Südsudan

South Sudan’s government has withdrawn from peace negotiations with rebel groups, accusing them of using the talks “to buy time as they prepare for war,” according to a letter seen by AFP Friday.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) says it is “deeply” concerned about emerging reports of violence in Fashoda County, Upper Nile State, between Shilluk armed youth and Nuer elements.

The food shortages are worse than at the height of a civil war in 2013 and 2016, United Nations agencies said in a joint statement.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says flooding has inundated nine of the country’s 10 states, including oil-rich Unity, Warrap, Upper Nile, and Jonglei states. It says these states are sheltering hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict and weather.

Progress on the 2018 peace agreement for South Sudan has been “extremely slow”, UN human rights experts said on Wednesday, calling for urgent action to save lives. 

[…] The three-year initiative, dubbed Sustainable Independent Media Activity, will improve access to credible, accurate, and reliable information for South Sudanese citizens by promoting sustainability of high quality, independent radio operations.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said is “deeply” concerned about the recent fighting between armed groups in Upper Nile State. The mission, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said clashes in Fashoda County resulted in loss of lives, abduction of women and displacement of over 8,000 people.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and the head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Wednesday discussed security and bilateral relations between the two countries.

The UN says there is a need to keep an eye on South Sudan, where fragile peace continues to be threatened by conflict. On Wednesday, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) pointed out inter-communal conflict for repeated cycles of violence that may erode gains towards peace across the country.

South Sudan will start implementing a new law on cybercrime by setting up a special court, the presidency has announced. … Many South Sudanese social media users and activists have faulted the move, saying the process was not inclusive and transparent, and that the order does not favour all.