HIGHLIGHTS
5,500 displaced people to receive food assistance in Jonglei
About 4,000 Congolese refugees cross into South Sudan
20,457 returnees stranded in Renk
NAIROBI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is appealing for urgent funding to continue providing food assistance as planned to more than 550,000 refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in northern Kenya
“WFP is facing a US$34.5 million shortfall for the next six months, and unless we receive new funding we will run out of food for refugees in February,” said WFP Kenya Country Director Ronald Sibanda.
It is important that WFP meet this funding gap as soon as possible so that food for the next six months can be pre-positioned before the onset of the short rains in March, when transporting food to the camps becomes much more challenging.
“Time is short, but if we receive sufficient resources before the end of the year we’ll be able to avoid ration cuts and have the necessary food in place before March,” Sibanda said. “New contributions will allow us to purchase food here in the region, and to have it delivered and ready to distribute in five to six weeks.”
Sibanda thanked the donors who have been supporting WFP refugee operations in Kenya, and noted that WFP requires about US$12 million to feed refugees in the two camps every month.
“The support of our donors has been critical in allowing us to provide food assistance to more than half a million refugees, and we are grateful to many countries who have contributed resources to the operation,” Sibanda said. He added that they include Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Zambia, as well as private donors.
The devastating impact of the drought that affected the Horn of Africa in 2011, coupled with conflict in Somalia, forced more than 155,000 Somalis to flee their country last year and seek refuge in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya, adding to an already large refugee population.
Dadaab and Kakuma currently house more than 550,000 refugees, which places Kenya among the countries hosting the largest refugee populations in the world. Since the beginning of this year, more than 15,000 new refugees have arrived at the Kakuma refugee camp, most of them from Sudan, South Sudan and, most recently, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
“We are committed to continuing our support for refugees in Kenya, but unless WFP receives new contributions quickly, we might be forced, as a last resort, to reduce ration sizes so our existing food stocks will last longer,” said Sibanda.
Key findings
In 2011, 308 aid workers were killed, kidnapped or wounded – the highest number yet recorded. After declining in 2010, total incidents of violence against aid workers rose again, particularly kidnappings.
Most of these attacks continued to take place in a small number of countries: Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Pakistan and Sudan.
Statistical analysis suggests that attacks on aid workers are most prevalent in weak, unstable states and those experiencing active armed conflict. These attacks are also correlated to low levels of rule of law.
The rate of aid worker killings appear to be independent of overall murder rates in the host state, the type of political regime in place and the degree of societal openness.
The above suggests that attacks on humanitarian workers are a symptom of state failure as well as a product of war. This limits options for humanitarian actors, as the host states formally responsible for providing secure access for aid operations are fundamentally ill-equipped to do so.
Aid agencies must analyse the potential of the host government to protect and assist aid operations in each context, understanding that where the capacity or political will for this is absent, they are wholly responsible for their own security.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan is providing shelter to thousands of civilians, mainly women and children, who have sought protection in a base in the country’s northwest today.
“There are around 5,000 civilians taking refuge inside the UN camp overnight, mostly women and children, and hundreds gathered around the camp for safety,” the spokesperson for the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), Kieran Dwyer, told the UN News Centre.
“All are well and will be provided care for as long as necessary,” he added.
According to media reports, the town of Wau – the capital of Western Bahr el-Ghazal state – has been affected by violence and protests that began last week after officials said they would move the seat of local government out of Wau to the nearby town of Bagare.
At least two people have reportedly died in continuing violence, in which buildings were also set on fire, in addition to causing the thousands of people to seek safety at the local base of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
UNMISS has deployed ‘blue helmets’ and armoured personnel carriers to secure Wau airport and patrol the city and nearby settlements. The peacekeepers observed a number of fires, as well as groups of up to 300 youths, some of whom possessed sticks, spears and machetes.
“UN peacekeepers have moved armoured personnel carriers into positions to protect civilians around the camp area,” Mr. Dwyer added. “The mission is working closely with the Government, who have the responsibility to address this matter and the lead role in protecting the civilian population.”
South Sudan became independent from Sudan in July last year, six years after the signing of the peace agreement that ended decades of warfare between the north and the south. During the same month, the Security Council established UNMISS with the purpose of consolidating peace and security and to help establish conditions for development.
The Security Council today strongly condemned the ongoing attacks and atrocities carried out by the armed group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and urged that the United Nations regional strategy designed to tackle the threat be carried out as soon as possible.
“The Council demands an immediate end to all attacks by the LRA, particularly those on civilians, urges LRA leaders to release all those abducted, and insists that all LRA elements put an end to such practices, and disarm and demobilise,” the 15-member body said a presidential statement.
The regional strategy, which was endorsed by the Council in June, focuses on five key strategic objectives to address the threat posed by the LRA – the Ugandan rebel group notorious for carrying out massacres in villages, mutilating its victims and abducting boys for use as child soldiers, while girls are often forced into sexual slavery.
The Council has urged swift implementation of the strategy’s objectives. These include support for the full operationalization and implementation of the African Union (AU) regional cooperation initiative against the LRA; enhancing efforts to promote the protection of civilians; and expanding current disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration activities to cover all LRA-affected areas.
The other objectives are to promote a coordinated humanitarian and child protection response in these areas, and to support LRA-affected governments in the fields of peacebuilding, human rights, rule of law and development, to enable them to establish State authority across their territories.
In its presidential statement today, the Council urged the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), the UN political and peacekeeping missions in the region and other relevant UN presences to coordinate their efforts in support of the implementation of the strategy, and called on the international community to provide assistance “as possible” to advance these goals.
Furthermore, the Secretary-General was requested to present to the Council a prioritised and sequenced implementation plan to support the strategy no later than 28 February 2013, based on a clear division of labour between all parts of the international system as well as UN organizations.
Yesterday, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of UNOCA, Abou Moussa, told the Council that the UN and the AU will seek increased funding early next year for the strategy
“The most urgent step revolves around the need to promptly finalize the LRA programmatic document and mobilize sufficient resources for its full implementation,” he said.
He added that once the programmatic document is finalized, his office, in partnership with the office of the AU Special Envoy on the LRA, Francisco Madeira, plans to organize a resource mobilization forum early next year with the aim of raising funds for the most critical areas of the strategy.
The LRA was formed in the 1980s in Uganda and for over 15 years its attacks were mainly directed against Ugandan civilians and security forces, which in 2002 dislodged the rebels. They then exported their activities to Uganda’s neighbours, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
The Council welcomed the “significant” increase in individuals escaping or defecting from the LRA over recent months, and strongly supported ongoing efforts to promote defections through the distribution of leaflets, targeted radio broadcasts, and the establishment of safe reporting sites.
In addition, it called for the remaining LRA fighters to leave the group’s ranks and participate in a disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration process.
Humanitarian situation and needs
Key messages
The humanitarian community is often denied access to vulnerable populations leading to minimal assessments and interventions;
Violence and insecurity in Darfur continue to cause displacement and inhibit returns;
Fighting in the transitional areas has affected over 900.000 people, including the 210.000 who have taken refuge in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Security Council 6895th Meeting (PM)
Regional Governments Pressed to Fulfil Cooperation Initiative Commitments,
Agree on Task Force Operations Concept Adhering to International Human Rights Laws
Strongly condemning ongoing attacks and atrocities carried out in Central Africa by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group, the Security Council this afternoon urged swift implementation of United Nations and African Union strategies to address the threat through cooperation of all countries, organizations and peacekeeping operations in the region.
Through a statement read out by Mohammed Loulichki of Morocco, which holds the December presidency of the body, the Council reiterated support for the United Nations Regional Strategy on the issue, and requested the Secretary-General to present to the Council a prioritized and sequenced implementation plan for that Strategy no later than 28 February 2013.
In that context, the Council urged all regional Governments to fulfil their commitments under the African Union Regional Cooperation Initiative in combating the LRA, and pressed for speedy agreement on a concept of operations for the related Task Force, underlining the need for all military action against the militia to be conducted in compliance with applicable international human rights and humanitarian law. In addition, the Council emphasized that States in the region held the primary responsibility to protect civilians.
Through the text, the Council also supported efforts to encourage defections from the LRA and to reintegrate former combatants into civil society. It welcomed steps taken to deliver an enhanced, comprehensive and more regional approach to the humanitarian situation, including assistance to victims of sexual violence and other attacks, and it called on States to cooperate with Ugandan authorities and the International Criminal Court to bring to justice those most responsible for LRA atrocities.
The statement comes one day after a Council meeting that featured a briefing by the head of the United Nations Office for Central Africa. (See Press Release SC/10860 of 18 December 2012.)
The meeting began at 3:13 p.m. and ended at 3:16 p.m.
Presidential Statement
The full text of the statement contained in document S/PRST/2012/28 reads as follows:
“The Security Council strongly condemns the ongoing attacks and atrocities carried out by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and their continued violations of international humanitarian law and abuses of human rights, which pose a significant threat to the civilian population, in particular women and children, and have serious humanitarian and human rights consequences, including the displacement of 443,000 people across LRA-affected areas. The Council condemns further the recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming, rape, sexual slavery and other sexual violence, and abductions. The Council demands an immediate end to all attacks by the LRA, particularly those on civilians, urges LRA leaders to release all those abducted, and insists that all LRA elements put an end to such practices, and disarm and demobilize.
“The Security Council reiterates its support for the United Nations Regional Strategy to Address the Threat and Impact of the Activities of the LRA and urges swift implementation of the five strategic areas of intervention identified in the strategy. The Council urges the United Nations Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), the United Nations political and peacekeeping missions in the region and other relevant United Nations presences to coordinate their efforts in support of the implementation of the strategy, as appropriate and within the limits of their mandates and capacities, and calls on the international community to provide assistance as possible to advance these strategic goals. The Council further urges UNOCA to continue to play a key role in the coordination of these activities. The Council requests that the Secretary-General present to the Council a prioritized and sequenced implementation plan to support the United Nations Regional Strategy no later than 28 February 2013, based on a clear division of labour between all parts of the international system as well as United Nations organizations. The Council further requests that this implementation plan identify key projects that support the priority activities of the strategy.
“The Security Council reiterates its support for the African Union Regional Cooperation Initiative against the LRA (AU RCI-LRA), and urges further progress toward its operationalization and implementation. The Security Council urges all regional Governments to fulfil their commitments under the AU-RCI, and encourages neighbouring States to cooperate with the AU-RCI. The Council further encourages all States in the region to take measures to ensure that the LRA is not able to operate with impunity in their territory. The Security Council also urges swift agreement on the Concept of Operations for the AU-RTF. The Council also calls on the AU, the LRA-affected States, and the international community to work together to secure the necessary resources for successful implementation. The Council underlines the need for all military action against the LRA to be conducted in compliance with applicable international law, including international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law, and to minimize the risk of harm to civilians in those areas. The Council further encourages all Governments in the region, working through this Initiative, to continue to strengthen their efforts and collaboration to end the LRA threat.
“The Council acknowledges and commends the important ongoing efforts being undertaken by MONUSCO (United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the fight against LRA including through training and capacity-building of FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo), support to the Joint information Operations Centre (JIOC), and implementation of the DDRRR programme to encourage and facilitate further LRA defections.
“The Security Council welcomes the strong collaboration between the United Nations and the AU in addressing the LRA threat, and encourages its continuation. The Council encourages the African Union’s Special Envoy, Francisco Madeira, and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Central Africa and Head of UNOCA, Abou Moussa, to continue to work together with the Governments of the region, including through convening a High-Level Meeting of the affected States to strengthen further their cooperation.
“The Security Council underlines the primary responsibility of States in the LRA-affected region to protect civilians. In this regard, the Council commends the efforts so far undertaken by the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of South Sudan and Uganda to end the threat posed by the LRA, and urges further efforts from these countries, as well from other countries in the region. The Council notes the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to help protect civilians in LRA-affected areas in their respective countries, and urges their continued efforts to implement this mandate, as well as the mandate of the African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA) to cooperate and share information related to the regional threat of the LRA. The Council stresses the need for enhanced cross-border coordination and information-sharing between these missions, as well as among all other actors in the region, to better anticipate LRA movements and imminent threats of attack. The Council welcomes efforts by local and international actors to establish enhanced information-sharing networks utilizing high frequency radios and other communications technology to aid protection efforts in one of the world’s most remote regions.
“The Security Council takes note of the growing concerns, cited in the Secretary-General’s report, regarding the reported LRA presence in and around the area of Kafia Kingi, which is disputed by both Sudan and South Sudan, on the border with CAR.. The Council also expresses concern about the continued reports of LRA attacks in CAR, as far as west as Bangassou, as well as in the DRC. The Council calls on the United Nations missions in the region and AU-RTF to work together to monitor these reports and to develop a common operating picture of the LRA’s disposition in the region. The Council also calls on the United Nations and AU to jointly investigate the LRA’s logistical networks and possible sources of illicit financing, including alleged involvement in elephant poaching and related illicit smuggling.
“The Security Council welcomes the significant increase in individuals escaping or defecting from the LRA over recent months, and strongly supports ongoing efforts to promote defections through the distribution of leaflets, targeted radio broadcasts, and the establishment of safe reporting sites. The Council calls on the remaining LRA fighters to leave the group’s ranks and participate in the disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRRR) process. The Council urges MONUSCO, BINUCA, UNMISS, and other United Nations actors in the LRA-affected region to continue to work with regional forces and non-governmental organizations to promote defections and support the DDRRR efforts across the LRA-affected area. The Council welcomes the High-Level Symposium on DDRRR of the LRA that took place on 30 November 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and urges the missions in the region to quickly implement the specific standard operating procedures for the DDRRR of former LRA combatants. Given the resource constraints, the Council especially encourages SRSG Moussa and UNOCA to work with BINUCA to develop a plan to augment its support for DDRRR efforts in CAR. The Council calls on international partners to provide further strategic support as needed.
“The Security Council commends efforts by international donors to provide humanitarian assistance to LRA-affected populations in CAR, DRC and the Republic of South Sudan. The Council welcomes the steps taken to deliver an enhanced, comprehensive, and more regional approach to the humanitarian situation, including assistance to victims of sexual violence and other attacks and urges further progress in this regard. The Council reaffirms the requirement for all parties to promote and ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian organizations to the civilian population, in accordance with international law, including applicable international humanitarian law, and guiding principles of humanitarian assistance. The Council expresses concern about the lack of regular humanitarian access to many LRA-affected communities in CAR and the DRC, principally because of poor infrastructure, and encourages increased UN efforts and international donor support for humanitarian access.
“The Security Council recalls that the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Joseph Kony, Okot Odhiambo, and Dominic Ongwen on charges of, inter alia, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and the enlistment of children through abduction have yet to be enforced, and calls upon all States to cooperate with the Ugandan authorities and the International Criminal Court in order to implement those warrants, and to bring to justice those responsible for the atrocities.
“The Security Council requests that the Secretary-General keep it informed on the activities of UNOCA, the progress of implementation of the Regional Strategy and the efforts being undertaken respectively by missions in the region and other relevant United Nations agencies to that end, including through a single report on UNOCA and the LRA to be submitted before 15 May 2013.”
Contents:
SITUATION UPDATE
LOGISTICS COORDINATION
TRANSPORT SECTOR
STORAGE
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT & GIS
ASSESSMENTS
SITUATION UPDATE
Humanitarian Update
• Humanitarians continue to express concern about reports of armed elements in refugee sites in Upper Nile State.
• During November there has been an increase in the rate of new arrivals into Unity State (as compared to October). This trend is expected to continue in the coming months as road conditions improve.
Aid organizations have responded by establishing small transit sites in Unity State.
• UNHCR continues working to identify new sites capable of hosting refugees in both Upper Nile and Unity States. These are needed to facilitate the movement of some refugee settlements, and to accommodate the increase in the refugee population. A new process to register refugees (Using fingerprint, or biometric verification to assist aid agencies in their 2013 planning and prepositioning efforts during the dry season) was launched in November and is on-‐going.
• Preliminary results of the November Integrated Food Security Phase Classification showed slight improvements in food security, however the situation remains fragile.
• WFP airdrops of food into Yida, Unity State continued during the month of November; these are in addition to flights scheduled by other organizations. The Logistics Cluster continues to coordinate air movements into the refugee settlement (Currently housing more than 60,000 refugees from Sudan).
AT A GLANCE
An estimated 8 million people remain food insecure in the Horn of Africa. The majority of those in need of humanitarian assistance are in Somalia (2.12 million).
The general food security outlook for the Horn indicates that crop production should be favorable ahead of the end of the year harvests. Livelihood improvements still depend on how certain communities (especially pastoralists) are able to recover from the previous seasons’ poor crop production, loss of livestock and macro-economic shocks.
Ongoing conflict and rising global food prices continue to heavily impact unstable parts of Somalia. Isolated incidents of conflict between local tribes in the Tana Delta area of Kenya have left 100 people dead and 12,000 displaced.
12/20/2012 14:45 GMT
JUBA, South Sudan, Dec 20, 2012 (AFP) - Riots that rocked the South Sudanese town of Wau killed at least 12 people, a hospital doctor said Thursday, revising the previous day's toll of four dead.
"They were 12, those were the ones reported to the area hospitals," with bodies showing "various injuries", Marial Khoc, a doctor at Wau's military hospital told AFP.
A spokesman for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said thousands of people were still sheltering at their base a day after the deadly unrest.
"We still have thousands of civilians at our base being provided safety," said UNMISS spokesman Liam McDowall.
The UN on Wednesday said patrols had "observed a number of fires, as well as groups of youths up to 300-strong, some of whom possessed sticks, spears and machetes".
South Sudan government spokesman Marial Benjamin told reporters that the government was bringing in reinforcements from Rumbek, the capital of the neighbouring Lake State.
"The government has contained the situation by bringing in more police from Rumbek," Benjamin told reporters in Juba on Thursday.
The town has been rocked by violence and protests that began last week after officials said they would move the seat of local government out of Wau to the smaller settlement of Bagare nearby.
hmc-dw/hv/jj
© 1994-2012 Agence France-Presse
December 2012 – Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan
AT A GLANCE
Conditions across the Horn of Africa have improved but 8 million people remain food insecure. This is down from 13.3 million one year ago.
Somalia remains the most affected country with 2.1 million people in need of urgent food assistance.
Ongoing conflict, population displacement, limited access for humanitarian agencies and the disruption of economic activities compound the food security situation in the country.
Throughout the Horn, the drought situation is generally improving due to favorable seasonal rains.
However, poorer households are still recovering from the previous season’s poor crop production and loss of livestock. Many families remain in a precarious food security situation.
The United Nations peacekeeping operation in South Sudan reports that the situation in the town of Wau remains tense, following the arrival of some 5,000 people seeking safety at a UN base there yesterday, a spokesperson for the world body said today.
“Earlier today, many of those who sought UN protection and stayed overnight left the base to inspect their homes – a significant number of civilians, mainly women, children and the elderly, remain in the UN base and continue to be protected,” added the spokesperson, Eduardo Del Buey, in a news briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.
Thousands of civilians, mainly women and children, had sought protection at a local base of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Wau – the capital of Western Bahr el-Ghazal state, in the country’s northwest – on Wednesday, amidst violence and protests that began last week after officials said they would move the seat of local government out of Wau to the nearby town of Bagare.
At least two people have reportedly died in the violence, in which buildings were also set on fire.
On Wednesday, UNMISS deployed ‘blue helmets’ and armoured personnel carriers to secure Wau airport and patrol the city and nearby settlements. The peacekeepers observed a number of fires, as well as groups of up to 300 youths, some of whom possessed sticks, spears and machetes.
“The UN Mission continues to safeguard the airport and has conducted patrols to assess the situation in the city and affected outlying settlements,” Mr. Del Buey told journalists. “The Mission is also redeploying additional peacekeepers to Wau in order to assist in the protection of civilians.”
Mr. Del Buey added that UN humanitarian agencies stand ready to provide assistance, and that UNMISS is urging authorities and community leaders to “exercise restraint and engage in peaceful dialogue in order to prevent a further deterioration of the fragile situation.”
The UN peacekeeping operation is working on the matter closely with the Government of South Sudan, which has the lead role in protecting the civilian population.
South Sudan became independent from Sudan in July last year, six years after the signing of the peace agreement that ended decades of warfare between the north and the south. During the same month, the Security Council established UNMISS with the purpose of consolidating peace and security and to help establish conditions for development.
The top commander of the South Sudan army’s controversial disarmament campaign in Jonglei state recently announced a shift in the strategy for dealing with the most troublesome challenge to their “Operation Restore Hope”—the David Yau Yau rebellion in Pibor. The SPLA will now “launch aggressive attacks” against the rebels, said Lt. Gen. Kuol Deim Kuol, effectively ending what the SPLA previous said was its plan to only assume defensive positions to allow the necessary space for an initiative that saw local elders travel to their communities to convince the population not to join Yau Yau or to be in possession of guns.
Those local efforts were having limited results, the Enough Project found during recent field research in Pibor, presented in a new report published this week. In September, youth affiliated with Yau Yau shot a chief while he was trying to /node/545179) disseminate this message of peace. The rebellion also appears to have attracted 4,000-6,000 youth, according to the SPLA and UNMISS.
Far from being a stabilizing force, the SPLA’s own operations in areas of the state mostly inhabited by Murle community have thus far resulted in at least 100 civilian casualties and have therefore served to stoke animosities that drive youth to join Yau Yau.
In early August, eight SPLA soldiers entered the house of Anna and Tapisa, whose families were disarmed in April. “If you don’t tell us about the guns, you will be beaten to death,” the SPLA said, pointing guns, according to the two women. “If Yau Yau is going to come here, we will beat you until you die.” The two women were beaten on their heads and lower backs; both women’s faces were still swollen in mid September when the Enough Project spoke to them. “I am angry at [the army]. It looks like they are doing it intentionally,” said Tapisa. “We are not with Yau Yau, we have no relationship with him. We are civilians; we do not deal in politics. We are fearing so much.” David Yau Yau, a former county official, has seized on those feelings of the Murle being marginalized or worse, targeted, by the South Sudanese government to stake out his group’s purpose.
Yau Yau doesn’t come from a military background, having studied theology before his posting with the county administration, but he launched his first rebellion in May 2010, shortly after losing an election. Yau Yau was known to have had a close relationship with the late rebel commander George Athor, who was directly stocked by Khartoum and served as source for weapons to local armed groups across the state.
Following his first rebellion, Yau Yau announced he had signed an amnesty agreement with the government in June 2011. But the extent of the integration of him and his 200 men into the army is debatable.
Yau Yau defected again in April of this year but maintained a small force of just 20-30 followers for the first few months. In August, operations against the SPLA began in earnest; since then, at least 100 SPLA soldiers have been killed.
Khartoum’s hand in the rebellion this time around is, again, highly likely. In September the U.N. mission in South Sudan, or UNMISS, witnessed an airdrop of seven or eight bundles from an unlabeled white plane in Likuangole. UNMISS could not verify the contents, but the SPLA said the packages contained of arms and ammunition to the Yau Yau rebellion from Khartoum. The SPLA alleges that the Sudanese government is using Yau Yau to exploit divisions in the community with the aim of destabilizing South Sudan, a strategy that Khartoum has a long history of putting to use in Jonglei state to divide and undercut the effectiveness of the then rebel SPLA during the civil war.
Yau Yau’s motivations to rebel once more are unclear. What is certain is the potential for civilians to be caught between the SPLA and Yau Yau’s forces should the SPLA begin their offensive. Not only does the SPLA have a history of carrying out campaigns against militias in an indiscriminant manner that leaves a heavy toll on civilians, the definition of a Yau Yau supporter is highly ambiguous. A significant portion of these youth may simply be picking up a gun from the militia group and using the weapon for their own purposes, such as cattle-raiding. Are these youth considered Yau Yau supporters? In a rebellion that is consistently labeled as a Murle rebellion, will the SPLA end up targeting the entire community in order to root out those few who support Yau Yau?
Murle leaders at the county and payam levels are highly conscious of the potential civilian collateral this dry season could bring. In response, they’ve attempted to facilitate a strategy of physically separating supporters and non-supporters to help the military distinguish between innocent civilians and those who are fighting alongside Yau Yau.
Conversations between the Juba government and the Murle leadership have been ongoing, and the assistance of Murle leaders sought to politically tame the rebellion in their areas. Amnesty has been extended to Yau Yau once more, but no response has yet been received. As we say in our recent report, the international community has an important role to play in watching and preventing the potential bloodshed that may take place in the new few months in volatile Jonglei.
Diana Wani
More than 200 people have had their sight restored in an eye clinic in Duk County, Jonglei State.
The clinic is run by a group of lost boys from America under the "John Dau foundation."
The doctors in the clinic are conducting surgery on patients with cataracts and other treatable eye ailments.
Speaking to Radio Miraya the founder of the clinic, Dhieu Deng Leek, said the eye clinic is being used to bring peace to the people of Jonglei.
"The services that we are delivering can bring peace to our people. Maybe we can do it in this way, bringing Nuer, Gawar Nuer from Ayod County, Lou Nuer from Uror County, Murle from Pibor County, greater Bor and bring them to Duk which means our doctors will restore their eye sight together. So that they can see each other for the first time. We tie that to peace and we call it eye surgery for peace. You are one people and benefiting from one thing. "
A patient who benefited from clinic shared her joy with Radio Miraya. Nyapuke Nyuon said she lost her sight in 1995, and is happy to see again.
"I am very happy that I can now see. I can see your face and how you smile. It is a nice chance. Before, everything was black. Now I can differentiate between black cloth and colored clothes. I will remember Duk Deng-Malual. For giving me my sight back."
The clinic will last eight days and a total of 286 people have had their sight restored so far.
Diana Wani
The United States government has signed a grant agreement of $260 million that will go towards peace and development programs in South Sudan.
The agreement was signed in Juba by the US charge' de affairs Michael Mclawlan and the National Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Kosti Manibe.
The money will be channeled through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Speaking to Radio Miraya, the charge' de affairs of the US embassy Michael Mclawlan said the funds will be used for new and existing projects to help the government of South Sudan implement its development plans in priority sectors including security, education, rule of law and good governence.
Khartoum is attacking its own civilians, and people in South Kordofan are asking why the outside world is just standing by
An eerie silence suddenly descends upon Kauda's market as people scan the skies for the source of the distant yet all-too-familiar throb of Soviet-manufactured plane engines.
ABYEI, 21 December 2012 (IRIN) - Ayom Nyol is one of several thousand people who have returned to Abyei Town, the once-bustling capital of a region lying on the border between South Sudan and Sudan. Sudan deployed troops there in May 2011, leading most of the population, around 100,000 people, to flee southwards.
Few aid agencies operate in the area. Almost eight years after a peace deal ended decades of civil war, which country Abyei belongs to remains one of the key unresolved issues between South Sudan (which gained independence in 2011) and Sudan. The two states have failed to agree who should be allowed to take part in a long-delayed referendum - now due in October 2013 - to settle the matter.
The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei is now deployed in the area, but few of the displaced have come back. Nyol’s husband and five children have stayed near aid and safety in nearby Agok, where many of the roughly 100,000 people from the majority Dinka Ngok community fled. But Nyol has come home to cultivate.
She now lives in a disused government building - one of the town’s only constructions still boasting a roof. Its walls are covered in Arabic graffiti, scrawls by Sudanese troops celebrating their occupation.
Nyol fears that this year’s regular southward migration of Misseriya pastoralists could spark more deadly conflict, even if the stalemate between Khartoum and Juba does not deteriorate into violence.
She told IRIN her story.
“We came to cultivate at home, but our houses are burnt and so we came here, near where the UN is, and we walk to our village about an hour from here every day, and come back here to sleep.
“I come from a village called Maryan Ker. It is one hour’s walk from Abyei Town, so I go during the day and come back at night. There is nothing left there from the burning.
“During the rains, we ran up to Agok. My husband, a farmer, is still there with the children.
“I came back in May 2012 when Sudan Armed Forces left and the rains came so that I could cultivate, as there was not a good place to cultivate in Agok.
“I had three relatives killed in the [2011] attack. They bombed people, and people did not know where to run, so people fell down with the bullets just like that. When they killed people, we could not go back and take the bodies for burial, even though we knew our relatives were there.
“Those of the north, they still need to come here. It seems they need this area to belong to them so we are really fearing.
“Before, they brought a cattle camp and did some grazing here, and then they brought some goods for the shops, and then they would go back in May with the rains.
“Now, they like this place, and they want the land. They want it to be theirs.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with them, because they are our relatives, and they have been staying with us for so long, but now they say this place is theirs.
“We are not comfortable with the situation, as they have looted everything, and we don’t want to see them in this area.
“These Misseriya and their cows, we don’t want them to come here anymore, as they came and chased us away.
“They took all of our cows, now we have nothing. They took around 1,000 from my family, plus all the cows of our relatives. Now nothing is left, nothing at all.
“They need land. They need our cows. They need to come here and take everything.
“Now, we don’t have cattle here, but I hope we will again bring our own cows to graze here.
“Every night, I pray that Abyei will be our area and that we can live here peacefully.”
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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the shooting down today of a United Nations helicopter in South Sudan – killing all four crew members onboard – by the country’s armed forces and called for those responsible to be held to account, his spokesperson said today.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the shooting down today of a clearly marked UN helicopter by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) near Likuangole, in Jonglei state of South Sudan,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The Russian-crewed MI-8 helicopter, part of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), had been on a on a reconnaissance flight at around 10:00 a.m. local time over the settlement of Likuangole, in the eastern state of Jonglei.
The reconnaissance was related to efforts to identify suitable landing places to facilitate the protection of civilians work in the state. There were no passengers onboard.
UNMISS has begun an investigation to establish the circumstances around the incident. The peacekeeping mission had immediately launched a search and recovery operation, which confirmed the death of all four crew members.
In communications between UNMISS and the SPLA, the Mission was told that the SPLA had shot at a helicopter in the Likuangole area on Friday.
“The Secretary-General calls on the Government of South Sudan to immediately carry out an investigation and bring to account those responsible for this act,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said.
“In light also of previous incidents,” he added, “the Secretary-General demands that the Government of South Sudan urgently puts in place reinforced measures within the SPLA to ensure that no such event may reoccur in the future.”
Echoing UNMISS in an earlier statement, the spokesperson noted that the UN chief extends his “heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the four crew members killed in this incident and to the Russian Federation.”
South Sudan became independent from Sudan in July last year, six years after the signing of the peace agreement that ended decades of warfare between the north and the south. During the same month, the Security Council established UNMISS with the purpose of consolidating peace and security and to help establish conditions for development.
21 December 2012 – Many civilians, most of them women and children, remain in the UNMISS compound in Wau for the third consecutive day in the wake of disturbances that occurred in various neighborhoods of the Western Bahr El-Ghazal state capital on 19 December.
Large numbers of civilians left the compound yesterday, but some returned to the UNMISS base on Thursday evening out of fear for their security.
An UNMISS patrol of Wau this morning found that most businesses were still shuttered amidst a visibly bolstered presence of police officers and army troops on the city’s streets.
The patrol also visited the outlying settlement of Bussere but found no evidence confirming reports that thousands of displaced people had taken refuge at that location.
UNMISS armored personnel carriers continue to secure the city’s airport and the perimeter of the mission’s compound.
12/21/2012 19:49 GMT
JUBA, South Sudan, Dec 21, 2012 (AFP) - South Sudan's army shot down a UN helicopter, killing all four crew on board, after it mistook the craft for an enemy plane, military spokesman Philip Aguer said Friday.
"The artillery unit unfortunately fired on the plane knowing that this is an enemy plane because there was no prior information from the UN about this plane being in the area," Aguer told AFP.
"Unfortunately the plane was shot by friendly fire ... that hit it, and it crashed," he said.
"After 15 minutes of shooting at the plane, we heard that the UN had sent a plane," he said.
Aguer said the army used anti-aircraft weapons to down the aircraft as it flew over Jonglei, a state in the east of the world's newest nation that has long been the theatre of ethnic conflicts, with particularly bloody clashes reported over the past year.
The helicopter was hit on a reconnaissance flight over Jonglei. The South Sudanese government has already tried to stop the United Nations, and rights groups investigating allegations of massacres and other abuses in that region.
South Sudan became independent in July last year after it split from Sudan.
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