This Week in South Sudan – Week 33 & 34

Dear Readers, please note that there will be no news update next week. We will be back on Monday 11 September with a two-week TWISS update for week 35 and 36.

Monday 14 August

• The SPLA (IO) has allegedly reclaimed their stronghold of Pagak in Upper Nile State, a week after being pushed out of the town by government forces.

Thursday 17 August

• South Sudanese refugees in Uganda reach the one million mark, as Ugandan authorities and humanitarian organisations struggle to provide basic services in the refugee camps.
• National security operatives have arrested Lieutenant Colonel Dut Yai Anyar. Dut previously served as a top aide to the former SPLA Chief of General Staff, Paul Malong, who is reportedly under house arrest in Juba.

Friday 18 August

• The IGAD South Sudan office convened a two-day High Level Independent Experts meeting on the revitalisation of the 2015 peace agreement. Riek Machar’s forced confinement in South Africa was discussed, and the group also scheduled a consultative meeting in Addis Ababa in September between all the warring parties.

Saturday 19 August

• According to the UN, attacks against aid workers are increasing in South Sudan; 15 have been killed so far in 2017.

Monday 21 August

• The International Red Cross warned that the Government of South Sudan’s (GoSS) continued inability to pay civil servants, especially in critical sectors such as health and water services, risks worsening the humanitarian crisis.
• The UN called on GoSS to “cease obstructions” to its peacekeeping mission’s operations in the country after GoSS temporarily suspended UNMISS’ flight clearances in Juba. The incident occurred due to a dispute over the control of the Juba airport with the regional protection force.

Tuesday 22 August

• GoSS declined to dispatch a team to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for an African Union-brokered meeting on the disputed area of Abyei, citing the lack of clear agenda.

Wednesday 23 August

• Armed robberies have reportedly claimed at least 53 lives in Juba in August. Armed soldiers are allegedly the main perpetrators behind the recent crime wave in the capital.

Thursday 24 August

• The Special Envoy for South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, warned that the conflict will worsen if serious issues are left unaddressed before the planned 2018 elections, saying GoSS has only “created an appearance of reconciliation efforts.”
• Reuters, in-depth coverage on internally displaced people in Wau “Church offers age-old sanctuary to South Sudan’s dispossessed”
• Deutsche Welle, interview with President Salva Kiir: “South Sudan President Salva Kiir downplays refugee crisis”

Friday 25 August

• Deutsche Welle: “Little progress two years after South Sudan peace deal”
• The Washington Post: “In South Sudan, mock trials are more legitimate than real ones”

Sunday 27 August

• At least 19 people were killed, including an American freelance journalist, following clashes between government troops and the SPLA (IO) near Kaya, Central Equatoria State. Human Rights Watch says the killing of a foreign journalist violates international humanitarian law and should be investigated. SPLA (IO) later claimed they have gained control over Kaya, Bindu, Kimba and Bazi.
• Reuters, in-depth coverage of UNMISS role and mandate in South Sudan: “UN moves to protect South Sudan civilians after years of criticism”