This Week in South Sudan – Week 12

Tuesday 21 Mars

• Hervé Ladsous, the outgoing UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, expects the first units of the regional protection force to deploy to Juba within the next few weeks. The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) has rejected the participation of RPF troops from countries outside the region.
• SPLA (IO) has reportedly abducted four oil workers from the DAR Petroleum Operating Company, while demanding all operating oil firms to immediately evacuate.
• GoSS and Equatorial Guinea announced a new petroleum sector- partnership. A signed Memorandum of Cooperation will promote information exchange on policy and regulations between Nilepet and GEPetrol.

Wednesday 22 Mars

• Pope Francis plans to visit South Sudan in October to promote peace.
• An official technical committee is set to review the increased fee for foreign work permits, stating that charges and fees should conform to regional rates.
• Pulitzer Center: “In South Sudan Children Are Being Forced to Join the Fight”

Thursday 23 Mars

• Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, warned that Uganda is at a “breaking point;” as the numbers of refugees in Uganda can surpass a million before mid-2017.
• Petroleum Minister Ezekiel Lol Gatkouth has threatened to terminate Total and Tullow’s exploration contacts should they fail to start surveys in block B1 and B2 by the end of April.

Friday 24 Mars

• During a UN Security Council briefing, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accused GoSS of failing to acknowledge and respond to the country’s humanitarian crisis. GoSS rejected the claim that they are responsible for causing the famine.
• Al Jazeera present stories from refugees in Uganda: “South Sudan: ‘There are only dead bodies’”

Sunday 26 Mars

• Six aid workers were killed in a road ambush between Juba and Pibor, the deadliest attack on humanitarian workers since the conflict broke out in 2013.