Following South Sudan's referendum on independence, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact joel@insightonconflict.org or complete the form below.

News roundup

  • South Sudan became independent on Saturday, forming the new Republic of South Sudan. In his first speech as President of the new state, Salva Kiir offered amnesty to anti-government rebels, and pledged to find peace with the North over Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
  • The leader of the opposition in South Sudan says he and other opposition party members, were arrested and beaten the day before independence.
  • In an interview with the BBC, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has warned that Abyei is a potential source of conflict. He welcomed the depolyment of Ethiopian peacekeepers, but said Abyei is still part of the North and this could only change with the agreement of the nomadic Misseriya.
  • Satellite images show Northern troops reinforcing their positions in South Kordofan. The Independent reports that rebels in the Nuba mountains are willing to “march on Khartoum”.
  • Despite international pressure, the mandate for UNMIS has not been renewed. UNMIS peacekeepers have been accused of standing by and allowing civilians to be killed in South Kordofan. A new peacekeeping mission - UNMISS - has been established for South Sudan consisting of 7,000 troops and 900 police.
  • Darfuri rebel group, the Liberation and Justice Movment, expects to sign a peace agreement with the Sudanese government on 14 July. Meanwhile, the leader of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, Abdelwahid Nur, has pledged to overthrow the government in Khartoum to create a “secular” North Sudan.
  • The day before Southern independence, the North suspended six newpapers because they were owned or published by a South Sudanese. A journalist has been jailed for a month for reporting on the alledged rape of a female human rights activist by security services.

News in detail

North Sudan

Sudan Tribune: Sudanese parliament mulls bill on U.S congress’s “hostile” stance 05 Jul: North Sudan’s parliament has extended its deliberations on a proposed bill against the “hostile” activities of the U.S congress towards the country, local media reported on Tuesday. http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudanese-parliament-mulls-bill-on,39434

AFP: Sudan jails journalist for reporting alleged rape 06 Jul: A Sudanese journalist was jailed for a month on Tuesday, and her editor fined, for publishing reports on the alleged rape of a female opposition activist by security force personnel, their lawyer said. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gyf-Ro9GxyVZTGPDDvpSDpf-OeMg?docId=CNG.eca0b99829d410a9a9b56c3e05884cf1.331

Reuters: Sudan suspends six newspapers ahead of split 08 Jul: Khartoum has suspended six newspapers because Southerners are among their publishers or owners, a state-linked news agency said on Friday, a day before the South becomes an independent state. http://af.reuters.com/article/sudanNews/idAFLAE85850420110708

South Sudan

VOA: South Sudan could join UN shortly after independence 06 Jul: The president of the United Nations Security Council says South Sudan could become an official U.N. member as early as next week. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/South-Sudan-Could-Join-UN-Shortly-After-Independence-125066164.html

Sudan Tribune: SPLA to be transformed into national army after independence - official 06 Jul: Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) is due to be transformed into the national army forces for the Republic of South Sudan (ROSS), after South Sudan independence declaration on Saturday 9 July. http://www.sudantribune.com/SPLA-to-be-transformed-into,39446

Al Jazeera: Sudan's ruling party in the South splits 07 Jul: The Southern branch of governing National Congress Party in Khartoum announces it will join SPLM, South's dominant party. http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/Southernsudanindependence/2011/07/2011771214156975.html

Reuters: South Sudan says can live off credit if North blocks oil 08 July: South Sudan can survive on credit, using its oil as collateral, if the North goes ahead with its threat to block pipelines after the South secedes on Saturday or if war between them breaks out again, officials told Reuters. http://af.reuters.com/article/sudanNews/idAFLDE7661NW20110708

Bloomberg: South Sudan opposition party says members were arrested and beaten 08 Jul: South Sudan’s opposition leader in parliament said government security forces arrested and beat him and seven other of his party members yesterday, two days before the region becomes independent. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-08/South-sudan-opposition-party-says-members-were-arrested-and-beaten.html

Reuters: South Sudan leader offers peace to rebels and hotspots 09 Jul: South Sudan's President Salva Kiir promised to bring peace to troubled border areas and offered an amnesty to armed groups fighting his government, hours after his state declared independence from the North on Saturday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/09/uk-sudan-South-president-idUSTRE7681JC20110709

Sudan Tribune: South Sudan leader says prepared to grant citizenship for Northerners 10 Jul: The president of South Sudan Salva Kiir said on Sunday that he is willing to grant all Northerners the nationality of the newly formed state in a move that will likely put pressure on Khartoum. http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-leader-says-prepared,39496

Darfur

UN: Hundreds of Darfur fighters to lay down their arms in UN-backed disarmament exercise 04 July: More than 400 ex-combatants from both sides of the long-running Darfur conflict will lay down their arms this week and take part in a disarmament and reintegration exercise backed by the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) in the Sudanese region. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38927&Cr=Darfur&Cr1=

Sudan Tribune: Darfur peace agreement to be signed on 14 July 06 Jul: A peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) is to be signed on Thursday 14 July, Sudan Tribune has learnt. http://www.sudantribune.com/Darfur-peace-agreement-to-be,39449

AFP: Darfur rebel vows secular state like South Sudan 08 July: Exiled Darfur rebel leader Abdelwahid Nur vowed Friday, on the eve of South Sudan's independence, to topple the Islamic regime in Khartoum and replace it with a secular state like the South. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jlVqU3hjrTg4vXyH3ISoXqTcBG5A?docId=CNG.789d47896547d432d46c547221e2b880.211

Abyei

BBC: Sudan's Omar Bashir warns about disputed Abyei region 11 July: Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has said the disputed border region of Abyei is a source of potential conflict with newly independent South Sudan. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14101950

South Kordofan

VOA: Northern Sudan reinforces military in Southern Kordofan state 06 Jul: New satellite images show a continued build-up of Northern Sudanese forces in Southern Kordofan State. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/decapua-sudan-nuba-satellite-6jul11-125084849.html

Independent: We are ready to take Khartoum, say militias allied to South Sudan 11 Jul: A day after losing one-third of its territory to the newly independent South Sudan, the government of Omar al-Bashir is facing a new threat from rebels in the Nuba Mountains who have vowed to "march on Khartoum". http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/we-are-ready-to-take-khartoum-say-militias-allied-to-South-sudan-2311654.html

International

AP: 7,000 UN troops and 900 police for South Sudan 08 July: A new U.N. peacekeeping mission for South Sudan will have up to 7,000 military personnel and 900 international police with a mandate to keep peace and help promote development in the world's newest nation, according to the draft U.N. resolution obtained late Thursday by The Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i4PoWrO0fMK9wxioA4UV2vWzLXcg?docId=49aabcad475b42ad9adae2a48f0ff52c

Independent: UN accused of standing by while Sudanese forces killed civilians 08 July: The UN mission in Sudan stands accused of serious failures in its duty to protect civilians who have been killed in their hundreds during a month-long campaign of violence by the Khartoum government on its restive Southern border. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/un-accused-of-standing-by-while-sudanese-forces-killed-civilians-2308896.html

Reuters: U.N.'s Ban urges Sudan to keep peacekeepers in hotspots 08 Jul: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Sudan to allow peacekeepers to stay in the strife-torn Southern Kordofan region and other areas, a day ahead of the end of their mandate http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL6E7I80YM20110708