

FAO’s Situation Report on South Sudan (24.10.2016)





GENEVA (25 October 2016) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Tuesday warned that rising ethnic rhetoric, hate speech and incitement to violence against certain ethnic groups in South Sudan is highly dangerous and could result in mass atrocities if not reined in by community and political leaders at the highest levels.
Over the past two weeks, letters with graphic warnings of violence against people from the Equatoria region were left outside the gates of humanitarian organisations in Aweil West, in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state in the north-western part of the country. The letters, purportedly written by individuals from the Dinka community, warned Equatorians to leave or be “eliminated”, with threats of violence, mutilation and murder. Certain State officials in the region have also reportedly joined in the hate speech. An Equatorian staff member of a humanitarian organisation was attacked on 16 October in Aweil Town and 92 staff members of humanitarian organisations have been evacuated from Aweil and 12 from Bor.
The threats emerged in reaction to the killing of an unconfirmed number of Dinka civilians travelling to Juba by bus on 8 October, and an attack against another three buses on 10 October. Rumours circulated on social media about the number of civilians killed, calling for revenge attacks against Equatorians.
“Hateful ethnic rhetoric in South Sudan – particularly if it is exploited for political purposes – can have devastating consequences for entire communities, quickly spiralling into a cycle of revenge attacks,” High Commissioner Zeid said. “I urge President Salva Kiir and all political and community leaders with influence to urgently and unambiguously condemn the incitement to violence and to take urgent measures to defuse the tensions.”
“One important step would be to promptly and transparently investigate the violence of 8 and 10 October, and to hold perpetrators individually criminally responsible,” Zeid added. “Those who are behind these terrible threats against Equatorians must also be held to account.”
Zeid welcomed the press statement issued by the Acting Governor of Aweil State, in which he called on all citizens to “join the Government in condemnation of these alleged threats directed towards our Equatorian brothers and sisters.” But the High Commissioner expressed concern at a statement by President Kiir on 19 October, in which the President said he would personally lead military operations against the armed groups responsible for the killings in the region. The statement has widely been interpreted as ethnically driven.
ENDS
The term Equatorian refers to people, from a number of different tribes, in the South Sudanese states of Central Equatoria, Western Equatoria and Eastern Equatoria.


The once of you only caring about the Internet and Social Media shutdown in Ethiopia has lost a vital point on that matter. The reason for the shutdown of Internet and why there is senseless killings and arrests sponsored by the TPLF or Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Defence Force (EPRDF) and the Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. Those have set in force the State of Emergency that legalize it and tries to hide their totalitarian dictatorship that it is, while forcing fellow citizens to be oppressed, killed or detained. And giving the Aghazi Squad and Police Force all rights to detain the people without charges or court orders; even as they even are late from work is a crime itself. Take a look at the madness that the ERPDF is doing in their name and took keep power.
Effects of the State of Emergency:
“Since the state of emergency announcement, in many parts of Oromia the Ethiopian government forces have been harassing and harming citizens. For instance, today in the city of Awwaday, Agazi military in addition to their ongoing harassment have killed a civilian. In Iluu Abbaa Boora, in the county of Alee city of Goree Ethiopian government representatives are continuously harming locals. In Sandaafaa, a waste accrual centre costing up to one billion birr was protested by local residents and employees went on strike. Furthermore, since Lammaa Magarsaa, Oromia President (a direct wing of the current Ethiopian government) went to visit this centre employees have been forced to recommence work. In the city of Ambo, Awaroo secondary school students along with the organizers of protests were taken by the Ethiopian security forces and are now held in custody. The owner of Rayya Studio, Mr. Abraham Rayya along with singers and dancers were arrested by Ethiopian security forces, Agazi, whilst making their way to the studio in Finfinnee to record a music video. Mr Abraham Rayya is well respected and value amongst Oromo locals for assiting Oromo artists and releasing revolutionary songs from his studio” (SiiTube, 18.10.2016).
State of Emergency is Slavery:
“Professor Berhanu Nega, chairman of Patriotic Ginbot 7, an armed group based in Eritrea said in a video message that the rights prohibited by the state of emergency law in Ethiopia were already curtailed by the regime even before the declaration of the law” (…) “He said the regime in power had already been violating the constitution and other laws in perpetrating extrajudicial killings, mass incarcerations, muzzling the press and liquidating opposition political parties, among other crimes” (…) “There could be no political solution to the crises in the country when there is an emergency law put in effect, Prof. Berhanu said” (…) “The professor said the emergency law was aimed at stopping the ongoing uprising in the country as well as the resistance launched by the people against the tyrannical regime in all corners of the country” (ESAT, 2016).
Gondar on Strike:
“Residents of Gondar began a three-day strike on Monday, the first such strike since the declaration of state of emergency. Businesses and transportation services remained closed on Tuesday” (…) “Residents told ESAT on Monday that the strike was in protest against the state of emergency declared by the regime imposing restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly. The residents also said they were also staging the strike to denounce the mass killings and crackdowns throughout Ethiopia” (ESAT, 2016).
“The Command Post said: 93 bandits/rebels have surrendered in north Gondar zone, Amhara region. Over 1000 arms looted by protesters recovered from Oromia and Amhara regions. Scores of businesspeople, who took part in last week’s and this week’s general strikes have been arrested in Bahir Dar and Gonder cities” (De Birhan, 2016).
“Among the forefront actors in the violence and property damage occurred in west Arsi zone, Oromia Regional State, 450 suspects in Shashemene and 670 suspects in west Arsi zone have been arrested and investigation is underway” (…) “Similarly, of the 162 arms ransacked from west Arsi zone, including Shashemene, about 88 arms have been recovered by the efforts of elders and by the looters themselves. Efforts are also underway to recover properties stolen from government, individuals and development institutions” (…) “The Command Post also managed to recover 32 of the arms looted in west Guji zone. Based on the information provided by the public, some 302 suspects have been detained in the zone. About 20 suspects are also negotiating with elders to give their hands” (…) “Some 92 modern and outdated arms and 8 pistols were recovered from Adama, Bora, Lome, Liben Chikula, Adea, Boset and Adami Tulu woredas in east Shoa zone” (De Birhan, 2016).
Breakdown of Arrests today:
“Kelem Wolega =100, Shashemene= 450, West Arsi =670, West Guji=302, Gondar= 29, Bahir Dar= 29 – – Fana” (Tesfalem Waldyes, 19.10.2016).
Executions in Broad daylight:
“Execution in broad daylight is now the preferred TPLF’s method of terrorizing Oromo civilians. Today at 1:30 PM the Agazi soldiers executed young man named Ahmedo Guye in Abaro village West Arsi. You might recall they executed three young men in the neighboring district of Koksa yesterday and an elderly man in Bosat, East Shawa two days ago” (Siitube, 19.10.2016).
Semayawi Party former External Affairs chairman Abebe Akalu we’re today detained and accused of inciting violence. He is now detained at Bela Police Station.
Because of these internal fights that is created by the government and sponsored by the government, they have now also cancelled Ethiopia Premier League in football and Addis Ababa football tournament.
These reports are sad and shows to the extent, even some I haven’t covered have claimed that the Army has blatantly killed traders in Gondar and other towns, villages and cities to silence the people and their will of making a livelihood.
The validated reports prove the level of arrests, the small indications of executions and killings in broad daylight proves the excessive and brutal acts from the EPRDF and the Central Government of Prime Minister Haliemariam Desalegn. That does this kind of activity while the media is more concern about the revenue lost from the Internet blockade than the killings and detaining of fellow citizens. Good to know where the West support things, together with the far-cry from Europe when the Dutch Flower Plants we’re torched in Amhara Region. Peace.
Reference:
De Birhan – ‘New 1686 Suspected Protesters Detained In Oromia And Amhara Regions By The Command Post’ (19.10.2016) link: http://debirhan.com/?p=10666
ESAT – ‘State of emergency is state of slavery, says Prof. Berhanu Nega’ (17.10.2016) link: http://ethsat.com/48770-2/
ESAT – ‘Gondar continues strike despite tight security’ (18.10.2016) link: http://ethsat.com/gondar-continues-strike-despite-tight-security/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW0CZLj4u24
“Riek Machar : “I came for a medical checkup after I was nearly assassinated. I am fit. After the collapse of the peace agreement, war is raging in South Sudan. It is intensifying. We are only defending ourselves when we were attacked in Juba. We didn’t start this war are waging a war of resistance against the regime for our own survival. We also want resolution of the war I am free to return in South Sudan whenever I can. No one can stop me. They don’t control me. Transitional govt of national unity needs to be formed again. Juba govt is no longer implementing original deal the peace agreement was forced by IGAD. It has failed. We need a new solution” (NBS TV Uganda, 2016)

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, October 13, 2016 – In less than a year, Holo Molo has lost more than a third of his livestock. The father of 14 living in the chronically drought-prone woreda of Elidar, Afar Region is just one of millions of Ethiopian livestock owners who have had their livelihoods uprooted as a result of drought aggravated by El Niño. Despite the significant damage caused by the crisis, Holo contends that he is lucky. “I know a woman who has lost everything, all her animals are dead.”
Since 2015, thousands of households have helplessly watched their animals starve in Afar, an arid region in northwest Ethiopia neighboring Eritrea and Djibouti. The drought caused severe pasture and water shortages in communities almost totally dependent on livestock rearing – ninety percent of the population tend animals for their food and income.
Believed to be the worst drought in nearly half a century, it will take years for families hardest hit by the El Niño-induced crisis to recover. The impact on food and nutrition security has been significant; the vast majority of the region’s districts have been classified as priority one or facing the greatest levels of food insecurity according to the Government of Ethiopia.
In Elidar, the critical karan rains – usually occurring between July and September – were considered late and erratic. The contribution of the previous spring season was minor, only slightly improving pasture and water access between the months of March and May. Already, Elidar’s limited pasture has largely been depleted. Many herding households now depend on infrequent flash floods that send water tumbling from the mountains to be used domestically and for livestock.
The thickets of the mountains are also where many of Elidar’s citizens send their animals to search for feed. FAO spoke with Mutha Ahmed as she tended small ruminants on the banks of a water point constructed by the UN agency in the drought prone community. The mother of five lost 50 sheep and goats during the crisis. “Almost everything has dried up, there is nothing here for animals to eat,” Mutha reflected. “We have not had good rains in years, many people are now scared because the karan season has been poor and it has not fully rained,” said Mutha. With the worst of the lean season approaching in mid-October and November, Afar’s animals should be thriving ahead of the most difficult time of the year. Complicating matters is the fact that milk – critical for the food and nutrition security of most in the Region – has been slow to return to normal production levels, a consequence of prolonged drought.
Dwindling resources in an underfunded sector
FAO is committed to partnering with local authorities and communities like in Elidar and elsewhere in Ethiopia
Despite losing a significant portion of her livestock, Mutha indicated that she did not qualify for emergency animal feed support, a claim supported by regional officials on the ground. “I lost animals, but so many more were worse off than me. I can understand why I was not given anything for my herd,” she said. As a result of limited resources in this particular area, priority was given to households with lactating animals or breastfeeding infants in order to safeguard the food and nutrition security of the most vulnerable.
The emergency livestock response is severely underfunded in Ethiopia. Almost 2.4 million households critically require livelihoods assistance to the tune of USD 36.2 million until the end of the year. Preliminary reports suggest that the sector has only received USD 12 million in humanitarian sector funding for 2015 and 2016 emergency drought interventions. With the crop sector demanding very significant resources, particularly to procure seeds for the meher (summer) season (from which 85 percent of Ethiopia’s food supply is derived), the bulk of agriculture-related humanitarian investments were funneled into saving the country’s local crop production.
In August 2016, FAO clarified the priorities of Ethiopia’s livestock sector, highlighting the most urgent funding needed to support emergency interventions. These include animal health and emergency vaccinations for livestock, determined as critical in livestock-dependent regions such as Afar and Somali as well as Borena Zone of Oromia Region and South Omo Zone of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region. The findings were published in the Mid-Year Review of the 2016 Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD).
FAO’s Director of the Emergencies, Dominique Burgeon, met with numerous drought-affected households in Elidar and other communities in Afar Region during a recent field mission to Ethiopia. Mr Burgeon was also accompanied by FAO Representative to Ethiopia, Amadou Allahoury, and members of his team. The group spoke with beneficiaries of FAO’s fodder seed distribution and assessed the livestock situation in some of the worst-affected priority-one hotspot districts in the Region. The team also viewed local interventions to cope with drought, such as traditional water steam harvesting.
“The situation on the ground remains very critical in Afar and other livestock-dependent areas of the country. While significant resources have been deployed for crop sector support over the last several months, we cannot neglect to fully address the pressing needs of the livestock sector,” said Mr Burgeon.
“The people of Afar have developed numerous innovations in order to cope with the effects of recurrent drought, a reflection of their inherent resilience as a people,” he remarked. “FAO is committed to partnering with local authorities and communities like in Elidar and elsewhere in Ethiopia, in order to jointly amplify our efforts in the difficult months ahead with a strategic focus on recovery and resilience building.”
FAO Ethiopia provided fast-growing fodder seed to at-risk agropastoral communities in order to enable households to produce animal feed independently. During the drought, the Organization also distributed multinutrient-dense ‘energy blocks’ to protect core breeding animals, and delivered animal feed along migratory routes. FAO’s regional water rehabilitation projects improved access to water for livestock, benefiting more than 125 000 livestock owned by about 13 000 households. The Organization also supported strategic destocking through the purchase of thousands of livestock with low body weight which after a health inspection, was distributed to some of the worst-affected internally displaced people.
FAO has mobilized nearly USD 14 million to respond to the crisis. The Organization is now urgently requesting an additional USD 14 million to implement livelihood-saving interventions in the livestock and crop sectors until the end of 2016.

JUBA, South Sudan, October 12, 2016 –The United Nations Mission in South Sudan is extremely concerned over increased reports of violence and armed conflict in various parts of the country in the last few weeks.
UNMISS Force in Leer town have reported heavy artillery and gunfire exchanges between SPLA and SPLA in Opposition leading to several reported deaths and the continued displacement of the civilian population in the area into the bush and swamps.
We have also received continued reports of clashes in the Equatorias, and we are verifying accounts of attacks by unidentified armed men on a civilian convoy travelling from Yei to Juba, which led to the deaths of over 20 people, including women and children, and retaliatory actions by responding military personnel, which led to the deaths of a further five civilians. The Mission is yet to be granted access to these areas to place us in a position to independently verify the reports on the ground. UNMISS has attempted to launch a number of patrols to the scene of the incident, and have been stopped on each occasion. We are in direct communication with several government agencies, including the SPLA, in order to have these restrictions to our movement lifted, as yet without success.
The Mission condemns in no uncertain terms these acts of violence and attacks against non-combatant civilians, and reiterates its urgent call for an immediate and complete cessation of hostilities, and more particularly, an end to any form of violence perpetrated against unarmed civilians, reminding all parties that such attacks may constitute serious human rights violations, including crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The Mission further calls on all parties to immediately end the fighting throughout South Sudan, and further demands that they ensure that their commanders control their forces and protect civilians and their property, cease all hostilities, and work together for the good of the people of this country.
UNMISS condemns in the strongest possible terms, any calls for a return to the violence that has plagued this country, and urges all parties to cease the rhetoric of incitement, which is not the answer to South Sudan’s problems.
We encourage all parties to put the people of South Sudan first, and work to bring an end to suffering of the people of this country.

“Three Ugandan bound buses were attacked this morning along the Juba-Nimule highway in South Sudan. The UPDF 4th Division Spokesman, Maj. Caesar Olweny confirmed the attack in the restive young nation. Passengers of one of the buses were abducted and later released by the attackers” (NTV Uganda, 2016)