Day: August 14, 2022

in South Darfur over the last two weeks. Heavy rainfall continues across Darfur destroying more homes and infrastructure.

Sheikh Ishag Mohamed, head of Kalma camp, told Radio Dabanga that of the 2,322 minors 767 are severely malnourished and 30 others are permanently confined to camp health centers in the camp.

He said the reason for this rise in child malnourishment is the World Food Program (WFP) recent suspension of support to a large number of displaced people along with their decision to hand out money instead of food.

Shortage of food

In El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, displaced people from several nearby camps complained of a severe shortage of food on Tuesday, which they say, is compounding rising child malnutrition.

Mohamed Abdallah, head of nearby Zamzam camp, said the delayed arrival of financial support from international organizations, along with difficulties accessing clean drinking water, were behind the spike in malnutrition. He has called on the government to intervene and help address the challenges facing the camps.

Ahmad Adam, director of El Fasher Locality, said their had been renewed efforts to provide food and communicate with international organizations so that they can fulfil their obligations to displaced people.

More rain hits South Darfur

Sheikh Ishag Mohamed also told Radio Dabanga that torrential rain on Wednesday and Thursday destroyed 7,490 homes in Kalma camp, affecting around 20,000 families. Most of those affected are without shelter or food, Mohamed said. He has appealed to the government and other humanitarian organizations for help.

Over the past two weeks, heavy rainfall has sparked flash flooding across several Sudanese states.

Torrential rain also swept through the city of Ed El Fursan, in South Darfur, during the early hours of Thursday morning. Witnesses from the city told Radio Dabanga that waters from the river Wadi Kaya submerged most of the city exceeding the level of the local dam. Citizens who spoke with Sudanese media expressed fear that flooding will lead to a deterioration in hygiene levels and the collapse of the city’s sewage system.

Floods also swept through the village of Um Zaifa in South Darfur. People from the village told Radio Dabanga that conditions are critical and that many are without shelter.

An emergency meeting Room has been called in South Darfur headed by Deputy Governor Bashir Moursal while Civil Defence and Health Department have been directed to offer support in affected areas.

Source: Radio Dabanga

According to ICG’s Alan Boswell, the resilience of Sudan’s protest movement since October’s coup and the apparent willingness of Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, Commander-in-Chief of Sudan’s army, to allow civilians to form a government, could facilitate progress.

‘‘At its heart, the stalemate concerning government formation puts Burhan and his allies in the security forces against the youth-led movement that mounted the protests ending in Bashir’s ouster,’’ Boswell said.

‘‘Young Sudanese activists in particular are furious with the army’s decades of meddling in the country’s politics and it’s control of large sectors of the economy,’’ he added.

Since October’s military coup Sudan has been stuck in political deadlock. Police and security forces frequently clash with ongoing pro-democracy demonstrations and have killed more than 100 protesters, report Sudanese medical groups.

In July, El Burhan said he would allow the formation of a civilian government. The move was rejected and denounced by pro-democracy groups.

For Boswell, fragmentation in both camps is another major issue of concern. He suggests that El Burhan’s loose hold over all of Sudan’s various armed groups could fall apart if he makes great concessions to the protesters. Likewise, the civilian opposition is united only in its aims to oust Bashir, lacking a united vision for the future of the country, Boswell argues.

The ICG director also stated that international actors still have a key role. ‘‘It is important that international partners coordinate pressure on Sudan’s military leadership to assent to a civilian-led transition, as they originally agreed to three years ago.’’

Source: Radio Dabanga

The South Sudan Council of Churches has initiated a plan for peace and reconciliation in Ikotos County of Eastern Equatoria State, where innocent lives were lost due to inter-communal conflicts and cattle raids.

Speaking after a meeting with local community leaders and politicians from Ikotos in Torit town on Friday, Fr. Peter Ben Louis, a Catholic priest at St. Theresa Isohe Parish of Torit Diocese, said they have called Ikotos County leaders together to talk about peace by drawing a road map to handle the crisis in the area.

“We agreed that all our politicians, opinion leaders, elders in the county to converge on Monday for a two-day retreat from 15th to the 16th; then after that, there will be a journey to Ikotos to Isoke to also get the second stage of this reconciliation that is to meet the stakeholders,” Fr. Louis told Radio Tamazuj.

Father Luis described the continuous attack on citizens in the area as alarming.

“It is a very alarming situation, so painful that is why we are taking the lead to make sure that this is brought to an end because there is no way the church will continue to watch things getting out of hand and am also grateful to our political leaders who are also ready. It was a clear indication that our leaders are ready to be together to share difference so that they come with one voice no to violence and yes to peace,” he said.

Fr. Louis further called on the warring communities to deescalate all forms of tensions and give a chance for peace to return to the area.

“Let this be very clear to the people on the ground that there should be no further killings, cattle raiding, robbing of people’s properties, burning of houses. This is our message let them be patient,” Fr. Louis stressed.

Meanwhile, Rev Bishop Joswa Lokurudek of the Evangelical Grace Gospel Church and the Chairperson for the Network of Pastors in Eastern Equatoria called on the people of Greater Ikotos to stop the violence.

“We are urging them to stop this because this violence cannot take them anywhere. The bible say never pay back evil with evil and to anyone respect what is right in the sight of all men and be at peace with all men, so we are calling our communities, our youth chiefs, elders, church leaders, MPs, and politicians let us join our hands together and bring total peace to Ikotos County,” Rev. Joswa said.

William Okot De Tobby the Chairperson for Greater Ikotos Community, expressed anger over the ongoing crises in the area.

He blames members of the community there for instigating the conflicts.

“It is us to put a stop to this crisis, and we have come as leaders under the umbrella of the church who are leading us in this peace talks that we need to come and go on the ground, so we are in a move. We came from Juba and met the political leaders in Torit, and the meeting was very good. People were together in mind and promised to act together, so we will be going to the ground to meet, especially the two communities who were fighting among themselves although not in a clear way, there are killings by unknown gunmen you don’t know who are these doing these,” De Tobby said.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Two members of the Jonglei State parliament have rejected the suspension of their membership in the assembly by State Governor Denay Jock Chagor, calling it a political witch-hunt.

On Thursday, Governor Denay, who also chairs the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) in the state, suspended Anter Bayak and Gabriel Gatluak. The two suspended MPs are also members of the alliance.

But the suspended MPs remained adamant and told Radio Tamazuj on Saturday that they would continue discharging their duties despite the suspension order from the governor.

Lawmaker Gatluak, who represents Ayod County, said: “Denay is from SSUM, and I am from FDP. The governor’s decision on my dismissal is unlawful and is related to the impeachment of the finance minister. As MPs, we are defending the state constitution and citizen rights.”

Anter Bayak, another suspended MP, said he would not heed the suspension because he thinks the suspension was nonprocedural and that the governor does have the right to suspend him through a decree.

Meanwhile, Ter Manyang, a civil society activist with the Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), appealed to Governor Denay to reconsider the suspension, saying the country’s constitution grants MPs rights to oversee the executive.

“I believe the governor was unhappy because these two MPs raised a motion to remove the state finance minister and the assembly’s information committee chairperson. The peace agreement does not allow the governor to suspend these MPs because they are not from his party,” he said. “He could have written to the head of the FDP party who has authority over the MPs.”

For her part, Grace Mathot, the acting assembly’s spokesperson, said they learnt about the suspension of the MPs via the media. “We heard the decree being read out on Radio Jonglei. As the assembly, we are still waiting to be officially informed.”

Source: Radio Tamazuj

The construction of the University of Western Equatoria has resumed after nearly a year of halt following violence in the area.

The construction of the University was initiated by the State Governor on 22 December 2020, but work was halted after the eruption of armed violence in Tambura County. The university will have public health, agriculture and education facilities.

Speaking during a visit to the site on Monday, Governor Alfred Futuyo Karaba instructed the company working on the institution to resume work, saying the security situation returned to normalcy.

“When I came as Governor, I came so that I do something that people can see and point; we started with Freedom Square and University,” Governor Futuyo said.

Futuyo’s government contributed a sum of ten million South Sudanese Pounds to support the construction work of the university building.

He appealed to well-wishers and partners in the country to offer a helping hand to complete the work.

“We agreed as the state’s government that this time we will start with ten million South Sudanese Pounds, which we will give to the constructors, to begin with. Also, we brought partners to help us, if anyone with cement or iron sheet and any construction materials which is leftover bring for us to finish this work, if the work finished, we will expand it to be as Boarding,” Futuyo said.

Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Samson, said he was on the ground to see the building. He also disclosed that the first intake of the university is expected to take place in 2023.

“We came here because the curriculum of this University is already completed, and we are due to have admission which is going to be in 2023, so my mission here is to see how far we have gone with the building because this is our pride, as you know education is paramount. And in Western Equatoria, we are struggling to get this university established because the citizens of this state send their children out to Uganda and Kenya for education where they spent dollars,” Prof. Samson.

Christopher Murange, the Head of Field Office for UNMISS in the state, appreciated the state government for the initiative and pledged to support the construction of the university.

“I think we will look forward to receiving a concept from the Vice Counsellor and the governor’s office, and then we look at our various mandates within the UN family and the development partners and see which area we can come in to provide support,” Murange said.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Flooding caused by torrential rains in Sudan have killed at least 52 people and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes, state media reported.

Heavy rains usually fall in Sudan between May and October, and the country faces severe flooding every year, wrecking properties, infrastructure, and crops.

“A total of 52 people have been killed and 25 others wounded due to torrential rains and floods since the beginning of the fall season,” SUNA reported, quoting Abdel Jalil Abdelreheem, spokesman for Sudan’s National Council for Civil Defense.

Abdelreheem said 5,345 houses had been destroyed and 2,862 damaged across Sudan. Other public facilities, shops, and agricultural lands were also damaged.

North and South Kordofan states, River Nile state, and South Darfur were among the most affected across Sudan, he noted.

In a Monday report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that around 38,000 people across Sudan had been affected by rains and floods since the start of the rainy season.

About 314,500 people were affected across Sudan during the rainy season of 2021, according to OCHA.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK