South Sudan loses contact with troops in Key Town // Israel Official: Africans Agree to Go to Uganda

Good People,

Is Museveni on the run.............???  South Sudan Government loosing contact with its troops
in Key town when Museveni troops are in the offensive in South Sudan backing up with the
Governement of Salva Kiir is hard to understand.  There must be real fire out there.  If only
Museveni paid attention and listened to the voices of reason, things would be different and calm
would be in the play in South Sudan.

 

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

South Sudan loses contact with troops in key town

AFP

By Waakhe Simon Wudu


Wednesday, February 19th 2014-----------------1 hour ago

Juba (AFP) - South Sudan's army said Wednesday that it had lost contact with its troops in the key oil hub of Malakal following a major offensive by rebels.

The rebels have said they now control the northeastern town after launching an assault on Tuesday, throwing into doubt a ceasefire agreement signed in Ethiopia last month.

"I have no contact with the command in Malakal," army spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP, as the independent radio Tamazuj said a top government general had been seriously wounded in an attack reportedly involving tens of thousands of rebel fighters.

"The oil wells are under the control of the SPLA (the South Sudanese army) and there is no fighting there," Aguer added.

According to aid sources, Malakal's airport was closed on Tuesday evening and rebels were inside the town -- although it was unclear if they had gained total control over the dusty settlement on the banks of the White Nile.

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Map of South Sudan locating the recent clashes in Malakal (AFP Photo/)

"There was the sound of heavy shelling this morning and then sporadic shooting. It seems the opposition control a part of the town and the airport, but the government soldiers are still fighting," an aid source said.

"We are in no position to confirm who is in control of Malakal town because our people have not been able to get into town," said Joe Contreras, spokesman for the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Rebel military spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said opposition fighters were "chasing" government soldiers into the bush, and insisted that it was government soldiers who attacked first and violated the truce.

The United Nations said that 10 people had been killed on Tuesday in "inter-communal clashes" within a peacekeeping base in Malakal, where more that 20,000 people have been sheltering from the fighting, and that more clashes broke out on Wednesday.

Rebel fighters have also been reported to be patrolling outside the UN camp, taunting people from rival ethnic groups.

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South Sudanese take refuge in the Malakal Catholic Church, as they flee fighting between rebels and  …

"Both parties to this conflict must respect the inviolability of the premises and facilities of the United Nations," UNMISS said in a statement.

It stressed UNMISS's "impartial role in the current crisis and its commitment to protect all civilians, whatever their background".

The unrest in South Sudan has left thousands dead and displaced 873,000 people, including tens of thousands who have crammed into UNMISS bases in fear of ethnic attacks by either President Salva Kiir's Dinka tribe or rebel leader Riek Machar's Nuer tribe.

South Sudan is the world's youngest nation, having won independence from Khartoum less than three years ago. The latest fighting erupted in the capital Juba on December 15 but quickly spread across the country.

The fighting around Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile state, appears to have been the heaviest to take place since the government of President Kiir and rebels loyal to former vice president Machar signed a ceasefire agreement in neighbouring Ethiopia on January 23.

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South Sudanese women stand among water containers at the Tongping UNMISS (United Nations Mission in  …

On Tuesday, however, Kiir said he would continue to take part in ongoing but slow-moving peace talks that are underway in Addis Ababa.

The UN appealed at the start of the month for a colossal 1.27 billion dollars (925,000 euros) to respond to the humanitarian crisis, but says it is still one billion dollars short of the target



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Israel Official: Africans Agree to Go to Uganda

JERUSALEM February 19, 2014 (AP)

By DANIEL ESTRIN Associated Press

Dozens of Africans have accepted an Israeli government offer to relocate to Uganda, an Israeli official said Wednesday, part of the Jewish state's efforts to cope with an influx of migrants from the continent.

The announcement came weeks after officials said a third country, which they refused to identify, would soon begin to accept migrants who had gone to Israel.

About 50,000 African migrants, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, have poured into Israel in recent years. The Africans say they are asylum-seekers fleeing persecution and danger. Israel says they are job seekers, but does not deport them because they could face danger in their conflict-ridden countries.

The influx has caused friction with locals and alarmed authorities, who say Israel's Jewish nature is threatened by the presence of the Africans. But rights groups have said Israel has an obligation to protect the migrants, in part because of Israel's history of taking in Jewish refugees following the Holocaust.

The official said Israel paid $3,500 each in recent weeks to about 30 migrants who agreed to leave for Uganda. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media on the matter.

Ugandan officials denied any deal was in place. "We are not privy to such an arrangement," said David Kazungu, a Ugandan government commissioner who is in charge of refugees.

Uganda has hosted hundreds of thousands of refugees over the years, often women and children fleeing outbreaks of violence in neighboring countries such as Congo and South Sudan. Uganda also has good diplomatic relations with Israel and enjoys close security ties. Israeli investments in Uganda include infrastructure development, water management and agriculture.

Uganda's long-serving president, Yoweri Museveni, has been known to exercise close control of the country's foreign and military policies, often taking positions and signing deals without the knowledge of senior government officials, technocrats, and even lawmakers.

If a formal or informal agreement was reached with Israel, one independent lawmaker said, it likely involved Museveni or an official very close to him.

Ugandan lawmaker Gerald Karuhanga urged Uganda's parliament to actively investigate the allegations. "In case it is true, that would be a very unfortunate mistake, because you don't know the kind of people you are receiving in the country," he said.

Israel's Interior Ministry and the Prime Minister's office declined comment.

Israel has used financial incentives in the past to encourage other African migrants to leave. In 2012, Israel paid South Sudanese migrants to return to their country and told them they faced arrest if they did not agree to do so. Israel has good relations with newly independent South Sudan.

Last month, Israel began sending African migrants to a new detention center in Israel's south. Daniel Solomon, a legal adviser for Israel's Interior Ministry, said at the time the migrants would remain there while Israel processes asylum requests, searches for other countries to take them in, and offers migrants incentives to leave.

The new Holot detention center is meant to be an "open" facility, where residents can come and go. But they must sign into the facility several times a day and sleep there, making it impossible for them to stray far away or hold jobs.

The Interior Ministry has begun issuing summons for people to report to Holot when they try to renew visas that had previously allowed them to stay in the country. The effort has started with young males who have been in the country for the longest amount of time. Those who do not comply face possible arrest and imprisonment.

Last month, African migrants staged a series of demonstrations in Tel Aviv demanding they be recognized as refugees — a status that would give them residency rights.

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Associated Press reporter Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.