information minister over alleged links to
the country’s rebels.
Critics and some officials have accused Governor Nyandeng Malek Dieliech of allegedly
influencing activities that led to Nyanaguek Kuol Mareng’s exit.
“What happened was just a revelation of a tip of an iceberg. I mean the resignation of
information minister is the result of the exposure of the big scheme. You know that the
event in Juba took place the same day governor Nyandeng travelled to Nairobi, Kenya,
without permission from the president. And nobody knows what she went for," a senior
member of the ruling party (SPLM) in Warrap told Sudan Tribune.
"Before that, she met the former vice president Riek Machar after he and his group
conducted their press conference in Juba on December 6th. She also met other people,
including Chol Tong Mayay, former governor of Lakes state. Nobody knows the details of
what they actually discussed in these meetings, but there are evidences she met these
people," he added on Thursday.
The official, a close and longtime associate of President Salva Kiir, warned that things
would never be the same, unless the latter “shakes off the dust on his shoulder”.
“Precisely, this is what I am saying. The president is being buried by the same people who
come around claiming to be serving our people and the country under his leadership, while
they are doing things contrary to their claims.There is no way someone under your
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leadership would go out to say things you do not approve and expected to be treated
differently, especially if you remained quiet," he stressed.
"Who knows, the information minister might have been speaking for her boss, otherwise
there would have nothing which prevented her from dismissing her before," he added.
However, several officials closely associated with Nyandeng have denied claims linking
the governor to opposition forces loyal for ex-vice president Riek Machar, while others
blamed her opponent for allegedly working to bring her down.
“There is nothing as such. These accusations are just rubbish. There are people working
days and nights to see into that Governor Nyandeng is unconstitutionally removed but this
will not work. They need to know this governor was democratically elected by the people
of Warrap," a cabinet minister told Sudan Tribune by phone from the state capital, Kwajok.
These are the very people who would evaluate her performance, not individual politicians,
added the minister.
A legislator close to the state administration also dismissed allegations that the governor
had played a role supportive to the activities of the former information, who on several
occassion spoke on the state radio denying government’s version the the mid-December
outbreak of violence was an attempted coup by Machar and group.
“It is wrong to accuse the person for the sake of it. The governor is part of the government
the rebel wanted to topple through violence so that they install their own. Would it make
sense if the government in which you served is toppled and expect different treatment? I
have never heard before," the legislator told Sudan Tribune.
What is happening in Warrap is just political rivalry and it is better you in the media
approach it with objectivity so that you are not seen as taking side," he added. (Back to Top)
IGAD troops to help safeguard vital oilfields, South Sudanese official
Radio Miraya News Juba, 07/03/14 - In an exclusive interview to Radio Miraya this
morning, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Barnaba Marial
Benjamin, said he hopes the IGAD troops will be deployed after the IGAD heads of states
summit due next week.
The minister says the IGAD troops are expected to protect South Sudan’s vital economic
structures.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone,” he said.
“The Republic of South Sudan is a member of the IGAD and if there are negative forces in
any of the member countries the other countries can always respond by protecting
important economic structures in that particular country,” said the minister. (Back to Top)
Preferential treatment of UPDF sparked Juba violence: rebels
Sudantribune.com Addis Ababa, 06/03/14 - South Sudan’s rebels led by Riek Machar said
the government had not told the true story about the cause of the recent outbreak of
violence among the army in the national capital, Juba, saying the dissent was caused by
preferential treatment of the Ugandan Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) over the national
army, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).
"New information has emerged indicating that the fighting was not only caused by a mere
pay dispute as reported in the media. In fact, some units from the Presidential Guards and
Commandos mutinied in direct protest against UPDF’s involvement and favours they
receive at their expense," claimed the rebel’s military spokesperson, Brig Lul Ruai Koang.
Clashes occurred in Juba on Wednesday morning at a military barrack and resumed during
the night between units of the Commando, leaving dozens dead and scores wounded.
Government officials said the violence was a result of salary payment dispute between
members of the force.
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An observer, told Sudan Tribune that the denial by the committee to pay those who were
in the United Nations camp caused the shootings, adding the incident would have been
avoided had the committee amicably addressed the issue.
"Also the rigorous system, specifically the requirement of individual beneficiaries to
receive by themselves instead of third party angered some commanding officers because it
appears they were benefiting from the previous system, which allows a commanding officer
to receive for people he submitted their list to finance, some of which could be a makeup
list of thousand soldiers," noted the observer.
But a verification exercise recently carried out to determine the actual numbers of soldiers
on the payroll reportedly revealed some abnormalities within the system.
"It was found out more than half of the existing army were ghosts," he said.
Faced with fresh allegations that it was giving preferential treatment to Ugandan forces, the
government resolved that the SPLA be given a three-month bonus pay at once.
"That means double payment in the salary of individual soldiers and officers. Say, for
example, if a soldier was getting 1000 South Sudanese pound, this money is doubled to
3000 because it is three months bonus and paid at once." stressed the observer.
However, the rebel spokesperson, in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, said the
revelations indicated that there was a built up dissent among the forces in disapproval of
how the government was preferentially treating the foreign army from Uganda and private
militias at the expense of the regular army.
"SPLA soldiers complained of being neglected and spent three months without being paid
salaries as well as do not get food rations whereas their counterparts from UPDF get paid
huge salaries, daily allowances, food rations and compensations in an event of death or
injury," Koang further explained.
He also accused forces loyal to president Salva Kiir of allegedly turning their anger against
Nuer officers, saying some Nuer generals loyal to the government were attacked at their
residential area in Tongping while a number of innocent Nuer civilians lost their lives in an
alleged targeted killings during Wednesday’s violence.
Senior officials of the government’s security sector, including the country’s defence
minister, Kuol Manyang Juuk, have revealed that Juba was paying Kampala for the
involvement of Uganda’s army (UPDF) in the over 10-week conflict. (Back to Top)
Over 40,000 South Sudanese refugees arrive in Sudan: UN
Xinhua Khartoum, 06/03/14 - The number of South Sudanese refugees arriving in Sudan
has reached between 40,000 to 42,000, the UN humanitarian affairs office said on
Thursday.
A weekly report released by the UN Office says that humanitarian organizations have
provided assistance and food for the South Sudanese refugees in border areas between
Sudan and South Sudan.
South Sudan has been witnessing violence and armed clashes between government forces
of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and rebels loyal to former Vice-President Riek Machar
since December last year.
The UN High Commission for Refugees on Wednesday warned against a food crisis in
South Sudan.
It said that the crisis would aggravate, as the number of refugees depending on food
assistance is estimated to reach about 3.2 million next June.
The commission estimated that about 739,000 people had been displaced within South
Sudan as a result of the fighting there. More than 196,000 people have fled the country.
(Back to Top)
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OPINION - The power struggle dividing the country
By Nikolai Hegertun on Sudantribune.com - The root cause of the conflict in South Sudan
was the bitter power-struggle within the leadership of SPLM. The party that got 170 out of
180 seats in the election in 2010 has always balanced on a delicate power-sharing among
several ambitious leaders. The moment this power-struggle deteriorated completely, in
mid-December last year, the conflict spilled out on the streets. Within a few hours it had
developed into a bloody slaughter between the two major communities, Dinkas and Nuers.
On the 23rd of January a truce was signed, but despite what some think: South Sudan is not
experiencing a truce and a contained situation – the catastrophe grows by every passing
day. Fighting is still ongoing and there is no enforcement of the truce. Some 800.000
people are internally displaced and around 200.000 have fled the country. With the rainy
season forthcoming, UN estimates that as much as three million people may be displaced.
A DIVIDED PARTY
Notwithstanding the split within SPLM caused by Riek Marchar and Lam Akol in 1991,
the internal divisions within the party remained somewhat unexposed as long as they were
fighting Khartoum. However, today there isn’t a question of whether there are internal
divisions, but how to cope with these in the future. SPLM is a conglomerate consisting of
different groups with different loyalties, ideologies and political preferences. According to
SPLM-expert, Halle Jørn Hansen, this division was already tense at the last meeting with
the National Liberation Council in 2008.
The story of SPLM is therefore a story about a successful liberation movement, and a failed
political party. They have had their chances of resolving their conflicts through the
mechanisms and channels within the party; however the movement slowly disintegrated
into competing groups outside the formal system. Networks and bonds of loyalty stemming
from the days of the civil war have been maintained without genuine reconciliation and
democratic transparency. Lack of dialogue and cooperation has kindled the mistrust and
pathological development. In a situation of no trust, people tend to interpret other actors’
actions and intentions through a worst-case-lens. The act of reaching out became a sign of
weakness.
The violence that broke out last year was a tragic turn of events on top of a pile of distrust,
fear, power-struggle and paranoia.
SPLM MIRRORS THE NATION
Unfortunately, these conflicts among individuals at the top have a tendency of spilling over
to the people as these leaders represent different groups within the country. At
independence it was said that “from now South Sudan will live as one clan, one tribe, one
people and one nation”. Perhaps it is time to face the grim realities of tribalism and rather
think about solutions.
Power-sharing among the fighting groups has been discussed. However, power-sharing
agreements have a tendency of “freezing” the political situation and benefit the ones
picking up arms. And after all, there has been an informal power-sharing among the leaders
in government until now, and it did not work. This informal tribalism has only strengthened
the competitive element and consequently nepotism and corruption.
INCLUSIVE RECONCILIATION
More than ever, South Sudan needs to strive for inclusion and reconciliation. All groups
within the country should be consulted and included. This does not mean that one turns a
blind eye to the dire need for justice and some tentative power-sharing mechanism.
However, permanent solution must be a broad and inclusive process of reconciliation. The
alternative seems to be increased division, both ethnically and geographically. SPLM (and
SPLM-leaders) desperately needs reform to become an attentive democratic movement
again.
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Through the Oslo Center’s work with youth-dialogue in South Sudan we have seen how
prejudice and distrust between different groups can be turned to understanding and new
relations within a few days, by spending time together in the same room. However, these
are fragile steps in the right direction which need time and a safe environment – it can be
shattered by continued power-struggle at the top. There are several important dialogue- and
reconciliation-initiatives ongoing as we speak, however they may end up as initiatives if the
political leadership continues to turn a blind eye to it. The fact that thousands of fellow
citizens have lost their lives and close to a million left homeless, should be the wake-up call
needed.
Nikolai Hegertun is a project coordinator with the Oslo Center for Peace and Human
Rights. You can email him on: Nikolai.Hegertun@oslocenter.no (Back to Top)
For further information or media enquiries please contact:
UNMISS Spokesperson
Tel.: +211 (0) 912 06 7149 or Mobile: +211 (0) 912 396 539
United Nations Mission in South Sudan - Public Information Office
www.unmiss.unmissions.org
UN House Juba 03, P.O. Box 29, Juba, South Sudan
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