This Week in South Sudan – Week 17 – Monitoring South Sudan

The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) is ready to reopen negotiations for drilling rights to oil blocks B1 and B2, after talks with Total, Tullow Oil and the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company broke down.
Security service officials have advised Salva Kiir to remove and replace the Chief Justice, Chan Reec Madut. South Sudanese judges and justices called off their proposed strike shortly after.

S. Ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, repeated her call to the Security Council to increase targeted sanctions and impose an arms embargo on South Sudan, as the warring parties lack ‘the political will to end the conflict’ themselves.
Sudanese intelligence officials accused Salva Kiir of allegedly holding a closed-door meeting with the SPLM-N rebel movement in Juba.
Salva Kiir issues a new presidential decree appointing members to the National Dialogue Committee. Several members were appointed without prior consultation, including Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior.
The Washington Post: “Smugglers become a lifeline for the starving in South Sudan”

GoSS claim they have secured a USD $58 million grant and $48 million grant from the World Bank and African Development Bank The World Bank is distancing itself from these reports, claiming a donation to UN aid agencies in South Sudan, worth $50 million, is pending approval.
South Sudan and Turkey have signed a trade and economic cooperation agreement.

The displaced population in and around Aburoc is likely to hit 50,000 following clashes in Kodok, Upper Nile State. The security situation has forced aid agencies to evacuate the area.
During a plenary meeting, The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) admitted that the security situation in the country has collapsed.

An advance team of the Regional Protection Force arrived in Juba to prepare for the deployment of the 4,000-strong force. Regional troops from Rwanda are expected to arrive in June and July.
GoSS’ Media Authority suspended local operations of the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera in Juba following a recent report on the SPLA (IO) and the situation in Kajo Keji.
The SPLA (IO) rejects declaring a unilateral ceasefire.
The Political Opposition Forces issues a press release outlining conditions for an inclusive national dialogue process.

Several dozen British troops have arrived in Juba to provide engineering and medical support to UNMISS.
Pulitzer Center: “South Sudan’s Civil War Spirals into Genocide, Leaving Ghost Towns in its Wake”

This Week in South Sudan – Week 17