April 24, 2021 (KHARTOUM) — A number of political forces rejected the powers of arrest without a court order and without a warrant given to the security service in the draft Internal Security Agency bill. The components of the transitional government in Sudan agreed to establish an internal security apparatus under the Ministry of the Interior, after the failed assassination attempt on Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok last year. The Ministry of Justice has prepared a draft internal security (...) - News / Democratic Transition in Sudan

April 24, 2021(JUBA) –Ethiopia's ambassador to South Sudan, Nebil Mahadi, and South Sudan Defense and Veteran Affairs Minister Angelina Teny on Saturday held discussions on the bilateral and regional issues of common concern. Nebil, Ethiopia's Foreign Affairs ministry said, underscored Ethiopia's unwavering commitment to the implementation of the South Sudan peace agreement and the overall peace and prosperity of the people of South Sudan. He also emphasized the need to redouble efforts of (...) - News / South Sudan, Ethiopia, Diplomacy - International Relations, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

April 24, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan will sue Ethiopia before the international courts if the latter unilaterally carry out a second filling without concluding a legally binding agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Sudan's Minister of Irrigation Yasir Abbas posted several tweets on Thursday to speak about what his government would do, after the Ethiopian rejection of a tripartite meeting by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to discuss the way forward following the failure of (...) - News / Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

April 23, 2021 - The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced on Friday that it has approved a plan aimed at clearing Sudan's $413 million debt arrears. «The proposal enables the Bank to proceed with clearing Sudan's arrears with the African Development Bank Group, with the support of the United Kingdom and Sweden,» the AfDB said in a press release. "The U.K will provide bridge financing to clear Sudan's arrears to the African Development Fund, while Sweden has committed to providing grant (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

April 22, 2021 (JUBA) - The European Union (EU) Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenar?i? on Thursday announced up to €43.5 million in humanitarian aid for South Sudan. The funds, according to the EU, will be used, among others, to help those most in need, including with protection and food assistance, as well as those affected by man-made and natural disasters. “The humanitarian situation across South Sudan is extremely dire. Parts of this youngest African country are facing (...) - News / South Sudan, Development - Aid

April 22, 2021 (KAMPALA) – The leadership of the South Sudan National Movement for Change/Army (SSNMC/A) has condemned the alleged assassination of its chief of staff, General Abraham Wana Yoane in Kampala, Uganda. The deceased, the group said in a statement, was “attacked, badly beaten and left dead” on April 20. “General Abraham succumbed to his injuries that were inflicted by thugs of Juba and died today 22nd April 2012 in Kampala, Uganda,” partly reads the statement issued on April 22. (...) - News / South Sudanese Opposition, Uganda, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

April 21, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and France agreed to cooperate together to bring stability to Chad following the death of President Idriss Deby on the battlefield in a fight against rebels. Jean Michel Dumond, French Special Envoy to Sudan met on Thursday with the First Vice Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Daglo «Hemetti» to discuss the situation in Chad. The meeting comes as Mohamed Idriss Deby was appointed by the army as the head of the transitional (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY, Chad

April 21, 201 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and Libya pledged to cooperate together to maintain regional stability, according to statements issued in Khartoum and Tripoli following on Wednesday. Mohammed al-Menfi, head of the three-member Libyan presidency council discussed by telephone bilateral relations with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan the head of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan. "The two leaders discussed various regional issues of common interest and agreed to strengthen bilateral and (...) - News

April 21, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Qatar Airways will resume its flights to Khartoum next May after a two-year halt, according to a statement released on Wednesday. On Thursday, 14 March, Qatar Airways said that its flights to and from Khartoum, Sudan would be suspended from 1 April 2019 due to commercial reasons. In a statement published on its website, the Qatari national carrier announced the resumption of its flights to Khartoum as of 11 May. "Qatar Airways is pleased to announce that it (...) - News / Qatar

April 21, 20201 (JUBA) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has sent condolences to the people of Chad following the death of their leader on Tuesday, declaring three days of mourning in the country. The Chadian President Idriss Déby, 68, died of his injuries following clashes with rebels in the north of the country at the weekend, the army announced on state television. Kiir said Déby played a key role in the restoration of peace in South Sudan, adding that Chad was among the High-Level (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, Chad, South Sudan

April 21, 2021 (JUBA) – The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) on Wednesday delivered supplies to an orphanage that currently hosts over 100 children in South Sudan's capital, Juba. The items donated included maize flour, cooking oil, lentils, rice, cow peas, power milk, and non-food items including shoes, bedsheets, washing soap, liquid soap, laundry soap, t-shirts, footballs, and toys. Speaking at the occasion, the Turkish ambassador to South Sudan, Erdem Mutaf said the (...) - News

April 20, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan on Tuesday called for an end to fighting between the government forces and rebel groups after the death of President Idris Deby on the battlefield. The rebel alliance Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), last week clashed with the government forces seeking to overthrow Deby who ruled the country for more than 30 years. On Tuesday Morning the army announced his death adding that a military council led by his son Mahamat will lead the country and (...) - News / Chad

April 20, 2021 (WASHINGTON) - A «fugitive» who fled criminal charges and suspicions of terror financing in Paraguay, has reemerged in South Sudan with an altered identity and title of honorary consul, a new report revealed. The report, released by The Sentry on Tuesday, details how Ali Khalil Merhi allegedly operates a thriving business empire while benefiting from corrupt connections and predatory operations within the world's youngest nation. Titled, “The Metamorphosis of Ali Khalil (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, South Sudan, Corruption

April 20, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - West Darfur Governor Mohamed Aldoma on Tuesday declared the state capital El Geneina as a disaster-stricken area and requested urgent humanitarian intervention from the federal government. In his disaster declaration, Aldoma said the humanitarian situation in the state exceeds West Darfur response capabilities, pointing that all the residents of the areas affected by the recent tribal violence are now displaced in the public institutions including schools, (...) - News / West Darfur State, FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

April 20, 2021 (JUBA) - The European Union (EU) Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic is in South Sudan on a three-day working visit. While in South Sudan, the EU said, Lenarcic will visit Pibor in Jonglei state and nearby areas to assess the food insecurity and other humanitarian needs and the response funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO). Lenarcic is also scheduled to meet the highest authorities in South Sudan and will brief a selected team of (...) - News / Humanitarian, South Sudan

April 19, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan's ministry of health says it plans to dispose of the expired 60,000 doses of covid-19 vaccines donated by the African Union in partnership with the mobile operator, MTN. The consignment of 60,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine arrived last week. Speaking to journalists during the weekly press briefing on Sunday, the Covid-19 Incident Manager in South Sudan, Dr. Richard Laku said the health ministry is not using the 60,000 doses of expired vaccines. “The (...) - News / South Sudan, Coronavirus, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

April 19, 20201 (JUBA) - The Japanese government has donated $6.5 million to help World Food Programme (WFP) fight food insecurity in South Sudan. This contribution, WPF said in a statement issued Tuesday, is timely at the start of the lean season when more than 7.2 million people in South Sudan are expected to face acute food shortages. According to the agency, the latest donation consists of $4.5 million for life-saving food assistance to people who are severely food insecure and $ 2 (...) - News / South Sudan, WFP - World Food Program

April 19, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan has officially repealed a law on boycotting Israel paving the way for full normalization with Tel Aviv. «In a joint meeting of the Sovereign Council and the Council of Ministers, we approved a bill to cancel the Israel boycott law,» announced Sudan's Justice Minister Nasr al-Din Abdel Bari in a tweet on Monday. Sudanese political groups did not yet reach a deal on the sharing of the parliamentary seats. Until then, the legislative power is exercised by (...) - News

April 18, 2021 (JUBA/RUMBEK) - At least 16 civilians were killed and 20 others wounded in renewed communal clashes in South Sudan's Lakes State over the weekend, an official said. The state minister of culture, youth and sports, William Koji Kirjok said the clashes occurred between Gony and Thuyic communities at the Manyangrel cattle camp. «We are still waiting for more reports from police who are now on the ground,» he told Xinhua on Sunday, adding that security forces have been sent to (...) - News

April 18, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government reiterated its keenness to address violence against women across the country. Sudan's Social Affairs Ministry and the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) launched on Sunday a workshop to review the government's strategy to end violence against women in Sudan. Speaking at the opening session Social Affairs Minister Ahmed Adam Bakhit stressed that the issue of violence against women is one of his government top priorities. "Women are (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, Gender

April 18, 2021 (NEW YORK) – A United States senator has expressed disappointment over the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's failure to withdraw Eritrean forces from the Tigray region, remove obstacles to humanitarian access and hold perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable. “I'm concerned by atrocities continuing to occur across #Ethiopia—inside & outside of Tigray,” Senator Chris Coons tweeted Friday. Early this month, Ethiopian authorities said Eritrean troops started (...) - News / South Sudan, Ethiopia, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

April 18, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan has called on the African countries to support its call for a legally binding agreement of the Ethiopian giant dam before the second filling. Foreign and irrigation ministers held an extensive videoconference briefing on Sunday with the African ambassadors in Khartoum about the failure of Kinshasa's meeting and Sudan's proposal for a four-way mediation led by the African Union. Mariam al-Mahdi "explained Sudan's firm position on the need to reaching a (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY, Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)

April 17, 2021 (PRETORIA) – South Sudan's President Salva Kiir on Saturday held a meeting with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa and discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to the ongoing implementation of the revitalized peace agreement. The two presidents, the South Sudanese presidency said in a statement, also discussed ways of strengthening and deepening the bilateral relations between South Africa and the East African nation. Kiir is on a three-visit to South Africa on (...) - News / South Sudan, South Africa, Diplomacy - International Relations, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

April 17, 2021 (EL-FASHER) - The second batch of Sudan Liberation Forces Alliance (SLFA) arrived Saturday in the North Darfur capital El-Fasher. The alliance is led by Tahir Hajar who is also a member of the Transitional Sovereign Council. The forces led by Commander Abdallah Bashir Jali were welcomed by a number of military and civilian official of the North Darfur government. According to the UN experts panel, the SLFA fighters were in Libya fighting along with the Libyan National Army (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, Democratic Transition in Sudan

April 18, 2021 (NEW YORK) – A United States senator has expressed disappointment over the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's failure to withdraw Eritrean forces from the Tigray region, remove obstacles to humanitarian access and hold perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable. “I'm concerned by atrocities continuing to occur across #Ethiopia—inside & outside of Tigray,” Senator Chris Coons tweeted Friday. Early this month, Ethiopian authorities said Eritrean troops started (...) - News / South Sudan, Ethiopia, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

April 17, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's peace partners have agreed to increase Darfur joint force to 20,000 troops and to establish rapid reaction units to preserve security in the restive region. On 10 April, the Security and Defence Council (SDC) decided to deploy joint forces including former rebels as agreed in the peace deal even if these troops have not yet been fully prepared, as a result of the surge in inter-communal violence in Darfur. Hadi Idris, Transitional Sovereign Council (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

The Government is bent on postponing the elections: a response to the statement of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs dated 14 April 2021. By Lam Akol The Press Secretary of the President of South Sudan held a press conference on Wednesday, 14 April 2021, in which he distributed an 11-page document titled “Response to Peter Biar Ajak's Senate Testimony” in the name of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs. The document was an attempt to respond to the statements made by Dr Peter Biar Ajak (...) - Comment & Analysis / South Sudan's transition

April 16, 2021 (JUBA)- President Salva Kiir on Friday arrived in Pretoria, South Africa, for talks on bilateral relations with his counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa. Kiir is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Beatrice Khamisa Wani and the Minister of Presidential Affairs Barnaba Marial Benjamin. President Salva Kiir Mayardit was seen off on Thursday afternoon at Juba international airport by the first deputy Riek Machar and several senior government (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

April 16, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit has appointed new military chiefs, said a statement issued by the presidency on Friday. on 11 April, Kiir appointed Lt Gen Santino Deng Wol as the new chief of staff of the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF). Also, he removed the deputy minister of defence and the director-general of the security services. In a presidential order released on Friday, Kiir appointed Lt Genl Thoi Chany Reat as the deputy chief of (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

April 16, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The security failure in West Darfur State is caused by the slow implementation of decisions by the state governor and the lack of cooperation with the security services, said the head of the Sovereign Council on Friday. This week, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan paid a two-day visit to West Darfur where he met with the local political, tribal, and social components and made important decisions to prevent the resumption of inter-communal violence in the state. On 13 (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

April 15, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Darfur joint forces including former rebels will be formed within two weeks, said the head of the government negotiating team with the armed groups in western Sudan on Thursday. Mohamed Hassan Eltaishi who is also a member of the Sovereign Council told the Sudan News Agency on Thursday that several reasons delayed the formation of the joint force to maintain peace and security in Darfur. "This led to a change in the security arrangements implementation matrix (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, Democratic Transition in Sudan

April 15, 2021 (WASHINGTON) – The United States on Thursday announced more than $95 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of South Sudan who are affected by the ongoing political conflict and are facing extreme food insecurity, including likely famine. The funding includes more than $52 million from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and nearly $43 million from the US Department of State, which brings the total US humanitarian assistance for this year (...) - News / United States (US), Development - Aid, South Sudan

April 15, 2021 (JUBA) – South Sudan has the potential to become a tourist destination and the oil and mineral riches to spur economic progress if it can eliminate corruption and establish a transparent and open government, a top United Nations official said Thursday. “If you [South Sudan] had stability, you would have a tourist industry that could rival any of the countries in East Africa, the Nile, the animals, and its extraordinary,” said David Shearer, the outgoing head of the United (...) - News / South Sudan, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, UNMISS - United Nations Mission in South Sudan

April 15, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's acceptance to the United Arab Emirati (UAE)'s initiative on the border standoff with Ethiopia depends on placing border markers first, said the spokesperson of the national security council on Thursday. In a statement released after a meeting chaired by the head of Sovereign Council with the participation of the prime minister, Defence Minister Yssain Ibrahim said the meeting discussed the UAE's initiative among others. Ibrahim and Foreign Minister Mariam (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

April 14, 2021 (JUBA) - The recent changes in the top leadership of the South Sudanese army (SSPDF) are likely to delay the graduation of the unified forces, an official said. Lam Paul Gabriel, the ministry of defense spokesperson said the sacking of the army chief of staff, Gen. Johnson Juma Okot and replacing him with Santino Deng Wol will affect implementation of the security arrangement. "The pending tasks on the security arrangement are paused due to the new SSPDF deployments and are (...) - News / South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF), FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY