Letter: South Sudan allows UN World Food Programe air-drops of Food in the Nation (10.08.2016)

South Sudan WFP 10.08.2016

Gen. Taban Deng Gai’s speech Against Dr. Riek Machar (Youtube-Clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPntWSpkx98

South Sudan’s government, opposition troops fight in Yei, near Uganda border (Youtube-Clip)

“In South Sudan, more clashes have broken out between government and opposition forces. This time in the town of Yei, south of Juba, towards the Ugandan border. Supporters of former vice president Riek Machar say they were attacked by fighters loyal to President Salva Kiir. The clashes come a day after the opposition captured the nearby county of Lasu. Local media are reporting more fighting has also broken out in Juba, and the northern and western parts of the country” (CCTV Africa, 2016)

Amb Lominsuk ‘South Sudan rejects Foreign Troops’ (Youtube-Clip)

“South Sudan’s ambassador to Uganda Samuel Luate Lominsuk has castigated media reports that President Salva Kiir finally accepted extra foreign troops into his country. This comes in following the IGAD summit that was held over the weekend in Ethiopia’s capital Adis Ababa. Amb. Lominsuk exclusively tells WBS TV that there were three requests that were put forward by IGAD including protection of humanitarian and relief on top of the military corridors by the UN. WBS’ Jocylynne Nakibuule had a one – on – one with the ambassador and now reports” (WBS TV Uganda, 2016).

UPDF ready to be part of IGAD standby force for South Sudan (Youtube-Clip)

“The government says the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces is ready to deploy in South Sudan .The confirmation comes days after the East African regional bloc, IGAD announced that S.Sudan’s President Salva Kiir had agreed to having a regional force stationed in Juba to help quell the upsurge in fighting in the world’s youngest nation.
Meanwhile , the US government has proposed that the UN Security Council approves the deployment of 4000 strong force in the country” (NTV Uganda, 2016)

Statement attributable to the Spokesman of the Secretary-General on South Sudan (08.08.2016)

IGAD Plus

The Secretary-General welcomes the communique of the Heads of State and Government of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Plus countries.

NEW YORK, United States of America, August 8, 2016 – The Secretary-General welcomes the communique of the Heads of State and Government of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Plus countries. He commends the IGAD leaders for their decisive action and welcomes the Government of South Sudan’s acceptance of a regional protection force. He calls on all South Sudanese leaders to set aside their personal differences and demonstrate their commitment to the implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, which remains the only viable path to ending the crisis.

The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned about the continued fighting in the country and calls for an immediate end to the hostilities. He is outraged by the continued reports of serious human rights violations and abuses, including widespread sexual violence against women and young girls, committed by armed men in uniform. He calls on all parties to uphold their responsibility to protect civilians and demands that they take immediate steps to hold accountable those responsible for these despicable crimes.

The Secretary-General reiterates his commitment to work with all South Sudanese, IGAD, the African Union and international partners, to implement the recommendations of today’s summit.

South Sudan: Zero Draft Communique of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the IGAD Plus on the Situation in South Sudan (05.08.2016)

IGAD Plus 06.08.2016 P1IGAD Plus 06.08.2016 P2IGAD Plus 06.08.2016 P3IGAD Plus 06.08.2016 P4

South Sudan: UNICEF sounds alarm on ‘catastrophic’ food insecurity in country (06.08.2016)

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5 August 2016 The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today that it is responding to a growing food security emergency causing malnutrition in children in both rural and urban areas of crisis-gripped South Sudan.

“The situation in South Sudan is catastrophic, and even more so for children,” UNICEF spokesperson Christophe Boulierac told a news briefing in Geneva, where he also pointed out that so far this year, the agency has treated 120,000 children under age five for severe malnutrition; a nearly 50 per cent increase over the same period in 2015.

Initially, UNICEF had been planning to provide support to 166,000 children in 2016, but that figure has been revised to more than 250,000, he added.

Seven out of the country’s 10 states have reached the malnutrition-rate-emergency threshold of 15 per cent, while in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, the malnutrition rate stands at 33 per cent, he explained.

UNICEF has also noted a sharp rise in malnutrition in South Sudan’s urban areas, including the capital, Juba, where the rates of children admitted for malnutrition to UNICEF-supported Al-Sabbah children’s hospitals were some 20 per cent higher in the first six months of 2016 than for the same period last year. The spokesperson cited the country’s inflation rate as one of the main reasons for the high increase, explaining that it made basic household staples too expensive for many families.

Mr. Boulierac stated that while UNICEF could not provide figures of children dying from starvation, “one quarter of a million children in South Sudan are facing severe malnutrition.”

According to the spokesperson, with a number of roads inaccessible, the ongoing conflict has further limited UNICEF’s ability to respond – leaving, in the most urgent cases, the more expensive option of air transport for delivering supplies.

Additionally, Mr. Boulierac stressed that “due to insecurity and the rainy season, UNICEF staff in South Sudan are unable to be fully mobile and deliver their goods and services.”

Mr. Boulierac said that of the $154.5 million UNICEF needs for South Sudan in 2016, the Fund had, to date, received only $52 million to assist with water and sanitation; child support services; nutrition; health; and education.

He indicated that more than 900,000 children have been displaced in the country, which – with 1.8 million children, or 51 per cent of school-age youngsters out of school – also had the highest proportion of out-of-school children in the world.

“An estimated 16,000 children had been recruited by armed groups, and there were concerns that the renewed violence would lead to a further expansion of that practice,” explained the spokesperson.

He also called attention to the fact that sexual violence and rape had been used as a weapon of war, saying “all the ingredients were there to be extremely concerned.”

Between 8 and 25 July, at least 72 civilian deaths and 217 cases of sexual violence had been documented in Juba alone.

The spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), William Spindler, added that the total number of South Sudanese refugees in the region stood at 917,418 – most of whom are sheltering in Uganda.

The recent fighting in South Sudan between rival forces – the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) loyal to President Salva Kiir and the SPLA in Opposition backing First Vice-President Riek Machar – erupted in and around Juba, on 7 July, close to the fifth anniversary of its independence.

The young country has faced ongoing challenges since a political face-off between the two leaders erupted into conflict in December 2013. The crisis has produced one of the world’s worst displacement situations with immense suffering for civilians.

IGAD-Plus meeting in Addis intervenes in South Sudan with 500 Regional Peacekeepers; what will it really mean to the nation?

IGAD Plus

Here we go again… and again. With more helmets, but what do these helmets really do? Fixing the bows and arrows or making sure the PoC sites are safe?

What where about to happen today:

“The Assembly of Heads of State and Government IGAD and the African Union Ad-hoc Committee on South Sudan, referred to as the IGAD Plus will this afternoon hold a Summit meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to deliberate on the prevailing situation in South Sudan. The meeting will be chaired by H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and current Chairperson of the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government with the attendance of Heads of State from the region and representatives from the UN, African Union, JMEC and IGAD” (IGAD Secretariat, 05.08.2016).

There been indicated from numerous sources that the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) who are holding a conference on the crisis in South Sudan have reported that the IGAD Plus heads of state has decided that the nation should accept 500 Peacekeepers in the Country.

IGAD Maagoub Maalim wanted it to be a ‘protective force’, that ‘we’re to prepare and implement of the Peace Agreement of 2015. That the forces we’re to ‘protection of civilians and on humanitarian issues’; the way the peacekeepers will be hashed out through the South Sudan Army Chiefs and the GoSS. The peacekeepers are not there to keep Dr. Riek Machar safe, but keep the Peace Agreement implemented.

The FVP Gen. Taban Deng Gai will stepdown when Dr. Riek Machar will return to Juba, as he said also in the days before he where swore in. But the initial reports of the IGAD Plus hasn’t said anything of the new cabinet under the TGoNU as the changes of getting rid of loyal Ministers from SPLM-IO have not been stated. As the loyalty to President Salva Kiir Mayardit is the ones behind before the GoSS delegation travelled to Addis Ababa.

What this will really mean for the fragile situation and the armies on the ground is not easy to say. As Dr. Riek Machar and his loyal soldiers is not part of the intervention and in the main discussion other than a bystander at the giant party in Ethiopia. The reality is that 500 peacekeepers can do something, but who pays for the battalions in South Sudan? Who of the noble leaders have state-coffers to sustain the extra mission? Who of the IGAD Plus have the manpower to fulfil the duty of having men stationed in Juba and beyond?

Are this a plan for President Kiir to get President Museveni to send his 500 UPDF soldiers to make sure the SPLA under him safe and sound while working under the paradigm of continuation of Kiir Government in Juba? That is just my conspiracy as the initial speculations to why President Museveni is so against Arms-Embargo as his fellow neighbour. We all know that Museveni might has interests to have a weapon trading partner; not just selling fruit-juice and beers from Kampala.

We can all over time see what this will have to say for the young nation. If this is just lose talk to silence the neighbours or sincere approach to generate a sort of peace between the fighting brothers. Peace.

UNICEF Response to South Sudan Refugee Situation (04.08.2016)

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KAMPALA, Uganda, August 4, 2016 – Situation

  • 4,074 South Sudanese refugees arrived on August 2, 2016, nearly three times the number of new arrivals on July 31, which was 1,274.
  • 55,920 South Sudanese Refugees arrived since 7th July 2016.
  • According to UNHCR, the priorities are: Rapid opening of the newly identified settlement area in Yumbe district; decongesting the reception and transit centres; increasing coverage of health and nutrition staff; expansion of water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure and services and procurement of medical drugs and supplies for the period of Oct-Dec 2016.

UNICEF Humanitarian response

Health & Nutrition:

  • Immunisation: From 18th July- 02 August, UNICEF and its partners have immunized 15,563 children under the age of 15 years against measles and 16,840 children below 5 years of age have received Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine at Elegu in Adjumani, Kerwe in Yumbe and Keri in Koboko.
  • 902 women aged 15-49 years have been immunized against tetanus.
  • 31,192 under-five children have been dewormed to boost their immunity while 6,256 under-five children have received Vitamin A supplements to enable them retain nutrient contents of food and facilitate normal growth.
  • General Health: From 18th July- 02 August, 164 refugees have been treated for malaria, 11 treated for watery diarrhoea and 30 treated for various injuries like minor accidents on the road.
  • Nutrition: Between 18th July – 02 August, 6,220 children under-five years of age were screened for malnutrition; the 6.5 per cent found with Global Acute Malnutrition and 2.5 per cent with Severe Acute Malnutrition have been referred for appropriate nutrition rehabilitation at health centres and outreach treatment centres.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

  • UNICEF has constructed 10 temporary bathing shelters, 10 temporary latrines, installed a water treatment system, and installed a water tank and tap stands.
  • At Elegu 1 & 2, UNICEF has provided 10 hand washing facilities and 10 buckets to promote hand washing at critical times. The facilities are managed by Lutheran World Federation (LWF) at Elegu 1 and Water Mission Uganda at Elegu 2.

Education:

  • UNICEF and partners participated in an education assessment in the Pagirinya refugee settlement and in Yumbe District.  Renovation of existing school facilities, construction of extra classrooms, the establishment of integrated early childhood development centres, recruitment of caregivers, training of caregivers, recruitment of teachers and teaching assistants, and construction of teachers’ accommodation, are all being recommended.
  • Pagirinya 1A feeder primary school P.1-P.4 has registered close to 1,500 children; only 10 trained teachers and 9 classroom assistants are presently at the school to support the registered children
  • UNICEF is supporting to set up 30 early childhood development centres in Yumbe, Arua and Adjumani through Plan International.

Child Protection:

  • Save the Children and UNICEF continue to conduct the identification, registration, and on-spot re-unification of separated and unaccompanied children at Elegu, Nyumanzi Transit Centre and Pagirinya refugee settlement; 272 unaccompanied children and 441 separated children have been registered while 18 missing children have been traced and re-united with their families; psychosocial support is being provided to all unaccompanied children.