Latest news with #Nuer
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
South Sudan's main opposition party rejects president's call for dialogue to avoid civil war
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan 's main opposition party on Thursday dismissed a presidential call for dialogue to avoid the country slipping back into a civil war due to stalled peace talks. Pal Mai Deng, a spokesperson for the opposition SPLM-IO, said President Salva Kiir 'must release political and military leaders of the SPLM-IO who are in detention to show his seriousness about the dialogue.' During the reopening of parliament on Wednesday, Kiir said there was a need for unity and national reconciliation, adding that the 'doors of peace remain open.' 'The suffering of our people must not be prolonged by the continued rejection of dialogue,' he said. The situation in South Sudan remains tense after Vice President Riek Machar — Kiir's former rival — was placed under house arrest following an attack on army bases in March. Several members of the SPLM-IO opposition party have gone into exile fearing arrests. South Sudan signed a peace agreement in 2018, ending a five-year civil war in which nearly 400,000 people died as forces loyal to Kiir and Machar clashed. Deng told The Associated Press that Kiir's appeal was 'paradoxical and insincere' due to the arrests of opposition officials and army attacks on opposition forces. 'Before he (Kiir) urged the parties to resume dialogue, he needed to stop military campaigns against SPLM-IO forces and indiscriminate killing of Nuer civilians he considered anti-government,' said the exiled spokesperson. The CEPO civil society group has warned that Machar's detention has made the continuation of talks impractical. 'The absence of Machar in the function of the government in day-to-day business of the government is making the government of national unity unbalanced,' Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of CEPO, said. The United Nation warned last month that a 2018 peace agreement was on the verge of collapse due to escalating violence, political repression, and foreign military involvement. Yasmin Sooka, chairperson of the UN's Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, described the situation as a 'crisis' adding that the peace agreement was at the 'brink of irrelevance, threatening a total collapse.'
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
South Sudan's main opposition party rejects president's call for dialogue to avoid civil war
JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan 's main opposition party on Thursday dismissed a presidential call for dialogue to avoid the country slipping back into a civil war due to stalled peace talks. Pal Mai Deng, a spokesperson for the opposition SPLM-IO, said President Salva Kiir 'must release political and military leaders of the SPLM-IO who are in detention to show his seriousness about the dialogue.' During the reopening of parliament on Wednesday, Kiir said there was a need for unity and national reconciliation, adding that the 'doors of peace remain open.' 'The suffering of our people must not be prolonged by the continued rejection of dialogue,' he said. The situation in South Sudan remains tense after Vice President Riek Machar — Kiir's former rival — was placed under house arrest following an attack on army bases in March. Several members of the SPLM-IO opposition party have gone into exile fearing arrests. South Sudan signed a peace agreement in 2018, ending a five-year civil war in which nearly 400,000 people died as forces loyal to Kiir and Machar clashed. Deng told The Associated Press that Kiir's appeal was 'paradoxical and insincere' due to the arrests of opposition officials and army attacks on opposition forces. 'Before he (Kiir) urged the parties to resume dialogue, he needed to stop military campaigns against SPLM-IO forces and indiscriminate killing of Nuer civilians he considered anti-government,' said the exiled spokesperson. The CEPO civil society group has warned that Machar's detention has made the continuation of talks impractical. 'The absence of Machar in the function of the government in day-to-day business of the government is making the government of national unity unbalanced,' Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of CEPO, said. The United Nation warned last month that a 2018 peace agreement was on the verge of collapse due to escalating violence, political repression, and foreign military involvement. Yasmin Sooka, chairperson of the UN's Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, described the situation as a 'crisis' adding that the peace agreement was at the 'brink of irrelevance, threatening a total collapse.' Machol writes for the Associated Press.
6 days ago
- Politics
South Sudan's main opposition party rejects president's call for dialogue to avoid civil war
JUBA, South Sudan -- JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan 's main opposition party on Thursday dismissed a presidential call for dialogue to avoid the country slipping back into a civil war due to stalled peace talks. Pal Mai Deng, a spokesperson for the opposition SPLM-IO, said President Salva Kiir 'must release political and military leaders of the SPLM-IO who are in detention to show his seriousness about the dialogue.' During the reopening of parliament on Wednesday, Kiir said there was a need for unity and national reconciliation, adding that the 'doors of peace remain open.' 'The suffering of our people must not be prolonged by the continued rejection of dialogue,' he said. The situation in South Sudan remains tense after Vice President Riek Machar — Kiir's former rival — was placed under house arrest following an attack on army bases in March. Several members of the SPLM-IO opposition party have gone into exile fearing arrests. South Sudan signed a peace agreement in 2018, ending a five-year civil war in which nearly 400,000 people died as forces loyal to Kiir and Machar clashed. Deng told The Associated Press that Kiir's appeal was 'paradoxical and insincere' due to the arrests of opposition officials and army attacks on opposition forces. 'Before he (Kiir) urged the parties to resume dialogue, he needed to stop military campaigns against SPLM-IO forces and indiscriminate killing of Nuer civilians he considered anti-government,' said the exiled spokesperson. The CEPO civil society group has warned that Machar's detention has made the continuation of talks impractical. 'The absence of Machar in the function of the government in day-to-day business of the government is making the government of national unity unbalanced,' Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of CEPO, said. The United Nation warned last month that a 2018 peace agreement was on the verge of collapse due to escalating violence, political repression, and foreign military involvement. Yasmin Sooka, chairperson of the UN's Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, described the situation as a 'crisis' adding that the peace agreement was at the 'brink of irrelevance, threatening a total collapse.'
Al Taghyeer
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Taghyeer
Ugandan troops deployed following autopsy and burial of slain Sudanese refugee
The body of Sudanese refugee, Kabashi Idris Kafi, who was killed in a violent attack on refugee settlement, Saturday evening, was laid to rest in Kiryandongo camp, Bwera district, following submission of an official autopsy report signed by the UNHCR, the Ugandan police, and the Office of the Prime Minister. Kampala: Altaghyeer Sudanese community in Kiryandongo refugee camp in Uganda organized a funeral on Sunday evening for Kabashi Idris Kafi who was killed in a violent attack launched by the Nuer community of South Sudan on Saturday evening. The funeral was organised amid strict security measures and deployment of the Ugandan army around the refugee areas. More than 50 other Sudanese refugees were wounded in the attack which is the second wave of violence within the last few days. This camp hosts thousands of Sudanese who fled the ongoing war in their country. Meanwhile, the Ugandan authorities on Sunday held a meeting with the leaders of the Sudanese refugee community and leaders from the Nuer community resulting in a package of security and administrative measures to contain the situation. The meeting was chaired by the district governor, with the participation of the army commander, police and security leaders, and officials from the UNHCR, alongside representatives from organizations working in Uganda, and leaders from the Sudanese refugee community and the Nuer community. The meeting approved several measures, most notably imposing a dusk to dawn curfew, 7 pm to 7 am, and deploying units of the Ugandan army inside the settlements, head of the Sudanese refugee community, Hussein Hashem Timan, said in statements. Timan confirmed that the Nuer community leaders showed full cooperation with the authorities to arrest those involved in the attack, and acknowledged that the crisis resulted from disputes over agricultural land used by Sudanese refugees. Some Nuer community leaders noted that a segment of their youth felt uneasy about the privileges enjoyed by Sudanese inside the camp, especially regarding the agricultural land.
TimesLIVE
08-07-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
South Sudan's President Kiir fires army chief after seven months in post
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has fired the country's army chief after seven months in the post and named a replacement, according to an announcement on state radio. No reason was given for the firing of Paul Nang Majok in the announcement late on Monday. Majok had been in the post since December. The announcement said Kiir had appointed Dau Aturjong as the chief of defence forces. Majok was in charge of the army while fighting raged between the army and the White Army, an ethnic militia largely comprising Nuer youths, triggering the country's latest political crisis. "There has been a tradition that when you are appointed, or reassigned there are no reasons [given] for getting appointed and there are no reasons given for getting relieved. It is normal," said Lul Ruai Koang, South Sudan army spokesperson.
