September 29, 2021 (JUBA) - Authorities in Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to officially open their border crossings on October 1, a South Sudanese official disclosed. Speaking to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday, the presidential advisor on security affairs, Tut Gatluak Manime said preparations are currently underway to open border crossings between the two countries for regular traffic flow and trade. He said seven border crossings, including river transport at Joda, a border point between (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, Diplomacy - International Relations, South Sudan, Sudan

September 29, 2021 (JUBA) – Lack of funds is hindering the smooth implementation of a comprehensive master plan developed by South Sudan's Water Resource and Irrigation ministry, a government official said on Wednesday. Irrigation minister, Manawa Peter Gatkouth said his ministry still lacks the funds needed for smooth implementation and execution of annual strategic plans. “There is no proper implementation and execution of approved annual budget as proposed [and] that is why budgets are (...) - News / Floods | Flooding, South Sudan

September 28, 2021 (JUBA)- South Sudan says it is ready to reciprocate the decision taken by the Ugandan government to waive visas for it's nationals entering the country. "We are waiting for the decision of the council of ministers. Once we received a go head directives, we will direct our officers and officials at all entry points for execution”, South Sudanese Director-General of Immigration, Passports, Nationality, and Civil Registry Gen. Atem Marol Biar said Tuesday. Minister of (...) - News / South Sudan, Uganda, Passports & Visas

September 28, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - South Sudanese Chief Mediator Tut Gatluak arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday to discuss with the transitional government the resumption of peace talks with the SPLM-North led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu. On June 15, the mediation suspended the negotiations between the government and the SPLM-N l-Hilu following their failure to agree on the framework agreement. "My visit to Khartoum came upon the directive of President Salva Kiir to discuss the schedule of next (...) - News

South Sudan hosts illegal Afghan immigrants September 28, 2021 (JUBA)- South Sudan says it is now hosting 40 Afghan national who have made their way into the country without clearance from the government. The Director-General of Immigration, Passports, Nationality, and Civil Registry Gen. Atem Marol Biar said he was surprised over reports of the presence of 40 Afghan nationals in the country without the knowledge of the authorities He made the remarks on Thursday morning last week during (...) - News / Afghanistan, South Sudan

September 28, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The General Intelligence Service (GIS) announced on Tuesday that 5 of its members were killed and another wounded, during a raid against a cell affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) residing in three locations in the capital, Khartoum. For nearly two decades, Sudan was a state sponsor of terrorism for harbouring militants from several neighbouring countries. The former regime, also, tolerated the activities of Sudanese groups inside the country. "Based (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

September 28, 2021 (JUBA)- President Salva Kiir and Costello Garang Riiny Lual, an adviser to the presidency met and held talks on Tuesday, marking the second official meeting between the two leaders following the appointment of the latter by the former in compliance with the provision of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement. Lual is the chairman of South Sudan Patriotic Movement, a member of South Sudanese opposition alliance participating in the coalition government. He represents his (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, South Sudan

September 27, 2021 (JUBA) – South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has, in an executive order, appointed former minister Rebecca Joshua Okwaci as Chief Whip in parliament. Okwaci, a veteran journalist and member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), bounces back more than two years after leaving government. She will represent the country's ruling party in the national assembly. Okwaci served in various capacities in government, having started as undersecretary in the ministry of (...) - News / Politics, South Sudan

September 27, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Volker Perthes, Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) called for dialogue between the Sovereign Council members to ensure the successful democratic transition. Perthes met with Mohamed Hamdan Daglo «Hemetti», Mohamed al-Faki and Mohamed Hassan Eltaishi on Monday urging military and civilians sides to meet and find a compromise on contentious issues "I listened to their views and urged them to stop the (...) - News

September 27, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan is drawing up strategic plans to ease the transportation of its crude oil to international markets through Port Sudan. “Recent developments in Sudan have interrupted the flow of our oil and the leadership has advised that we resume talks with companies which carried out feasibility studies to explore ways we can avoid such incidents in future”, a source at South Sudan's Ministry of Petroleum told Sudan Tribune on Monday. The source, who preferred (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, South Sudan

September 27, 2021 (JUBA) – South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has, in an executive order, appointed former minister Rebecca Joshua Okwaci as Chief Whip in parliament. Okwaci, a veteran journalist and member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), bounces back more than two years after leaving government. She will represent the country's ruling party in the national assembly. Okwaci served in various capacities in government, having started as undersecretary in the ministry of (...) - News / Politics, South Sudan

September 27, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - A prominent member in the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) confirmed the formation of a separate faction of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) they lead together with the Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM). Political and civil society forces in addition to several armed groups signatory of the Juba Peace Agreement agreed on 8 September to reunite the FFC in response to an initiative by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok. JEM refused to (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY, Democratic Transition in Sudan

September 26, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Representatives of the civilian component announced their readiness to defend the democratic transition and confront the military leaders, while Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reiterated they have no intention to seize power. On Sunday, hundreds of activists flocked to the headquarters of the Empowerment Removal Committee to protect it, after the withdrawal of the security forces tasked with the protection of the committee's premises and 22 facilities confiscated (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

September 26, 2021 (JUBA) – South Sudan government should support efforts by the Joint Defence Board (JDB) to expedite demilitarisation procesa in Tambura County of Western Equatoria State, a civil society body said. In a statement issued on Monday, Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation (CEPO) expressed concerns over disputes and violence fuelled by social media messages from a section of the country's citizens. “This [social media posts] is bad and worrying. The social media trend (...) - News / Tribal clashes in South Sudan

September 27, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council has acknowledged the resumption in oil flow to Port Sudan, days after protests in eastern Sudan disrupted production in its northern oil fields. The move, SUNA reported, followed a meeting between the government delegation led by Lt. Gen, Shamseddeen Kabbashi, the Red Sea Security Committee and the Higher Council for Beja chieftains headed by Mohammed Al-Amin Terk. The meeting agreed on safe passage of oil from South (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, Oil in Sudan & South Sudan, Protest & Activism

September 26, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Representatives of the civilian component announced their readiness to defend the democratic transition and confront the military leaders, while Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reiterated they have no intention to seize power. On Sunday, hundreds of activists flocked to the headquarters of the Empowerment Removal Committee to protect it, after the withdrawal of the security forces tasked with the protection of the committee's premises and 22 facilities confiscated (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

September 25, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) Saturday accused the military component of exploiting the political crises to spread chaos in the country and undermine the transition to civilian-led democratic rule. The followers of Mohamed Turk, a tribal leader of the Hadandawa tribe who rejects the peace agreement for eastern Sudan, are blocking the roads and shut down the pipeline preventing the exportation of the Sudanese and South Sudanese oil. However, the (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

September 25, 2021 (KAMPALA) - The government has given South Sudan a one-month ultimatum to waive visa fees for Ugandan nationals seeking to enter the country. This follows Uganda's decision to waive visa fees for South Sudanese entering Uganda which will take effect on October 1. Speaking to the media, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs Rebecca Kadaga said that South Sudan is expected to reciprocate this by October 31. She says if South Sudan (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, South Sudan, Uganda

September 26, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese army repelled an attack by the Ethiopian army in the border area of Al-Fashaqa said a military statement on Sunday. Al-Tahir Abu Haja, Sudanese army spokesman stated that the attack took place in Um Brakhit sector of the disputed area. «The Sudanese Armed Forces had repelled the incursion attempt and forced the Ethiopian forces to withdraw,» said Abu Haja in a short statement. Relations between the two countries have been strained since (...) - News

September 24, 2021 (WASHINGTON) - The White House voiced strong support on Friday for the «civilian-led» transition in Sudan and announced that President Biden plans to invite Prime Minister Hamdok to visit Washington. The failed coup by Islamist officers in the army and the challenges posed military to the civilian efforts to carry out reforms have forced the Biden administration to loudly express its support to the civilian forces in Sudan. In a statement on Friday, the White House said (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

September 24, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir has directed the cancellation of a $650 million sovereign guarantee loan, paving way for the country to engage international financial institutions. In a letter dated September 24, 2021, the Executive Director of the Presidential Office informed Finance Minister Athian Dingg Athian that Kiir authorized the cancellation of the loan following mounting pressure on his administration to live up to the norms and practices of public (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

September 24, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The civilian component of the Sovereign Council on Friday rejected al-Burhan's statements about the guardianship of the military over the democratic transition. Divergences surfaced between the civilian and military parties to the transitional process in Sudan following the recent coup attempt. The civilian government urged the military component to expedite the security reforms and to sack the Islamist elements from the army. While the Head of the Sovereign (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY, Democratic Transition in Sudan

September 23, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Head of the Transitional Sovereign Council on Thursday pointed to the involvement of civilians in the failed coup attempt but stopped short of admitting they were Islamists. Earlier this week, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok said the coup was orchestrated by the former regime emphasizing the participation of civilians affiliated with the dissolved National Congress Party participated in the attempt. However, al-Burhan, the (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

September 23, 2021 (JUBA) - The Jieng (Dinka) Council of elders, a group alliedn to President Salva Kiir, has backed calls for the South Sudanese leader and First Vice President Riek Machar to relinquish power. The group, in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Thursday, said they are in comformity with recommendations of the national dialogue which called on Kiir and Machar to step aside from the country's political affairs. “We applaud the national dialogue for pointing out the truth (...) - News / Politics

September 22, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir has returned former Warrap state governor, Bona Panek Biar to the military and promoted him to Lieutenant General. Biar served in several capacities in the government under president Kiir. He first served as an officer with the special branch of the national security service from where he rose to the rank of Brigadier General before moving to the army and became a Major General. He served in the army until 2015 when Kiir split (...) - News / South Sudan, Military

September 23, 2021 (Geneva)- South Sudanese elites diverted staggering amounts of money and other wealth from public coffers and resources, undermining human rights and endangering security, the Commission on Human Rights said in a report. The report was presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday. According to investigations carried out by the Commission over the past two years, more than $73 million USD was diverted since 2018, including transactions worth almost $39 (...) - News / South Sudan, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, Corruption

September 22, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese military and the ruling coalition of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) on Wednesday traded blame for the slow pace of reforms and difficulties facing the transitional after the failure of a coup d'etat by Islamist officers in the army. Several members of the civilian government including Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok called on the military component to sack the Islamists from the military and security sectors and to implement the reforms (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

September 22, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The United Nations Security Council condemned the failed coup in Sudan and voiced its support to the civilian-led government. The attempt took place on Tuesday morning while a tribal leader in eastern Sudan affiliated with the former regime led a protest movement aiming to disturb the national economy. «The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attempt on 21 September to disrupt Sudan's transition by force,» reads a statement (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

September 21, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese army said no politicians have been arrested in connection with the failed coup attempt. The Sudanese army spokesman Brig-Gen Tahir Abu Haja that 21 senior officers, and a number of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, were arrested. Also, he added that search operations are underway to arrest the rest of the military involved in the aborted coup. For his part, Commander of the Ground Forces, Lt-Gen Essam al-Din Karrar, stated that the coup (...) - News

September 21, 2021 (JUBA) - A prominent South Sudanese politician has said it was time to not beat around the bush, but the buck of the devastating conflict in the country stopped at the steps of Unity and Warrap states. “Why go around beating the bush. Let it be clear, straight, and simple, the war of 15th December 2013, which lasted for five years, has extremely divided South Sudanese into two distinctive categories: ethnically and politically. This division don't beat around the bush (...) - News / South Sudan, Politics

September 21, 2021 (JUBA) - The Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim in South Sudan, Matthew Hollingworth has strongly condemned the latest attack on a humanitarian convoy in Yei County, Central Equatoria, calling for authorities and communities to ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel delivering assistance to the most vulnerable people in South Sudan. “I am appalled by the horrific news of yet another act of violence against humanitarians and people serving the community in South (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, South Sudan, Humanitarian

September 21, 2021 (NAIROBI) - Mabior Garang de Mabior, son of South Sudan's ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has ruled out war as an option for regime change, proposing that dialogue be held with the armed opposition (SPLM-IO) splinter faction fighting in the Magenis area of Upper Nile state. “After seven years of imposing the agenda of regime change and senseless violence on our civil population, those who hijacked our Movement and the peace process have failed to deliver (...) - News / South Sudan, Politics

September 20, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has directed that the detained former governor of Northern Bahr El Ghazal state, Kuel Aguer Kuel be treated at a private hospital in the capital, Juba, after reports indicated his health was deteriorating. Kuel was arrested over his involvement with activitist who called for resignation of Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar. A presidential source, who preferred anonymity, told Sudan Tribune Monday that Kiir directed the (...) - News / South Sudan, Politics

September 21, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government officially confirmed that all the military involved in the failed coup have been arrested and the situation is under control. «Today Tuesday, September 21 at dawn, the army put down an attempted coup by a group of officers affiliated with the remnants of the former regime,» said Information Minister Hamza Balloul in a press statement released today. «The army thwarts a coup attempt, more details later,» said the army spokesman Tahir (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

September 21, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Islamist officers in the Sudanese army tried to seize power in Khartoum on Tuesday morning but their attempted coup has been foiled. Military and civilian Sudanese officials confirmed the aborted coup but until now the transitional government did not issue a statement about the situation. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Member of the Sovereign Council Mohamed al-Faki who is also its spokesman issued a short call on social media to the Sudanese to (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY