South Sudan

[JStone]

I wanted to say the war was just to split the country up into "Has Oil" and "Doesn't Has Oil" sides but I see the Civil War has been going on since 1955 so I guess it aint that simple.

The Muslims in North Sudan have been comitting genocide on the ethnic Africans in Darfur, Kordofan and Southern Sudan for decades, they would still do this even if there were no oil involved at all.

allahu akbar, motherfuckers!

The genocide in Darfur has claimed 400,000 lives and displaced over 2,500,000 people. More than one hundred people continue to die each day; five thousand die every month.

Since February 2003, the Sudanese government in Khartoum and the government-sponsored Janjaweed militia have used rape, displacement, organized starvation, threats against aid workers and mass murder. Violence, disease, and displacement continue to kill thousands of innocent Darfurians every month.

Genocide in Darfur, Sudan | Darfur Scorecard

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-ojg9UjMk0]The Genocide In Darfur - YouTube[/ame]

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan says 17 killed in Sudanese air raids

JUBA — Sudanese air raids killed 17 people in the South Sudan border state of Western Bahr al-Ghazal on Thursday, the second day of stepped-up bombing along the northern frontier, Juba's military spokesman said.

Khartoum dismissed the allegations as "incorrect."

"Those who are killed are innocent civilians who are looking after their cattle," South Sudan's military spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP, adding that the casualties came on the second day of bombing in the Boro El Madina area.

"This information is completely incorrect," the Sudanese military spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad said in Khartoum.

In a separate statement, Sudan's foreign ministry alleged that 350 members of Darfur-based rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had crossed into South Sudan on Wednesday.

The ministry's spokesman, Al-Obeid Meruh, called on the international community to pressure "the government of South Sudan to stop supporting these troops and disarm them."

South Sudan separated from Sudan in July after an overwhelming vote for independence that followed more than two decades of civil war.

Each side has accused the other of supporting rebels inside its borders.

Aguer said bombing had resumed over the past two days around Jau, a disputed area along the South Kordofan-Unity state border.

There were no casualty reports from that area "because the bombing was intensive," he said.

"SPLA has placed its forces on maximum alert" since Christmas, he said, referring to the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

"The intention of Khartoum is to annex some of these areas."

Sudan's military spokesman, Saad, in turn accused South Sudan of building up its own troops in the Jau area to attack inside Sudan.

Access to the areas is restricted, making independent confirmation of the claims difficult.

United Nations peacekeepers are based in South Sudan, but AFP was unable to reach any officials from the mission.

AFP: South Sudan says 17 killed in Sudanese air raids

 

[JStone]

South Sudan says 17 killed in Sudanese air raids

JUBA — Sudanese air raids killed 17 people in the South Sudan border state of Western Bahr al-Ghazal on Thursday, the second day of stepped-up bombing along the northern frontier, Juba's military spokesman said.

Khartoum dismissed the allegations as "incorrect."

"Those who are killed are innocent civilians who are looking after their cattle," South Sudan's military spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP, adding that the casualties came on the second day of bombing in the Boro El Madina area.

"This information is completely incorrect," the Sudanese military spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad said in Khartoum.

In a separate statement, Sudan's foreign ministry alleged that 350 members of Darfur-based rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had crossed into South Sudan on Wednesday.

The ministry's spokesman, Al-Obeid Meruh, called on the international community to pressure "the government of South Sudan to stop supporting these troops and disarm them."

South Sudan separated from Sudan in July after an overwhelming vote for independence that followed more than two decades of civil war.

Each side has accused the other of supporting rebels inside its borders.

Aguer said bombing had resumed over the past two days around Jau, a disputed area along the South Kordofan-Unity state border.

There were no casualty reports from that area "because the bombing was intensive," he said.

"SPLA has placed its forces on maximum alert" since Christmas, he said, referring to the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

"The intention of Khartoum is to annex some of these areas."

Sudan's military spokesman, Saad, in turn accused South Sudan of building up its own troops in the Jau area to attack inside Sudan.

Access to the areas is restricted, making independent confirmation of the claims difficult.

United Nations peacekeepers are based in South Sudan, but AFP was unable to reach any officials from the mission.

AFP: South Sudan says 17 killed in Sudanese air raids

Israel is providing military equipment and training to S. Sudan and the virgin chasers will be getting into the panties of the 72 whores in paradise.

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan says 17 killed in Sudanese air raids

JUBA — Sudanese air raids killed 17 people in the South Sudan border state of Western Bahr al-Ghazal on Thursday, the second day of stepped-up bombing along the northern frontier, Juba's military spokesman said.

Khartoum dismissed the allegations as "incorrect."

"Those who are killed are innocent civilians who are looking after their cattle," South Sudan's military spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP, adding that the casualties came on the second day of bombing in the Boro El Madina area.

"This information is completely incorrect," the Sudanese military spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad said in Khartoum.

In a separate statement, Sudan's foreign ministry alleged that 350 members of Darfur-based rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had crossed into South Sudan on Wednesday.

The ministry's spokesman, Al-Obeid Meruh, called on the international community to pressure "the government of South Sudan to stop supporting these troops and disarm them."

South Sudan separated from Sudan in July after an overwhelming vote for independence that followed more than two decades of civil war.

Each side has accused the other of supporting rebels inside its borders.

Aguer said bombing had resumed over the past two days around Jau, a disputed area along the South Kordofan-Unity state border.

There were no casualty reports from that area "because the bombing was intensive," he said.

"SPLA has placed its forces on maximum alert" since Christmas, he said, referring to the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

"The intention of Khartoum is to annex some of these areas."

Sudan's military spokesman, Saad, in turn accused South Sudan of building up its own troops in the Jau area to attack inside Sudan.

Access to the areas is restricted, making independent confirmation of the claims difficult.

United Nations peacekeepers are based in South Sudan, but AFP was unable to reach any officials from the mission.

AFP: South Sudan says 17 killed in Sudanese air raids

Israel is providing military equipment and training to S. Sudan and the virgin chasers will be getting into the panties of the 72 whores in paradise.

The US needs to be doing the same thing, as well as the rest of the Western world, Sudan is getting plenty of help from the Arab countries.

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan 'Lost boy' tells of hope for new nation

(CNN) -- It's been almost two decades since I was separated from my family, my home and my past as a war child. Last year I was able to travel back to East Africa to find my parents, reconnect with others who survived the war and place my vote in the referendum that would eventually lead to the division of Sudan into two independent states.

On July 9 2011, the Republic of South Sudan was born. It's hard to describe how I felt that day as I stood among tens of thousands of South Sudanese men, women and children waving our new flag and screaming "South Oye! Separation Oye!"


Through two civil wars that lasted a total of 39 years, this is what we had hoped, prayed and fought for; it was hard to believe it was happening in my lifetime.

Yes, each one of us has fears, hopes and dreams about how we are transforming into a nation. As a citizen, I don't mind us having to crawl and take small steps in our progress. Development is not a race and for it to be sustainable it should be holistic. We're starting from scratch and have a lot of ground to cover.

I was born into Sudan's civil war and before I could read or write I was using an AK47 in the conflict between the Muslim north and Animist/Christian south over the land and natural resources. I protected myself, survived and ended up in the Western world where I had to play catch-up with youth who had much calmer childhoods.

It was never easy, but I always tried my best and kept complaints out of my heart by holding tightly onto the hope that one day, I would read and write. This is a dream for many boys and girls who were born on the battlefields of Sudan simply because during the civil war there were no schools at all. Now there are a few in Juba and a significant need for more all across the country.

My main concern for the newest nation in the world is not tribalism or corruption -- though they both exist, it's the fact that we are still at war with the National Congress (NCP) of Sudan, the governing official party of Sudan, and this needs to be permanently addressed before moving onto smaller issues.

A child soldier's new life Five months ago I went to South Sudan to vote and raise the flag on the soil of my new country. While we were beginning the countdown to independence the NCP, which is headed by Sudan President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, raided Abyei and forced innocent people from their land. Why? Well, the region produces 70% of our oil.


As I write this article there are still many innocent people suffering and dying all across the country. If the International Criminal Court does not increase its pressure on President Al Bashir, a return to war and bloodshed over The Republic of South Sudan's land and natural resources is very likely.

That being said, I am very optimistic about the future of my country. We all feel a strong sense of ownership when we think of The Republic of South Sudan because everybody sacrificed and suffered to get us to where we are now. We need to feel the same sense of ownership towards finding solutions to our problems; homemade solutions need to be found to fix what we messed up.

To do this we need to work together with world powers while ensuring that the resulting plans hold the interests of South Sudan at heart. The Republic of South Sudan is still a baby; our leaders should be willing to take small steps towards developments and not move too fast.

The solutions we put into place need to be in line with our long-term interests while offering short-term relief, which is not always that easy to do. But if the government of South Sudan can provide security and education, the rest will begin to fall into place and matters such as finding alternative energy sources for Juba city can be taken care of.

South Sudan 'Lost boy' tells of hope for new nation - CNN.com

 

[High_Gravity]

In a Fledgling Country, Perils for the Press

In a thatched hut in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, about 10 young men and women sat on lawn chairs made of brown plastic. They loudly typed on the computer keyboards on the tables in front of them. Two fans were blowing heavily. But the loud humming, which turned all speaking in the room into yelling, didn’t come from them. It came from the backyard, and when it suddenly stopped, the young people saved their work. Minutes later their screens turned dark.

It was hours to deadline for The Citizen, until recently the only daily print newspaper in South Sudan, and its staff had to wait until the generator was refueled.

Making a newspaper anywhere these days is not easy; making a daily newspaper in South Sudan can seem nearly impossible. The country is twice the size of Arizona and 80 percent of its roughly 10 million people are illiterate. Power losses, a scarcity of paved roads, scattershot Internet access and increasing tribal violence make it that much harder.

And yet since its founding in 2005 The Citizen hasn’t let down its readers a single day. But now the paper faces another challenge in the form of a new military leadership — one not always hospitable to a free press — running the world’s youngest state, one that gained independence only last year. On a morning in mid-November, a reporter named Ater Garang Ariath entered the news hut where two of his colleagues were discussing the day’s events. The editor in chief, Nhial Bol, was elsewhere. He had other things to do: the paper’s supplier of newsprint had stopped supplying it, so The Citizen had to decrease its circulation to 2,000 copies from 6,000.

That day, Mr. Ariath, 27, covered a dialogue forum for representatives of the South Sudanese media and national security services. He walked the mile to the event, since there was no bus stop nearby and a boda-boda, or motorbike taxi, was too expensive for him. Mr. Ariath said he made about 900 South Sudanese pounds a month, around $300. He has to write up to 40 articles for that and supports his family with the money.

Mr. Ariath began his career as a reporter at the paper of his refugee camp in neighboring Uganda. There is no one at The Citizen whose life hasn’t been affected by the war. Another reporter, Joseph Lagu Jackson, was a former child soldier and learned how to use an AK-47 at the age of 8; the news editor received death threats from the Arab rulers in the north when he was a radio journalist.

Though Mr. Ariath is very proud to work for one of the country’s most popular papers, he said the 16-page, English-language tabloid needed more editors. It is full of mistakes and typos, sometimes in the banner headline on the front page. Many reporters are not fluent in English. Mr. Ariath also said the paper needed more color. “In our pictures, Obama is white,” he said.

Since independence on July 9, several newspapers have been newly established in South Sudan. The country’s new constitution guarantees freedom of the press. But currently, that freedom is in jeopardy.

In October, another South Sudanese newspaper, The Destiny, ran a column that described the marriage of President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s daughter as unpatriotic because she had married an Ethiopian. The columnist and the editor in chief were arrested by the National Security Services and held in prison for two weeks. The Destiny was shut down. President Kiir later said the arrests were justified. The Destiny had tried to become South Sudan’s second daily.

A few weeks later in December, Alfred Taban, a former BBC correspondent in Khartoum, started the Juba Monitor which is now South Sudan’s second English daily. Mr. Taban’s Khartoum Monitor was banned by the Arab rulers along with five other South Sudanese owned newspapers printed in Khartoum when the south became independent. The Juba Monitor is also printed at The Citizen which is the only newspaper with a printing machine in South Sudan.

At the dialogue forum for the media and security services, both sides were called on to get along with each other. But the event didn’t seem to ease tensions. A spokesman for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, or S.P.L.A. as the new country’s army is more popularly known, told reporters what they could cover and what would be risky for them — a list that included covering the army, for example. Philip Chol, a spokesman for military intelligence, said: “If you’re a responsible journalist, you will do something that is applicable to the country.”

Many reporters got angry. “The recent actions are actually the ones we suffered from in Khartoum,” said Mr. Taban, addressing the case of The Destiny. “I mean we’re trying to establish a democracy here.”

Many of the reporters who had come to the event said they had had bad experiences with the new military leaders who now ruled the country after years of oppression by the regime in the north. Mr. Ariath said when he once wrote about an official’s business deals, he got a phone call. If the paper ran the article, the person at the other end said, Mr. Ariath would get into trouble. The Citizen ran the article. Mr. Ariath was not arrested, but the editor in chief, Mr. Bol, was. Mr. Bol has been arrested three times since 2007 by South Sudanese authorities for articles that accused officials of corruption and mismanagement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/09/b...-rough-start-to-press-freedom.html?ref=africa

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan asks Khartoum to end "bombardment" of border areas

January 4, 2012 - (BENTIU/JUBA) — South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Wednesday, described the Republic of Sudan as “main challenge” to the world’s newest nation, as Juba accuses Khartoum of more bombings.

The two countries have had a tense relationship since South Sudan seceded in July as part of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of conflict in which two million died.

“All our challenges come from Sudan", he said, adding that landlocked South Sudan had peaceful relations with its other five neighbours.

Sudan remained a "thorn" in the side of country, which is one of the poorest in the world. Since independence in July South Sudan has been blighted by rebellions, cattle rustling, violence between ethnic groups and sporadic border skirmishes with north Sudan Armed Forces.

On Sunday the spokesperson of the South Sudanese government, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, accused Sudan’s military (SAF) of bombing Raja County of Western Bahr-al-Ghazal state killing nearly 40 people.

Sudan has always denied bombing South Sudanese territory saying that any bombings took place in north Sudanese territory, claiming that the attacks were against rebels fighting Khartoum government.

Marial told the Sudan Radio Service on 1 December that South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has warned Khartoum over the issue.

"The president has sent a message to the Republic of Sudan in Khartoum that they should not engage in hostilities by actually getting unlawfully into the sovereign state of the Republic of South Sudan."

As well as Western Bahr-al-Ghazal, South Sudan has also accused SAF of bombing its territory in Upper Nile, Unity, NorthernBahr-al-Ghazal states.

In an address on South Sudan TV on Wednesday Kiir said that his country was trying to avoid responding to Khartoum’s "provocations”.

He expressed hope that the two countries would reach a compromise to establish mutual bilateral ties during upcoming negotiations over oil, the contested border and other issues.

The President also claimed that Khartoum was indirectly responsible for the recent violence among the Luo-Nuer and Murle ethnic groups in Jonglei state, as they had helped arm rebel groups in the region. Khartoum denies this and counters that Juba supports rebels in its territory.

The country’s first President also warned South Sudanese politicians not to instigate tribal conflict. Between 20,000 to 50,000 have been displaced according the UN and hundreds expected to have been killed, in the Luo-Nuer’s revenge attack.

South Sudan asks Khartoum to end "bombardment" of border areas - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan Ethnic Violence Leaves At Least 22 Dead

JUBA, South Sudan — Members of a South Sudanese tribe targeted in massive attacks late last month have killed 22 people and burned down three villages of the opposing tribe in new attacks, a state governor said Monday.

Thousands of youth from the Lou Nuer tribe launched a series of cattle raiding attacks in late December and early January in Jonglei state that sent up tens of thousands of villagers fleeing for their lives.

The U.N. has said it is possible hundreds of people were killed. A local official, Pibor County Commissioner Joshua Konyi, said that 3,182 people were killed, mostly women and children. The central government has cast doubt on that figure, though, and says it is investigating. Konyi is a member of the Merle, the tribe that was attacked.

"Pibor county is quite large. It is not possible for the commissioner (to investigate) with the terrain and the difficulty of movement," said government spokesman Barnaba Benjamin Marial.

Whatever the toll, the damage done by the columns of armed fighters was severe. South Sudan's government has declared Jonglei a disaster zone, and the U.N. has said a major emergency operation is under way.

But aid is not yet reaching the region. Mary Boyoi Gola, a representative of the Murle community on a team of peace negotiators, who is in Pibor, told The Associated Press on Monday that food is scarce.

Meanwhile, new fighting is taking place. The state governor, Kuol Manyang Juuk, said Monday that Murle fighters burned down three villages, killed 22 people and wounded 20 on Sunday and Monday. Fighting is ongoing.

Juuk said the attacks were either "retaliation or a continuation of the hostilities that have been going on all along."

While the Murle attacks follow the recent Lou Nuer raids, the Murle also raided Lou Nuer communities in Jonglei as recently as August. Lou Nuer community leaders say the August attacks – which left more than 600 dead – were the driving force behind the Lou Nuer's recent raids.

Juuk said that South Sudan's military hopes to launch a civilian disarmament exercise by the end of the month to remove the automatic weapons held by much of the region's youth.

"Cattle rustling has been there since 1898," said Marial. "But in those days they were using spears and sticks. Now they have acquired a lot of weapons during the civil war and this has made the cattle rustling to be much more damaging than anything else."

Dina Parmer, a policy adviser for the peacebuilding organization PACT, says the both the government of South Sudan and the international community must do a better job of preventing the attacks. Parmer cast doubt on whether a disarmament campaign can stop the cycle of violence.

"This is an issue of preparedness," she said. "We know these conflicts happen, to some extent they are predictable."

Parmer said the raids will likely continue without any credible and peaceful forum for communities to address their grievances and seek justice.

"Violence has become the norm. It has become the only way in which to get noticed and the only way in which to get what people need," she said. Parmer said the rural communities of Jonglei have almost no access to South Sudan's justice system.

South Sudan Ethnic Violence Leaves At Least 22 Dead

 

[High_Gravity]

Witnesses give graphic accounts of South Sudan ethnic violence

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- Neighbors found the 18-month-old boy crying alone in the bush outside his village of Wek in South Sudan.

Both his parents had been shot to death about two weeks ago during ethnic clashes between the Murle and Luo-Nuer tribes in Jonglei state. The attackers had smashed the child’s head against a tree and left him for dead, according to witness accounts collected by the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders. His head injuries were severe.

“He was abandoned, without any help,” a witness told the group, which released a report Tuesday on the violence. “We, the community, came looking for people who needed help in the bush and we found him, still alive and alone.”

Doctors Without Borders did not release the names of the witnesses out of concern for their safety.
About 55 people died in the Jan. 11 assault, which left dozens wounded. Many remain missing. The violence was carried out by Murle tribesmen in revenge for attacks by the opposing Luo-Nuer tribe late last year.

At least 120,000 people in Jongwei are in need of aid after violent attacks in December and January, according to the United Nations. There are no reliable estimates of the dead, with victims scattered over vast areas of bush.

“It was evening when we were attacked,” an 18-year-old woman from Wek, whose husband and one of her children were shot and killed, told Doctors Without Borders. “People all around us were being shot and cut with knives. When I heard the shooting, I tried to run away with my husband and my children, but I was shot in the leg and I fell down.”

Doctors Without Borders treated 94 people at the site for stabbing and gunshot wounds. More than half of the 13 victims airlifted out by the group were less than 5 years old.

Accounts of attacks in late December by Lou-Nuer gunmen against Murle tribesman near Pibor were equally grim.

A 24-year-old woman fled her village near Pibor with her 3-year-old daughter, along with two other women with their boys, ages 10 and 11, and hid in the grass. But the attackers heard her child crying and came for them.

“They abducted my child and slit the throats of the two boys in front of us. They told us three women to run -- we ran 10 meters and they started shooting. The other two women were killed right away. I was shot in the leg so I fell down. They came over to me and shot me in the head to make sure I was dead and left me there.”

Shot in the cheek and leg, she survived alone in the bush for a week by crawling to a river for water. Later she found out her mother had been killed. Her daughter is still missing.

“My only child has been taken; I feel so alone and it’s very painful,” she said. “Ten people have been killed from my family, four women and six men. Eight people have been killed from my husband’s family.”

Intercommunal violence between the Murle and Lou-Nuer tribes has been going on for centuries, mainly around the issue of cattle rustling, which brings honor to young tribal men when they successfully steal stock and increase their own herds. Some 80,000 cattle were stolen in the recent violence. The loss of cattle, the main store of wealth in these communities, leaves families without a livelihood.

But battles that were once fought with spears are now fought with guns and carry high fatalities. Vast numbers of weapons can be found in South Sudan after decades of civil war that led last July to its independence from Sudan.

The Enough Project, a human rights group, said in a report released Thursday that the Sudanese government had fueled the intercommunal violence during the civil war in order to destabilize the south. The recent violence underscores the weakness of South Sudan's police and army, and the breakdown of traditional authority structures, just one of many threats facing the fragile new state, according to the group.

Witnesses give graphic accounts of South Sudan ethnic violence - latimes.com

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Of course places like Belfast and Beirut are so much more civilized.

 

[High_Gravity]

More than 70 killed in weekend violence in South Sudan

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- South Sudan, the world's newest nation, saw more than 70 people killed over the weekend in an inter-communal attack, the government reported Monday, following on recent violence that killed hundreds of people, including women and children.

Thousands of cattle were stolen in the Saturday clashes.

The latest violence in Warrap state underscores the fragility of the new nation, which lacks sufficient security forces to prevent attacks between communities in a vast nation with few roads, poor education and little development.

Interior Minister Alison Manani Magaya said Monday that about 70 people were killed when a Nuer tribe from neighboring Unity state attacked a Dinka community, the Associated Press reported.

The nearest police station was three hours' walk from the village where the attacks took place, according to the Paris-based Sudan Tribune. The violence saw attacks on the Luac Jang clan of the Dinka tribe in Tonj East County, according to officials from the region cited in the reports.

The violence is not directly related to the inter-communal massacres that took place in December and January in Jonglei state between the Lou Nuer and Murle tribes. But like the violence in Jonglei, cattle rustling attacks and massacres have been going on for many years.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan last July after a referendum overwhelmingly backed independence, but the new nation faces multiple challenges, including tensions with Sudan over fees to transit South Sudan oil through Sudanese pipelines.

African Union talks over the weekend failed to reach a deal to settle the oil dispute. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday that tensions between the two nations threatened the peace.

South Sudan faces a testing future, with only about a quarter of the population and 12% of women literate. Inter-tribal feuds that have simmered for decades have broken out in recent months, a situation complicated because the decades-long civil war that ended in 2005 left the nation awash with weapons.

But Madot Dut Deng, speaker of the Warrap state legislature, told the Sudan Tribune that the people in Tonj East county were disarmed last year and couldn't defend themselves. He said poor roads made it difficult for the police or army to move in quickly to prevent attacks.

After independence in July, both sides in the long-running tribal feud were to disarm simultaneously as the first step to a peace deal, but the process broke down.

Magaya, the interior minister, accused Sudan of arming the attackers. Sudanese military spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad denied the allegations, Agence France-Presse reported.

"We don't have any connection with this," he said. "We never support any armed opposition in South Sudan or any place," he said.

More than 70 killed in weekend violence in South Sudan - latimes.com

 

[High_Gravity]

In South Sudan, oil shutoff is a matter of national pride

Reporting from Juba, South Sudan— To outsiders, the move appears suicidal, a recipe for ruining the economy and possibly returning to war.

But on the streets of Juba, the capital of South Sudan, the decision to turn off the flow from oil wells that produce 98% of the government's revenue has triggered bursts of defiance and national pride.

"The oil was shut down because it's our oil. We need our rights," said truck driver Nimeiry Thomas, 30, his face dripping with sweat in Juba's Konyo Konyo market.

One of the world's poorest countries, South Sudan made the move last month in an escalating dispute with northern neighbor Sudan, from which it seceded in July. South Sudan took with it about three-quarters of the former country's oil reserves, but the only route to market is a pipeline that runs across Sudan.

Since the secession, the two countries have continued to quarrel over issues that include borders and the transit fees Sudan charges to get the South's oil to market. South Sudan's decision to shut off the oil seriously damages both countries' economies and has stirred fear of renewed fighting. Both presidents talk openly of war.

None of that appears to have damped the mood in Juba. Among government ministers, citizens and soldiers, the talk is of a willingness to endure what it takes to break the hated economic lifeline through Sudan. They survived a 22-year civil war with the north, they say, and they are prepared to suffer again for what they see as their rightful share of the oil wealth.

"Every time people dismissed us, every single battle, we have won," declared Pagan Amum, the country's chief negotiator on the oil dispute, his eyes flashing.

The country is united, he said. "The South Sudanese will rally around their government. South Sudan is going to emerge as a strong nation in this region with a strong economy."

Outside experts are not so sure. They warn that once the shutoff begins to bite, life will get even worse in a country where half the people live in poverty and three-quarters are illiterate. There is concern that parents will no longer be able to afford school fees for the trickle of uniformed children plying the dirt roads on their way to class. Food and medicine will be harder to come by.

Alex Vines, an analyst with the London-based think tank Chatham House, said north and south have peered into the abyss and eventually will strike a deal. "But there is a danger that the brinkmanship could result in unintended hostilities," he said.

The African Union, as well as countries such as Britain and energy-hungry China, which gets about 6% of its oil from South Sudan, are trying to broker a settlement. The focus is on setting an agreed transit price for shipping the oil out of South Sudan through the north's pipeline.

So far, they are not even close. Talks foundered last month after Khartoum took over ships loaded with South Sudan oil, seizing $850 million worth, to cover its claim for a $36-a-barrel transit fee. South Sudan, willing to pay $1 a barrel (which is close to the global norm), called the seizures theft.

The two countries signed a nonaggression agreement Feb. 10 that is supposed to keep the peace until a broader solution is found. But the pact was broken within hours.

In South Sudan, oil shutoff is a matter of national pride - latimes.com

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan to Implement Jonglei Disarmament Program

The South Sudanese Army is being readied to deploy on a small-arms disarmament program in Jonglei state. The government hopes to disarm groups of cattle raiders that have made 2012 a violent year for the new country.

The Southern People's Liberation Army is being set to deploy in areas of Jonglei state this week, in an attempt to disarm and collect some 20,000 small arms from the Murle and Lou Nuer tribes.

Both groups have been involved in a violent string of retaliatory cattle rattles, which the United Nations says has affected more than 120,000 people.

The disarmament campaign was initiated by South Sudan President Salva Kirr. He plans to use the Army to collect the weapons either voluntarily or by force.

The SPLA spokesperson Phillip Aguer says the goal is peaceful, but the army is ready to use force, if necessary.

“In case there are people who are dodging and trying to hide their weapons, the army will intervene and do the fighting or, if they are running from the army and the police, we will go in,” said Aguer.

South Sudan has received criticism from both the United States and the United Nations. They feel conducting the campaign now will only increase tensions and that the government should strive for reconciliation before disarmament.

But Aguer says the time is now.

“If you wait for the population to achieve it’s goals and objectives, you will have people attacking themselves and dying," said Aguer. "So it’s better to do the same process concurrently.”

Jonah Leff is a consultant for the Small Arms Survey - an independent organization monitoring international weapons trafficking - and has recently been on the ground in Jonglei state. He feels the campaign will certainly end in violence.

“I’ve heard from leaders of both communities, both the Lou Nuer and the Murle, that they will resist a forcible disarmament, which means that they will fight back," said Leff. "So I would expect the SPLA to respond with technicals [technological advanced weapons]. They’ll have greater manpower, such as heavy machine guns and possibly even tanks.”

Leff also fears the possibility of disarming the tribes unevenly, which may leave some vulnerable to attack.

South Sudan to Implement Jonglei Disarmament Program | News | English

 

[High_Gravity]

Scores dead in a new bout of South Sudan tribal violence

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- Scores of people were believed to have been killed in a new bout of ethnic violence in South Sudan, following similar incidents in recent months.

The death toll could climb, with bodies said to be strewn in about nine locations and dozens of people having fled into the bush to escape the attackers.

Attacks and counterattacks that involve members of the Murle and Nuer tribes have spiked in the last 12 months, though the bad blood goes back for generations and originated in the practice of cattle raiding.

Some 120,000 people have been displaced in the recent attacks in Jonglei state in December and January, according to humanitarian agencies.

The latest attack Friday involved Murle militias attacking Nuer villages in the remote Romyereh area in Upper Nile State, near Jonglei, according to the California-based humanitarian agency International Medical Corps, or IMC.

The reported death toll ranged from 100 to 200, although some local officials placed the number higher. There were also fears that children were abducted during the violence.
Fighting continues in the area, according to the International Medical Corps, which sent a team to the scene. They saw bodies scattered around and ferried the casualties five hours by boat to Akobo County Hospital for treatment by an IMC medical team. The site of the attacks was not accessible by road.

According to a statement on the International Medical Corps website, 60 victims had arrived in the hospital, half of them with gunshot wounds. One died on the scene and several serious cases had to be evacuated.

During the rescue effort, fighting forced the IMC team to take shelter at a base held by UNMISS, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan established last year to consolidate security and create the conditions for development. UNMISS and the South Sudan army have not been able to stop the tribal attacks, in part because the clashes have occurred in a vast remote region with few roads.

In December, hundreds of Murle were killed in attacks by a Nuer militia that calls itself the White Army, known to have at least 8,000 fighters -- a much larger force than UNMISS could handle.

The latest violence comes with about 12,000 South Sudanese soldiers deployed in Jonglei state to disarm the rival tribes by force if necessary. The disarmament was launched Monday, but the continuing tribal violence underscores the likely resistance to disarmament.

South Sudan has carried out a successive disarmament campaign involving the two tribes, all of which have failed, mainly because of the government's inability to provide security for remote communities, according to analysts. Perceiving a threat from neighbors, residents have rapidly rearmed.

Scores dead in a new bout of South Sudan tribal violence - latimes.com

 

[Ropey]

Scores dead in a new bout of South Sudan tribal violence

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- Scores of people were believed to have been killed in a new bout of ethnic violence in South Sudan, following similar incidents in recent months.

The death toll could climb, with bodies said to be strewn in about nine locations and dozens of people having fled into the bush to escape the attackers.

Attacks and counterattacks that involve members of the Murle and Nuer tribes have spiked in the last 12 months, though the bad blood goes back for generations and originated in the practice of cattle raiding.

Some 120,000 people have been displaced in the recent attacks in Jonglei state in December and January, according to humanitarian agencies.

The latest attack Friday involved Murle militias attacking Nuer villages in the remote Romyereh area in Upper Nile State, near Jonglei, according to the California-based humanitarian agency International Medical Corps, or IMC.

The reported death toll ranged from 100 to 200, although some local officials placed the number higher. There were also fears that children were abducted during the violence.
Fighting continues in the area, according to the International Medical Corps, which sent a team to the scene. They saw bodies scattered around and ferried the casualties five hours by boat to Akobo County Hospital for treatment by an IMC medical team. The site of the attacks was not accessible by road.

According to a statement on the International Medical Corps website, 60 victims had arrived in the hospital, half of them with gunshot wounds. One died on the scene and several serious cases had to be evacuated.

During the rescue effort, fighting forced the IMC team to take shelter at a base held by UNMISS, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan established last year to consolidate security and create the conditions for development. UNMISS and the South Sudan army have not been able to stop the tribal attacks, in part because the clashes have occurred in a vast remote region with few roads.

In December, hundreds of Murle were killed in attacks by a Nuer militia that calls itself the White Army, known to have at least 8,000 fighters -- a much larger force than UNMISS could handle.

The latest violence comes with about 12,000 South Sudanese soldiers deployed in Jonglei state to disarm the rival tribes by force if necessary. The disarmament was launched Monday, but the continuing tribal violence underscores the likely resistance to disarmament.

South Sudan has carried out a successive disarmament campaign involving the two tribes, all of which have failed, mainly because of the government's inability to provide security for remote communities, according to analysts. Perceiving a threat from neighbors, residents have rapidly rearmed.

Scores dead in a new bout of South Sudan tribal violence - latimes.com

South Sudan as a viable country must be able to protect the country's boundary perimeter and from the internecine violence. Until this occurs the ebb and flow from both of these events will continue to provide instability, death to this fledgling country that lies between a rock and a hard place.

 

[High_Gravity]

Scores dead in a new bout of South Sudan tribal violence

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- Scores of people were believed to have been killed in a new bout of ethnic violence in South Sudan, following similar incidents in recent months.

The death toll could climb, with bodies said to be strewn in about nine locations and dozens of people having fled into the bush to escape the attackers.

Attacks and counterattacks that involve members of the Murle and Nuer tribes have spiked in the last 12 months, though the bad blood goes back for generations and originated in the practice of cattle raiding.

Some 120,000 people have been displaced in the recent attacks in Jonglei state in December and January, according to humanitarian agencies.

The latest attack Friday involved Murle militias attacking Nuer villages in the remote Romyereh area in Upper Nile State, near Jonglei, according to the California-based humanitarian agency International Medical Corps, or IMC.

The reported death toll ranged from 100 to 200, although some local officials placed the number higher. There were also fears that children were abducted during the violence.
Fighting continues in the area, according to the International Medical Corps, which sent a team to the scene. They saw bodies scattered around and ferried the casualties five hours by boat to Akobo County Hospital for treatment by an IMC medical team. The site of the attacks was not accessible by road.

According to a statement on the International Medical Corps website, 60 victims had arrived in the hospital, half of them with gunshot wounds. One died on the scene and several serious cases had to be evacuated.

During the rescue effort, fighting forced the IMC team to take shelter at a base held by UNMISS, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan established last year to consolidate security and create the conditions for development. UNMISS and the South Sudan army have not been able to stop the tribal attacks, in part because the clashes have occurred in a vast remote region with few roads.

In December, hundreds of Murle were killed in attacks by a Nuer militia that calls itself the White Army, known to have at least 8,000 fighters -- a much larger force than UNMISS could handle.

The latest violence comes with about 12,000 South Sudanese soldiers deployed in Jonglei state to disarm the rival tribes by force if necessary. The disarmament was launched Monday, but the continuing tribal violence underscores the likely resistance to disarmament.

South Sudan has carried out a successive disarmament campaign involving the two tribes, all of which have failed, mainly because of the government's inability to provide security for remote communities, according to analysts. Perceiving a threat from neighbors, residents have rapidly rearmed.

Scores dead in a new bout of South Sudan tribal violence - latimes.com

South Sudan as a viable country must be able to protect the country's boundary perimeter and from the internecine violence. Until this occurs the ebb and flow from both of these events will continue to provide instability, death to this fledgling country that lies between a rock and a hard place.

To be honest Ropey I see a war with Sudan in their future before they can start making any real progress, the Sudanese troops keep raiding villages in South Sudan and making air strikes on them, and than denying it to the media. That shit has to stop.

 

[Ropey]

Scores dead in a new bout of South Sudan tribal violence

Scores dead in a new bout of South Sudan tribal violence - latimes.com

South Sudan as a viable country must be able to protect the country's boundary perimeter and from the internecine violence. Until this occurs the ebb and flow from both of these events will continue to provide instability, death to this fledgling country that lies between a rock and a hard place.

To be honest Ropey I see a war with Sudan in their future before they can start making any real progress, the Sudanese troops keep raiding villages in South Sudan and making air strikes on them, and than denying it to the media. That shit has to stop.

You are likely right. I know that it's not easy to defend open borders.

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan as a viable country must be able to protect the country's boundary perimeter and from the internecine violence. Until this occurs the ebb and flow from both of these events will continue to provide instability, death to this fledgling country that lies between a rock and a hard place.

To be honest Ropey I see a war with Sudan in their future before they can start making any real progress, the Sudanese troops keep raiding villages in South Sudan and making air strikes on them, and than denying it to the media. That shit has to stop.

You are likely right. I know that it's not easy to defend open borders.

The Sudanese are trying to take advantage of a new weaker country, hopefully South Sudan starts getting Military training, arms and cash from the West and Israel to put a stop to this, I know Israel has been investing in South Sudan for a while now.

 

[High_Gravity]

S. Sudan Official Says Sudan Bombs Oil Field

(JUBA, South Sudan) — An official in South Sudan's Unity State says Sudan's military has carried out an aerial attack near oil fields.

Unity State Minister of Information Gideon Gatpan said Sudan dropped three bombs Tuesday near oil fields in the town of Bentiu. Gatpan said the extent of any damage wasn't immediately known.

The attack comes one day after Sudan and South Sudan clashed in the border town of Jau. Sudan announced afterward that Sudan President Omar al-Bashir would not attend a planned meeting with South Sudan President Salva Kiir.

South Sudan broke away from Sudan last year, but tensions between the longtime foes have remained high.

Sudan's vice president says a summit planned between the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan has been canceled in the face of new violence along the countries' shared border.

Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha said late Monday that the south's military targeted Sudan's oil and its army in violence on Monday.

But South Sudan Minister of Information Barnaba Benjamin Marial said Tuesday that Sudan's military forces "without any provocation" attacked the town of Jau. Jau is a border town claimed by both countries.

Read more: S. Sudan Official Says Sudan Bombs Oil Field - TIME

 

[Artevelde]

To be honest Ropey I see a war with Sudan in their future before they can start making any real progress, the Sudanese troops keep raiding villages in South Sudan and making air strikes on them, and than denying it to the media. That shit has to stop.

I am afraid you may be right. It will be difficult for South Sudan to emerge as a viable state.