August 11, 2010 (Bentiu) -- The Sudan’s People Liberation Army (SPLA) on Wednesday said unidentified gunmen ambushed a lorry carrying soldiers and civilians in Unity State, killing 23 and wounded eight others.

The attack took place on Sunday but it is not clear as to why the authority did not report the incident earlier.

A spokesman for the Southern army said 17 of those killed were soldiers and six civilians including the driver.

"Bandits are active around that area, but lately it has been peaceful. This attack comes as a big surprise”, South Sudan’s army spokesman Malaak Ayuen Ajok said.

"Eight others were wounded, and the situation is now under control", he added.

The South Sudan News Agency (SSNA) will keep you updated. Stay tune…

August 1, 2010 (Nairobi) -- Dr. Samson L. Kwaje, the minister of agriculture and forestry in the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) has died in Nairobi, Kenya.

Late Kwaje joined SPLM/A in early 1990s. At the time of his service with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), he was an active member and later on became the official spokesperson for the movement.

Kwaje, a pojulu by tribe, hails from greater Central Equatorial State. He was a prominent figure within Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) and member of Political Bureau, SPLM’s highest decision making body.

Dr. Samson Kwaje was also part of the SPLM/A negotiating team that helped brokered the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.

He (Kwaje)  holds a doctorate degree (PhD) in Agriculture.

“South Sudan has lost one of its dear great leaders. The name of the Dr. Samson Kwaje has been added to the list and names of martyrs, heroes and heroines who were martyred for freedom and justice”, Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) president Salva Kiir Mayardit, was quoted by Larco Lomayat as saying.

Kwaje was the campaign manager for Salva Kiir’s successful April presidential bid.

The late Southern figure died in Nairobi, Kenya. The cause of his death is yet to be known.

July 12, 2010 (Hague) -- Pre-trial chamber at the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a second round of arrest warrant on Monday for Omar Hassan al-Bashir on three counts of genocide.

The court charged the Sudanese president on the same day the African Union/United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said that at least 221 people have died in fighting and other violence-related incidents in Darfur in June.

"The Chamber finds that there is sufficient evidence to establish reasonable grounds to believe that [al-Bashir] is criminally responsible ... for those charges of genocide," a court decision published on its website said.

In 2008, ICC prosecutors accused the Sudanese president of masterminding a campaign of genocide in Darfur.

Omar Hassan al-Bashir is already a wanted man.

In March 2009, the Hague-based ICC issued first arrest warrant for him on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, throwing out genocide charges citing insufficient evidences.

Omar al-Bashir consistently denied all the charges saying it is a western plot to get rid of him and call the charges “lies”.

In February 2010, ICC gave green light to prosecutors to charge Bashir of genocide.

At least 300, 000 people lost their lives and 2.7 million displaced, according to United Nations estimate.

July 9, 2010 (Juba) -- The ruling party of the semi-autonomous government of Southern Sudan said its chairman flew to Kenya for medical check-up, amid speculation he sufferered from ‘exhaustion’.

"It was exhaustion. He simply was not feeling well but there was nothing specific," the minister of cabinet affairs in the Government of Southern Sudan, Kosti Manibe, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

“He did have some check-up there (in Nairobi). There was nothing wrong with him. He just needs to rest…People should not be worried at all, adding the president's check-up would not delay any of the discussions”.

The president of Southern Sudan left Juba for Nairobi last week and was expected to return on Sunday.

Tabitha Butrus Shokai, who is a member of the political bureau of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), told Reuters that “the president had gone to Nairobi for a general check-up and was in good health”.

It was not independently confirmed if the president still in hospital.

A high-level delegation from Sudan’s people Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by Dr. Riek Machar will meet officials from al-Bashir’s National Congress Party in Khartoum on Saturday.

The two partners will reaffirm their commitment to the full implementation of the CPA.

June 28, 2010 (Khartoum) -- Sudan on Monday announced it will close down its borders with Libya, a reference seen as a sign of Khartoum’s growing frustration with Libya over its refusal to expel Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader,  Khalil Ibrahim.

The decision comes just one day after Sudan asked Libya to extradite the rebel leader.

Sudan planned to block land crossings from July 1, said a statement on the Interior Ministry's website.

Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmud Hamid issued the order with the "aim of reorganising" police along the border, according to a statement on the ministry's website.

Khartoum has in the past asked for the expulsion of JEM leader from Libya but Tripoli refused.

The Sudanese intelligence Chief, Mohammed al-Atta, was quote by an unknown source as saying “Ibrahim's extradition was imminent”, but the rebel group denied it.

"Ibrahim is in Libya and will remain there until he completes talks over the future of Darfur and Sudan" with Kadhafi, JEM spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam told AFP.

"And even if Sudan said it would close its border with Libya, it doesn't have enough soldiers to do so," the spokesman was quote by AFP as saying.

The Sudanese government said that it wants to protect “traders and travelers” from imminent attacks without giving specifics on who is going to attack Sudan through Sudan-Libya border.

Sudan and Libya have recently been involved in failed negotiations on whether or not the peace process between the government and the rebel movement should move forward. But Khartoum fed up with all the attempts and is trying to influence the Libyan government to expel JEM from its soil, calling it an “outlaw organization”.

"The (border) crossing is under threats and aggression by rebels and outlaws, who rob and impose taxes and fees, levied illegally that often jeopardise the lives and property of others," an Interior Ministry official was quoted as saying on the website.  

June 23, 2010 (Khartoum) -- Sudan on Wednesday denied trying to import arms on a ship intercepted in Cyprus, saying explosives on board had been ordered by a mining company.

Cypriot authorities on Tuesday said they had prevented a cargo vessel from leaving their waters since June 11, saying it contained prohibited military material and was thought to be heading for Sudan.

A security source said authorities were investigating whether the cargo contravened a U.N. arms embargo on all armed groups operating in Sudan's Darfur region, where a seven-year conflict has pitted government troops and allied militias against rebel fighters.

Sudan's recently appointed mining minister, Abdel Baqi al-Jailani, told Reuters late on Wednesday the reports of an arms shipment were "just nonsense".

"The ship is carrying some explosives for civil work ... for quarry face blasting and mining," he said. "It has nothing to do with the military."

He said the explosives had been ordered by Ariab Mining Company, an operation part-owned by the Sudanese government with gold mining operations in eastern Sudan.

Jaliani said Sudan was now considering taking legal action to free the cargo and win compensation for the delay.

"The explosives were supposed to be here ... Some work has had to be stopped ... Sudan always comes under suspicion. This is something we always have to deal with," he said.

Cypriot police said the vessel was sailing to Sudan and then Singapore.

The U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Susan Rice, in March accused Sudan of cavalier violations of the United Nations' Darfur embargo.

In September 2008, Somali pirates captured a Ukrainian ship loaded with a cargo of Soviet-era T-72 tanks and other weapons. Foreign diplomats said there was evidence the arms were bound for south Sudan. South Sudan's semi-autonomous government dismissed the report. (Reporting by Andrew Heavens). (Reuters)

June 22, 2010 (Nicosia) -- Cyprus has intercepted a vessel carrying military equipment thought to be bound for Sudan, under an arms embargo by the United Nations and the European Union.

Authorities said on Tuesday the Antigua and Barbuda flagged cargo vessel had been prevented from leaving Cypriot waters since June 11, when it anchored off the southern port of Limassol requesting refuelling.

"There is material (on board) which is considered prohibited from leaving Cyprus right now," Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides told Cyprus radio.

"When we speak of prohibited material it means explosives or military material."

Police said the vessel was sailing to Sudan and then Singapore.

An official from Sudan's foreign ministry on Tuesday said he had no information on the vessel in Cyprus.

The daily Phileleftheros, which broke the story, said the vessel was transporting tanks and explosives, and was blocked after a tipoff from the United States. A spokesman at the U.S. embassy in Nicosia said Washington was not involved.

Asked about the cargo, Paschalides said: "I cannot specify right now what material it is, whether it is tanks, not tanks or other things, but there is definitely military material which comes under export control."

Paschalides said the vessel's papers suggested it sailed from Norway and had passed through the German port of Hamburg and Spain. Police said they were checking the authenticity of the documents.

A security source said authorities were investigating whether the cargo contravened a U.N. arms embargo on all armed groups operating in Sudan's Darfur region, the site of a seven-year conflict pitting government troops and allied militias against rebel fighters.

The U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Susan Rice, in March accused Sudan of cavalier violations of the U.N.'s Darfur embargo.

Analysts last year also said Sudan's northern and southern armies were building up arms as tensions mounted over a faltering 2005 north-south peace deal. Northern and southern authorities denied the reports.

Jun 15, 2010 (Khartoum) -- Ali Karti, who was appointed foreign minister on Monday by President Omar al-Bashir lashed out on Tuesday.

"If we don't agree on the results of the referendum, this could trigger a new war between north and South Sudan. It will be a difficult and tough war, different from the previous one because both sides are better equipped," militarily, AFP reported.

The two peace partners, NCP and the SPLM, have recently involved in back and forth negotiation to form the new unity government. SPLM has retained the position of foreign minister for the last five years.

"We cannot hold a referendum before the border is demarcated. The demarcation will help establish where people live and where (natural) resources are located," Karti told AFP.

Karti, who was State Minister of Foreign Affairs in the past administration, is believe by some figures within Southern ruling party as someone with conservative views, and his stance on South Sudan referendum could irritate the SPLM.

The CPA which was signed on January 9, 2005, ended the bloody civil war between North and the South. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) allows the people of South Sudan to decide in next January whether or not they want to remain part of the united Sudan or form their own Independent State.