This Week in South Sudan – Week 49

Monday 1 December

• Following a private meeting between President Salva Kiir, and prominent members of the Bahr al Ghazal Dinka, Bona Bang Dhel – a Dinka elder, claimed the proposed power-sharing deal would set a bad precedent in South Sudan.

Tuesday 2 December

• In response to national and regional media reports, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon made it “categorically clear” that UNMISS and the UN have no intention of making South Sudan a UN “protectorate.”

Wednesday 3 December

• With Aid from Norway, South Sudan is building a national archive in Juba to preserve documentary evidence of the past.
• According to the newly released Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), South Sudan is perceived as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, ranking 171 out of 175.
• Another Lakes state politician, and Sudan’s former state minister of health, Mabor Marier Makoi, has joined the SPLM-in-Opposition.
• Opposition leader from various political parties in South Sudan warned against unilateral and partial elections before the ongoing peace process is settled, saying it could escalate the conflict.

Thursday 4 December

• Continuous clashes between the SPLA and SPLA-in-Opposition in Fangak in northern Jonglei state.
• President Salva Kiir issued an executive order appointing Deng Mading Mijak as new head of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee, replacing Edward Lino.

Friday 5 December

• Wall Street Journal interview with Luke Patey, author of “The New Kings of Crude: China, India, and the Global Struggle for Oil in Sudan and South Sudan”. Patey will give a seminar in Oslo at PRIO on 10 December.
•  South Sudan Foreign Minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, visited the US recently and stated that South Sudan needs ‘help, not sanctions.’

Saturday 6 December

• Amid heightened tensions in Nimule, Eastern Equatoria state, South Sudan troops are allegedly trying to prevent people from fleeing the area across the border to Uganda.
• The UN, the AU and IGAD should implement targeted sanctions if fighting continues in South Sudan, according to a new report by the International Federation for Human Rights.

Sunday 7 December

• At least 24 people were killed when local tensions flared on Saturday between rival communities in Torit county, Eastern Equatoria.