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

  • The tensions surrounding oil transit fees continue for another week. On Sunday South Sudan announced it had completely shut down oil output, demanding a deal on border issues before production is restarted.
  • South Sudan also signed a deal with Kenya to build a new pipeline. Ban Ki-moon says the tension between the two nations is a major threat to regional security. The Sudan Tribune reports that a group of 700 Sudanese military officers have urged Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir not to rush into war with the South.
  • A refugee camp housing 5,000 people in South Sudan was bombed from the air on Tuesday.. South Sudan has accused Sudan of the attack.
  • Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has named Gibril Ibrahim as the group’s new leader. Ibrahim takes control of the group after the death of his brother, Khalil Ibrahim, the former leader. The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur has said that the death of Khalil Ibrahim has led to JEM splitting into factions. At least one person has died in violent protests against the removal of the Governor of South Darfur.

News in detail

Sudan

BBC: Sudan troops 'free 14 missing Chinese workers' 29 Jan: Sudanese troops have freed 14 out of 29 Chinese workers held by rebels in the south, Sudanese officials say. Read more

North-South relations

Reuters: South Sudan demands border deal before restarting oil 29 Jan: South Sudan has totally shut down oil output in a dispute with Sudan over export transit fees and will only restart after the two reach a deal covering border security and the disputed Abyei region, South Sudan’s oil minister said on Sunday. Read more

AFP: Sudan frees ships held in South Sudan oil row 29 Jan: On Sunday Sudan released three oil tankers held in a dispute with South Sudan, which has accused Khartoum of theft, the foreign ministry said. Read more

AFP: Sudan/South Sudan crisis "major threat" to peace - UN chief 29 Jan: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Sunday said a crisis between Sudan and South Sudan has become a major threat to regional peace and security. Read more

Sudan Tribune: Sudan army officers warn Bashir and Hussein against rush to war with South 29 Jan: A group of 700 military officers from Sudan’s Armed Forces (SAF) confronted President Omer Hassan al-Bashir and his Defense Minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein with several demands that focused on military and political reforms the Sudan Tribune is told. Read more

Darfur

BBC: Brother of Darfur rebels' late leader takes over 26 Jan: Darfur's main rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), has named a new leader - the brother of the former head killed last month. Read more

Reuters: One dies in violent protests in Darfur 26 Jan: At least one person was killed on Wednesday when protesters in Sudan's Darfur region burned government buildings and threw rocks at security forces after the removal of the State Governor. Read more

AFP: Darfur rebels split after leader's death - peacekeepers 26 Jan: A rebel movement that was once the most powerful in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region appears to have split into factions since the death of its leader last month, the head of the peacekeeping mission to the region said on Wednesday. Read more

South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Abyei

VOA: Sudan military may be poised for major offensive 25 Jan: Analysts say new satellite images of Sudan’s Southern Kordofan State indicate a major government military offensive is about to begin against the Nuba people. The images were released Wednesday by the Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP). Read more

AFP: EU wants end to Sudan fighting, seeks aid access 24 Jan: The European Union has called for an immediate end to fighting in two Sudanese states bordering South Sudan, and urged unhindered access for relief workers. Read more

South Sudan

Washington Post: Medical aid group says South Sudan’s ethnic clashes are part of pattern of ‘extreme violence’ 24 Jan: South Sudan residents with gunshot and stab wounds continue to emerge from the bush weeks after a massive tribe-on-tribe attack killed an untold number of people, an international medical group said on Tuesday. Read more

AFP: South Sudan and Kenya sign oil pipeline deal 26 Jan: South Sudan signed an agreement with Kenya to build an oil pipeline to a Kenyan port, potentially freeing it from reliance on its northern neighbour Sudan, officials said Wednesday. Read more

Reuters: South Sudan blames Khartoum for bombing refugee camp 24 Jan: An air strike on a refugee camp near South Sudan's border with Sudan wounded one boy and left 14 people missing on Monday, the UN refugee agency said. Read more