35 Burst results for "Sudan"
AP News Radio
UN agencies warn of starvation risk in Sudan, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali, call for urgent aid
"Two UN agencies have warned of rising food emergencies, including starvation in Sudan due to the outbreak of war, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali are said to be facing or already suffering from the same emergencies due to the restricted movement of people and goods. The four countries join Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen at the highest alert levels. They say communities are already facing or are projected to face starvation with the risk of sliding towards catastrophic conditions, the report by the World Food Program and the food and agriculture organization calls for urgent attention to save both lives and jobs. It warns that 1 million people are expected to flee Sudan while an additional 2.5 million inside the country face acute hunger in the coming months with supply routes through port Sudan disrupted by safety issues beyond the 9 countries at the highest alert level, the agencies said 22 countries are identified as hotspots risking acute food insecurity. I'm Lawrence Brooks
Monocle 24: The Foreign Desk
"sudan" Discussed on Monocle 24: The Foreign Desk
"And that's the danger that we will see this continuation of this conflict until such time that both generals and their institutions are ready to come to the negotiating table to negotiate for a settlement out of this conflict. The difficulty is if we see the fragmentation of one or both of those groups, the Sudan armed forces and the rapid support forces, before we reach that stage, at which point you're not really sure if you're speaking to the right people when either side sends a single delegation. Matt, if this conflict does continue and escalates even further within Sudan, how great is the danger that it might not be contained within Sudan's borders? Yeah, I think we need to speak in terms of various gradients and levels. I think I would argue right now that the conflict already hasn't been contained. We have more than a million people that are uprooted. We have refugee crisis into Egypt. We have clearly recruiting, as Khalud was alluding to, on a trans -border basis, particularly for the paramilitary forces, the RSF, videos of people declaring their allegiance to them as far as Niger and Chad as well. There are permutations that spread across from the region of Darfur and into Chad. So we are seeing, to some extent, I would still classify it as a limited extent, an internationalization of the conflict. We're seeing reports of Hakhdar from Libya and his sons that have business interests with providing Hamiti an uncertain amount of support. It's difficult to qualify that at the moment. The question is, as you posed, how much more worse could it get? And I think it can get incredibly bad if the mediation isn't consolidated to stop the fighting as soon as possible. And I think it can get quite bad, not just on a toll of when we're talking about human suffering, human displacement, and obviously, of course, the integration of conflicts into other conflicts within the region. But I think also in terms of some of the biggest countries in the world, when they're looking at it from a geopolitical and strategic interest perspective, I think they have a lot to lose as well.
Monocle 24: The Foreign Desk
"sudan" Discussed on Monocle 24: The Foreign Desk
"And I thought, like, how is this our life now? How is this our life? And when will this ever end? Yasmine Abdul -Majid, thank you for joining us. This is The Foreign Desk on Monocle Radio. You're listening to The Foreign Desk on Monocle Radio. For a wider look at Sudan's conflict and its possible ramifications, I'm joined from Dubai by Khaled Hayer, a Sudanese political analyst and founding director at Confluence Advisory, a think tank in Khartoum, and from Cairo by Matt Nashad, an investigative journalist covering the Middle East and Africa. Khaled, I'll start with you. Let's begin by looking at the two generals at the centre of this conflict. Is it clear to you what either al -Burhan or Hometti think victory looks like? I think both think that victory looks like the extermination of the other, because they have gotten to a stage where they have found it very difficult to reconcile the existence of the other in the political landscape. And that's because their post -Coup consolidation projects look very, very different from one to the other. And so there's nowhere to really incorporate the wishes of the other or even the existence of the other in those post -Coup consolidation projects. And we have to remember that they led the coup together in October of 2021, but we've seen them diverge significantly since then. I think to some extent they're getting an understanding that this conflict will not be resolved quickly, which is clearly what they had thought at the beginning. They're still not yet there, I think, at the stage where they can recognise that actually they can't eliminate the other. And they certainly can't eliminate the institutions. The rapid support forces cannot eliminate the Sudanan forces. They are the official armed institution of the country. And to some extent also vice versa, the paramilitary forces have entrenched themselves in Sudan's politics and its economy to the extent that it'll very difficult to get to vanquish them entirely. So they will have to live with some kind of accommodation of the other.
Monocle 24: The Foreign Desk
"sudan" Discussed on Monocle 24: The Foreign Desk
"Sudan has seen war before, Sudan has not seen war like this before. On April 15th, Sudan's usually placid capital, Khartoum, was rocked by explosions, up to and including artillery and airstrikes. In fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere since, perhaps 1 ,000 civilians have been killed and more than a million people have fled their homes. Though several ceasefires have been agreed, they have been swiftly broken. It sounds like a civil war, and it wouldn't be Sudan's first, but it isn't, not really. It is a contest between two factions of Sudan's military, and at heart between two soldiers, once allies, now enemies. On one side are Sudan's official armed forces, commanded by General Abdel Fattah al -Bahhan, who has also effectively served as Sudan's head of state since 2019. After spending some while delaying the transition to democracy promised after Sudan's revolution of that year, he threw a coup d 'etat in late 2021. On the other are the paramilitary rapid support forces, or RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan de Gallo, known universally as Hamedti. The RSF are a rebrand of the Janjaweed militia, which became deservedly infamous during the Darfur War of the early 21st century. Sudan's president of that period, Omar al -Bashir, is still wanted by the International Criminal Court. Could a disagreement between these two men really wreck a nation? Might this spread beyond Sudan's borders? And can anybody stop this? This is The Foreign Desk. There is a true trauma
AP News Radio
Sudan envoys begin talks amid pressure to end conflict
"Talks on ending the Sudan conflict, a planned for Saudi Arabia. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia say Sudan's warring sides are beginning talks aimed at firming up a shaky ceasefire after three weeks of fierce fighting that's killed hundreds and pushed Sudan to the brink of collapse. They say the negotiations will take place in the Saudi city of Jeddah. It will be the first between Sudan's military and the paramilitary rapid support forces since clashes broke out on April 15th the talks follow concerted efforts by Saudi Arabia and other international partners to pressure the two warring generals in Stan to the negotiating table. I'm Charles De Ledesma
The Eric Metaxas Show
Rescuing Sudanese Slaves: Todd Chatman Shares One Woman's Story
"Serve a good God, a God who allows us to participate in his work. In our generation, we're talking to Todd Chapman with Christian solidarity international and part of God's work right now through Christian solidarity international is literally freeing slaves from captivity. And I want us as the western the American church to understand the evil in the world, it will deepen your faith if you understand the evil in the world and if you understand that God has appointed you to take apart and doing something about it. That's a fact that's a fact. Todd, talk to us about some of the stories or one of the stories of one of the women that has been through this process. So we can put more of a face on this, because. I guess the one that first comes to mind is a woman named joke and I had the opportunity to meet her and learn her story. He's about 26, 27 years old now, but she was taken captive when she was three years old. She was at her home in South Sudan, her grandma was there with her at the time. They were just going about daily life. And these raiders came into her community. And they grandma was too old to have any value, so they left her behind, but they took a joke and they took her mother as slaves. And so they take them to the slave camp in the north and they were separated. Mom was taken, you know, to one family. Duke was taken to another and basically now her life just became this nightmare of doing whatever her slave master. Told her that she was to do. She was raped by this man, even though he had his own family. He raped a joke. She got pregnant twice. And finally, he was able to come into freedom just a few years ago because she happened to meet this Arab slave liberator that we partner with to go in and negotiate freedom for these slaves. And he found he'd met her at a market. He identified that she was likely a slave, began to have dialog and said, look, I think we can get you out. And thank God we were able to do that.
The Eric Metaxas Show
Freeing Slaves for Only $250: How CSI Is Changing Lives in Sudan
"Todd Chapman, a spokesperson for Christian solidarity international. They are doing God's work. They are freeing slaves in the Sudan. This is an amazing thing, I want to get a little bit into the weeds Todd about how this how this happens. We've said, first of all, that CSI says, if somebody gives them $250 from this program, that is enough money to free the slave and to set them up in a life of freedom, which is key. So talk a little bit about that. What does that mean? Yeah, so for every $250 gift, so part of it first and foremost is going to go to buy the kettle vaccine that we used to negotiate their freedom. We talked about how these slaveholders are primarily cattle owners and they can get their hands on these vaccines so their cattle needs so we exchange that. And we negotiate the freedom of as we can. Sometimes it's one person. But, you know, one of the things that's happened. Some of these women have been held captive since they were children. And they've since had children while they're in slavery, and so oftentimes now they have children of their own. And so more and more, we're trying to make sure if we can free a woman and she's got kids. We try to negotiate the freedom for all of our kids. We don't want to leave those kids behind. Obviously. So that's a part of that. You're $250 gifts, but the majority of the gift actually goes to what you said, Eric, set them up so that they have the opportunity to have a sustainable life. And so we've got what we call a bag of hope. And it's really not a bag as much as just a collection of the goods that they will need to get themselves started on a new life. And so it's food. It's some crops that they can plant and grow in seasons to come. It's a mosquito net because obviously in Central Africa where Sudan is a mosquitos malaria can be a problem. Blankets cookware just the basic stuff to get started out.
The Eric Metaxas Show
Todd Chatman of CSI Discusses Freeing Slaves in South Sudan
"How is it possible, first of all, that in this day and age, people are literally enslaved. We're not talking sort of people. We're not talking sort of. We're talking literally enslaved 2023 right now while we are free, there are people enslaved. It's too horrible to contemplate, but we need to. Yeah. You know, as I, as I read about the stories and we can imagine we freed over a 100,000 Sudanese slaves since 1995. And you read their stories because every human being that we free has a story to tell about how they became a slave in the first place. And they're horrific. And there's a lot of common elements, but it's staggering to think that there are still even though we've freed over a 100,000 of these slaves. There are still we're guessing 35 to 40,000 more Sudanese slaves. Most of them women, but sometimes men that have lived their entire life. In captivity. And yeah, you think, boy, how can that be, you know, here in 2023, but it is. And so we are relentless in our pursuit to free more people. We can't do it without generous donors like yours who make it possible. But just as a little primer on history, how this happened. So it goes all the way back to 1983. Civil War, religious persecution in Sudan and Christians were basically told you can't be a Christian in Sudan. And so they revolted against that and they ended up the government got in cahoots with some Arab forces and raiders and they were allowed to go in and destroy farms and take people captive, take them to north Sudan. And those are the people that remain enslaved today. Now, this is not an ongoing issue. This is one of the most common questions we get. Hey, if we help CSI secure freedom for a slave, aren't we, in essence, create a creating a market for that. And the short answer is, no, you're not, because it's an honor and ongoing problem, the slaves taking was abolished back in late 90s. And so no more slaves are being taken captive. But what they've failed to deal with in that legislation to stop the taking of slaves was that further act to go ahead and free the ones that had been taken.
AP News Radio
UN: 258 million people faced acute food insecurity in 2022
"A new study finds more than a quarter of a billion people in 58 countries faced acute food insecurity last year. The global report on food crises also says people in 7 countries were on the brink of starvation due to conflicts, climate change, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the worse of nations were Somalia, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen, the global report is an alliance of humanitarian organizations founded by the UN and the EU. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres says the report is a stinging indictment of humanity's failure to implement UN goals to end world hunger. I'm Charles De Ledesma
AP News Radio
Sudan's army and rival extend truce, despite ongoing clashes
"Humanitarian groups are trying to restore the flow of help in Sudan, where nearly a third of the population of 46 million relied on international aid even before the explosion of violence there. The UN food agency says it's ending at the temporary suspension of its operations in Sudan, put in place after three of its team members were killed in the war wrecked Darfur region, however 8 movements face risks and logistical difficulties. The UN's top official in Sudan, full caperatus, says much of the aid which teams had in stock has been looted. All the warehouses in WFP, UNHCR, and others in their forward looted. Vehicles from the humanitarian agencies were alluded. The World Food Program will resume a food distribution in four provinces working in areas where security permits and the international committee of the Red Cross has flown in medical supplies for hospitals overwhelmed by the violence. I'm Charles De Ledesma
AP News Radio
UN envoy says Sudan's warring sides agree to negotiate
"The United Nations says a ceasefire process for Sudan is under discussion. The UN's top official in Saddam fuller's tells The Associated Press. The troubled nations war in generals have agreed to negotiations potentially in Saudi Arabia, even as they clash in the capital despite another three day extension of a fragile city adds if the talks come together, they would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable ceasefire monitored by national and international observers, but he warns they were still challenges in holding the negotiations a string of temporary truces over the past week have eased fighting only in some areas, and in others fierce battles are continuing. I'm Charles De Ledesma
AP News Radio
Emergency aid has arrived in Sudan to help supply hospitals devastated by fighting
"An aircraft carrying 8 tons of emergency medical aid has landed in Sudan. It's hoped the aid will resupply hospitals devastated by more than two weeks of fighting, the Red Cross says the suppliers which include anesthetic, stressing and surgical material are enough to treat more than 1000 people wounded in the conflict. A national doctors association says more than two thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, citing a shortage of medical supplies, health workers, water and electricity. The civilian death toll from the country wide violence has topped 400 the
AP News Radio
US conducts 1st evacuation of its citizens from Sudan war
"Hundreds of Americans have reached safety in port Sudan in the East African nation, completing the first U.S. run evacuation over land. Hundreds of Americans have fled weeks of deadly fighting in Sudan, unmanned aircraft kept watch overhead, with some 300 Americans traveling for hundreds of miles by bus. Families were critical and airlift was only for embassy staffers and their families. How much danger were they facing, Khartoum university student abhari kazor shot this video of an encounter, he fled from. I'm Jackie Quinn
AP News Radio
As battle for Sudan continues, civilian deaths top 400
"Despite an extended ceasefire, some areas of Sudan's capital ball witness to gunfire and heavy artillery as the battle for power between Sudan's two top generals continues over 400 civilians have died so far with thousands more displaced. However, despite the huge numbers trying to get out, there are some who are making their way back to the war torn country on a ship from Saudi Arabia to Sudan, so they can be with their families. Another passenger also traveling to Sudan, lost his mother, sister, and daughter and the fighting Ashraf is traveling back to help his other relatives, holding back the tears, he told a reporter. In Khartoum clashes continued around the presidential palace, the headquarters of the state broadcaster and a military base, the battles sent thick columns of black smoke, billowing over the city skyline. I'm Karen Chammas
AP News Radio
Heavy clashes rock Sudan’s capital despite truce extension
"Heavy clashes are rocking Sudan's capital, despite a truce extension. Sudanese residents say explosions and gunfire have hit parts of the capital Khartoum and its twin city omdurman, despite the extension of a fragile truce between the country's rival top generals, the two fighting parties, the military and the rapid support forces have been trading accusations of violating the truce, the escalation, came hours after both sides accepted a 72 R extension, apparently to allow foreign governments to complete the evacuation of their citizens from the chaos stricken African nation, multiple short truces, have not stopped the fighting. I'm Charles De Ledesma
AP News Radio
Reported fighting in Sudan's Darfur mars fragile truce
"As fighting ease during a three day ceasefire, many stuck in the crossfire in Sudan's capital took the opportunity to leave, as foreign nationals continued to be evacuated, large numbers of people have been making the exhausting 15 hour drive across the deserts to access points out of the country at the arkin crossing in Egypt at the northern border, Sudanese families and others streamed into Egypt, desperate to get out of the crossfire between the forces of Sudan's two top generals, one foreigner called Mario said the situation had become unbearable. And there was no more food, electricity, so it was going very, very bad. And we had to flee. Meanwhile, British nationals were finally evacuated to the UK, many expressing their relief to be back. We're not ducking and diving. We're home. When asked how she felt about how the evacuation was organized, she said. I would have liked it to be sooner, quicker. Took 11 days, but we're here. I'm Karen Chammas
AP News Radio
Sudan military: Former ruler al-Bashir in military hospital
"A jail strongman's whereabouts are unknown, amid the chaos in Sudan. An attack on the prison holding deposed Sudanese autocrat Omar al-Bashir has raised questions about his whereabouts as the country's two top generals battle for power. The military says he's been held in a secure location, while the paramilitary rapid support forces allege the military forcibly evacuated the facility, part of a plan to restore Al Bashir to pave Al Bashir Sudan for three decades despite wars and sanctions was overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019. He's wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide during the conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region in the early 2000s. I'm Charles De Ledesma
AP News Radio
Sudan fighting eclipses new truce as aid groups raise alarm
"Fighting has erupted again in Sudan despite a truce. Sudanese and foreigners streamed out of Sudan's capital Khartoum and other battle zones despite a new three day truce brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia, aid agencies raise increasing alarm over the crumbling humanitarian situation and a country relied on outside help. A series of short cease fires the past week of either failed outright or brought only intermittent laws in the fighting that has raged between the forces loyal to the country's two top generals since April 15th. Calls for negotiations to end the crisis in Africa's third largest nation have been ignored. I Norman hall
AP News Radio
UN warns of lab risk, more displacement amid Sudan conflict
"UN officials say one side in the Sudan conflict has seized control of a national health lab in the capital of Khartoum that holds biological material. The announcement comes as officials warn more refugees could flee Sudan despite a ceasefire between rival forces, the fightings plunged Sudan into chaos, pushing the already heavily aid dependent African nation to the brink of collapse. Now, doctor nima said abid the World Health Organization's representative in Sudan has expressed concerns that one of the fighting parties he hasn't identified which one had seized control of a central public health lab in Khartoum, abid calls the move an extremely dangerous development. I'm Charles De Ledesma
AP News Radio
Fitful start to new 3-day truce in Sudan; airlifts continue
"A fresh free day truce in Sudan starts fitfully as airlifts out continue. Sudan's war in generals have pledged to observe a new three day truce brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to pull Africa's third largest nation back from the abyss. The claims were immediately undercut by the sound of heavy gun fire and explosions in the capital Khartoum, residents say warplanes were flying overhead several previous ceasefire declared since the April 15 outbreak of fighting have not been observed, meanwhile, Britain says it will run evacuation flights for nationals from an airfield outside cartoon. I'm Charles De Ledesma
Mark Levin
Will Biden Struggle to Evacuate Americans in Sudan Like Afghanistan?
"So a Civil War breaks out in Sudan And this has been going on for a long time a long time With the special forces in at night to get our people out of our embassy But there's 16,000 Americans some with dual citizenship Some not We're still in the Sudan There are hundreds if not thousands of Americans in Afghanistan And we don't have the muscle to set the rules We don't have the muscle to make the threats to create fear to get our people home Now I'm glad that we got our embassy staff out And other diplomatic bureaucrats That's good But what about American citizens who are not working for the federal government who are not diplomats Maybe even not tool citizens just American citizens What are we going to do about them
Monocle 24: The Foreign Desk
"sudan" Discussed on Monocle 24: The Foreign Desk
"Events in Sudan, these last few days have moved swiftly and in the general direction of downhill. At least 185 people are known to have been killed in fighting which began this past weekend, perhaps ten times that many injured, these are almost certainly woeful underestimates. I made calls to generals burhan and hamadi. Urging them to agree to a 24 hour ceasefire to allow Sudanese to safely reunite with their families. And to obtain desperately needed relief supplies. A 24 hour ceasefire agreed on Tuesday, barely lasted 24 minutes. It is difficult to expect much better of another ceasefire agreed for later today. Citizens of Sudan's capital Khartoum report outages of water and electricity and shortages of food and medicines. We're safe. The power has been out. That was something, you know, it's like, I don't even know what it is anymore. All of which is by way of noting that in such fluid circumstances, it is not possible to entirely insulate and explain as such as this against the possibility of being overtaken by events. The event that it would be vastly preferable to be overtaken by would be an agreement by all concerned to knock it off, but as of this recording, this seems depressingly unlikely. With due acknowledgment that things are inevitably more complicated than this, there are two protagonists whose character and motivation are crucial to what has happened and what might. One is general Abdel Fattah Al burhan, the other is general Muhammad hamdan dagalo. I will continue to function until the reigns of power are handed over to an elected government, I simply wish to serve my people truly unfaithfully after that I will have no political role. Abdul Fattah Al barhan is the commander of Sudan's armed forces and has also been these last three years the de facto president of Sudan, as head of something currently trading in the grand tradition of old school military junta's disguising themselves with blandly bureaucratic sounding corporate identities as the transitional military council. Muhammad hamdan dagalo is usually known as hemeti, which will stick with from here out for reasons of clarity. Hemeti commands a paramilitary outfit called the rapid support forces or RSF, which evolved from the Arab militias which became deservedly infamous as the janjaweed during the Darfur war of the early years of this century and were also dispatched abroad to Yemen and Libya as a semi deniable Sudanese mercenary legion. The janjaweed commander of the Darfur war period Ali Muhammad Ali Abdel Rahman also known as Ali kushite is currently answering for his conduct in The Hague. Albert and hamiti have not always been opponents. Indeed, they connived in Sudan's most recent coup's day tar in April 2019, they unloaded overstaying tyrant and war crimes in IT, president Omar al-Bashir, and established what looked a maybe vaguely promising joint civilian military arrangement to steer Sudan towards democracy. In October 2021, the pair elbow decide the civilian politicians and declared the military unequivocally in charge. Al burhan as head of state, his deputy. A competent and independent government will take care of the country onto the upcoming elections. The current spectacular falling out between Albert and meti is a byproduct of and reason for the recent failure to form a new transitional government, which was supposed to have occurred this month. It is a fundamental principle of functional democracy that a nation's military serves the government as opposed to the other way around, as has more often been the case in Sudan. Accordingly, Hermes RSF would need to be absorbed into the Sudanese military proper and presumably at least as Albert imagined placed under the command of Al burhan. Possibly more to the point, Hermes considerable business empire, which includes a lucrative line in gold mines, might therefore end up being rested from his control. And both men have still more tawdry reasons for wanting to cling on to power. Al burhan and tometi have been frequently and plausibly implicated in the same atrocities in Darfur for which Omar al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court. The path from out of office to in the clink is a fairly well trodden one. May also have a case to answer at home or abroad for the 2019 incident in which the RSF attacked civilian pro democracy protesters occupying a stadium in Khartoum, killing and or raping dozens. To be clear, are both unregenerate thugs, though Albert probably has the better table manners. If they have decided that this is a zero sun winner takes all sorts of contests, the prognosis for Sudan's 45 million people is bleak. The Sudanese armed forces commanded by Albert are believed to number just north of 200,000 troops, and Mehdi's RSF may be around 70,000, but probably better trained better equipped and more motivated. And it is clear enough that RSF counts among its allies, the Wagner group, the Russian mercenary racket on which the RSF seems increasingly modeled. It has been credibly reported that the RSF has helped run Sudanese gold to Russia via Dubai to fund Wagner's participation in Vladimir Putin's rampage in Ukraine, visited Moscow last February as the invasion began. Russia does have long-term ambitions in Sudan not least of a Red Sea naval base, but it is at least presumable that Russia perceives a short term interest in causing diplomatic and strategic headaches in places other than Europe. The heads of state from the other countries have convened so that we can take charge of not just the organization, but also take charge of the situation. In our region. Various regional leaders have volunteered themselves as interlocutors. President Salva Kiir of South Sudan, president Ismail Omar guelleh of Djibouti, president Abdel Fattah el sisi of Egypt, prime minister William Ruto of Kenya, all will be reasonably concerned about the prospects of any lasting war over spilling Sudan's borders, causing further disruption to that which is already disrupted. Of Sudan's 7 neighbors, 5 are beset by armed conflict of some kind. In the immediate future, it is much easier to imagine how this could get worse than it is to perceive grounds for optimism. For monocle radio, I'm Andrew Muller.
UN News
"sudan" Discussed on UN News
"Doctor fok protests, you are the special representative of the UN secretary general for Sudan. And head of the United Nations integrated transition assistance mission in Sudan, unit arms. I would like to start with the latest event, which is the launch of the final phase of the political process, what is the significance of this for Sudan and for the souvenir people? Well, the launch of the second or final phase of the political process is significant because it promises to reach a political agreement between the military and the civilian that would bring Sudan back on our transition path. And after almost 15 months after the coup of 25 October 2021 returning to the transition path would be a major major step forward for all Sudanese, whether they are civilians or in the military. It has been almost a week since the start of the final phase. How are things going so far? Well, there has been one important first workshop among altogether 5 workshops that are planned as part of the final phase. This workshop was on a road map for the dismantling of the old regime. Of course, as United Nations, together with the AU and eagle, we have been precipitating this workshop, logistically, but also by bringing in expertise. But more importantly, I was able to witness quite a number of sessions of some meetings of this workshop in personally impressed by the level of discussions and sincerity with which the Sudanese talked to one another interacted with one another. It was very result oriented and that is important in this context. The signing of the Sudan political framework agreement that took place on December 5th saw many challenges, including a growing opposition to it because some says ethnic basic issues such as accountability and some sense it came under international pressure. How do you address those claims? With all due respect, I must disagree with the way the question has been put. Yes, there is sensor has been opposition to the framework agreement. And that's to be expected. There are some forces that don't like it. They do not want to have a political solution, but it's not a growing opposition rather what we see is that in the weeks had passed, there are more and more forces who come and say they want to sign up to the agreements they want to be part of it. Second, it is not true that accountability is not part of that agreement, accountability is being mentioned in the framework agreement, but it is true that these needs this needs to be spelled out further. And there will be a workshop probably one of the most important of the 5 workshops on transitional justice, which of course is about accountability and how to practice in a difficult context. So accountability should be parted, has to be part of a final agreement.
Sound Opinions
"sudan" Discussed on Sound Opinions
"If you look at you now do you get the picture now with two ways two face ready let us see her from the new Sudan archives record natural brown prom queen Jim you had alluded to this earlier about the genre hopping on the slanty goal to record as well as this one. It's really kind of stunning. I think one of the reasons we wanted Sudan on the show when she was just finishing up that tour for the previous record, fortunately, we got her just in time before before things went south with the live music world. Everything else. But this whole idea of you mentioned the last song referencing Chicago. You know, here's a woman from Cincinnati, who is living in Southern California, but also absorbing a lot of music from African cultures. The violin playing is very inspired by West African music, right? She's a student of the world. And to me, the whole idea of home is vital to this record. Where is home in that song homemaker at the very start? I think the message she's sending is home is wherever you are at that time. You know you feel you belong. I think there's a new generation of young people who are experiencing the world in a very different way than their predecessors have. And for her, this whole idea of being confined to a region or a genre is just a foreign subject. She's grown up as a child of the world, almost from the start, you know? And that has led to this music that is incredibly diverse. I mean, I'm hearing 6 or 7 genres being referenced and every song that she's done here. Oh, yeah. And to me, the really difficult part about this record that she somehow manages to pull off, despite the fact that this record seems to be all over the place, she's still creating these songs out of the coherent songs. Yeah. So she's not struggling to mix and match. She's in fact very comfortable with that whole area. You know, one example I'll use is that OMG Brit, oh my God, Britt. It's a trap hip hop song. And maybe the first trap rap song that I've heard with a zither on it. Where is that coming from? I messed up I think I should put my hands on you a choke hug and a tug with a dime you good. They never would have got to come around my hood you didn't miss understood. I wish you well. And
UN News
"sudan" Discussed on UN News
"I'm Diane Penn with UN news. Governments should recruit more women into their national forces so that they can serve at UN field operations and award winning peacekeeper from Zimbabwe has said. Major wynette jarrah is the recipient of the 2021 military gender advocate of the year award presented by the UN secretary general during a ceremony on Thursday in observation of the international day of UN peacekeepers. Major Gerard spent 17 months at the UN mission in South Sudan on miss, where she championed gender parity within her own ranks, but also among local military counterparts, and in host communities. News asked the former UN military observer about her experience there, the benefit of having wicked parents, and the importance of encouraging more women to work for the cause of peace. I was selected by my office to be the gender focal point officer. So as the gender focal point officer, one of my tasks was to encourage with the patrols, the partial when going out for perforce, I was to encourage them whenever they go out for their supposed to interact with the community leaders with the military does he discuss issues to do with gender equality. And what did you find in South Sudan? How were men and women? Well, the rule of men and women and your efforts to promote gender parity. So to Dan it is dominated by mills. Most of the key appointments are held by mills like the 9 counter commissioners. It's also done of them being owed by men. And when you go to the military, the division commanders of them, which I met, I mean, and these few representation of females. So it was an opportunity to try and encourage them to also include women in all their activities and it was also an opportunity to encourage them to promote women in the military and to also include women in positions of authority. Why was it important to do that? What motivated you to push that women must be included in conflicts most conflicts women and children are the most vulnerable people. So it was good to encourage them. So that they were also like when it goes for a patrol. Interacts with their lead. It will be very easy for the led to gain trust from another lady. And it will be also easier for LED if they see if they see me talking to them. They also emulate and do they also wish if they become on a position of authority like myself. How was it at first when you tried to push to have more women representation for gender equality? How difficult was it? At first it was very difficult, like when you go for meetings out for meetings, you would say that the meetings will be only with Mayo. And if you are the only lady who went out for that patrol, you'd be the only so we're trying to encourage them to improve women whenever they are meetings with the United Nations. Afterwards, what changes did you see? When we went to another meeting in a place called..
UN News
"sudan" Discussed on UN News
"We can't reduce their rations any further. They're only getting 50%. That's not enough in terms of providing for a person in a per day. But with enormous needs outstanding, what we need to do now is unfortunately prioritize those we support only the most vulnerable. So what we will do in the next 6 months is only assist the people in catastrophic and emergency levels of food insecurity. But that means we will stop providing some of the forms of assistance we give. So general food distributions in areas where people are in less extreme levels of food insecurity. But that has an impact as well because we're getting to a point of electioneering. We're getting to a point of the politics that happened before an election. And you don't provide support and certain areas because their needs are less, it will be seen politically. It will be seen for all the reasons that it isn't. It's happening based on a vulnerability analysis, but it will be seen that why are they getting? And I'm not getting. When you start getting us from their arguments over aid at a time of political instability, it's a problematic recipe, but it's one we're going to have to work very, very carefully to ensure that the messaging is clear. So we're taking very tough decisions on prioritization and the way we target those we support at the same time, we're trying to remind everybody about Sudan can not afford to fail, not ten years into its lifetime, not when this peace process is coming to an end of its transitional period..
Monocle 24: The Foreign Desk
"sudan" Discussed on Monocle 24: The Foreign Desk
"The deaths of two people in protests in Khartoum on Sunday brings to 62 the number known to have been killed while demonstrating against last October's coup d'etat in Sudan. This week, UN sponsored talks in Sudan will seek to negotiate a more peaceful path through Sudan's present turbulence. The UN Security Council is also due to discuss the question. It is not difficult to divine the reasons for the outside world's angst. The crisis in Sudan would be serious enough where it happening in a tiny nation nestled amid oases of calm. But Sudan is 44 million people give or take bordering 7 other countries which could all be reasonably perceived as perched on the brink of some variety of conflagration. Each struggling to stamp out such menacing embers as chronic corruption, economic chaos, political dysfunction, sectarian conflict. Any such eruption in Sudan would be incredibly daunting to contain, never mind extinguish. These talks amount then to an attempt to water down the Tinder in advance of the lightning at which point the wildfire metaphor can probably be mercifully retired. But before we look at where we are, one of those brisk recaps of how we got here is probably in order. Sudan's recent unrest can be traced back to about this time three years ago when the dismal dictatorship of president Omar al-Bashir began wheezing terminally. Bashir was an old school thug who had seized power in a coup d'etat in 1989, the elections which perpetuated his rule thereafter were not widely hailed as models of free and fair democracy. He presided over a long Civil War, the eventual sundering of his country when South Sudan seceded in 2011 and earned a footnote in history in 2009 when he became the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court over his alleged direction of crimes against humanity in another internal conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. Protests against Bashir's rule began in early 2018, prompted by a rise in bread prices. These demonstrations escalated over the next 12 months, and in April 2019, Bashir left office as he'd arrived in it via coup d'etat. He is currently in kobar prison in Khartoum, convicted of corruption and money laundering, further charges, and a possible trip to the ICC are pending. The bloodshed which followed Bashir's overthrow was eventually ended by an uneasy agreement between Sudan's military and civilian opposition groups. Abdullah hamdok a sensible seeming former UN economist was sworn in as prime minister. Things were looking tentatively up, very tentatively. It turned out. International flights to the capital cartoon have been suspended, while the Internet has been cut. The country's prime minister Abdullah hamdok is under house arrest and military forces have detained most of his cabinet according to media reports. Pam dock was tipped out in a coup d'etat last October and the military junta which replaced him was brutally impatient with those Sudanese who took to the streets to express that they quite enjoyed the glimpse of civilian government they had been permitted. Ham Doc was grudgingly reinstated, but resigned on January 2nd, reportedly due to renewed pressure from the army. I have tried my best to stop the country from sliding towards disaster. Sudan is crossing now with dangerous turning point that threatens its whole survival. The UN sponsored talks taking place this week are being mediated by Volker perthes, a German political science boffin currently serving as the UN secretary general's special representative for Sudan. He has been careful to note that the UN is not going to so much as suggest a solution never mind imposed one. Sudan's problems, the official line appears to be must have Sudanese solutions. One difficulty with this some have plausibly argued is that among Sudan's bigger problems is the entitlement of Sudan's military, who may feel and or appeal legitimized by any dialog with them. The Sudanese professionals association, which was that the forefront of the protests which unloaded Omar al-Bashir is among those refusing to participate so long as the generals are at the table. On balance, it would be optimistic to expect imminent announcement of a decisive breakthrough. The protests against military rule may well continue ditto the vicious repression thereof. Sudan is in theory supposed to hold general elections in July 2023, general Abdel Fattah Al burhan, who led the October coup and remains Sudan's de facto head of state has previously reassured that Sudan's military will have no political role beyond that. It is not the first time that someone in roughly his position has offered such a reassurance. The savior tyrant always pays lip service to democracy. If general Al bahn is serious, however, something he could constructively do is lead those he commands to the understanding that an.
UN News
"sudan" Discussed on UN News
"Council adapted resolution 25, 24 establishing the UN integrated transition assistance, mission in Sudan unit arms to provide support to the country. My name is Abdul manaki and my guest here today is mister folker pertz. The head of unit times. Thank you so much for being with us here today. Mister foreca. And unit times is supporting Sudan through a range of political peace building and development initiatives. Can you elaborate on that? Well, the main purpose for unit terms is to be there to help Sudan through its transition period. Both rise regard to the political transition, the a and B, a democratic civilian government in Sudan and through the transition to peace. And actually there is also a third transition a transition towards economic recovery. So we are trying to help together with the UN country team on these three dimensions. And of course, given the recent events, we have seen in Sudan, some things have become much more difficult. There are questions as to whether Sudan is still or will be able to return to a path towards democratic transition. We are optimistic that this will happen and that we can lend our support to the Sudan and to the Sudanese people in this respect. So, as you mentioned, the transitional period in Sudan was disrupted because of the coup that took place in October 25th. After the coup, the UN was heavily involved in the mediation process between the parties, which resulted in the return of mister Abdullah hamdok the prime minister. What do you think about the situation right now in Sudan? Do you think the transitional process will go back to its normalcy? Well, I don't know what's a normalcy is because it was never a normal process. I mean, Sudan and the transition in Sudan were exceptional in many respects. So the challenge is to get enough consensus in the country to embark together on the rest of the transitional period. And indeed, as you said, the prime minister is back. But we are not yet out of the crisis. So prime minister is back on the basis of an agreement which was locally mediated, a lot of local actors involved here. We facilitated that to some extent, coordinated to some extent where some mediation initiatives, but it was very much a Sudanese mediation that took place. Crisis did not over because a substantial part of the political forces and of the public do reject the agreement between prime minister hanok in general berhan, because they see it as a legalization of the call. So I think the challenge is to make clear to everybody, particular to the domestic public, that Sudan can come and will come back onto this democratic part of transition. It needs a lot of confidence building measures, starting with Zorro investigation of the human rights violations that happened after the military takeover of 25 October. Many people have been demonstrating after the development of October 25th. And even after mister Hamburg was reinstated, some people have become even more skeptical about the partnership between the civilians and the army. What do you think about this partnership? Do you think it's genuine? Well, it could have been, let me put it like that..
Today, Explained
"sudan" Discussed on Today, Explained
"Rule in countries throughout the region. If Sudan can somehow revive its democracy, do you think that could be a bright light for these other countries we've mentioned.
Today, Explained
"sudan" Discussed on Today, Explained
"Are there sort of parallels to draw here? Are there common threads or all these situations sort of particular to each individual country? I mean, there's always differences in each country some local characteristics, but all of these countries suffer from dominant military structures. Military and security apparatuses that have been supported by the United States and other countries and the fight against terrorism. Then the United States has given tons of military aid to the Ethiopian armed forces in order to fight Al shabaab and Somalia. Similarly in Niger and Molly, we've seen international efforts from France and the United States to combat Al-Qaeda and the mug group. And there's been a huge investment in the military in both of those countries. And similarly in chat, Francis played a huge role in arming the today in army to fight against terrorism and the Sahel, the fight against migrants. So the through Lion is that in the name of counter terrorism, or keeping migrants at a Europe, Western countries have propped up military leadership at the expense of democracy. Yeah, I mean, one of the problems is that while the United States in particular advocates democracy often with a civilian programs at the same time it's using its military and intelligence programs to prop up the armed wing of many of these regimes. And so it's often that war if itself and it's too impulsive and counter terrorism for years, anti migrant policies from the Europeans have often trumped their desires for democratization. And tell me more how this is affecting what we're seeing in Sudan right now. In Sudan is a really interesting case because the United States has never really been that close to the Sudanese armed forces. But at the same time, the golf allies, particularly the United States allies in the region, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates have given tons of aid to the military in Sudan. And they've been opposed to democratization throughout the region. And we saw them do similar things perhaps in Egypt in 2013 with the rise of the CC regime and supporting a return to authoritarian rule. Fireworks and jubilation erupted in Tahrir Square tonight as the military announced it dissolved Egypt's constitution and deposed president Muhammad Morsi after just one year in office. And the United States and in Sudan has had a similar issue where it's wanted to have stability in the region. And it's wanted to increase maybe military cooperation. Some people have even said that the U.S. could normalize its relations with the military. We've seen the visits from high ranking military officers. And we've also seen the military play a vital role, particularly under the Trump administration in helping to execute U.S. foreign policy goals like the normalization of Israel. And so the United States has found it often comfortable to talk to military leaders, even military leaders that they don't like. Because they're centralized, we can do military to military communication. The United States has been one of the biggest backers of the civilian transition in Sudan that took place in 2019. But we haven't supported the civilians in quite the same way. So what does that mean for this military's chance of holding on to power? The Sudanese military finds itself in it, maybe a tougher position than some of the military's in the region. In the sense that, you know, it's kind of internationally isolated. It doesn't seem like there was really strong international support for this coup. The United States has come out against it. The European unions come out against the China's come out against it. But at the end of the day, the military does have a strong chance of surviving because the military in Sudan has actually entered into an alliance with many of the larger rebel movements that it used to fight. And it's long Civil War. It has the RSF is one of its militias, it also has SLA, another darfurian militia, and it has the justice and equality movement. Another militia from Darfur, supporting it. And unfortunately, this seems to be a cool that was driven in large part by the senior officer core inside the military who have come together in a kind of a consensus that maybe they didn't have in 2019. When they overthrew president Omar al-Bashir. So how are countries like the United States going to counter the military seemingly strong position in Sudan? You know, we've seen Biden. We've seen blanken. We've seen Feldman, the special envoy for the greater Horn of Africa, calling for a return to transitional arrangement. General burhan and the army they betrayed. The spirit of the 2019 revolution, and they betrayed the letter and the spirit of that constitutional document. This was supposed to be a military civilian partnership. The question, though, is whether or not the United States is willing to do anything besides cutting off some financial support to the country, maybe blocking some of the forgiveness of debt. Will it do anything long term to sort of tip the balance in the favor of the civilians? It didn't do very much in 2013 when. Sisi came to power. It hasn't done that much about the Ethiopian Civil War. It didn't do anything about Chad Mali or Niger. So the U.S. credibility, I think, is that it's not at the highest point. Vis-à-vis the military generals and cartoons. And when we talk about doing more, what are we talking about are we talking about military intervention? No, I don't think military intervention is on the table. There's a question of whether or not there could be more sanctions, whether or not we could pressure a particularly our allies in the Gulf states to cut off funds to the military. I think that would be one of the biggest things that the United States could do. Pressure, the Gulf states, like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Turkey, and Egypt, to also reduce ties with the Sudanese regime. And maybe freeze the bank accounts of military leaders. What do those countries want? Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, et cetera. So this is a big question. I mean, for a while for the last few years, we've seen Qatar and UAE particularly in a kind of competition for influence throughout the region. But we've seen UAE like Russia also investing a lot in the Red Sea ports along the coast of Sudan. And trying to develop those ports. But more importantly, they want stability and they have been opposed and kind of a broad way to democratic movements throughout the greater Middle East, particularly after the Arab Spring of 2011. And so in many ways, they've supported either a restoration of monarchies or restoration of military.
Today, Explained
"sudan" Discussed on Today, Explained
"Either it's Peter Kafka and I wanted to tell you that we've wrapped our latest season of land of the Giants. It's the podcast that explores the biggest, most important tech companies of our time. This time we looked at Apple company that changed with a computer is and then changed what a phone is. The iPhone has given Apple tremendous power. But it's forced the company to make compromises it didn't expect. Apple says privacy is a fundamental human right, but it also conflicts with its need to follow the laws of every country it operates, especially in China, and its App Store generates billions in profit, but that doesn't work for everyone. Apple basically is preventing me, a small business owner from servicing my customers, the way of service them for many, many years for decades, and they're saying no, you can't do it that way. Meanwhile, what exactly is going on with Apple TV plus? My sense is Apple doesn't want to win the streaming wars. They want to be extremely highly regarded for their taste. Land of the Giants, the apple revolution from recode and the vox media podcast network, this season is sponsored by web flow and you can catch up on the entire series. Now wherever you get your podcasts. Or shall you go? The thing about the military coup in Sudan, it's actually far from the only one to happen this year in Africa. No, unfortunately, we're seeing, when we call democratic regression or a series of military coups, take place across the region. Alden young is a UCLA historian and the author of transforming Sudan, he says there's at least a half dozen other countries in the region whose democracies are backsliding. We just saw Chad had a military transition, rebels are threatening to advance on Chad's capital and the military has taken over the government following the death of president Idriss Deby. And this was cosigned in a really strange way by president Macron of France, and the United States didn't make much objection. And we've seen military takeovers in Niger. Overnight an attempt to overthrow the government was thwarted and in Mali. Dressed in full military regalia the man who led Mali's second coup in 9 months is officially sworn in as president. And a cooling Guinea. On this mobile phone video, the 83 year old president appears disheveled. He's being detained by the country's special forces. Men meant to protect him, now hold him in custody. And then Ethiopia would for a long time was one of the bright spots in the Horn of Africa. We've seen a brutal Civil War, and we've seen authoritarian consolidation under the Nobel Prize winner abiy Ahmed, many opposition parties are also boycotting the election, because leading members have been jailed. They accuse the government of rolling back many of abiy Ahmed's initial reforms. We've also seen a non democratic transition in Tunisia. My first decision is the freezing of the functions of parliament..
Today, Explained
"sudan" Discussed on Today, Explained
"That masses is the barometer of the streets..
Today, Explained
"sudan" Discussed on Today, Explained
"Of this regime and to arrest the head of the regime in a safe place. The military took over, but with the promise of future civilian rule, they even included civilians in the process. But the Sudanese people were hesitant to trust the military because these were some of the same people who had spilled blood in the streets during those protests two years ago. The June 3rd massacre in which the military tortured raped and ultimately killed more than a hundred peaceful protesters. Civilians were shot at close range by men in uniform. Command of Hamilton known as hemeti, who is the leader of the rapid support forces, a paramilitary force that has its origin in the gender eat. Who committed mass atrocities in the west of the country and therefore, the BBC has spoken to two men who say they are serving ASF officers and admit to having participated in the attack. Then you also had the former inspector general, now ahead of the Sydney's armed forces, general advertis. You had what we call an Arabic, the shadow brigades, which are as scary as they sound, essentially kind of black ops operatives as part of the intelligence services. This is nema Al bagir. She's a senior international correspondent for CNN. Just this cabal of armed forces who didn't want the country to transition past a point of their ability to continue to benefit and make money and rule. And then last week, just as the military was slated to begin the transition to civilian control, they confirmed, they weren't to be trusted. We dissolved the sovereign council and the cabinet, and we put an end to the mayor's jobs and under secretaries and the state governors will revise everything. They rounded up the prime minister and his wife, many of the senior aides in the prime minister's cabinet. A lot of the key civilian leadership, many of whom we believe have been tortured and detained. And a lot of people are still missing. How does the public respond to this coup? The public had already taken to the streets before the days before that. You know, firing a warning shot that basically we will not accept. Sudan will not accept military rulers again. I think it's important to remember that Sudan has really only had very brief periods of democracy since independence. I'm from Sudan. I was talking to my mother about it. And she remembers being 14. And in high school in Khartoum going out on her first anti military rule, demonstration. And she was 14. And it's extraordinary that she's now in her 70s. And this is the third attempt fourth attempt in her lifetime. To gain basic freedoms. And I think what makes this even more incredible is that most of the generation that are leading these demonstrations that are so absolutely unrelenting in their belief that they will never again be ruled by the military. Are the children of Al Bashir. They're the children of this dictatorship. They have never known democracy. I mean, I'm 43 years old. And I remember a brief three years of democracy from when I was about 7 till 11 or 12. Three years of democracy. So this is a generation that has no concept of democracy. And yet they're the ones out on the streets risking their lives for it. What's life like in Sudan right now? Life is Sudan has been incredibly difficult for months now. The economy has been in a free full collapse. There had been when we were there in August, we could really see that there had been an increased presence of soldiers and military personnel on the streets. It's been very, very tense for a while now. Friends and family that I've been speaking to you back home. And our team on the ground there say that it is that, but so much worse now. People are really concerned about their ability to bring in their daily necessities to their homes. You know, people with queuing for hours for fuel, but that sense of volatility that at any moment, anything could happen because of the huge presence of armed forces on the street. Just this sense of volatility and vulnerability. I think other than people who've grown up under an occupation. I think those of us who grew up under dictatorship have an experience of that sense of humiliation, where any time you walk out on the street, you are incredibly vulnerable to the whims of a man in uniform. And for a while there during this transitional period that had gone away. And now those that we're speaking to on the ground say that that sense of second and third class citizenship in your own country that if somebody took a gun to your head and fired, there would be no consequences. That feeling has returned. But all the same people are in the streets. How's the military responding? The soldiers clearly think that by their standards, they have been quite restrained. I don't know if you would call hundreds of people injured and you know a dozen or so killed. Just over the weekend over one day's demonstration on Saturday restrained. But they believe that by their standards, they have been restrained. And I think what's been quite disappointing for a lot of Sudanese watching from home is to hear the UN or the U.S. say that, well, you know, we were watching we're happy to see that there was some form of restraint. And I think that's the big, that's going to be the real crunch is that the U.S. wants to force through a mediation. And they believe that the least violent, the least destabilizing way to force through a resolution is to allow for some semblance of military presence in whatever infrastructure of rule is agreed upon. And that's just not acceptable to the Sudanese out on the streets. Now, it may be acceptable in the future they may decide ultimately after however long this impasse lasts for that they may accept some kind of version of that. But for right now, it's not acceptable. And the only the only barometer.
The Economist: The Intelligence
"sudan" Discussed on The Economist: The Intelligence
"These schools closed in the nineteen nineties. But that's not to say that it's all in the past. Indigenous kids are over represented in foster care and adoptive homes and indigenous leaders. Like cindy blackstock. Say that that perpetuates the break-up of families and communities.
The Economist: The Intelligence
"sudan" Discussed on The Economist: The Intelligence
"Swear by almighty god that s the president of the republic of south sudan that as the president of the republic of south sudan fistful. I shall be ten years ago today. A new sovereign country was born as south sudan. President salva kear was sworn in before a huge flag-waving crowd in the country's capital juba gone so then the celebrations beginning sedan had been rocked by decades of successive civil wars. Millions were killed. As a rebel group fought for the independence of the mostly christian south against a government based largely muslim north. Millions more were displaced. This was a ceaselessly brutal conflict amputations by machete were policy. Death-by-stoning was common out of those darkest times. A peace agreement was struck in two thousand five. It led to an autonomous government for the south grouping of ten states. That's home to more than sixty major ethnic groups after an overwhelming referendum vote in favor of statehood the republic of south sudan. Came into being on july ninth. Two thousand eleven maps were redrawn. Western advisers flew in eager to help shape a new state. Hope was for a time in abundance sub sedans independence. Ten years ago is a moment of absolute optimism. Jonathan rosenthal is the economists. Africa editor had africa's newest country a country that was breaking away from its very oppressive. Northern sudan and people really saw this as a moment of the freedom and opportunity and in the past ten years. It's really falling apart. There's been civil war. Civil war people are living in absolute misery. many are no noticeably. Better off than they were when south sudan was still part of sudan. And it's really been an absolute as appointment. So why did the country descend into civil war. I guess there is a narrow reason in a slightly larger than the narrow reason. Was that in two thousand thirteen. Ethnic tensions broke off between the president and his deputy right michelle who each represent the two largest ethnic groups. Mr kiss axes cabinets. He got rid of mr shaw accusing him of instigating cooler. There seems to have been very little evidence of that. What you really had was a breakdown into ethnic conflicts. I guess the slightly larger reason is just the both sides wants to get their hands on oil. Many south sudan is theoretically every rich country and for the international community that scrap for oil must. Surely have been predictable. I guess parts of the optimism surrounding the birth of south sudan was this in its struggle for independence. Was the story that all kinds of outsiders could kind of latch their own narrative onto so you you had left wing human rights activists in america who were looking at this and seeing an oppressed people's yearning for liberation. You had christian fundamentalists who looked at what was largely a christian and animist south being oppressed by largely muslim north. So they got involved in sort of projected their aspirations on search and yet there was just tremendous naievty people who are in the country before independence talk about how american neo-conservatives than than administration officials in successive governments would be wondering around handing out books on america's founding fathers all books by milton friedman on capitalism and all of them underestimated firstly. Just how difficult it is to build a new stage station. You country when there are no institutions. And i think most of them also underestimated the ethnic militias in the south if you're laid back in their struggle against sudan but the south sudanese people's liberation movement which led the struggle was really not cuddly human rights activists these were sort of hardens guerrilla vices. Who'd grown up facing by the gun and won't really ready to put it down and hands over to the institutions of governance. And so what is the situation on. The ground in south sudan now so things took a real dive in two thousand thirteen with this war. That war claimed paps. Four hundred thousand lives many of them if not most of them civilians so really horrendous civil war that shall we say slow down in two thousand eighteen with a tenuous ceasefire but the violence hasn't stopped entirely. There are slim ethnic militias killing people aid. Workers still struggling to get in and help people in the past month for aid. Workers have been killed. And you've got a population that is just desperately poor despite the oil that's being pumped out of the ground depending on how you count between a quarter and a half of people in the country are depending on some sort of food. The ceasefire that there is sort of absolutely fragile. It's broken down in the pasta. Previous efforts lost just a few months. And there's a real worry that fighting could start again yet. It sounds as if life for them isn't so different from from the during the civil war not considerably besse levels of violence have gone down but people are slim refugee camps. People are still struggling. Violence still exists. Women's rights belly exists and there is no states so to speak the only institution that holds any real sway is the army and it's certainly not seen by most people as an army. That is there to protect them. One of the most stock measures. Just how awful things are at the moment. Is that a south sudanese girl is more likely to dine child beth than she has to complete secondary school. So what is there to be done. Ten years into the existence of this country to bring things back to to an even keel. There is concerted pressure from the region and from western diplomats to look at a match looser federation where ethnic groups have far racist. Say of their own affairs and control of resources. Unfortunately there are two main obstacles to this and they are the president and the vice president both of them have gone to war in the past because they each want absolute power neither of them seems actual inclined to step down. And you really do need them out of the way to try to get a new settlement that can bring the rest of the country together if they were to go. There are some reasons to be hopeful. I think the first is that south sudan's partners in the region donors america have just launched an immense amount about the complexities of this country. And i think which approach it with a match clearer vision. The second reason to be hopeful is that there are real initiatives at grassroots level are still quite small. But it's if it's for peace committees bulls peace village by village efforts to set up women's groups and fight for women's rights. And i suppose if one could scale those up and really look at trying to build peace and democracy from the bottom up instead of just looking at the country from the top down as has happened in the past than there.