Following the independence of South Sudan, 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 has accused Sudan of airstrikes inside South Sudan and of deploying troops across the border. Sudan has denied the allegations.
- The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for the Sudanese Defence Minister for alleged war crimes in Darfur. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has condemned the move.
- The International Organisation for Migrations has said it will be impossible to meet the 8 April deadline for all South Sudanese living in Sudan to return to the South. There are an estimated 500,000 Southerners living in Sudan.
- The South Sudan Democratic Movement (SSDM), a South Sudanese rebel group, has signed a peace deal. The SSDM was considered one of the most powerful rebel militias in South Sudan.
- The construction of a port and oil refinery in Lamu, Kenya has begun. South Sudan hopes to use the port as its main outlet for oil exports, bypassing Sudan.
- South Sudan is to disarm the Murle and Lou Nuer ethnic groups in Jonglei. Violent clashes between the two groups led to over 1,000 deaths last year. 12,000 police and soldiers have been deployed to collect the weapons.
News in detail
North-South relations
AFP: South Sudan accuses Khartoum of air strikes 01 Mar: Sudanese fighter jets have bombed oil and water wells deep inside South Sudan and its ground troops have crossed into contested oil-rich border regions, South Sudan officials said on Thursday. Read more
AP: Clinton: Bashir trying to scuttle Sudan peace deal 29 Feb: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton accused Sudan's leader on Wednesday of trying to scuttle a historic peace deal that created the world's newest country last year. Read more
Sudan
VOA: IOM: Impossible to Meet April Deadline for Repatriating South Sudanese 04 Mar: The International Organization for Migration says it is not able to meet an April deadline to repatriate South Sudanese refugees in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Read more
AFP: Sudan warned over denying citizenship to southerners 03 Mar: Sudan should not strip ethnic southerners of their Sudanese citizenship if they are unable or unwilling to become citizens of newly independent South Sudan, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday. Read more
South Sudan
Reuters: South Sudan rebel group lays down arms 28 Mar: A major South Sudanese rebel group with alleged links to the northern government in Khartoum has signed an amnesty deal two months after its leader was killed, South Sudan said on Tuesday. Read more
BBC: Lamu port project launched for South Sudan and Ethiopia 02 Mar: Construction has begun on a $23bn (£14.5bn) port project and oil refinery in south-eastern Kenya's coastal Lamu region near war-torn Somalia's border. Read more
BBC: South Sudan to disarm cattle gunmen in Jonglei state 01 Mar: Sudan is to begin the disarmament of rival cattle-herding groups in Jonglei state this week, by force if necessary, the army has said. Read more
Darfur
BBC: ICC issues Sudan defence minister warrant over Darfur 01 Mar: The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein for alleged crimes in Darfur. Read more
Reuters: Sudan's Bashir slams ICC warrant for defence minister 03 Mar: Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir condemned an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for his defence minister, who stood by his side during a speech on Saturday. Read more
AFP: Peacekeeper killed in Sudan's Darfur: UNAMID 29 Feb: One peacekeeper was killed and three wounded on Wednesday when unknown gunmen ambushed a patrol of the African Union-United Nations mission to Sudan's Darfur (UNAMID), the mission said. Read more
