Day: January 13, 2022

UNITED NATIONS— United Nations Peacekeepers report a significant increase in terrorist attacks in the Central African Republic, a UN spokesman said.

“Our colleagues at the peacekeeping mission there said they have noted a significant increase in the number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), especially in the northwest of the country,” said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Among the IEDs found since the beginning of the year, “three out of five devices exploded on vehicles belonging to our peacekeepers or to the country’s army,” Dujarric added.

He said the mission, known as MINUSCA, believes the armed Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation group active in the area is deliberately targetting UN peacekeepers and Central African Republic armed forces with the devices.

On the humanitarian side, the UN deputy special representative and humanitarian coordinator for the Central African Republic, Denise Brown, visited Ouaka prefecture in the country’s midsection a few days ago and expressed her concerns about the situation, notably in the town of Boyo, the spokesman said.

“She said that following the arrival of armed combatants in the town, there are allegations of killings, houses burned down and agricultural supplies stolen,” Dujarric said, adding that MINUSCA deployed peacekeepers there to protect the population.

There were no reports of casualties.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

The Jieng & Luo Literacy Program and Cultural Development Agency, a national non-governmental organization in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal State in collaboration with the state education ministry are expected to roll out a nine-month Dinka and Luo languages training over the weekend.

The training is aimed at promoting the Dinka and Luo languages and cultures.

Santino Awac Awac, a representative of the Jieng & Luo Literacy Program and Cultural Development Agency told Radio Tamazuj that this is the first of its kind training on languages and cultures in the state.

“We are ready to conduct the launch in the coming Saturday and if you are interested to join the Dinka and Luo languages program, please be ready for it,’’ Awac said. “The course is for nine months but we have divided it into three terms, each term covers 28 lectures in three months.”

According to him, the training has already attracted community members including professionals who after the training will receive certificates.

The course which costs 180,000 South Sudanese Pounds, is a self-sponsored program.

Asunta Kolek Achom has enrolled in the program. “I am among the trainees and I believe the course will bring unity and love,” she said.

Andrew Muor Atak, another trainee, is glad that he will have the opportunity to learn the two languages and cultures.

“We are preparing ourselves to learn Dinka and Luo languages. Most of us are beginners in these languages because it is not good to know different languages and you don’t know your own languages. That why we wanted to go back and learn both our indigenous languages,” Muor said.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

The local authorities in Maban County in Upper Nile State said they had received 834 people who returned to the county from a refugee camp in Ethiopia after it was attacked by one of belligerent forces in the Ethiopian conflict.

Moamen Khader, the acting commissioner of Maban County, told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that 834 citizens, the majority of whom are women and children, returned to the county from the refugee camp in Ethiopia.

“The returnees from the Yabus area were transferred to the county headquarters and sheltered in schools,” Acting Commissioner Khader said. “Some of them live under trees and as a government we provided them with food aid in the form of corn and fish while Human Development Council (HDC) provided non-food aid.”

He urged the returnees to voluntarily return to their areas and villages of origin, noting that the county does not have the capacity to meet their accommodation requirements.

Thousands of citizens fled from Maban County to Ethiopia following the outbreak of the war in 2013.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

A 37-year-old man died by suicide after allegedly shooting himself on Tuesday night in Mvolo County of South Sudan’s Western Equatoria State.

The crimes officer at the Mvolo Police Station Lexson Doboro said it was not immediately clear why the man, whose name is not revealed, took his life, but initial investigations suggest that the incident happened following a domestic quarrel.

“It was at 10 pm. The man was a tailor and he has two wives and seven children; five from the first wife and two from the second wife. They say he has been having disagreements with his two wives at home. So he left the house about 50 meters away and shot himself. He did not leave any suicide note,” Doboro narrated.

The police officer added, “Everyone in the neighborhood knows that he has some issues with his two wives and no one knows the cause of his death. Neighbors and relatives suspect the first wife for the death of the deceased since they say she is always the first to start the fights at home.”

Doboro said the police have taken up the case and investigations have started.

He urged the state government to commission a disarmament exercise in the state in a bid to reduce the number of arms in the hands of civilians, a move he says will lower the rate of insecurity.

The police officer further noted that the county has reported two incidents of armed violence in the county in just a week.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Members of the Revitalised Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA) have begun debates on the Emolument and Privileges Bill expected to address the MPs benefits and allowances.

“The bill provides for the financial framework that defines and regulates emolument and allowances and privileges bill of the members of the transitional national legislature,” the chairperson of the ad-hoc parliamentary service commission, Gabriel Guot Guot said during the presentation of the first reading of the bill on Tuesday.

“This bill is drafted in accordance with the provisions of Article 17 sub-article 1 read together with schedule A35 of the Transition constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011 as amended pledged together with section 92 and 134 of the Parliamentary Commission Service Acts 2014 for the overview for the bill,” he added.

Guot further noted that according to the bill an MP is entitled to a $50,000 car loan or its equivalent in local currency.

“The Emolument and Privileges Bill comprises of provision of a car loan with the amount of 50,000$ equivalent payable once to a Member of Parliament during the national legislature, tax exemption, accommodation, and sitting allowances and the responsibly for the payment shall be done by the Parliamentary Service Commission,” he stated

For her part, the Speaker of the R-TNLA Jemma Nunu Kumba announced that the Finance and Planning Committee (FPC) will present the budget on Monday for verification.

“Given the fact that the budget is already with us we had to expedite the process of this bill so that we can table the budget by next week. So the FPC, a parliamentary business committee has directed that the committee should work within this week and then on Monday they should report back to the house,” she added.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Tuesday swore in eight recently appointed party county secretaries in South Sudan’s Lakes State.

SPLM acting secretary-general in the state Asunta Bouda James presided over the ceremony held at the state SPLM secretariat.

“We are swearing in the newly appointed SPLM county secretaries from the headquarters of the state,” Asunta said. “Within the occasion, we need to alert the community that this is the structure of the party and it starts from the national level, states, counties, and bomas.”

The SPLM official said the county secretaries will go on to appoint their office secretaries and payams secretaries who will then appoint boma party secretaries, in compliance with the party structure.

Lakes State deputy speaker, also a member of the state SPLM caucus Ayen Meen Ador welcomed the new officials and urged them to work with the state government in maintaining peace in the region.

“What we want is to bring peace to our community at large. Our governor, Rin Tueny Mabor, has started since when he was appointed and came to the state. Now the state is calm. Our governor brought peace to our entire population,” she said.

Ayen said the main role of the county SPLM secretaries is to recruit new members to the party in preparation for the upcoming elections.

“I know they will work very hard to recruit members of SPLM, maintain current members and work with them for success in the coming elections in 2023,” she added.

The newly appointed SPLM secretary for Rumbek Central County, Mabeny Malual Kodi, said among his main priorities is providing services to his people.

Source: Radio Tamazuj