Sudan

NOVANEWS By: Antony Loewenstein My following story appears in today’s Guardian (I’m currently based in Juba, South Sudan): Valerie Amos has joined calls for an arms embargo against South Sudan, the most senior UN official to back growing international demands for action against the country as it enters a second year of civil war. “Anything that takes weapons off the streets, out of countries and out of communities will help us because ultimately for us it’s about bringing peace,” the UN humanitarian chief told the Guardian. “If there are no weapons, it’s harder for people to fight, peace will come sooner and we can get more aid to the people who so desperately need it.” The United States has so far resisted efforts to implement an embargo, although the secretary of state, John Kerry, an...

NOVANEWS by Philip Aleu South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar signed an agreement in Addis Ababa in the early hours of Monday, pledging to set up a transitional, power-sharing government by July 9, the country's fourth anniversary of independence. The two sides agreed to form what will be known as the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU), which will remain in power for 30 months. Among its key tasks will be to restore peace in South Sudan, help displaced persons return home, oversee reconciliation and healing, overhaul the system of governance, and rebuild the country. But the agreement does not mean that South Sudan's conflict is finally over. Information Minister Michael Makuei said President Kiir and Machar will meet later this month to hammer ou...

A South Sudanese woman gathers wood for her home at a camp for displaced Dinkas between Bor and Minkammen. (JM Lopez / AFP/Getty Images) Prosecuting the leaders responsible would destabilize the fledgling country. By Robyn Dixon Reporting from Juba, South Sudan Concealed in the Nile River reeds, mothers and their children crouched underwater, holding their breath as long as possible, as South Sudanese militias on the bank argued whether to hunt down and kill dozens of people hiding there. One elderly man was spotted by a fighter onshore and ordered out, said Mabior Nyuon Bior, a doctor who was among the terrified civilians. As the man hobbled out of the Nile, the militiaman shot him. "Why did you do that?" Bior heard another fighter say. "Because I can," came the response. Two hours la...

NOVANEWS Amidst Ongoing Clashes in South Sudan, MSF Calls on All Actors to Respect Right to Medical Assistance WASHINGTON - December 27 - The volatile and rapidly evolving security situation in South Sudan is limiting the movement of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams and making it difficult to provide aid to those who need it most. MSF is calling on all parties to the conflict to respect medical staff and facilities, as well as the right to medical assistance. In Malakal: On December 24, heavy fighting broke out in Malakal, Upper Nile State. For two days, the MSF team was unable to safely access Malakal State Hospital and tend 49 existing patients suffering from kala azar or treat the more than 70 war-wounded people who flooded into the hospital. Yesterday and ...

NOVANEWS Marching Towards Failure by SUFYAN bin UZAYR Back in July 2011,after a long civil war, South Sudan split from Sudan to become an independent country. However, even though statehood was achieved and a new country was born, the efforts to transform South Sudan into a proper nation-state seem to have come to a standstill. Is South Sudan a failed state? Even worse, is the country almost on the brink of collapse? In this article, I shall attempt to answer these questions. History Undivided Sudan was Africa’s largest country. It surely had its share of issues, such as famines in the Darfur region, but overall, its primarily agrarian economy was doing well. Around 1999, Sudan also started exporting oil, thereby adding to its GDP. The civil war lasted for nearly 23 years, and it ended ...

NOVANEWS At least 200 people have been wounded in a week of bitter fighting in South Sudan's Jonglei state, the top United Nations humanitarian official in the country said Sunday."Some 200 casualties have arrived in Manyabol", a remote village in the troubled eastern state of Jonglei, where militia gunmen from rival ethnic groups have been battling, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan Tony Lanzer said in a statement.Manyabol is only one settlement in a vast region affected by the fighting, raising concerns that the number injured or killed elsewhere in the impoverished state could be far higher.No figures were given on any possible deaths, but Lanzer called on leaders "urgently to halt the cycle of violence that is leading to senseless loss of life and suffering amongst ci...