Latest news with #UnitedNationsMission
Zawya
29-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Stability spurs agricultural boom along Central Equatoria's main supply corridor
Abawu Lorna operates a modest stall at one of the bustling markets in Aru Junction, a lively town in Central Equatoria. As the breadwinner, she is taking care of her family, including her unemployed husband, and the cost of sending her five children to school. While the financial burden is heavy, Abawu's business is one of many benefiting from an increase in local produce from nearby farms. "We used to buy all commodities from Uganda, but since farmers have improved production here, we are now sourcing locally at a cheaper price." Her story is one of the many that Radio Miraya, operated by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, is spotlighting as it focuses on the immense challenges facing the world's newest nation, including an economic crisis, rising conflict, and a stalled peace deal. Strategically located along one of the busiest highways, Aru Junction links the capital Juba to Uganda, making it the main supply route for commodities, ranging from food to building materials. The steady stream of travelers brings brisk business opportunities, particularly benefitting farmers. Central Equatoria's climate, marked by a distinct long rainy season stretching from April to November, makes it possible for farmers to cultivate and harvest twice a year. Located on the plains of this region, Aru Junction's fertile soil makes tilling the land particularly lucrative. But for farmers, the relative peace and stability in this area is just as important. 'When there is enough food, there is no violence,' says community leader, Sultan Isaac Ladu Sarafino, speaking on Radio Miraya's Community Conversations programme. Sarafino tells the audience that, despite challenges such as limited access to capital, Aru Junction farmers can make the most of their location and the peace it offers to cultivate both for subsistence and market sale. The stability at Aru Junction is also enticing people who previously left the area to return. Betty Ropani, who fled to Uganda when conflict broke out in her village in Yei in 2016, has resettled in Aru Junction. Using land allocated to her by local authorities, she now grows maize and tomatoes. She believes a small loan could significantly boost the gains she is already realizing from cultivation. 'I want to acquire more land so that I can support my children still in Uganda,' says the mother of four. Betty was among a group of residents who gathered at the Aru Junction Administration office for a community outreach event hosted by UNMISS. The residents are concerned about violence in other parts of the state. 'We want to connect with other areas and trade there,' remarked one resident, 'But, for now, we are separated by insecurity.' The Boma Administrator echoes the need for strengthened security and acknowledges the impact of Nepalese peacekeepers who regularly patrol the area. 'Your presence in this area gives us confidence. We would like to see more of this across the state, so we can open trade corridors for our farmers and traders,' says Andama Zakeyo Hussein. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Time Magazine
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Time Magazine
As Trump Considers Striking Iran, Russia Warns World Is ‘Millimeters' Away From Nuclear Catastrophe
A U.S. attack on Iran, which President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing for the possibility of, would 'radically destabilize the entire situation,' warned Russia's deputy foreign minister, as the war between Israel and Iran continues to escalate. Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax news agency on Wednesday that Russia has advised the U.S. against direct involvement in the conflict, which has already killed hundreds in Iran and dozens in Israel since it . Ryabkov's comments come after Trump demanded Iran's 'unconditional surrender' as he openly pondered authorizing U.S. strikes on the nation's nuclear program. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump's demand on Wednesday and warned that the U.S. would suffer 'irreparable damage' if it joins the war. Iran and the U.S. have since sent mixed messages about their openness to resolving tensions peacefully. 'Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance,' Iran's United Nations Mission said in a statement Wednesday after Trump suggested that Iran had proposed a meeting at the White House. In a separate statement hours later, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted that Iran 'remain[s] committed to diplomacy'—with the sole exception of its dealings with Israel, against which Iran has maintained its military actions since last Friday's attack are in 'self-defense.' Trump offered a cryptic response Wednesday when asked how he was leaning on the question of a strike: 'I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' he told reporters. The Wall Street Journal later reported that the President approved attack plans but was holding off on the final order to see if Iran would abandon its nuclear program, hoping that the threat of U.S. intervention would force Iran's hand to surrender. 'I like to make the final decision one second before it's due,' Trump told reporters. A source told ABC on Wednesday that Trump has grown comfortable with the idea of striking Iran's underground Fordow nuclear facility, after Axios reported that he wanted to make sure the plan would succeed in destroying Iran's nuclear program. Russia, a longtime ally of Iran and nuclear-armed adversary of the U.S., has sounded the alarm about the potential globally-devastating consequences of the conflict, especially should the U.S. military get more involved. 'Nuclear facilities are being struck,' foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Reuters on Wednesday. 'Where is the [concern from the] entire world community? Where are all the environmentalists?' The world, Zakharova warned, is 'millimeters' away from catastrophe. What's at stake for Russia as Trump turns down Putin's offers to mediate Earlier this week, Trump said he was open to Russia mediating in the Middle East, but after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump told reporters Wednesday that he turned down an offer. 'I said, 'Do me a favor. Mediate your own. Let's mediate Russia first.' I said, 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first. You can worry about [this] later,'' Trump said. 'It's a delicate issue,' Putin told senior news leaders on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Wednesday. 'In my view, a solution could be found.' Putin said he has shared proposals for mediation with Iran, Israel, and the U.S. 'We are not imposing anything on anyone; we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,' Putin said. While a prominent Russian general claimed after Israel's initial attack on Iran last Friday that 'World War III' had begun and called for Moscow to prepare the mobilization of a million troops, experts say Russia is unlikely to intervene militarily. Earlier this year, Russia and Iran deepened their ties with the signing of a strategic partnership, which promised greater economic and military cooperation but crucially did not include a mutual defense clause. Middle East analyst Marianna Belenkaya told news outlet DW that Russia, which is enmeshed in its own resource-draining war with Ukraine that Trump has pressured Putin to end, is 'trying to restore or improve relations with Washington.' Belenkaya suggested that Russia feels no urgent need to offer direct military support, 'although some behind-the-scenes involvement can't be ruled out entirely.' Hanna Notte, a Russia and Middle East expert at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, posted in a thread on X, that Russia is more likely to focus on trying to take up the role of mediator and calling for deescalation through international bodies. Russia is navigating a 'fine balancing act: How to appear helpful to the U.S. while not freaking out Iran,' Notte wrote. 'For now, Russia will play its cards cautiously & observe how the situation plays out - understanding that it has [limited] leverage over the course of events And try to be involved in whatever comes next, while avoiding entanglement/overextension.' In fact, the turmoil could even prove helpful for Russia, at least in the short term. Russian oil prices rose 15% following the outbreak of the conflict. More critically, it distracts from the war in Ukraine, which has already been sidelined as Trump cancelled a June 17 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to focus on the Middle East. 'Ukraine will suffer the greatest military and political damage in this situation, apart from Iran itself,' said Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Moscow-based think tank Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, according to the Guardian. 'A new war in the Middle East will not only distract the world's attention from the [war in Ukraine] but will also, apparently, contribute to the final reorientation of the U.S. towards providing military assistance to Israel.' Still, Russia has a lot to lose. Destabilization in the region could spill over into the South Caucasus where Russia exerts its influence, Notte said on X. And an Iranian regime collapse risks an already diplomatically isolated Russia losing one of its few remaining allies. 'If this regime falls, I think it will be much harder for Russia to retain its assets and influence in the country,' Notte told the Guardian. Russia has invested billions of dollars into gas, energy and infrastructure projects in Iran over the past two years. Russia, along with China and Pakistan, requested that the U.N. Security Council holds a second emergency meeting on the conflict, which has been scheduled for Friday. European diplomats will also hold nuclear talks with Iranian officials in Geneva on Friday, a European official told the Associated Press. The meeting will include diplomats from Germany, France, and the U.K., but currently is not set to include the U.S. Russia urges U.S. not to attack Iran, accuses Israel of sabotaging diplomacy Trump initially disclaimed involvement in Israel's attacks on Iran but has since shifted towards an increasingly threatening stance. That has included repositioning U.S. forces, warships, and aircraft to Middle East bases for ' defensive ' purposes earlier this week and urging 'everyone' in Tehran—a city of 9.5 million—to immediately evacuate. When asked by reporters about his warning, Trump said, 'I just want people to be safe.' Among the steps Trump could take is a strike to kill Khamenei, which he suggested the U.S. is capable of doing in a Tuesday Truth Social post —a plan that Israel reportedly initially proposed but Trump previously rejected. Of the idea, Putin said on Wednesday, 'I don't even want to discuss such a possibility.' Another possible route the U.S. could take is striking Iran's deep-underground uranium-enrichment facility at Fordow, which would require powerful bunker-buster bombs that only the U.S. has in its arsenal. Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter in a Wednesday interview with CNN expressed confidence in Israel's ability to destroy Fordow but did not go into detail about whether that would entail U.S. support. 'It might require multiple strikes, it might require something else or it might require one of our surprises,' Leiter said. 'We have a few tricks up our sleeves.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump on Wednesday, saying in a national address that the two leaders 'speak constantly.' Israel, which has placed pressure on the U.S. to join the war, has also upped its objectives. Leiter said that Israel must eliminate Iran's ability to make ballistic missiles—in addition to its initial stated aim of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. 'They cannot have the weapons that can destroy Israel, which they claim and which they want to do every day,' Leiter said. Iran has maintained, which Russia has publicly supported, that it has the right to enrich its uranium in line with its civilian nuclear program under the United Nations' Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation. U.S. intelligence earlier this year concluded that, while Iran has enriched uranium to unprecedented levels, the country was not believed to be developing nuclear weapons, though Trump has since dismissed those reports, saying 'I think they were very close to having them.' Analysts have warned that Israel's attacks may actually incentivize Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, rather than deterring it. Aragchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said in his statement Wednesday that 'we have never sought and will never seek nuclear weapons. If otherwise, what better pretext could we possibly need for developing those inhuman weapons than the current aggression by the region's only nuclear-armed regime?' The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, said it has lost track of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Because of ongoing Israeli attacks, inspectors are unable to verify the location of the stockpile, which should be secured at an underground facility at Isfahan but that Tehran had warned the IAEA could be moved in the event of an Israeli attack. In a statement after Israel's attack last Friday, Russia's foreign ministry implied that Israel's strikes were a 'cynical' attempt to sabotage diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. was in the midst of protracted talks with Iran centered around the latter's nuclear program, though discussions had stalled somewhat as Trump Administration officials increased their demands on Iran toward zero nuclear enrichment. A sixth round of talks was meant to take place over the past weekend but was cancelled after Israel's surprise attack. Seemingly implicating the U.S. too, Russia's foreign ministry said in a Tuesday statement that 'the confrontational approach and destructive actions of the Israeli leadership receive understanding and support solely from those states which are de facto accomplices, motivated by opportunistic interests.' 'Israel's continued, intensive attacks,' the Tuesday statement said, 'drive the world closer to a nuclear catastrophe.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration deported Asian immigrants to South Sudan in ‘blatant defiance' of court order, attorneys say
Donald Trump's administration has deported at least two Asian nationals to war-torn South Sudan in defiance of a court order blocking their removal, according to court documents. On Monday night, two immigrants from Myanmar and Vietnam held in federal custody were abruptly notified that they would be deported to the African nation, which the State Department reports is plagued by slavery, kidnapping, sexual abuse, torture and extrajudicial killings. By Tuesday morning, the men were already on a plane with at least 10 other immigrants, according to their lawyers. Attorneys have filed an emergency request to a federal judge in Boston to order their 'immediate' return to the United States. District Judge Brian Murphy previously blocked the government from deporting people to so-called 'third-party countries,' and he has already intervened to stop the administration from deporting people to Libya, another African nation in the grips of a humanitarian crisis. Earlier this month, Murphy ruled that any removals to Libya would 'clearly violate' his court order. The Burmese man identified in court documents as N.M. was initially scheduled to board one of those flights to Libya, according to his attorney. Their removal to South Sudan 'blatantly defies' the judge's order, attorneys wrote. A hearing in the case is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 21. The removal of immigrants from the United States to another foreign country would mark a significant escalation of the administration's aggressive anti-immigration platform, which already has sent several planes to Latin American countries, including El Salvador, where dozens of deportees are imprisoned in a notorious jail condemned by human rights groups. South Sudan, the world's youngest country, has experienced waves of violence and political instability since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011. Civil war broke out in December 2013, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. A peace agreement in 2018 ended the war and established a unity government, but the arrest of a vice president and opposition leader — compounded by military clashes with civilians — has created a rapidly deteriorating crisis, according to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Current conditions are 'darkly reminiscent' of the civil wars that killed more than 400,000 people, he said in March. Last month, the head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan warned that a standoff between forces loyal to the president and vice president have 'degenerated into direct military confrontation and escalated tensions across the country.' 'Another war is a risk South Sudan simply cannot afford, and nor can the wider region,' Nicholas Haysom told the U.N.'s security council.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘They came for us, to take our shelters and kill us': how violence returned to a shattered South Sudan
Night had already fallen on Juba, the capital of South Sudan, at about 7pm on 24 March, when an orange glow lit up the sky. It didn't take long before news spread that the government had carried out an airstrike. For weeks, clashes had taken place in remote parts of the country between the army of the president, Salva Kiir, and opposition forces, but never that close to the capital. The target – an opposition base in Wunaliet, 15km west of the city – was consumed in flames. Just hours before the airstrike, Nicholas Haysom, the head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss), had warned that the political and security situation in the country had deteriorated. 'We are left with no other conclusion but to assess that South Sudan is teetering on the edge of a relapse into civil war,' he told a press briefing. Tensions have been particularly high in the north-eastern state of Upper Nile. On 4 March, the White Army, a youth militia from the Nuer ethnic group loosely associated with the movement of the opposition leader and first vice-president, Riek Machar, overran a government army base in the town of Nasir, near the Ethiopian border. The base commander, general David Majur Dak, was killed three days later during an evacuation attempt by the UN, alongside a UN worker and dozens of soldiers. The government responded by arresting dozens of opposition figures in Juba, including the minister of petroleum, Puot Kang Chol. They were accused of being 'in conflict with the law' by the government spokesperson Michael Makuei Lueth, who blamed them for inciting those in Nasir. An aerial bombardment campaign was also launched in Upper Nile, involving the 'use of improvised air-dropped incendiary weapons [that] killed and horrifically burned dozens of people, including children, and destroyed civilian infrastructure', according to Human Rights Watch. To counter rising instability, the South Sudanese government asked the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) for help, based on a pre-existing military cooperation agreement. But Machar denounced the UPDF deployment as a violation of the 2018 arms embargo and the peace treaty, which ended five years of fighting that killed about 400,000 people. On 23 March, he said in a letter to the UN that the Ugandan intervention may lead to the collapse of the agreement. It was the last time Machar communicated publicly. Three days later, he was placed under house arrest. Amnesty International has also decried the involvement of Ugandan soldiers and called on the UN security council to renew the arms embargo when it expires at the end of this month. The government has repeatedly emphasised its commitment to the peace process. But calls for an end to the violence and Machar's release have been ignored, and the bombardment of opposition strongholds has continued in several parts of the country. A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in the town of Old Fangak, a safe haven for thousands of flood-displaced Nuer people in northern Jonglei state, was bombed on 3 May. Seven died and many were wounded in an attack that MSF denounced as a 'deliberate bombing' of the facility. *** Progress since the 2018 peace agreement has been slow. As part of the deal, and under pressure from the international community, Kiir agreed to share power with Machar, his longtime opponent. A unity government was formed in 2020, whose task was to unify the rival armed forces, reform the country and organise its first elections since independence in 2011. But an election initially envisioned for December 2022 has been postponed twice, and is now scheduled for December 2026. Seeing the peace process in tatters is particularly daunting for those who depend on it to rebuild their lives. John (not his real name), 55, lived in an overcrowded camp for internally displaced people (IDP) next to the Unmiss base on the outskirts of Juba for 11 years. Like tens of thousands of Nuer, he had run to the UN for protection at the beginning of the civil war in December 2013 (the camp was under UN peacekeepers' protection until 2020). But in October last year, he left 'because there are no humanitarian services and no food here', and moved into a friend's mud house in nearby Khor Ramla. There, he was trying to survive by working in agriculture and artisanal gold mining. When clashes erupted at several nearby military camps after 24 March, John says he became a target. 'After the army bombed Wunaliet, they attacked the opposition at other training centres and dispersed the soldiers [loyal to Riek Machar]' he says. 'Then they came for us, the Nuer staying in Khor Ramla, to take our shelters, and to kill us.' When the government soldiers started shooting, he escaped, barefoot, at night. More than a month later, injuries on his feet have still not healed. He says one of his colleagues was killed. John returned to the camp next to Unmiss on 28 March. According to humanitarian agencies, 4,000 people moved to IDP camps in March, 'as a precaution while tensions and fears of intercommunal violence are high'. But he does not feel safe. Five young men have been shot dead near the camp since the Nasir crisis, according to multiple sources, but 'the families do not want to open cases because they are afraid', John says. The people of South Sudan cannot heal in an environment of unending violence and political uncertainty Jackline Nasiwa Several others have disappeared. John gives the names of a woman who went to collect firewood and never came back, and of a man who went to his usual place to make charcoal, but never returned. 'We live in fear, we can't go out for our subsistence, and we have no idea what will happen next,' he says. 'What we need is protection from the peacekeepers until every chapter of the peace agreement is implemented.' Priyanka Chowdhury, a spokesperson for Unmiss, says: 'We have strengthened our countrywide protection efforts, including intensifying patrols and engagement with community leaders at internal displacement sites.' She emphasises, however, that 'the government of South Sudan is primarily responsible for protecting civilians'. Related: Young, old, refugees and returnees: thousands fleeing violence cross border into South Sudan On 7 March, when Kiir announced the death of Dak, the base commander in Nasir, he asked citizens 'not to take the law into their hands' and repeated his promise: 'I will never take this country back to war.' He also regretted that a 'normal routine with the armed forces became politicised', referring to the rotation of military personnel in Nasir, which had triggered local hostility. Questions have been raised over why the government didn't deploy the Necessary Unified Forces (NUF), the national army envisioned by the peace agreement, to quell tensions in the north. The government blamed the arms embargo, saying the NUF could not be deployed to conflict areas without proper weapons. In the meantime, South Sudan's tired and traumatised population is left wondering 'who will bring peace', says Jackline Nasiwa, executive director of the Centre for Inclusive Governance, Peace and Justice. 'The people of South Sudan cannot heal in an environment of unending violence and political uncertainty,' Nasiwa told the UN security council on 16 April. Despite its flaws, she believes the 2018 peace agreement remains 'the only viable option for the people of South Sudan to transition to democracy', stressing that 'the immediate needs on the ground are for civilian protection and unobstructed aid delivery'. *** On 8 April, students are waiting for the start of classes at a newly built secondary school next to Gorom refugee camp, 20km to the south-west of Juba. Mawichnyun Gatduong, 19, from the northern city of Bentiu, sits in the bright white classroom with a mix of students from nearby villages and Sudanese refugees staying in the camp. 'We have all heard the gunshots, and we didn't come to school for several days,' Gatduong says, referring to fighting around military camps south of Juba. 'I'm so worried about the situation because we don't know if they will end the war or not. 'It can affect young people like us, because someone can catch you and force you to be a soldier,' he says, advising other youths 'to be patient, stay in one place and not to move around apart from going to school'. His dream is to become a doctor. 'It is the only thing I am struggling for.'
Zawya
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) condemns air strikes in Fangak, calls for an immediate ceasefire
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) condemns continuing air strikes in Fangak, Jonglei state, which have led to civilian deaths, injuries and displacement as well as the destruction of humanitarian property. On 3 May, aerial bombardments in Old Fangak led to seven civilians being killed while some 27 others were injured and a Médecins Sans Frontières pharmacy was destroyed. This morning, an air strike near a World Food Programme warehouse in New Fangak has damaged a dyke protecting people in this remote location from floods. 'Such violence against civilians and clearly marked humanitarian facilities is unacceptable,' said Guang Cong, Deputy Special Representative, UNMISS. 'These attacks constitute a grave violation of international human rights and humanitarian law. Vitally, they contravene the Revitalized Peace Agreement and severely undermine ongoing efforts to establish durable peace in South Sudan,' he stated. 'We call on involved parties to prioritize civilian protection by recommitting to the Peace Agreement and the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and actioning an immediate ceasefire. We also urge South Sudanese authorities to investigate these incidents and hold those responsible to account,' added DSRSG Cong. UNMISS continues to engage with all stakeholders, including national and state authorities, security actors, uniformed personnel, community leaders, civil society organisations as well as international and regional partners to reduce tensions. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
