Global News Post: Sudan

Sudan Government Arrest 12 over 'Coup Plot'

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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">KHARTOUM (RIA Novosti) - The Sudanese government arrested 12
top military officers on Thursday including former national security service
head Salah Abdalla Gosh, on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government,
Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Sudan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'s national information center, which is
considered to be directed by the national security service, announced this
morning that an overnight coup attempt by civilian and military opposition
figures had been prevented.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"They have been charged with fomenting chaos, persecuting
national leaders, and spreading rumors about the health of President Omar
Bashir," Osman said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">President Bashir returned to <st1:city w:st="on">Khartoum</st1:city>
from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Saudi Arabia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
last week after a successful operation on his vocal cords, the government said.
He had previously had similar treatment in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Qatar</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Despite government
statements insisting he is in good health, rumors have persisted since he came
home that he is seriously ill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In April 2011 Bashir sacked Salaha Abdalla Gosh, one of the
most influential members of his regime, from his post as security adviser.
Prior to his appointment as presidential security adviser in 2009, Gosh served
as head of the National Intelligence and Security Service for seven years,
according to the Sudan Tribune.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He had also headed the National Congress, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region>'s ruling party, in talks with South Sudan
over the disputed region of Abyei and was also responsible for cooperation with
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place>
on its antiterrorist campaign after the attacks on September 11, 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gosh was dismissed for criticism of the ruling party, according
to local media.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sudan Government Arrest 12 over 'Coup Plot'

KHARTOUM (RIA Novosti) - The Sudanese government arrested 12 top military officers on Thursday including former national security ser...

US: Meles' Death Loss for Sudan Peace Process

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Scott Stearns<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The United States says the death of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is a loss for the peace process in Sudan and South Sudan. But it could bring about an improvement in human rights inside Ethiopia.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Prime Minister Meles Zenawi played an active role in helping end the long-running civil war in Sudan. The U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Princeton Lyman, says his passing is a great loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"He was always a source of great counsel, wisdom," said Lyman.  "But he also played a very dramatic role in helping bring about stability in Sudan and South Sudan, most particularly in providing peacekeepers to the troubled area of Abyeh."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meles also backed African Union peacekeeping efforts in neighboring Somalia. The United States has lost an important ally, says the National Democratic Institute's Africa expert Christopher Fomunyoh.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"You have Somalia which is a failed state in the East, Sudan, which for many years was in the state of civil war, so Ethiopia became the anchor in that part of the African continent. I think the US is going to look for ways to maintain this relationship with Meles’ replacement," Fomunyoh noted.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Successive U.S. presidents, however, expressed concern about the prime minister's repression of political dissent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says Washington hopes Ethiopia's new leaders will improve human rights.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"We have not been shy about expressing concern where it is necessary, particularly with regard to journalists' freedom, human rights, etcetera," said Nuland.  "So you will note that there is a reference to that in the public statements that we're making today, and we would always look for further improvements that can strengthen the system and support for people across Ethiopia."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Human rights abuses leave Prime Minister Meles with a mixed record, says Christopher Fomunyoh.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The infrastructure is much improved compared to what it was during the civil war," said Fomunyoh.  "He has done a lot to stabilize the country and the sub-region of the Horn of Africa. But he’s also left a very questionable legacy in regard to human rights, respect for the media, freedom of the press, respect for the opposition and creating political space in Ethiopia."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fomunyoh says Meles never found the balance between the growth of commerce and the expansion of civil liberties.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"In Africa, our leaders ought to be able to realize that economic development as well as political development are mutually reinforcing," Fomunyoh added.  "They are not mutually exclusive."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In a written statement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she admired Meles' commitment to expanding education and health services. She said the United States is confident Ethiopia will navigate this political transition according to its constitution.</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" scrolling="no" src="http://www.voanews.com/flashembed.aspx?t=vid&id=1493524&w=640&h=360&skin=embeded" width="640"></iframe></div>

US: Meles' Death Loss for Sudan Peace Process

By Scott Stearns The United States says the death of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is a loss for the peace process in Sudan and S...

US Physicians Group Offers Evidence of Darfur Atrocities

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Nico Colombant from Washington, D.C.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A U.S.-based group of physicians on Tuesday released medical evidence of widespread torture, sexual assault and other human rights violations against civilians in Sudan's conflict-wracked Darfur region.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The study was released by the group Physicians for Human Rights in the peer-reviewed Internet medical journal, PLoS Medicine.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The report is based on the work of forensic medical experts who reviewed the records of more than 300 Darfuri patients who fled violence from more than 20 rural areas across Darfur. They were examined between 2004 and 2006 at a clinic in Nyala, South Darfur.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Despite the passage of time and the narrowness of the study, co-author Alexander Tsai, a physician at Harvard University, says it helps define what has been happening in Darfur. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"We do know that people have resisted calling what has been going on by various names, whether you want to call it war crimes or genocide or crimes against humanity," said Tsai. "One of the reasons why this semantic game has been permitted to persist is that we really have not had a whole lot of evidence."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hostilities in the region escalated with the start of a massive rebel insurgency in 2003. The report says the atrocities were committed by Sudan government forces and allied Janjaweed tribal fighters against non-Arab speaking populations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The report says atrocities range from beatings and gunshot wounds to sexual assaults.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nearly half of all of the women reported being sexually assaulted. Half of the sexual assaults were reported to have taken place in close proximity to displacement camps, where victims had sought shelter after fleeing the violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sudanese officials repeatedly have denied that large-scale and intentional abuses are being committed against civilian populations. They say security forces are countering attacks by rebel groups and that the number of dead and the reported abuses are exaggerated by those trying to undermine the Khartoum government.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Although not in custody, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, former humanitarian affairs minister Ahmed Mohammed Haroun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb face war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alexander Tsai of the Physicians for Human Rights says he hopes the new evidence will reduce what he calls the "wiggle room" for counter-claims and help in the pursuit of justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"We really need hard facts to be brought to bear on this issue and to stop the violence," said Tsai. "This is the only study so far where forensic analysis has been applied to medical records. We really are hoping that this analysis will be used to bring the bad guys to account for their actions."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Despite repeated attempts at peace negotiations, violence similar to what was documented in the study has been ongoing in Darfur as well as in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, where rebels and government forces are also fighting. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

US Physicians Group Offers Evidence of Darfur Atrocities

By Nico Colombant from Washington, D.C. A U.S.-based group of physicians on Tuesday released medical evidence of widespread torture, sexua...

UN welcomes South Sudan as 193rdMember State

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8ZeLGWHjCD2xDLSx7VOm4AZ4sdejJ0vZkySrYD6hUZ6PCDjRg-B-Iit0lPZtT4CCsqGZnsw6UslOuRlNB8xPpA6RB75AeDJRcFkqYULfFRGZDDycchxrm88mGCfaW85HAdlcmCi59jA/s1600/south-sudan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8ZeLGWHjCD2xDLSx7VOm4AZ4sdejJ0vZkySrYD6hUZ6PCDjRg-B-Iit0lPZtT4CCsqGZnsw6UslOuRlNB8xPpA6RB75AeDJRcFkqYULfFRGZDDycchxrm88mGCfaW85HAdlcmCi59jA/s320/south-sudan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 1.2pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 6.5pt;">National flag (center) of South Sudan flies at United Nations Headquarters on Thursday following the country's admission as the 193rd Member State<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The General Assembly today admitted the Republic of South Sudan as the 193rd member of the United Nations, welcoming the newly independent country to the community of nations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">South Sudan’s independence from the rest of Sudan is the result of the January 2011 referendum held under the terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the decades-long civil war between the North and the South.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“At this moment… in this place… the world gathers to say in one voice: Welcome, South Sudan. Welcome to the community of nations,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said after the Assembly adopted a resolution, by acclamation, to admit Africa’s newest country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mr. Ban, who was among the UN dignitaries who attended the independence ceremony in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, last Saturday, pledged the world body’s assistance as the country shapes its future. “The commitment of all Member States will be essential as South Sudan moves forward,” he stated.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> “Together, let us say to the citizens of our newest Member State: You now sit with us. We stand with you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Assembly President Joseph Deiss said today marks a “historic” moment for Africa and for the world community.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Today we are firmly entrenching South Sudan in the community of nations in the same way as other Member States with the same rights and responsibilities. The universality of the United Nations and the values that are enshrined in its Charter are thereby enhanced,” he stated.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“I am confident that South Sudan will contribute to promote the objectives of security, peace, prosperity, friendship and cooperation between peoples as they are promoted by the United Nations, and this for the good of the people of South Sudan, for the good of the region and for the entire African continent.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Speaking on behalf of South Sudan, Vice President Riek Machar said he was “honoured and humbled” to stand before Member States to convey the gratitude of his Government and people to the Assembly for admitting the new nation to membership in the UN.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He paid tribute to all those who participated in the long struggle for South Sudan’s liberation. “That struggle cost our people millions of lives and untold suffering. Their sacrifices will not be forgotten.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mr. Machar also pledged that his country will work to foster peace in its region, while building a strong and viable nation at home.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“When we started our journey we could hardly imagine that the road would lead us to this point, however much we may have hoped for it. Now, we must move forward together to fulfil our people’s aspirations.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As South Sudan’s flag was hoisted at UN Headquarters, Mr. Ban pledged that the world body will work with the country to realize all the hopes and dreams the flag represents. “Like your flag, let us rise. Let us rise, together, to the challenge.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The latest country to join the world body had until now been Montenegro, which became the 192nd UN Member State on 28 June 2006, just weeks after it gained its independence from Serbia. (UN News)<o:p></o:p></span></div>

UN welcomes South Sudan as 193rdMember State

National flag (center) of South Sudan flies at United Nations Headquarters on Thursday following the country's admission as the 193rd Me...

A "Lost Boy of Sudan" Reflects on South Sudan Independence

<table align="left" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: 6.75pt; margin-right: 6.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-insideh: 1.0pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: 1.0pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-table-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-table-left: 5.4pt; mso-table-lspace: 9.0pt; mso-table-rspace: 9.0pt; mso-table-top: 15.05pt;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 79.5pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">   <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 79.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 441.0pt;" width="588"><div class="byline" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 1.5pt; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-left: 5.45pt; mso-element-top: 15.05pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">By James Butty<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div class="articlesummary" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-left: 5.45pt; mso-element-top: 15.05pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="articlesummary" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-left: 5.45pt; mso-element-top: 15.05pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Mac Deng,   one of the "Lost Boys of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region>",   says he hopes their new country would one day be like the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="articlesummary" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-left: 5.45pt; mso-element-top: 15.05pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-left: 5.45pt; mso-element-top: 15.05pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></h2></td>  </tr>
<tr style="height: 116.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">   <td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 116.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 441.0pt;" valign="top" width="588"><table align="left" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: 6.75pt; margin-right: 6.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-insideh: 1.0pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: 1.0pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: page; mso-table-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-table-left: 0in; mso-table-lspace: 9.0pt; mso-table-rspace: 9.0pt; mso-table-top: -.7pt;"><tbody>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouAFmsOQXCva8QnFmtSlUcV4m5aHJsJvHog_JO83UjRvmLBC7S_x8IAErS9kQhQu65e6KhAbqNv5vhz4bTkYc4AM9RKQ_JOaY3NnIZFya75TlUXKIjv8bFNnZzWbgSB44Oht3HBY2BHE/s1600/sudan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouAFmsOQXCva8QnFmtSlUcV4m5aHJsJvHog_JO83UjRvmLBC7S_x8IAErS9kQhQu65e6KhAbqNv5vhz4bTkYc4AM9RKQ_JOaY3NnIZFya75TlUXKIjv8bFNnZzWbgSB44Oht3HBY2BHE/s200/sudan.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://flic.kr/p/7D3dKf"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Photo Credit: flickr</span></a></span></i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-left: 5.45pt; mso-element-top: 15.05pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></h2></td>    </tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When   South Sudan becomes Africa’s newest country Saturday, the “Lost Boys of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region>” will   be celebrating the occasion with their fellow South Sudanese.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">During   <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s   21-year civil war, thousands of young boys from mostly the Dinka ethnic group   were separated from their families and forced to walk about a 1,000 miles to   reach safe havens.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mac   Deng, one of the “Lost Boys of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region>”   who is studying environmental science at the University of the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">District of Columbia</st1:place></st1:state>   here in <o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Washington,   D.C., said even thought he did not support separation from the beginning,   Saturday promises to be an exciting day for all South Sudanese.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“At   first I just didn’t feel like to be in support of separation. But eventually   it is a split, so I have to join the majority, and again, it’s going to be an   exciting day, and I am happy to go forward,” he says.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deng,   who said he fought in the South Sudan liberation army, said he did not want a   divided <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region> at first   because he thought he fought for a one <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I   was a soldier, and I was fighting for the freedom for all of us, liberation   for the whole <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region>.   But lastly, we decided to split. That wasn’t my thinking,” Deng said.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He   said he and a number of other south Sudanese who had reservation about   separation are ready to support the majority who voted for separation.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Most   of us are very excited, but there are some people like me who still disagree,   but lastly we all come together at the end and we join the majority and it’s   not about one person anymore,” he said.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deng,   who said he is from the town of Bor in south Sudan, said a lot has changed   for him since he and other “Lost Boys of Sudan” arrived in the United States   nine years ago.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Being   here is great. I’m the only one in my family in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> getting educated, and   looking back home, a lot of things have changed. We talk to people back home.   We tell them that this is how life is in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> and we should have the   same thing over there,” Deng said.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He   said even though the soon-to-be new country of south <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region> will face many challenges, he and other   “Lost Boys of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region>” are   hoping that one day south <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region>   will be like the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United     States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I   tell them (his family in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region>)   that this is a peaceful place to be, although it is not peaceful to some   other Americans. I send money sometime to my family, and I think our country   should be like <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>   too, even though there are political issues. Yes, that’s all we hope for,   betterment for everybody,” Deng said. (Voa News)<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-left: 5.45pt; mso-element-top: 15.05pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></h2></td>  </tr>
</tbody></table>

A "Lost Boy of Sudan" Reflects on South Sudan Independence

By James Butty Mac Deng, one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan ", says he hopes their new country would one day be like the Unit...

US Envoy to Attempt to Broker Peaceful Independence for South Sudan

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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQij1C2zf4VOcy8wjluYC3bpp6kB-6K07Bkuog-Ra4zyJHVx0nr5AZWVIsd7li4_tut96NX165iCqOo_NlhowGy6y5jO1N148tCnx5X7Jh0hIxwan9lUfraV2I2tEckFUFsGwDEknnnjc/s1600/Curious_Map_Gold_South_Sudan_Juba_230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQij1C2zf4VOcy8wjluYC3bpp6kB-6K07Bkuog-Ra4zyJHVx0nr5AZWVIsd7li4_tut96NX165iCqOo_NlhowGy6y5jO1N148tCnx5X7Jh0hIxwan9lUfraV2I2tEckFUFsGwDEknnnjc/s1600/Curious_Map_Gold_South_Sudan_Juba_230.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> envoy to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region> is on his way to the country for talks aimed at ending hostilities between forces from northern and southern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region> as the south prepares to declare independence next week.<br />
<br />
A State Department statement Saturday says Princeton Lyman will attend South Sudan's independence ceremony on July 9 in the new capital, <st1:place w:st="on">Juba</st1:place>.<br />
<br />
The statement says Lyman heads first first to <st1:city w:st="on">Addis Ababa</st1:city>, in nearby <st1:country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:country-region>, where talks between northern and southern <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region> are ongoing as fighting rages in border areas, including <st1:place w:st="on">Southern  Kordofan</st1:place> and the oil-rich Abyei region.<br />
<br />
The State Department says Lyman will support efforts in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Addis Ababa</st1:place></st1:city> to negotiate an end to the violence.  Lyman will also attempt to broker agreements on unresolved issues including resource sharing, disputed border areas, and citizenship, all crucial to the future of the relationship between Sudan and South Sudan.<br />
<br />
Lyman, the top U.S. diplomat for the region, is also scheduled to visit Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, to meet with officials there.<br />
<br />
Friday, Lyman said the process of dividing <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region> into two independent states is “still fundamentally on track” despite the territorial and economic disputes. He said the political atmosphere surrounding the birth of the new state is not as promising as it seemed when the southern Sudanese voted to become independent six months ago, but he says he expects the north and south to be able to forge workable, if not cordial, relations.<br />
<br />
But the same day, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said he had ordered his northern army to keep fighting in the volatile <st1:place w:st="on">Southern  Kordofan</st1:place> state for as long as rebels are operating there.<br />
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Weeks of fighting in <st1:place w:st="on">Southern Kordofan</st1:place> and neighboring Abyei have led to a mass exodus of people and raised fears of a new Sudanese civil war.  <br />
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North and <st1:place w:st="on">South Sudan</st1:place> fought a 21-year civil war that ended with a 2005 peace deal.  <st1:place w:st="on">South Sudan</st1:place> voted to split from the north in a referendum in January. </span></i><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(VOA News)</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

US Envoy to Attempt to Broker Peaceful Independence for South Sudan

The U.S. envoy to Sudan is on his way to the country for talks aimed at ending hostilities between forces from northern and southern Suda...

Security Council sets up UN security force for disputed Sudanese town of Abyei

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYkUJr5r2iQfKlQ4Wcv3iqu3rLw5w82g5KGh-Mp5AG8VzWrKfDt7c0DLSnbOD8e_XV6FlNQSbcnQGa65W8EyPqXeMldS0RlU96RNHhAqwdN7DdTvev_BErLK-fIL_JWLPJWfMI_6XCsU/s1600/abyei.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYkUJr5r2iQfKlQ4Wcv3iqu3rLw5w82g5KGh-Mp5AG8VzWrKfDt7c0DLSnbOD8e_XV6FlNQSbcnQGa65W8EyPqXeMldS0RlU96RNHhAqwdN7DdTvev_BErLK-fIL_JWLPJWfMI_6XCsU/s320/abyei.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">The disputed town of Abyei was the scene of renewed violence in May 2011 after Sudanese Government forces took over the area</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Security Council today </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">established</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, for an initial six months, a United Nations peacekeeping force for the area around the Sudanese town of Abyei, which is contested by both north and south and has been the scene of renewed fighting in recent weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Violence and looting broke out in Abyei town after northern troops took control of the area last month, displacing tens of thousands of people, just weeks before Southern Sudan formally separates from the rest of the country, following a referendum held in January.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Last week representatives from the Government of Sudan and their counterparts from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), representing Southern Sudan, reached an agreement that provides for temporary administrative arrangements for Abyei and the withdrawal of troops from both sides.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sudanese troops will be replaced by the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), which was set up by the Council today and will be made up of Ethiopian troops.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By the resolution adopted today, UNISFA is mandated to ensure that the area is demilitarized from any forces other than those of the UN and the Abyei Police Service, provide de-mining assistance, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and free movement of humanitarian personnel.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Council took its decision “recognizing that the current situation in Abyei demands an urgent response and constitutes a threat to international peace and security,” according to the text.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Force has been authorized – under Chapter VII of the UN Charter – to take “the necessary actions” to protect UN and UNISFA personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, protect civilians in Abyei under imminent threat of physical violence and protect the area from incursions by unauthorized elements, among other tasks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Council called on the Government of Sudan and the Government of Southern Sudan to urgently fulfil their commitments under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement – which ended the long-running north-south civil war – to peacefully resolve the final status of Abyei.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang, who recently toured Abyei as part of her visit to Sudan, said some of the simple thatch-roofed houses in the area were still smouldering during her visit there, and looters still roamed among the ruins in the presence of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“All the civilians are gone,” she told reporters in the national capital, Khartoum. “The utter devastation I saw in Abyei was a chilling warning of what might become of the border area.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She urged all parties to agree to a ceasefire and make protection of civilians a priority, adding that they must do their utmost to facilitate access for humanitarian actors to assist those in need and for human rights officers to speak with victims.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“A military solution to the conflict in the border is not an option. The recent agreement regarding Abyei is encouraging, but a broader political solution will be necessary to stem the current conflict in South Kordofan and to prevent it from spreading further,” stated Ms. Kang.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">UN officials have been calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in South Kordofan state where northern and southern forces have also been engaged in fighting in recent weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">OCHA</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">) reported today that the information it has received indicates continued air strikes and artillery shelling by the SAF in South Kordofan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Due to the security situation, the Office added, it is difficult to verify reports or properly assess the overall impact of the ongoing military operations on civilians. Estimates by UN agencies and aid groups suggest that at least 73,000 people have been displaced throughout the central and eastern parts of South Kordofan due to fighting.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Humanitarian partners are still unable to freely access civilians in Kadugli, the main town in South Kordofan, including the 7,000 people who were instructed by local authorities to return to the town after having sought refuge near the UN compound.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Access to this group for monitoring and needs assessment continues to be denied, despite clear indications that authorities used coercion to expedite returns,” the Office said in an update.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The World Food Programme (</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WFP</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">) and its local partners have distributed food to 42,000 vulnerable people in the area and are prioritizing distributions to locations that are expected to be inaccessible when the rainy season starts. In addition, the UN Children’s Fund (</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">UNICEF</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">) has provided essential medicines and supported mobile clinics in the area. UN News<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Security Council sets up UN security force for disputed Sudanese town of Abyei

The disputed town of Abyei was the scene of renewed violence in May 2011 after Sudanese Government forces took over the area The Securit...