South Sudan

AFPCopyright: AFP

South Sudanese security forces on Monday morning withdrew from First Vice-President Riek Machar's residence in the capital, Juba, his office has told the BBC.

Mr Machar reported to his office on Monday and was working normally, according to his press secretary Puok Both Baluang.

The security forces had been deployed to Mr Machar's residence on Saturday evening.

The vice-president's office is later expected to issue a press statement on the matter.

Security officers cordoned off Mr Machar's house after he had issued a press statement rejecting President Salva Kiir's directive on the formation of a national army - a key pillar of a peace deal the pair signed in 2018.

Mr Machar had accused President Kiir of not equally sharing out positions in the military and the police force as stipulated in the peace deal.

"The unilateral decision by President Kiir is a violation of the revitalised peace agreement and is a clear rejection of the ongoing mediation process," he said on Saturday.

President Kiir's office has not commented on the matter.

More on this topic:

• A quick guide to South Sudan

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

South Sudan government forces have reportedly surrounded the residence of First Vice-President Riek Machar in the capital Juba.

It's not clear if Mr Machar is in the house.

It comes just a day after the former rebel leader asked regional and international leaders to intervene to end renewed fighting in Unity and Upper Nile states - which are considered his strongholds.

For weeks now, clashes between South Sudan’s military and forces loyal to Mr Machar have been reported in various areas - threatening a fragile peace agreement between him and President Salva Kiir

The government has not issued any statement on whether its soldiers have surrounded the premises.

A peace agreement signed in 2018 to end nearly six years of bloodshed is way behind schedule in implementation of key issues such as the formation of unified army.

Catholic Youth OnlineCopyright: Catholic Youth Online

Thousands of people descended on a small town in central South Sudan to witness the ordination of Christian Carlassare as bishop of Rumbek - a celebratory end to what has been a traumatic year for the Italian cleric.

He has overcome a shooting and subsequent operations since Pope Francis appointed him a year ago.

Within a few weeks of arriving in South Sudan last April, the 44-year-old cleric was shot four times in the leg by assailants who broke into his home in Rumbek.

Six people, including a senior member of the Catholic clergy, are on trial in connection with the shooting - in a case prosecutors are pursing although the church wants it dropped.

Friday’s mass in Rumbek was presided over by Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako, the retired archbishop of Khartoum - and also attended by many other clergy and the new bishop’s parents.

The Italian is the first European to be ordained a bishop by an African cardinal in South Sudan.

In his sermon, Cardinal Wako said that the work of a bishop was often misunderstood.

“They think when someone becomes a bishop, he becomes a rich man,” he said, urging people to support Bishop Carlassare.

“Don’t take from him, encourage him to go on.”

AFPCopyright: AFP

Renewed fighting in South Sudan between the army and opposition troops is a cause for concern, the UN has warned.

There are fears that the clashes between the forces belonging to the two sides in the unity government could threaten the fragile peace deal and elections due to be held next year.

The fighting broke out on Thursday between the military and the armed wing of the main opposition SPLM-IO party in various areas in the northern oil-producing state of Upper Nile.

The army spokesman accused the opposition forces of attacking its positions in Longichuk and Malual Gathoth. The SPLM-IO says it was attacked.

On Monday, the SPLM-IO, led by deputy President Riek Machar, withdrew from the country's peace monitoring body because of what it said were unprovoked attacks.

Nicholas Hysom, head of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (Unmiss), said that decision was deeply worrying.

Quote Message: Less than 12 months of the transitional period remain, it is crucial that all parties continue their best efforts to sustain the ceasefire and work towards implementing all outstanding benchmarks so that free and fair elections can take place.

Less than 12 months of the transitional period remain, it is crucial that all parties continue their best efforts to sustain the ceasefire and work towards implementing all outstanding benchmarks so that free and fair elections can take place.

Quote Message: There is no military solution to the conflict in South Sudan. I encourage all political parties to put aside their differences in the larger interest of peace, progress and prosperity."

There is no military solution to the conflict in South Sudan. I encourage all political parties to put aside their differences in the larger interest of peace, progress and prosperity."

A civil war broke out in South Sudan 2013 when President Salva Kiir and Mr Machar fell out, leading to a deadly conflict that forced about four million people from their homes.

Jemila Ebrahim / WHOCopyright: Jemila Ebrahim / WHO

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has sacked the country’s health minister, according to a decree announced by state media on Wednesday night.

No reasons were given for the firing of Elizabeth Acuei Yol.

She is the first cabinet minister from the party of the First Vice-President Riek Machar, the Sudan People’s Liberation in Opposition (SPLM-IO), to be dismissed from the unity government.

President Kiir and Mr Machar formed the unity government in February 2020 after sealing a peace deal aimed at ending six years of civil war.

During her tenure, Ms Acuei was praised by health partners for the country's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But she also faced criticisms for her handling of the ministry's affairs, which saw her booed by MPs in December during a presentation in parliament.

The MPs urged Mr Machar to recommend for her dismissal over what they described as incompetence.

AFPCopyright: AFP

South Sudan's main opposition party has withdrawn from the country's peace monitoring body, accusing rival forces of unprovoked attacks.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement in Opposition said the latest armed assault took place on Monday.

The party is led by the Vice-President, Riek Machar, who two years ago formed a unity government with his former enemy Salva Kiir.

Continued tension between the two men has prevented the implementation of a peace deal aimed at ending a five-year civil war in which 400,000 people died.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Widespread sexual violence against women and girls in areas of conflict has been fuelled by systemic impunity, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has said.

A 48-page report described a hellish existence for women and girls and said widespread rape was being perpetrated by all armed groups across the country.

The report found that these attacks were not random opportunistic incidents, but usually involved armed soldiers actively hunting down women and girls.

“Rape carried out during attacks on villages were systematic and widespread," the report said.

"Sexual violence in South Sudan has been instrumentalized as a reward and entitlement for youth and men participating in conflict. It serves as a means of building ethnic solidarity to mete out retribution against perceived enemies,” it said.

While presenting the report in Geneva on Monday, Commission chair Yasmin Sooka said:

“It is outrageous and completely unacceptable that women’s bodies are systematically used on this scale as the spoils of war. Urgent and demonstrable action by authorities is long overdue, and South Sudanese men must stop regarding the female body as 'territory' to be owned, controlled and exploited.”

Barney Afako, a member of the Commission, said it was scandalous that senior officials implicated in violence against women and girls, including cabinet ministers and governors, were not immediately removed from office and held accountable.

The meeting was attended by representatives from South Sudan’s Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. The government has not officially responded to the report.

AFPCopyright: AFP

UN experts have drawn up a list of 142 people to be investigated over gross human rights abuses in South Sudan.

Their alleged crimes included massacres, torture, abductions, detentions, looting, burning of villages and forced displacement - as well as rape and sexual violence, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said.

This was detailed by Yasmin Sooka, chairwoman of the commission, in her report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

She said the people on the list warranted "investigation for a range of crimes under national and international law, including for their roles in the politically motivated violence".

A civil war broke out in South Sudan 2013 when President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar fell out, leading to a deadly conflict that forced about four million people from their homes.

The two formed a unity government in 2020, but this has not stopped politically incited and ethnic violence.

Ms Sooka said the crimes the commission was investigating reflected the intense competition for power and territory by political elites.

The identities of the individuals to be investigated were withheld - but Ms Sooka has previously said people from both sides in the unity government have been implicated.

She said impunity was the root cause of South Sudan’s problems, as the country reached a critical point in its transition timetable with elections due next year.

The government has not yet responded to her comments.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the peacekeeping force in South Sudan for a year, amid ongoing rebel violence in parts of Africa’s youngest nation.

AP news agency reported that Russia and China abstained from the vote.

US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, tweeted that the renewed mandate would help strengthen efforts to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and enable the peace mission to provide electoral assistance.

The UN retained the 19,000-strong contingent comprising of 17,000 soldiers and 2,101 police officers.

A deadly civil war between 2013 and 2018 left thousands dead and millions of people from the homes.

A power-sharing deal signed has failed to stem violence in many parts of the country. The UN has issued grim projections about the possibility of holding elections next year.

Staff at the University of Bahr El-Ghazal in Wau are demanding that six months of unpaid salaries be paid to them, a week after a similar demand by University of Juba employees was seemingly ignored.

Faculty members of both institutions have been staging protests in recent days, and are calling on the government to settle all pay arrears across all five of South Sudan's public universities.

"A hungry man is angry," read one banner carried by University of Bahr El-Ghazal staff during protests on Monday.

A photo of it was shared in solidarity on Facebook by the vice-chancellor of the University of Juba, Prof John Akec:

Prof John Akec/FacebookCopyright: Prof John Akec/Facebook

Meanwhile, the BBC understands that South Sudan's education minister is to call an emergency meeting with leaders of all five public universities on Wednesday to discuss the matter.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Civilians have been killed and wounded in recent attacks in an oil-rich area of South Sudan that is contested by Sudan, the UN says.

Local media outlets put the number of those killed in Abyei at 27, but the UN has not given any numbers.

The killings are suspected to have been carried out by Arab Misseriya militias from Sudan.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says it believes more than 50,000 could have been displaced since the fighting began in February, with more than 24,000 people registered in Twic County further south in Warrap State.

As a result of the violence, humanitarian operations in affected areas were suspended and aid workers relocated for their safety.

The US embassies in both Juba and Khartoum have expressed concern at the escalation violence in Abyei and also in Agok, calling on both nations to return to dialogue and give political backing to UN peacekeepers to deescalate the attacks.

More on this topic:

• Why Abyei is crucial to South Sudan and Sudan
• A quick guide to South Sudan

FacebookCopyright: Facebook

Lecturers at South Sudan's leading university, the University of Juba, have threatened to go on strike next week if they are not paid salary arrears of six months.

On Tuesday, all the gates of the two campuses of the university in the capital, Juba, were closed and students were not allowed to enter the premises. Lectures and exams were also suspended for the day.

University vice-chancellor Prof John Akec and faculty deans were seen in front of the university’s main entrance, holding placards and demanding the payment of their salary arrears.

The academics called on the Ministry of Finance and Planning to ensure that the six-month salary arrears due to university staff wrre paid by mid-March.

Lecturers at the five public universities in the county have been staging protests to demand the implementation of a new salary structure.

The Pope will be visiting Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the country's eastern city of Goma in July.

His four-day visit to DR Congo will be followed by a two-day trip to South Sudan’s capital, Juba. He will be in the world’s newest country as it marks the 11th anniversary of its independence from Sudan.

Both countries have large Roman Catholic congregations. They are also plagued by violence.

Pope Francis has made several visits to Africa since he became the pontiff in 2013.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Western diplomats in South Sudan have urged the country support a UN resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The United Nations General Assembly will on Wednesday vote on a resolution censuring Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Dozens of states are expected to formally abstain from the vote or not engage at all, Reuters news agency reports.

“We are just hoping that as the newest member of the UN, South Sudan will stand with the UN principles, stand with this international rule-based order that is preserving us from warfare and votes with the vast majority of the international community in favour of this resolution,” Marc Trouyet, the French ambassador to South Sudan, told reporters in the capital, Juba.

South Sudan's government has not responded to the diplomats' call.

Juba has neither condemned nor supported Russian aggression since the conflict broke out last week.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has invited South Sudan's leaders for talks on the peace process in their country.

The meeting will bring together President Salva Kiir, Riek Machar and four other vice-presidents to discuss and evaluate the implementation of the 2018 revitalised peace agreement.

The leaders are expected to discuss the challenges facing the implementation of the peace deal.

Observers say most provisions of the agreement are yet to be implemented, including the graduation of the unified security forces.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The UN has said 440 civilians were killed in violence last year in South Sudan's Tambura area in fighting between government forces and militias.

In a report, it said civilians were gang-raped, detained, and children were recruited into militias.

The report - by the UN’s peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (Unmiss) and the UN Human Rights Office - added that at least 64 civilians were subjected to sexual violence, among them a 13-year-old girl who was gang-raped to death.

"I saw the incident with my eyes and it was a horrible scene,” the report quoted a teacher as saying.

The violence in Tambura in Western Equatoria State occurred between June and September 2021.

Some 80,000 people were forced to flee their homes to escape the fighting, the report added.

It named members of the military, fighters from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), and militias affiliated to them as being responsible for the human rights violations..

The report added that they included high-ranking military officials and community and religious leaders.

The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for those responsible to be held to account.

South Sudan’s health ministry has said the country is witnessing a sharp decrease in Covid-19 cases and attributed this to the vaccination campaign in the country.

Last week, there were only 30 cases confirmed countrywide.

The Covid vaccines are now available in 515 health facilities spread across South Sudan's 10 states.

AFPCopyright: AFP

South Sudan's neighbours are worried that the country is "still bleeding" from communal violence, despite the signing of a peace accord in 2020 by President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar.

The East African body, Igad, said the peace deal is facing challenges, including unresolved issues on drafting a new constitution and preparing for elections.

“Igad as a region cannot be at peace when South Sudan is shedding blood. I would really like to appeal to the international community to stand with the people of South Sudan in supporting the peace process," Igad's special envoy for South Sudan, Ismail Wais, told diplomats in the capital, Juba.

It was hoped the transitional government formed after the peace deal would bring an end to conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.

Its term ends next year.

Early this month, President Salva Kiir announced that elections would be held without conducting a census, something that Mr Machar, now the first vice president, has opposed.

Mr Machar said elections could only be conducted after a unified national army was formed, a new constitution was written, a census was conducted and millions of refugees in neighbouring countries were allowed to return home to vote in the elections.

The head of one of South Sudan's top private universities says the country's institutions must invest in research.

"As South Sudanese, don't be left behind in the world. Be aware of the world in which we live, the dot-com-generation world. Anything that is not documented in research is not valuable," said Chancellor Kenneth Mutuma Wyne to graduating students of Starford International University College of South Sudan.

"There are Europeans who become experts on South Sudan – because South Sudanese don't write research about South Sudan. We are tired of non-Africans writing research about Africa," he added.

The message at the weekend ceremony resonated with many, including Ruot George Wal Mut, who used to live in a UN refugee camp and has just graduated with a degree in international relations and diplomacy:

"It is time for us to believe in ourselves and in our local expertise, and not to rely so much on foreign skills. If this advice is taken seriously and implemented, it will change the situation in South Sudan."

He said the day marked a "double celebration" for him - "my graduation and also the birth of my baby girl just a few hours after my graduation. I am very, very happy," he told the BBC.

Ruot George Wal Mut/FacebookCopyright: Ruot George Wal Mut/Facebook

South Sudan's private universities are considered more competitive than its public ones, but the $200 (£147) fee per semester is off limits for most in the country given the dire economic situation.