Due to changes in the personnel here at PRIO, This Week in South Sudan is put on hold after this week. We regret this temporary break in what has been a five-year continuous provision of updates, and plan to start again shortly.

Monday 1 April

• Amidst political chaos in Khartoum, Sudan’s president Omar Al Bashir called for the opening of all crossings between Sudan and South Sudan, starting with the river transport from Kosti to Juba.

Tuesday 2 April

• Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mawien Makol Ariik expressed dissatisfaction by the United State’s decision to extend its “national emergency” on South Sudan for another year, arguing it contradicts the positive momentum of the peace implementation.
• A previous minister in the Khartoum government, Joseph Malual Dong, joined the SPLM-IO led by Riek Machar. Dong accused President Kiir of dismantling political parties that oppose the ruling SPLM party.
• The Sun Daily: “South Sudan Holds Breath as Fragile Peace Faces Crucial Test”

Thursday 4 April

• President Kiir and Riek Machar accepted an invitation from the Vatican for a “spiritual retreat”, which is expected to be held 9-10 April.
• The UN Central Emergency Response Fund announced an allocation of US $11 million to help displaced South Sudanese to return to their homes.
• SPLM-IO officials called on IGAD to end Machar’s confinement in Sudan.

Friday 5 April

• South Sudan promised China one sixth of their oil production outputs as China funds the nation’s biggest infrastructure-development program.

Saturday 6 April

• Al Jazeera: “Is Oil Money Fuelling War in South Sudan?”

Monday 25 March

• Together with six other detainees, Peter Biar Ajak appeared in court and was charged with insurgency, but they denied the charges against them. Read more about the background for the detention of Ajak in the week 10, 2019, post.
  • The UN appealed to the South Sudan authorities to release Ajak, and stated that “we condemn in the strongest terms Mr. Ajak’s continued detention and urge the South Sudanese authorities to release him immediately”.

Tuesday 26 March

• International ceasefire monitors stated the National Salvation Front (NAS) led by Thomas Cirillo conducted several attacks in Yei River, Central Equatoria.
  • NAS rejected the accusations by the ceasefire monitoring body.
• A deputy spokesman of NAS, Wazil Michael, resigned from the group, saying he did not agree on the group’s “tribal agenda”.
• The Petroleum Ministers from South Sudan and Qatar met to discuss cooperation over their oil and gas industries and about capacity building programs for South Sudanese engineers.

Wednesday 27 March

• South Sudan and the Chinese firm Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co. reached an agreement on the construction of highways in South Sudan.

Thursday 28 March

• The South African Energy Minister Jeff Radabe announced that they are pursuing an oil agreement with South Sudan.

Friday 29 March

• The widow of SPLM founder John Garang, Rebecca Garang, signed the revitalised peace agreement in the presence of IGAD’s special envoy to South Sudan, Ismail Wais.

Sunday 31 March

• South Sudan’s Media Authority ordered the suspension of the Al-Watan newspaper for one month.

Monday 18 March

• The Defence Ministries of Sudan and South Sudan agreed to demilitarise the disputed common borders by the next month.
• IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan, Ismail Wais, said that the formation of a new unity government is facing key obstacles. The revitalised peace agreement is already behind schedule and a unified army has not yet been trained.

Tuesday 19 March

• The SPLM-IO called for an investigation after an alleged pro-government militia attacked civilians in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal.
• The South Sudan National Democratic Alliance announced they are ready to resume discussions on joining the revitalised peace agreement, but IGAD stated that the mediation will not acknowledge any new group formed after the signing of the peace agreement on 12 September.

Wednesday 20 March

• National Salvation Front said its recent talks with IGAD failed, and argued it was because IGAD refused to renegotiate the revitalised peace agreement.
• African Arguments: “South Sudan: How Warring Parties Play International Donors”

Sunday 24 March

• The mobile telecommunication company MTN said it is investing at least USD 30 million in revitalising and expanding its operations.
• The Ministry of Health signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation to build health facilities across the country.

Monday 11 March

• In cooperation with the Ministry of Petroleum, the Oranto Petroleum company announced that they will be financing an educational program in Yirol, Lakes, reaching approximately 60 000 children.

Wednesday 13 March

• After talks with the IGAD special envoy, the South Sudan United Front, with its leader Paul Malong, is ready to become a party to the revitalised peace agreement. But, Malong stated that he wants face-to-face negotiations with the government of South Sudan.
• Hereward Holland in Reuters: “South Sudan Peace Deal Doomed if Disputes not Settled”

Friday 15 March

• The deputy chairman of the SPLM-IO, Henry Odwar, urged President Salva Kiir to fund the peace implementation with revenues from oil production.
• The People’s Democratic Movement said they were excluded from the consultation talks that the IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan held with non-signatories of the peace agreement.

Saturday 16 March

• In a UN Security Council meeting, Russia accused the US of undermining the South Sudan peace deal.
• President Salva Kiir met Pope Francis in the Vatican to discuss bilateral relations and the contribution of the Catholic Church in South Sudan’s education system, health system and the peace and reconciliation processes.

Sunday 17 March

• The UN Security Council extended the UNMISS mandate for one year.
• IRIN News: “Note to Humanitarians in South Sudan: Strengthen the Group, Not Just the Individual”.

Monday 4 March

• Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaiaas Afwerki visited South Sudan to discuss the way forward for the revitalised peace agreement with President Salva Kiir.
• IGAD invited the leader of South Sudan United Front (SSUF), General Paul Malong for a meeting to discuss the implementation of the revitalised peace agreement. The meeting is scheduled for 11 March.
• Relief Web: “South Sudan: Force Protection Map as of March 2019”

Tuesday 5 March

• The UN accused foreign oil companies operating in South Sudan of stoking armed conflict in the country.
• President Kiir apologised to the people of Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal, for “mistakes and suffering” during the civil war.

Thursday 7 March

• The National Pre-Transitional Committee said that the new government most likely will not be in place by the end of the 8-months pre-transitional period. Secretary Martin Elia Lomuro blamed lack of funding for the process.
  • The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission said that significant progress has still been made in the implementation of the revitalised peace agreement, despite the financial challenges.
• The UN appealed to the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) to release the human rights defender Peter Biar Ajak from prison. You can read more about this in posts from August 2018, here and here.

Monday 25 February

• At a meeting in Juba, representatives from the South Sudan Opposition Alliance, the SPLM-IO, and the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, committed to end violations against children.

Wednesday 27 February

• The People’s Democratic Movement’s leader Hakim Dario said that IGAD should renegotiate the revitalised peace agreement, arguing it should include their demands for a federal system.
  • IGAD said the revitalised peace agreement will not be opened for renegotiations.
• International Organisation for Migration: “Mobility Track Round 4”

Thursday 28 February

• The South Sudan National Democratic Alliance (SSNAD) announced that they declined meeting the IGAD special envoy for South Sudan until receiving a formal invitation. However, later the same day, the SSNAD met with the special envoy.

Friday 1 March

• UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: “2018 South Sudan Humanitarian Response in Review”

Sunday 3 March

• Bahr el Ghazal communities called for a land reform, hoping that the government will administer the land.
• The Government of South Sudan urged China National Petroleum Corporation to increase crude oil production by exploring more fields in South Sudan.
• Officials from the GoSS and SPLM-IO urged citizens to forgive them for crimes committed during the civil war.

Wednesday 20 February

• A recent UN report tally alleged perpetrators of sexual violence, killings and torture in South Sudan. The confidential list of suspects includes people from the army, national security, military intelligence, rebel forces and affiliated armed groups.
• Bel Trew in Independent: “Too Young to Wed: Poverty and Hunger are Driving up Numbers of Child Brides in South Sudan.”

Thursday 21 February

• The SPLM, the SPLM-FD and the SPLM-IO fraction under Taban Deng Gai, are formally reunited.
  • The steering committee of the SPLM reunification recommended to reinstate the members of the Political Bureau and National Liberation Council who were dismissed in December 2013.
  • Riek Machar denounced the reunification, arguing that it undermines the peace deal.
• The State: “New recruitment of soldiers threatens South Sudan’s peace”

Friday 22 February

• Aid agencies reported that food insecurity is increasing in South Sudan, and recent assessments suggest that nearly 7 million, or two-thirds of the country experience food shortages.

Saturday 23 February

• The Troika – the US, the UK and Norway – issued a joint statement raising alarm over the escalating violence around Yei involving government forces and National Salvation Front (NAS) under Thomas Cirilo Swaka, who refused to sign the September 2018 peace deal.

Sunday 24 February

• The SPLM-IO rejected to merge with the ruling party SPLM, despite the 2015 Arusha reunification agreement between the SPLM, the SPLM-IO and the Former Political Detainees (FDs). Nathaniel Oyet Pierino, representative of the SPLM-IO at the National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC) said that the reunification agreement has been overtaken by events such as the July 2016 renewed violence.

Yohannes Gedamu in Relief Web: “South Sudan Peace Deal Offers Promising End to Conflict. But Challenges Remain.”

Monday 11 February

• The Minister of Labour, James Hoth Mai, said he will reform the civil service sector, with the primary aim of increasing youth employment.

Tuesday 12 February

• The UN reports a surge in violence in Yei State displacing 8000 people, where about 5000 have fled to the DRC.
• The Diplomat: “How China Came to Dominate South Sudan’s Oil”

Wednesday 13 February

• The Minister of Information, Michael Makuei, announced that the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) will deduct one day salary of civil servants to fund the implementation of the revitalised peace agreement.
• Close to 120 children soldiers were released from service by the South Sudan National Liberation Movement in Yambio, Western Equatoria. This brings the total number child soldiers freed since the conflict started to over 3 100, according to UNICEF.
• OCHA: “South Sudan: Humanitarian Access Snapshot”
• Report by Brian Adeba and the Enough Project Team: “A Hijacked State: Violent Kleptocracy in South Sudan”

Friday 15 February

• President Kiir replaced Major-General Chock-rach Angich with Major-General Rin Tueny Mabor as Chief of Military Intelligence.
• Vice News: “Key Rebel Leader in South Sudan’s Civil War Rejects Peace Deal, Won’t Lay Down Arms”

Saturday 16 February

• The South Sudan Opposition Alliance’s (SSOA) Acting Secretary for Information and Communication, Dei Tut, denied that the dissent within the SSOA is due to competition for the vice president position.
• UNMISS: “Protection of Civilians (PoC) Sites”
• Xinhua Net: “Conflict, Poverty, Hunger Fuel Child Marriages in South Sudan”

Monday 4 February

• South Sudan and Uganda formed a join technical border committee to address and resolve border tensions.

Tuesday 5 February

• The UN envoy for South Sudan, David Shearer, said fighting in South Sudan “has diminished greatly” since the signing of the revitalised peace agreement.
• The parties of the revitalized peace agreement agreed to establish assembly sites for disengagement of fighters.

Thursday 7 February

• The UNHCR announced that 20 000 South Sudanese refugees have returned home from Uganda since the signing of the revitalised peace agreement.
• President Kiir and the Jubek community elders, in Central Equatoria, held talks to address land grabbing and cattle-related issues.

Friday 8 February

• Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation with South Sudan and IGAD, and provided USD 1 million to South Sudan, to promote the implementation of the peace agreement.
• Relief Web: “Crisis Fact Sheet #3, Fiscal Year 2019”.

Sunday 10 February

• The oil Minister Ezekiel Lul Gathouth announced that South Sudan will aim to produce more than 350 000 barrels of crude oil per day by mid-2020, which is similar to the levels produced in the pre-war period.
• An Ethiopian military helicopter crashed in a UN compound in Abyei. Three crew members were killed, and ten passengers injured.
• The National Salvation Front (NAS) has issued several statements about violent clashes with the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces.
  • NAS officials accused government troops for preparing new attacks on their positions in Western and Central Equatoria.
• Sudan Tribune: “Democratic Reforms in South Sudan after FMs Joining Kiir”

Tuesday 29 January

• The editor-in-chief of the newspaper Al-Watan, Michael Christopher, fled South Sudan after being warned not to cover the protests in Sudan. Read more about this situation in our previous posts from week 3 and week 4.

Wednesday 30 January

• The SPLM Former Detainees announced it will reunite with the ruling SPLM party under the leadership of President Kiir. However, after reports of military build-up in Yei River State, Central Equatoria, media argues that the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) is sending mixed signals.
  • The National Salvation Front said that they have been attacked repeatedly by the government army in Yei River State, and stated that the ceasefire is “technically dead”.
  • The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission urged all parties to restrain their military presence in Yei River State.

Thursday 31 January

• Close to 70 child soldiers were released from the former South Sudan National Liberation Movement in Yambio, Western Equatoria.
• The Ministry of Petroleum of South Sudan signed a technical assistance cooperation agreement with the African Energy Chamber.

Friday 1 February

• The SPLM-IO contested a drafted resolution from the IGAD peace implementation body on the country’s governance system and argued that it violates the revitalized peace agreement.

Sunday 3 February

• The GoSS has allocated 10 000 barrels of crude oil per day to Chinese firms, who in return have promised to develop the country’s infrastructure, and particularly roads. No date has been given as to when this agreement should end.
• Luka Biong Deng in Radio Tamazuj: “Opinion: What is the Utility of the SPLM Unification Now?”