Kenya locks horns with ICC

[sudan]

Sudan urged the newly appointed U.S. president special envoy, Donald Booth to focus his efforts on improving bilateral relations between the two countries stressing that Khartoum and Juba work closely to resolve the outstanding issues and implement the signed agreements.

Donald arrived in his first visit to Khartoum on Saturday where he expressed that his mission consists in supporting Khartoum and Juba to resolve their differences and settle the outstanding issues.

Sudan’s foreign ministry undersecretary, Rahmatallah Mohamed Osman, met on Sunday with Booth and his accompanying delegation in the presence of the director of US department at the ministry, Mohamed Abdel Aziz Al-Tom, and the US chargé d’affaires in Khartoum, Joseph D. Stafford.

The Sudanese official said in a statement released following the meeting, said he responded to Booth’s statement by saying that Juba and Khartoum have made significant progress on the outstanding issues and added that the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) would help both countries to overcome all obstacles.

Osman pointed that the Sudanese government expects the new envoy to offer an integrated vision about his mission and how it will help improve relations between the two countries, saying that "Sudan hasn’t benefited from its cooperation with previous envoys which makes us question the role of the special envoys".

The diplomat said that unnamed entities are seeking to exercise pressure on the issue of the disputed Abyei area and pointed to similar cases around the world which took long-time to be settled, stressing that both parties are able to resolve their problems without external pressures.

He added that the U.S. should support the existing mechanisms for resolving the outstanding issues, pointing to the importance of agreeing to a clear plan to improve the US relations with Sudan first.

Osman stressed that lifting Sudan’s name from the list of states sponsoring terrorism is the first priority for improving relations and pointed that the U.S. Department of State annual reports on terrorism affirms that Sudan’s record is clean in this regard.

The new envoy seemingly is following a plan proposed by the former envoy Princeton Lyman who offered to Khartoum to work together to hold a referendum in Abyei as proposed by the African mediation without the participation of Sudanese Misseriya nomads.

Osman stressed that Sudan’s issues including Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan represent a national agenda which will be solved by the government and political parties, saying that improving relations with South Sudan is a strategic objective which the government seeks to achieve without foreign pressures and dictations.

The Sudanese official expressed hope that Booth’s top priority will be improving bilateral relations between the US and Sudan which would dispel Sudan’s fear and enable the US to play a positive role on the other issues.

Donald Booth, former ambassador who served in different parts of the African continent, was named special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan on 28 August.

 

[LAfrique]

Turtleville members of AU now joining Uhuru Kenyatta in accusing ICC of conveniently picking on and harassing African nations - allAfrica.com: Africa: Stop Messing With Kenya, AU Tells the ICC (Page 1 of 2)

I find it very funny most of Africa, unlike the savvy and assertive Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, is yet to understand that puppets ICC and UN, and NATO are out to dominate developing nations and thus will suppress any sign of progress and independence.

 

[waltky]

al-Shabaab killin' Kenyans...

Gunmen Kill 36 in Northeastern Kenya
December 02, 2014 ~ The Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for killing 36 people early Tuesday in northeastern Kenya.

The attack happened at a quarry near the town of Mandera, where witnesses say gunmen struck as workers were sleeping in their tents. An al-Shabab statement said its fighters had killed what they called "Kenyan crusaders" and was punishing Kenya for sending troops to fight in Somalia.

Bodies of Kenyans lie at a quarry in Mandera County, Kenya

The Kenyan forces have been in Somalia since 2011 as part of a multi-nation African force that has helped push al-Shabab out of Somalia's major cities.

The militants have carried out periodic attacks in Kenya, warning the government that more will come unless it withdraws the troops. Last month, al-Shabab gunmen killed 28 people in the same region as Tuesday's killings.

Al-Shabab Gunmen Kill 36 in Northeastern Kenya

 

[waltky]

Severe food crises are growing in Kenya and Somalia...

Food Crises Getting Worse in Somalia, Kenya
July 10, 2017 - Severe food crises are growing in Kenya and Somalia, as the Horn of Africa continues to receive below-normal rainfall, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network.

The hunger-tracking group says 2.9 million people in Kenya and 3.2 million in Somalia are experiencing Phase 3 or higher on the network's five-tier warning scale, with Phase 3 being the crisis stage and Phase 5 being a full-fledged famine. The numbers represent a jump of 800,000 in Kenya and 300,000 in Somalia since FEWSNET's last estimates, released in June.

The need is urgent

Peter Thomas, FEWS NET decision support advisor, says Phase 3 indicates that households are in need of urgent humanitarian aid. “This means that households are unable to meet their basic food needs for survival and facing gaps in their basic food needs,” he told VOA's Horn of Africa Service.

A child holds a bowl of food given out during a food distribution in the drought-affected village of Bandarero, near Moyale town on the Ethiopian border, in northern Kenya​

Thomas says the new estimates were compiled just after the March to May rainy season, which FEWS NET said was “very poor” across southern Somalia and northern Kenya. Some parts of Kenya received just 25 percent of the normal rainfall. The rain was more plentiful across nearby Ethiopia, except in the south, where drought conditions continue and millions across the Somali and Oromia regions remain in need of assistance.

Somalia a concern

Aid agencies like the U.N. World Food Program have helped many Horn residents hold off starvation. But Thomas warns that in Somalia, the situation could change. In the past, militant group al-Shabab has periodically banned aid agencies from helping people in towns under the group's control. “In the worst case scenario, if the humanitarian assistance is cut off and access to humanitarian need by local communities are restricted, famine could be possible,” he said.

The last declared famine in Somalia, in 2011, killed an estimated 260,000 people. On Saturday, the Trump Administration announced more than $630 million in aid to Somalia and three other countries where conflict has led to or contributed to widespread hunger; South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen.

Food Crises Getting Worse in Somalia, Kenya

See also:

Conflict Emergencies Increase World Hunger
June 28, 2017 — A World Food Program review of the global hunger situation in 2016 finds conflict emergencies in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere are hampering United Nations efforts to achieve zero hunger by the year 2030.

In its review 2016: A Year in Fighting Hunger, the World Food Program reports that 795 million people in the world went hungry last year. The organization's spokeswoman Bettina Luescher tells VOA the Sustainable Development Goal to eliminate hunger by 2030 does not, for now, appear realistic. “As you know, the world is a mess," she said. "We have more emergencies than ever. We have more refugees than ever and we are struggling on all fronts to help the people be able to feed themselves.”

Kassa Wani and her husband, Alfred, from South Sudan, wait to register with U.N. officials as they arrive at the Busia, South Sudan processing center​

Last year, WFP assisted more than 82 million people with food or cash. While that is a lot, Luescher agrees it is far from enough. She says escalating conflicts are making the work of aid agencies much harder. She says countries that had been making progress in development have gone backwards because of conflict. She points to South Sudan as an example of a country, which on the eve of independence appeared poised to prosper after decades of civil war. “And look what happened," she said. "They went back to fighting and for the first time in six years, this year, we saw in some areas of South Sudan, a famine again. And, that is just unbelievable in this time in our new century. It is just unbelievable. So, the conflicts have to stop.”

Luescher says it takes money to fight hunger. Unfortunately, she says international support is waning at a time of burgeoning emergencies. She says WFP urgently needs one $1 billion to fight four looming famines in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and in northeast Nigeria. She says it will be extremely difficult to save people dying from hunger without help from international donors.

Conflict Emergencies Increase World Hunger