UN Warns Against Losing Sight of South Sudan Peace Process Amid Sudan Crisis
As South Sudanese President Salva Kiir focuses on mediation in Sudan, the UN called 2023 a “make or break” year for South Sudan and says the country is far behind on constitution writing, election planning, and transitional security arrangements (AP)
Sudan Conflict Forcing South Sudanese Home
The United Nations refugee agency registered more than thirty thousand people crossing into South Sudan, of which 90 percent were South Sudanese; the actual figure is thought to be much higher as over eight hundred thousand South Sudanese refugees were living in Sudan prior to the outbreak of violence in April (Reuters)
UN Plans for Refugees Fleeing Sudan
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is planning for hundreds of thousands of people to escape violence in Sudan by fleeing to neighboring South Sudan and Chad; estimates predict two hundred and seventy thousand people to cross into South Sudan and Chad as Sudan currently has over one million refugees and 3.7 million internally displaced citizens, according to UN data (Reuters)
UN Experts: South Sudan Officials Commited Rights Abuses
According to a report released by the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, several officials, including military leaders and top government officials, committed serious, widespread abuses of human rights (Al Jazeera)
President Kiir Appoints New Defense Minister
Chol Thon Balok, a general and former governor of the Upper Nile state, was appointed as defense minister by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir in violation of a peace agreement that called for the role to be chosen by the party of opposition leader (Reuters)
Despite Dangers, Food Delivery Still Essential
Despite the dangers, including the recent shooting of two drivers with the UN’s World Food Program, aid workers say South Sudan needs assistance now more than ever, with the World Bank estimating over nine million people will require assistance this year; since 2023, there have been close to twenty attacks on humanitarian aid workers (VOA)
Humanitarians Call for Justice Over Ambush of Aid Convoy
Humanitarian workers have urged the government of South Sudan to step up security after two drivers were shot in an ambush of an aid convoy of more than a hundred trucks in the Jonglei state (UN News)
Discarded Explosives Kill Ten
After mistaking unexploded ordnance for scrap metal, ten people were killed in Western Bahr el Ghazal, according to Jur River County Commissioner James Bak (AP)
According to a UN annual report, violence against civilians in South Sudan rose by two percent during 2022 and was marked by three distinct surges (UN News)
Defense and Interior Ministers Fired
South Sudan President Salva Kiir fired defense minister Angelina Teny and interior minister Mahmoud Solomon in a presidential order; the presidential order violates the terms of a peace agreement with opposition party leader First Vice President Riek Machar (Reuters)
UN Denounces South Sudan Troop Deployment
The United Nations criticized Juba for sending troops to a disputed border area claimed by South Sudan and Sudan, saying the deployment would cause “untold suffering and humanitarian concerns” (AP)
President Kiir Calls For Refugees to Return to South Sudan
President Salva Kiir said the repatriation of South Sudanese refugees should be a top priority for South Sudan and that the government would ensure their security upon their return (WaPo)
Pope Begins Tour of Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan
Pope Francis is expected to call for peace in both conflict-stricken countries and highlight a “colonialist mentality” among foreign powers that seek to exploit African countries (AP)
UN Calls For End To ‘Escalating Violence’
The UN mission in South Sudan and international partners called for an immediate end to violence in the Greater Pibor area by armed youth from Jonglei state; fifty-seven have died, and more than a dozen have been injured, according to news reports (UN News)
Twenty-Seven Killed in Clashes Ahead of Pope’s Visit to South Sudan
The fighting between cattle herders and militants in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State comes as Pope Francis arrives in the country today as part of an Africa tour calling for peace and economic justice (NYT)
More Than Fifty People Killed in South Sudan Fighting
The UN mission in the country said it is monitoring heightened tensions in the central state of Jonglei following the outbreak of intercommunal violence (Sudan Tribune)
UN: Violence in South Sudan Killed One-Hundred Sixty-Six Civilians, Displaced Thousands
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that violence in the country’s Upper Nile state has killed one-hundred and sixty-six civilians and displaced more than 20,000 since August (Reuters)
A previous estimate by the United Nations indicated an unknown number of deaths and only 9,000 displaced civilians (Reuters)
This came after religious leaders said that fighting between rival youth groups in the region spilled into a neighboring displacement camp in Makala last Thursday (Reuters)
The United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, and the European Union issued a joint statement condemning the violence and urging the delivery of humanitarian aid (Reuters)
The United Nations had previously called for renewed progress in implementing the 2018 peace agreement, citing a worsening humanitarian crisis that could require aid for 12 million people in 2023 (AP)
UN Accuses Local Officials of Overseeing Gang Rape, Beheadings in South Sudan
The Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan found evidence that local officials orchestrated systematic gang rapes, beheadings, burning people alive, and days-long sexual assaults against victims as young as nine; the country’s information minister and government spokesman dismissed the allegations as false (Al Jazeera)
IMF to Provide $112.7 Million in Emergency Funding to South Sudan
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level agreement with South Sudan for additional emergency financing primarily to help address food insecurity, support social spending, and boost the country’s international reserves (IMF)
This preceded a report released by the United Nations indicating that 9.4 million people in the country will need humanitarian assistance and protection services in 2023, a 500,000-person increase from 2022 (AP)
Road Ambush Kills Three, Wounds Others in South Sudan
Gunmen attacked two buses and one smaller vehicle along the Juba-Nimule highway, killing at least three people and injuring twenty-two others; the attackers have not been identified (AP)
UN Calls for Greater Stabilization Efforts in South Sudan
After a visit to the country, UN head of peacekeeping operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix pledged stronger advocacy for support amid South Sudan’s worsening humanitarian crisis, driven by climate shocks and a stagnant peace process (The North Africa Post)
United Nations Declares Risk of Severe Hunger in South Sudan
Two-thirds of the population in South Sudan, numbering up to 7.8 million people, may experience severe food shortages next spring due to flooding, drought, and conflict, said UN agencies (Reuters)
Two Million Affected by Flooding
More than two million have been internally displaced as eight of the ten states in South Sudan are currently flooded, said Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth (AP)
Communal Violence Kills Twenty-Five
A territorial dispute between youths from two neighboring communities killed twenty-five in the country’s north (Reuters)
Sudan, South Sudan Agree to Cooperate with UN
The leader of Sudan’s Sovereign Council General, Adbel Fattah Al-Burhan, agreed with his counterpart in South Sudan to cooperate with the UN peacekeeping mission in Abyei (Sudan Tribune)
Meanwhile, the UN Commission on Human Rights warned that international monitoring is necessary to prevent violence from escalating in South Sudan (UN News)
Investigation Finds Mounting Allegations of Sex Abuse at UN-Run Camp in South Sudan
Reports of sexual abuse committed by aid workers at a camp in Malakal have increased since they were first reported in 2015, an investigation by the New Humanitarian and Al Jazeera found; the United Nations estimates that as many as five thousand displaced people could be headed toward the camp soon (Al Jazeera)