Mawan Muortat speaks on UN’s depolyment of 4000 troops to South Sudan (Youtube-Clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f84daSN3jMU

AR: Declaration de l’Alternance pour la Republique en Rapport avec le Massacre de Beni (15.08.2016)

DR Beni 15.08.2016

Press Release: The Taban Deng Conspiracy and Overthrow of the TGONU (12.08.2016)

SPLM 12.08.2016 P1SPLM 12.08.2016 P2SPLM 12.08.2016 P3SPLM 12.08.2016 P4SPLM 12.08.2016 P5SPLM 12.08.2016 P6SPLM 12.08.2016 P7SPLM 12.08.2016 P8

#ThisFlagYouth Committee Statement on recent events and the way forward (15.08.2016)

#ThisFlag Statement 15.08.2016 P1#ThisFlag Statement 15.08.2016 P2#ThisFlag Statement 15.08.2016 P3

ThisFlag pastor Evan Mawarire: Zimbabwe will be united by the dreams of our children (Youtube-Clip)

“During a short visit to SA the M&G caught up with Evan Mawarire to discuss the significance of #ThisFlag and what’s next for the protesting pastor” (Mail & Guardian, 2016)

RDC: Declaration de Moise Katumbi suite au nouveau massacre a Beni le 13 Aut 2016 (14.08.2016)

Moise Katumbi 14.08.2016

Press Statement: Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces expresses confidence in Somalia’s stabilisation efforts, urges the media to focus on success stories (14.08.2016)

Gen Katumba Wamala

Kampala, 14 August – Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Katumba Wamala, has expressed confidence in Somalia’s stabilization efforts.

General Wamala described the African Union Mission in Somalia as one of the continent’s success stories, saying it actualises the African dream of having African solutions to African problems.

He was speaking in Kampala, Uganda, last week, where he officially closed a 4-day AU-UN Mandatory Media and Communication Trainer of Trainers (TOT) course. The course was attended by military and police public communication officers from the Troop and Police Contributing Countries to AMISOM, Somali National Army and Somali Police Force.

“We need to aggressively communicate where Somalia was before the war and where it is now. We need to aggressively communicate the positive developments taking place in Somalia” General Wamala challenged the media, during his address to participants at the TOT course.

The training was organized by United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) Training Unit in-conjunction with AMISOM Public Information Unit through the AU-UN Information Support Team (AU-UN IST).

The aim of the TOT is to increase the pool of trainers for the media and communication component of the AU/UN Mandatory pre-deployment training.

Troop Contributing Countries (TCC’s) comprise Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Burundi. Police Contributing Countries (PCC’s), on the other hand, consist of Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana.

RDC: Message de Condolenance a la Population du Nord Kivu (14.08.2016)

Kabila Kivu 14.08.2016

Press Release: Use of chemical weapons in Aleppo city marks ‘new normal’ for Syria (11.08.2016)

Aleppo Syria

Washington, DCYesterday, the Aleppo Health Directorate confirmed a chemical attack on the Zabadiya neighborhood in eastern Aleppo City. Two children and their mother were killed in the attack. Initial reports recorded roughly 50 cases of victims exhibiting symptoms that have led physicians to believe a choking agent, such as chlorine, was used. The chemical agent was reportedly delivered by helicopter in a barrel bomb. This attack follows at least 58 other chlorine attacks after the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2209 in March 2015, which condemned the use of chlorine gas as a weapon in Syria.

Sama, Mohammad, and their mother were the three victims killed in the attack. The three died of suffocation from chemical agents. A video online from shows the death of Mohammad after failed resuscitation.

SAMS previously documented 161 chemical attacks in Syria from the beginning of the conflict through the end of 2015, which lead to the deaths of at least 1,491 people. 77% of these attacks occurred after the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2118, which created a framework for the destruction of Syria’s declared chemical weapons stockpiles. 2015 had the most chemical weapons attacks of any year to date in Syria, with 69 attacks, showing an escalation in the use of chemical weapons as a tactic of war in Syria.

The use of chemical weapons in Syria with impunity for perpetrators continues to erode the international norm against the use of chemical weapons, spurring the ongoing use of chemical weapons and creating a “new normal.” Medical personnel and facilities no longer wonder if, but when, a chemical attack will occur. This attack and all others are violations of humanitarian and human rights law. The international community must take a more active role in civilian protection and take substantive action to enforce its own resolutions, most notably Resolutions 2118, 2209, and 2235.

For media requests, please contact SAMS’s Communications & Program Information Coordinator, Caroline Philhower at caroline.philhower@sams-usa.net.

Communique of the Peace and Security Council PSC of the African Union AU at its 616th meeting on the situation in South Sudan (11.08.2016)

AU PSC 11.08.2016 P1AU PSC 11.08.2016 P2AU PSC 11.08.2016 P3