Sudan halts southern oil shipment

Vessel loaded with some 600,000 barrels of crude oil produced in South Sudan stands idle at a Sudanese port, blocked over the refusal of the government in Juba to pay customs fees.

South Sudan captured 75 percent of Sudanese oil when it came independent early last month. But since it is landlocked, it must rely on Sudan's export terminal on the Red Sea. Refineries also only exist in the north.

South Sudan's government recently accused Khartoum of waging economic war by charging transit and custom fees that amount to what it called “daylight robbery.

South took 75 percent of the country's 500,000 barrels a day of oil production, Africa's fifth largest. But it depends on the North to use the only cross-border pipeline to the Red Sea outlet of Port Sudan to sell the oil.

On Friday, customs authorities in Port Sudan stopped one shipment because duties had not been paid, a spokesman for the foreign ministry in Khartoum said without giving other details.

"Customs asked for the fees to be paid. They paid last time but not this time," the spokesman said.

He said the action had been the decision of the customs authorities and was not related to current talks between North and South about sharing oil revenues.

The two sides have failed so far to reach an agreement on a transit fee to be paid by the South. Until now both split equally the oil, the lifeline of both economies.

Khartoum is asking for $32 a barrel to use its port, the pipeline and refineries to sell the southern oil, the spokesman said. This is worth roughly a third of South Sudan's export value at current prices. according to Reuters calculations.

"This has to be negotiated. There is no agreement yet," he said, adding that other proposals such as a fixed sum instead of a transit fee were being discussed.

A South Sudan official sought to ease the oil tensions.

"We don't interpret this as a rejection by Khartoum. I do not think this is politically motivated," said David Loro Gubek, undersecretary at the ministry of energy and mining in Juba.

"There are certain procedures at the port that have to be followed. We will wait for clarification tomorrow."

Tensions had seemed to have eased at the end of last month when South Sudan said it saw progress in oil sharing talks with the North only a week after accusing it of waging economic war by demanding a very high pipeline transit fee.

Last month, the northern parliament approved an alternative 2011 budget that lawmakers said included an annual income of $2.6 billion for transit fees -- the same amount expected for the loss of southern oil production.

Refineries are located only in the North. Experts say southern plans to connect to a pipeline in east African neighbor Kenya are years away.

Analysts say Sudan has had little transparency for years about how oil revenues are booked. The country has endured conflict, inflation, corruption and U.S. trade sanctions.

Apart from sharing oil revenues, both sides need to end violence in some parts of their shared border and need to divide up other assets and debt.

Some 2 million people died in Sudan in a decades-long conflict over religion, ethnicity, ideology and oil, although the secession last month was very peaceful.

Sudanese oil flows mainly to Asia, with China buying more than a half of total volumes. South Sudan's production is dominated by Chinese and Indian companies, which have been marketing their crude themselves so far.

Last month, South Sudan also signed a deal with trading house Glencore to help it market crude but a dispute between various officials has threatened to derail the agreement.

Sudanese in Denison celebrate birth of new country

Only 15,000 out of the pre- referendum number of over 70,000 South Sudanese remain in Kenya following the birth of their nation.


South Sudan’s Ambassador to Kenya Michael Majok Ayom Dor said on Tuesday that over three-quarters of South Sudanese returned home in the wake of country’s independence.


Majok said most refugees decided to go back home in order to help in the reconstruction of their country after two decades of civil war against their northern neighbours that saw them flee their country.


“I believe that eventually they will all go back given the changed circumstances of the region,” the Ambassador said in Nairobi.


“For those South Sudanese who feel strongly attached to Kenya, they can take advantage of the clause in our constitution that guarantees dual citizenship and apply and they will receive equal rights like other South Sudanese,” Majok said.


He said Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya still held the highest number of South Sudanese refugees, with the figure standing at 6,000 whereas Nakuru and Eldoret towns have a cumulative number of 7,000 refugees, but who were not staying in any camp.


Majok assured Kenyans and other nationalities to South Sudan that their security will be guaranteed, saying there are many opportunities that can be exploited in Africa’s newest state.


“As a new country, we want to build relations with every country, both regionally and internationally and this requires a lot of effort. We invite investors in different fields to venture into South Sudan and take part in the transformation of the country in various fields.”


He assured investors of security from the South Sudan Government while naming road network, power transmission, health services, education, cultural promotion, information technology, housing, and water and wildlife conservation as among the areas where there were awesome opportunities.


Nuer and Dinka are the two largest language groups of South Sudanese living in Denison; English is used as the principal language when people from other language groups are present, with an exception for special music.


Denison Baptist Church Pastor Marc Wallace hosted the event and opened the meeting with a sermon from the Word of God and spoke on “The Four Biblical Principals of a Healthy and Growing Community.”


Wallace shared that he “felt very humbled when he began walking toward the podium to speak (and) a group of women from Storm Lake stood up and began to sing in Nuer. Then without hesitation, everyone present followed suit, stood and began singing, welcoming (me) and the preaching of the Word of God. Pastor Rankin…was honored in a very similar way when he walked to the podium to give a greeting to the Sudanese community.”


Gony has been living in Omaha, Nebraska, but due to his new appointment in the new government of South Sudan, he and his family will be moving to Juba, Sudan, the Capital of South Sudan.


Gony spoke, sharing about the changes that have occurred in South Sudan and the rebuilding process. He invited the community to wait until they finished with their education in the United States before returning to South Sudan to help rebuild, train and equip people.


South Sudan has designed a flag for their new country and Gony took some time to address questions about the flag from the group gathered at the church. The colors of the flag are black, which stands for the people; red, which represents the blood shed by martyrs for their country; white is for peace; green is for the country, itself, which is rich in agriculture and minerals; and blue is for the waters of the River Nile, which gives life.


Gony emphasized that the single gold star in the middle of the triangle represents the Star of Bethlehem as South Sudan is a Christian nation. Additionally, the symbol represents the unity of the states as one people, he said.


Michael Lindi, who has received a master’s degree and has been teaching at the university level in the United States, shared about the history of Sudan.


A final speaker told the story of the Lost Boys of Sudan who became orphaned during the war. The northern military raided villages and killed the villagers. The young boys in Sudan traditionally cared for livestock so when the raids occurred, they were out with their animals so were left orphaned. Some of the young men died wandering in the desert, others were captured by militant forces that taught them to fight, and others found safe haven in refugee camps.


Many of the Sudanese have experienced a very traumatic life prior to coming to the United States. It was not uncommon for them to spend years in a refugee camp in crowded conditions. With so many people living in such crowded conditions, many adults were left without any active employment. Children were unable to attend schools unless a teacher was available and a makeshift school could be set up. Food and personal supplies were supplied by relief agencies. Life and sustenance was dependent upon the kindness and generosity of many countries, not-for-profit agencies, and volunteers.


Majok Kel Gawech, president of the Denison Sudanese community, invited all in attendance to partake in a meal prepared by the local Sudanese at the conclusion of the meeting.

Kadugli Bishop Appeals to UN to Stop Sudanese Bombings

BENTIU – Over 5,000 refugees have arrived in South Sudan’s Unity State after being displaced by fighting over the last month between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the north Sudan state of South Kordofan last June.

Residents gather outside the UNMIS sector headquarters after fleeing fighting in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, Sudan, Thursday, June 9, 2011. (UNMIS)s)

The SPLA say the fighting erupted after the SAF attempted to disarm them in the run up to South Sudan’s independence on July 9. During the North-South civil war disenfranchised groups from the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan joined the Southern-based SPLA in the war against Khartoum.

Since South Sudan became independent, Khartoum has demanded that SPLA members from North Sudan move to South Sudan, disarm or integrate into SAF. Khartoum says that the fighting, which began in Kadugali on July 5 was triggered by an SPLA attack on a police station.

Around 70,000 people are estimated to have been displaced by the fighting. Most have moved north but some like the 5,113 who entered Unity State moved southward into newly independent South Sudan.

On Thursday Unity State officials witnessed the Situation in Parieng County where many of the refugees had arrived.

Reverend Andudu Adam Elnail, the Anglican Bishop of Kadugli, detailed the deteriorating situation in his home state at a news conference on Friday.

“In my diocese, my offices all they were burned, and also the cyber café with all computers was burned. And my house was shot at and other denominations of churches were burned," he said. "As I speak now, the Catholic Church in Kadugli is occupied by the military. And many people have been killed. They are culling people from house-to-house. Also, some of my congregations, they give me very clear what they saw in the mass graves in Kadugli. And also there was some satellite image was brought to confirm what eyewitnesses they have saw.”

He warned that in the Nuba mountains, which is home to many pro-South Sudan groups, the situation is worsening with aerial attacks that are killing civilians. He added that this is the planting season and warned that the people of Southern Kordofan could face serious food shortages next year because so many have fled and there is no one to farm.

“There is a lot of killing going on and we consider this is ethnic cleansing, so that is why we are calling on the U.N. and the Security Council to consider what is going on in Sudan,” he said.

Reverend Andudu appealed to the U.N. Security Council to stop the bombing and authorize a fact-finding commission to go to Southern Kordofan to verify what is happening there. He also urged the council to press Khartoum to allow in humanitarian agencies to bring food and medicine to those in need and to authorize monitors to watch the situation.

Sudan's southern Kordofan is governed by Ahmed Haroun, who is wanted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur by the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

Human rights groups say as many as 200,000 people have been displaced by fighting between Khartoum's army and pro-southern elements in Southern Kordofan which broke out on June 5. Activists say Sudan's military is targeting the state's ethnic Nuba people, many of whom backed the south during the 21-year civil war.

This is a state-sponsored ethnic cleansing campaign where the government of Sudan is killing its own people through a campaign of artillery shelling, aerial bombardment, and house-to-house killings,” he said.

Last month, a leaked draft U.N. report said Sudan's army and police may have committed war crimes in Southern Kordofan. But Khartoum has dismissed the report saying the information is biased and untrue.

Currently the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is preparing to leave the country. Khartoum said it no longer wanted a U.N. presence in the country after the south became independent on July 9.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss Sudan next Thursday, and could receive a briefing on the situation in Southern Kordofan at that time.

UN peacekeeper killed in Darfur attack

KHARTOUM – Sudan on Friday rejected and contrasted allegations accusing the country of delaying medical evacuation of UN peacekeepers in the contested region of Abyei, stoking tension with the world body as France and the U.S. expressed alarm over the incident.

Three wounded Ethiopian peacekeepers serving with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) died on Thursday after Sudanese authorities refused to clear a UN helicopter for departure to evacuate them. The three blue helmets sustained their injuries when their patrol vehicle hit a landmine in the troubled region. Another peacekeeper died instantly.

Alain Le Roy, the outgoing UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said that the Sudanese authorities delayed by three hours the take off of a UN Helicopter from the Kadugli, the state capital of the neighboring region of South Kordofan, to collect the wounded peacekeepers who, according to the UN official, died awaiting medical treatment.

The peacekeeper injured Friday, also from Sierra Leone, was transferred to a hospital where he underwent surgery, the U.N.-AU force known as UNAMID said in a statement.

"The attack on our peacekeepers is deplorable and our hearts go out to the families and friends of the deceased," said UNAMID deputy representative Aichatou Mindaoudou Souleymane. "UNAMID is doing all it can to render treatment to the injured, and, with the Sudanese police, to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice,"

The U.N. Security Council in late June authorized a 4,200-strong Ethiopian peacekeeping force to deploy for six months in the contested region of Abyei, which lies between Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan. The U.N. troops are to support an agreement between the two governments that calls for demilitarizing the contested border region near major oil fields that both the north and south claim.

The Ethiopian troops began deploying last month and Le Roy, said about 1,200 are on the ground.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed alarm Friday at reports that the Sudanese government denied flight clearance for the medical evacuation of the Ethiopians, saying "three wounded soldiers died during this unnecessary delay."

"The United States ... strongly condemns the government of Sudan's non-compliance with its obligation and its obstruction of the work of the United Nations," she said in a statement.

"This tragic incident also underscores the importance of establishing peace and security in Abyei, and between Sudan and South Sudan.

South Sudanese pound

South Sudanese pound is the official currency of the Republic of South Sudan. It is subdivided into 100 piastres. It was approved by the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly prior to secession on 9 July 2011 from Sudan. It was introduced on 18 July 2011, and replaced the Sudanese pound at par.

The banknotes feature the image of John Garang, the deceased leader of South Sudan's independence movement.

Six different denominations (1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 pounds) in the form of banknotes have been confirmed, and four denominations (1, 5, 25 and 50 piastres) will be issued in the form of coins.

South Sudan Rebel Group Declares Cease-Fire

World’s newest state was born—the Republic of South Sudan—when it formally seceded from the Sudan at a ceremony attended by 30 heads of state. What happens to the fledgling Republic matters to the region and to the United States and Europe – not as a humanitarian victim but as a potential strategic ally.
I served as the U.S. Envoy to Sudan under President Bush and attended the independence celebration in Juba as a guest of the Southern government. I was joined by many other westerners who had worked with the South over more than two decades to publicize the atrocities taking place, to mobilize humanitarian and development resources, and to work on the political and diplomatic issues. When I took my first trip to Sudan in 1989 during a terrible famine in the South which claimed 250,000 lives I never thought this day would come. But it has.
The new Republic will determine the stability of the nine countries bordering Sudan which have been destabilized by the chaos of the two civil wars and the weakness and dysfunctions of the Sudanese state. The Bashir Islamist government, which took power in a 1989 coup, planned to use South Sudan as a base to spread its ideology across Africa — a threat not lost on African countries with large Muslim populations which have had historically good relations with their Christian neighbors.
The Bashir regime’s ultimate ambitions have not changed; it is the internal weaknesses of the Sudanese state that have constrained their adventurism. In the 1990’s Sudan supported and was headquarters to nearly all of the world’s most violent Islamist groups, including Al Queda. Osama bin Laden lived there.


spokesman for the rebels, Bol Gatkouth, said the group was accepting a recent offer of amnesty extended by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and will open talks with the government.


The group, led by renegade general Peter Gadet and based in South Sudan's Unity state, is one of several rebel groups fighting government forces in the new country.


President Kiir first offered amnesty to the militias last year and renewed the offer at independence ceremonies on July 9.


South Sudan voted to split from the north in a January referendum. Southern officials have accused Khartoum government of supporting the militias to destabilize the new country.

Flag of South Sudan

Flag of South Sudan was adopted following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. The flag was previously used as the flag of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

Description

The flag bears similarities in colour to the flag of Kenya, and in shape (triangle at the hoist) to the flag of Sudan. In addition, it has a gold star in the triangle. The colours are said to represent the South Sudanese people (black), peace (white), the blood shed for freedom (red), the land (green) and the waters of the Nile (blue); the gold star, the Star of Bethlehem, represents unity of the states of South Sudan.

This flag is only the second national flag to have six primary colors in its design (the other flag being that of South Africa)

South Sudan’s flag to be raised at AU HQ next week

Next week, the Republic of South Sudan will celebrate its one month anniversary as a sovereign, independent country. It was admitted as a member state of the United Nations just days after declaring independence on July 9. At UN headquarters in Geneva today, South Sudan’s flag was raised for the first time.

The Republic of South Sudan is becoming firmly embedded as the newest country in the world, so why can’t it get some respect from Google Maps? On July 14, a Google spokesperson sent me the following message about South Sudan’s then-absence from Google Maps one week after independence:

“We work hard to make our maps as accurate as possible and we do our best to ensure they reflect the on-the-ground reality. As maps are always evolving, we regularly review additional information and update when data becomes available.

Following the formal independence of South Sudan, we are in the process of updating our map and boundary data for the region. We look forward to publishing this updated data on our maps in the near future.”

South Sudan is the first nation to be admitted to the AU in almost two decades after Ethiopia’s former province, Eritrea, gained independence in 1993 and joined the continental body.

“The flag for the Republic of South Sudan will be raised in the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa next Wednesday, August 10, 2011” David Dang Kong, deputy head of the GoSS mission, told Sudan Tribune.

“The South Sudan flag-raising ceremony will be attended by all members of AU” he said adding “it will be a great day for the people of South Sudan”.

South Sudan’s independence comes after a plebiscite resulted in a landslide vote in favour of secession from the north.

Despite the peaceful North-South Sudan divorce, the two countries still need to engage in post-split negotiations to settle a number of pending issues such as citizenship, border demarcation, currency and oil-revenue sharing among others.

Another sensitive issue is the fate of the contested oil-producing Abyei region which is currently being monitored by a UN mandated Ethiopian peacekeeping force, which will eventually number 4,200, until a final and binding solution is secured over the disputed region.

The governments of both states resumed their post-split negotiations in Addis Ababa on Saturday and reached an agreement to allow a border-monitoring support mission.

The latest agreement marks the first intergovernmental accord between the two states since South Sudan gained independence last month.

The two governments have reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement signed on 29 June 2011 to the establishment of a Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) to oversee security of the common border between the two states.

The AU which commended the new progress said in a statement “that the mechanisms provided for in this agreement, including third party monitoring and verification, will contribute towards the construction of peaceful relations between the two States.”

The AU High-level Implementation Panel pledged to continue support the two states in implementing this agreement and in their efforts to complete negotiations on a range of issues that will support their mutual viability.

The AU Commission Chairperson, Jean Ping, welcomed the agreement. He said the agreement will make a significant contribution to enhancing security between the two states and will fill the vacuum that has been created in security mechanisms since the end of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), on 9 July 2011.

He added, it will also allow the people of the two countries to go about their daily lives in greater security and safety.

Anyanya

Anyanya also Anya-Nya were a southern Sudanese separatist rebel army formed during the First Sudanese Civil War (a civil war sometimes referred to as Anyanya I) which started in 1955. A separate movement that rose during the Second Sudanese Civil War were, in turn, called Anyanya II. Anyanya means "snake venom" in the Madi language.

Anyanya I

From about 1969, the Nuer, Lotuko, Madi, Bari, Acholi, Zande, Dinka, and other people from the entire southern region of Sudan waged a war against the Sudanese government. This mobilization came to be known as the Anyanya rebellion or the First Sudanese Civil War. It ended when the Anyanya signed the Addis Ababa Agreement with the Government in 1972.

Anyanya II

In 1978, Nuer dissidents calling themselves Anyanya II took up arms in eastern Upper Nile. When the Addis Ababa Agreement fell apart in 1983, marking the beginning of the Second Sudanese Civil War, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) was founded. Competition between Anyanya II and the SPLM/A led to the defeat of Anyanya II. Some of its members were incorporated into the ranks of the SPLM/A, and others were consolidated into a militia supported by the government of Sudan.Those who did not join either came to form, along with tribal militias that emerged in response to the lawlessness of some SPLM/A units, the South Sudan Defence Forces.

Salva Kiir Mayardit

Salva Kiir Mayardit, born 1951 is the first President of the Republic of South Sudan. In the late 1960s, Kiir joined the Anyanya in the First Sudanese Civil War. By the time of the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement, he was a low-ranking officer. In 1983, when John Garang joined an army mutiny he had been sent to put down, Kiir and other Southern leaders joined the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the second civil war. Garang had little military field experience and relied upon the more experienced Anyanya veterans, including Kiir, to actually carry out the ground war. Kiir eventually rose to head the SPLA's military wing.

An attempt to remove Kiir from his post as SPLA chief of staff in 2004 nearly caused the organization to split. Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement formally ending the war in January 2005, which he had helped start, he was appointed Vice President of Southern Sudan. Perhaps significantly, former Southern Sudan president John Garang like Kiir is of the Dinka people, though of a different clan. After the death of Garang in a helicopter crash of 30 July 2005, Kiir was chosen to succeed to the post of First Vice President of Sudan and President of Southern Sudan. Kiir is popular among the military wing of the SPLM for his battlefield victories and among the populace for his unambiguous pro-secession stance.

Comments by Kiir in October 2009 that the forthcoming independence referendum was a choice between being "a second class in your own country" or "a free person in your independent state" were expected to further strain political tensions. Reports in January 2010 that Kiir would not contest April elections for Sudanese president, but would focus on re-election as president of Southern Sudan were interpreted to mean that the SPLM priority is independence.

Kiir was re-elected with 93% of the vote in the 2010 Sudanese election. Although the vote on both the national and sub-national level was criticized by democratic activists and international observers, the overwhelming margin of Kiir's re-election was noted by some media as being "Step One" in the process of secession.Following his re-election, Omar al-Bashir reappointed Kiir as the First Vice President of Sudan in accordance with the interim constitution.

Riek Machar

Riek Machar Teny, born 1952, is the first vice-president of the independent Republic of South Sudan.
Riek Machar trained as an Engineer at Khartoum University and obtained a PhD from London University. Machar belongs to the Dok section of the Nuer people. He married Emma McCune, a British aid worker. She died in a car accident in Nairobi in 1993. She was pregnant at the time.
Riek Machar was one of the earliest members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA/M) under John Garang (1984). In August 1991 Riek Machar, Lam Akol and Gordon Kong announced the overthrow of John Garang. The Bul Nuer Anyanya-2 militia at Mayom, South Sudan, Mayom under Paulino Matip and the Lou Nuer Anyanya-2 militia at Doleib Hill under Yahannis Yoal Both declared for Riek.Machar's group called themselves SPLA-Nasir (1991–1993).
In September 1993, President Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya held separate talks with Garang and Riek. In October 1993 the US Congress hosted a meeting between Garang and Riek. The two seemed to agree about various subjects related to a cease fire and reconciliation between the two factions, self-determination and opposition to the Khartoum regime, but Riek disputed Garang's authority and refused to sign a joint declaration. Riek Machar dismissed Lam Akol from the SPLA-United in February 1994. Lam Akol returned to Kodok in the government-held region of Upper Nile state. Later Machar's group called themselves SPLA-United (1993–94).
Machar signed the Khartoum Peace Agreement in 1997. Machar and his team joined the National Islamic Front in Khartoum. After the signing, he was the leader of South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF, the newly re-named SSIM) (1997–2002) The Khartoum Peace Agreement offered the South self-determination on paper and made Machar the Assistant to the President of the Republic of the Sudan and the President of the Southern Sudan Coordinating Council (August 7, 1997 - January 31, 2000).

Sudan Twitter

South Sudan,  officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in Northeastern Africa. Its capital and largest city is Juba. South Sudan is bordered by Ethiopia to the east; Kenya to the southeast; Uganda to the south; the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest; the Central African Republic to the west; and Sudan to the north. South Sudan includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, locally called the Bahr al Jabal.

What is now South Sudan was part of the British and Egyptian condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and became part of the Republic of the Sudan when independence was achieved in 1956. Following the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. A second Sudanese civil war soon developed and ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. Later that year, southern autonomy was restored when an Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan was formed. South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011. On 14 July 2011, South Sudan became a United Nations member state. It joined the African Union on 28 July 2011.

South Sudan is one of the poorest countries with possibly the worst health situation in the world.

History

Nilotic peoples — the Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk and others — first entered South Sudan sometime before the 10th century. During the period from the 15th century to the 19th century, tribal migrations, largely from the area of Bahr el Ghazal, brought these peoples to their modern locations. The non-Nilotic Azande people, who entered South Sudan in the 16th century, established the region's largest state. The Azande are the third or fourth largest ethnic group in South Sudan (either the Azande or the Bari are third largest). They are found in the Maridi, Yambio, and Tambura districts in the tropical rainforest belt of Western Equatoria and Western Bahr el Ghazal. In the 18th century, the Avungara sib rose to power over the rest of Azande society and this domination continued into the 20th century. Geographical barriers prevented the spread of Islam to the southerners, thus enabling them to retain their social and cultural heritage as well as their political and religious institutions.

The Azande have had difficult relations with the neighbours, namely the Moru, Mundu, Pöjulu, and the small groups in Bahr el Ghazal, due to the expansionist policy of their King, Gbudwe, in the 18th century. In the nineteenth century the Azande fought the French, the Belgians and the Mahdists to maintain their independence. Egypt, under the rule of Khedive Isma'il Pasha, first attempted to control the region in the 1870s, establishing the province of Equatoria in the southern portion. Egypt's first governor was Samuel Baker, commissioned in 1869, followed by Charles George Gordon in 1874 and by Emin Pasha in 1878. The Mahdist Revolt of the 1880s destabilised the nascent province, and Equatoria ceased to exist as an Egyptian outpost in 1889. Important settlements in Equatoria included Lado, Gondokoro, Dufile and Wadelai. In 1947, British hopes to join South Sudan with Uganda were dashed by the Juba Conference, to unify North and South Sudan.

It is estimated that South Sudan region has a population of 8 million. but given the lack of a census in several decades, this estimate may be severely distorted. The economy is predominantly rural and relies chiefly on subsistence farming. In the middle of the 2000s, the economy began a transition from this rural dominance and urban areas within South Sudan have seen extensive development. The region has been negatively affected by two civil wars since Sudanese independence – the Sudanese government fought the Anyanya rebel army from 1955 to 1972 in the First Sudanese Civil War and then the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) in the Second Sudanese Civil War for almost twenty-one years after the founding of SPLA/M in 1983 – resulting in serious neglect, lack of infrastructural development, and major destruction and displacement. More than 2.5 million people have been killed, and more than 5 million have become externally displaced while others have been internally displaced, becoming refugees as a result of the civil war and war-related impacts.

A referendum was held from 9 to 15 January 2011 to determine if South Sudan should declare its independence from Sudan, with 98.83% of the population voting for independence. (The results for that referendum were released on 30 January 2011.) Those living in the north and expatriates living overseas also voted. This led to a formal independence on 9 July, although certain disputes still remain such as sharing of the oil revenues as an estimated 80% of the oil in the nation is secured from South Sudan, which would represent amazing economic potential for one of the world's most deprived areas. The region of Abyei still remains disputed and a separate referendum will be held in Abyei on whether they want to join North or South Sudan. The South Kordofan conflict broke out in June 2011 between the Army of Sudan and SPLA over the Nuba Mountains.

Interethnic warfare that in some cases precedes the war of independence is widespread. Some of these hostilities that occurred in Jonglei state, some affected the Murle tribe, were documented by Human Rights Watch in a 2009 report.

South Sudan is at war with at least seven armed groups in nine of its ten states, with tens of thousands displaced. The fighters accuse the government of plotting to stay in power indefinitely, not fairly representing and supporting all tribal groups while neglecting development in rural areas.

Politics,Government

The now defunct Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly ratified a Transitional Constitution shortly before independence on 7 July 2011. The Constitution was signed by the President on Independence Day and thereby came into force. This is the supreme law of the land, superseding the Interim Constitution of 2005.The constitution establishes a mixed presidential system of government headed by a President who is Head of State, Head of Government, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. It also established the National Legislature comprising two Houses: a directly elected assembly, the National Legislative Assembly; and a second chamber of representatives of the States, the Council of States. John Garang, the founder of the SPLA/M was the first President of the autonomous government until his death on 30 July 2005. Salva Kiir Mayardit (surname Kiir), his deputy, was sworn in as First Vice President of Sudan and President of the Government of Southern Sudan on 11 August 2005. Riek Machar (surname Machar)replaced him as Vice President. Legislative power is vested in the government and the unicameral South Sudan Legislative Assembly. The Constitution also provides for an independent judiciary, the highest organ being the Supreme Court.

A Defence Paper on defence processes was initiated in 2007 by then Minister for SPLA Affairs Dominic Dim Deng, and a draft was produced in 2008. It declared that Southern Sudan would eventually maintain land, air, and riverine forces.

Developing state capacity

The post-conflict environment is important to understanding the Government of South Sudan's ability to function and successfully implement its policies. One area in which the Government of South Sudan has had significant success in building its own capacity is developing an integrated system for planning and budget preparation. This has been achieved through the strong and determined leadership of the Ministry of Finance, the strong technical leadership and support of that same ministry and making these goals relevant to local capacity. The results have been that the government has been better able to manage the financial aspects of its functions and projects, and increases in the expertise of its staff in crucial skills, such as basic IT.

National capital project

The capital of South Sudan is located at Juba, which is also the state capital of Central Equatoria and the county seat of the eponymous Juba County, as well as being the country's largest city. However, due to poor infrastructure and massive urban overgrowth in the city, as well as its lack of centrality within South Sudan, the Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan adopted a resolution in February 2011 to study the creation of a new planned city to act as the seat of the government.[29][30] This proposed project is functionally similar to those which resulted in the construction of Abuja, Nigeria; Naypyidaw, Myanmar; and Brasília, Brazil; among other national capitals planned and built in the modern era. It is unclear where the government will come up with funding for the project.

In July 2011, a spokesman for the government said the country's political leaders are weighing a proposal to build a new capital at Ramciel, a place in Lakes state near the borders with Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, and Jonglei. Ramciel is considered to be the geographical center of the country, and the late pro-independence leader John Garang allegedly had plans to relocate the capital there before his death in 2005. The proposal is supported by the Lakes state government and at least one Ramciel tribal chief.

States and counties

The ten states are further subdivided into 86 counties.

The Abyei Area, a small region of Sudan bordering on the South Sudanese states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap, and Unity, currently has a special administrative status in Sudan and is governed by an Abyei Area Administration. It was due to hold a referendum in 2011 on whether to join South Sudan or remain part of the Republic of Sudan, but in May the North Sudanese military seized Abyei, and it is not clear if the referendum will be held.

Media

While Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin vowed that South Sudan will respect freedom of the press and allow journalists unrestricted access in the country, the chief editor of Juba newspaper The Citizen claimed that in the absence of a formal media law in the fledgling republic, he and his staff have faced abuse at the hands of security forces. This alleged fettering of media freedom was attributed in an Al Jazeera report to the difficulty SPLM has faced in reforming itself as a legitimate government after years of leading a rebellion against the Sudanese government. The Citizen is South Sudan's largest newspaper, but poor infrastructure and poverty have kept its staff relatively small and limited the efficiency of both its reporting and its circulation outside of Juba, with no dedicated news bureaus in outlying states and newspapers often taking several days to reach states like Northern Bahr el Ghazal.

Foreign relations

Since independence, relations with Sudan have been changing. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir first announced, in January 2011, that dual citizenship in the North and the South would be allowed, but upon the independence of South Sudan he retracted the offer. He has also suggested an EU-style confederation. Essam Sharaf, Prime Minister of Egypt after the 2011 Egyptian revolution, made his first foreign visit to Khartoum and Juba in the lead-up to South Sudan's secession. Israel immediately recognized South Sudan as an independent country, and is host to thousands of refugees from South Sudan, who are now ready to return to their native country.

South Sudan is a member state of the United Nations and the African Union.South Sudan plans to join the Commonwealth of Nations, the East African Community, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank.Full membership in the Arab League has been assured, should the country's government choose to seek it, though it could also opt for observer status.

Human rights

Campaigns of atrocities against civilians has been attributed to the SPLA. In the SPLA/M's attempt to disarm rebellions among the Shilluk and Murle, they burned scores of villages, raped hundreds of women and girls and killed an untold number of civilians. Civilians alleging torture claim fingernails being torn out, burning plastic bags dripped on children to make their parents hand over weapons and villagers burned alive in their huts if rebels were suspected of spending the night there. In May 2011, the SPLA allegedly set fire to over 7,000 homes in Unity State. The UN reports many of these violations and the frustrated director of one Juba-based international aid agency calls them "human rights abuses off the Richter scale" In 2010, the CIA issued a warning that "over the next five years,...a new mass killing or genocide is most likely to occur in southern Sudan.

Geography

South Sudan lies between latitudes 3° and 13°N, and longitudes 24° and 36°E. It is covered in tropical forest, swamps, and grassland. The White Nile passes through the country, passing by Juba.

Fauna, flora, and mycobiota

South Sudan's protected area of Bandingilo National Park hosts the second-largest wildlife migration in the world. Surveys have revealed that Boma National Park, west of the Ethiopian border, as well as the Sudd wetland and Southern National Park near the border with Congo, provided habitat for large populations of hartebeest, kob, topi, buffalo, elephants, giraffes, and lions. South Sudan's forest reserves also provided habitat for bongo, giant forest hogs, Red River Hogs, forest elephants, chimpanzees, and forest monkeys. Surveys begun in 2005 by WCS in partnership with the semi-autonomous government of Southern Sudan revealed that significant, though diminished wildlife populations still exist, and that, astonishingly, the huge migration of 1.3 million antelopes in the southeast is substantially intact.

Habitats in the country include grasslands, high-altitude plateaus and escarpments, wooded and grassy savannas, floodplains, and wetlands. Associated wildlife species include the endemic white-eared kob and Nile Lechwe, as well as elephants, giraffes, Common Eland, Giant Eland, oryx, lions, African Wild Dogs, Cape Buffalo, and topi (locally called tiang). Little is known about the white-eared kob and tiang, whose magnificent migrations were legendary before the civil war. The Boma-Jonglei Landscape region encompasses Boma National Park, broad pasturelands and floodplains, Bandingilo National Park, and the Sudd, a vast area of swamp and seasonally flooded grasslands that includes the Zeraf Wildlife Reserve.

Little is known of the fungi of South Sudan. A list of fungi in Sudan was prepared by S.A.J. Tarr and published by the then Commonwealth Mycological Institute (Kew, Surrey, UK) in 1955. The list, of 383 species in 175 genera, included all fungi observed within the then boundaries of the country. Many of those records relate to what is now South Sudan. Most of the species recorded were associated with diseases of crops. The true number of species of fungi occurring in South Sudan is likely to be much higher. Nothing is known of the conservation status of fungi in South Sudan although, like animals and plants, they are likely to be affected by climate change, pollution, and other threats.

In 2006, President Kiir announced that his government would do everything possible to protect and propagate South Sudanese fauna and flora, and seek to reduce the effects of wildfires, waste dumping, and water pollution. The environment is threatened by the development of the economy and infrastructure.

According to the WWF, several ecoregions extend across South Sudan: the East Sudanian savanna, Northern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic, Saharan flooded grasslands (Sudd), Sahelian Acacia savanna, East African montane forests, and the Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets.

Demographics

South Sudan has a population of around 8 million and a predominantly rural, subsistence economy. This region has been negatively affected by war for all but 10 years of the independence period (1956), resulting in serious neglect, lack of infrastructure development, and major destruction and displacement. More than 2 million people have died, and more than 4 million are internally displaced persons or became refugees as a result of the civil war and war-related impacts. Here the South Sudanese practice mainly indigenous traditional beliefs, although some practice Christianity, as a result of Christian missionary efforts. The south also contains many tribal groups and uses many more languages than the north. The Dinka (pop. est. more than 1 million) is the largest of the many Sub-Saharan tribes of South Sudan. Along with the Shilluk and the Nuer, they are among the Nilotic tribes. The Acholi and Lotuhu live in the extreme south, extending into Uganda.

Culture of South Sudan

The culture of South Sudan encompasses various religions, languages, ethnic groups, food and traditions.

In contrast to northern Sudan, which is dominated by Islam, the South Sudanese are mainly Christian or followers of African traditional animist religions, though Islam is not altogether absent.

The major ethnic groups present in South Sudan are the Dinka (approximately 15 percent combined), the Nuer (approximately ten percent), the Bari, and the Azande. The Shilluk constitute a historically influential state along the White Nile, and their language is fairly closely related to Dinka and Nuer. The traditional territories of the Shilluk and the Northeastern Dinka are adjacent.

Education in South Sudan

The educational system of South Sudan is modelled after that of the Republic of Sudan. Primary education consists of eight years, followed by three years of secondary education, and then four years of university instruction; the 8 + 3 + 4 system, in place since 1990. The primary language at all levels is English, as compared to the Republic of Sudan, where the language of instruction is Arabic. There is a severe shortage of English teachers and English-speaking teachers in the scientific and technical fields.

Languages,Indigenous languages

There are over 60 indigenous languages spoken in South Sudan. Most of the indigenous languages are classified under the Nilo-Saharan language family; collectively, they represent two of the first order divisions of Nilo-Saharan (Eastern Sudanic and Central Sudanic). The remainder belong to the Ubangi languages of the Niger-Congo language family, and they are spoken in the southwest. The most recent available population statistics for many South Sudan indigenous languages go back to the 1980s. Since then, the war of independence led to many civilian deaths and massive displacements of refugees to Sudan and beyond. Due to the drawing of colonial borders Africa by the European invaders in the 19th and 20th centuries, some South Sudan indigenous languages are spoken in neighboring countries also, and some of these languages have even more speakers in the neighboring countries. Zande, for example is estimated to have twice as many speakers in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, while the Banda group of languages may have more speakers in the Central African Republic than in South Sudan. In South Sudan, the languages with the most speakers are Nuer with 740,000 speakers in 1982 and the Dinka macrolanguage or dialect continuum with perhaps 1.4 million in 1986; these two groups of languages are also closely related to one another. Bari had 420,000 in 2000, and Zande had 350,000 in 1982. Of the Ubangi languages, available figures indicate that Zande is the only one with a substantial number of speakers in South Sudan.

Nonindigenous languages

The official language of South Sudan is English. Juba Arabic, a pidgin, is spoken around the capital. Since South Sudan was long a part of Sudan, some South Sudanese are conversant in either Modern Standard Arabic or Sudanese Arabic, the latter being the native spoken language of Arabic speakers in that country.

A group of South Sudanese refugees who were raised in Cuba during the Sudanese wars, numbering about 600, also speak fluent Spanish. They have been named the Cubanos, and most had settled in Juba by the time of the country's independence.

Population,2008 census

The "Fifth Population and Housing Census of Sudan", of Sudan as a whole, was conducted in April 2008. However the census results of Southern Sudan were rejected by Southern Sudanese officials as reportedly "the central bureau of statistics in Khartoum refused to share the national Sudan census raw data with southern Sudan centre for census, statistic and evaluation. The census showed the Southern Sudan population to be 8.26 million, however President Kiir had "suspected figures were being deflated in some regions and inflated in others, and that made the final tally 'unacceptable'. He also claimed the Southern Sudanese population to really be one-third of Sudan, while the census showed it to be only 22%. Many Southern Sudanese were also said to not have been counted "due to bad weather, poor communication and transport networks, and some areas were unreachable, while many Southern Sudanese remained in exile in neighbouring countries, leading to 'unacceptable results', according to southern Sudanese authorities.The chief American technical adviser for the census in the South said the census-takers probably reached 89% of the population.

Religion in South Sudan

Religions followed by the South Sudanese include traditional indigenous religions, Christianity and Islam. Scholarly and U.S. Department of State sources state that a majority of southern Sudanese maintain traditional indigenous (sometimes referred to as Animist) beliefs with those following Christianity in a minority (albeit an influential one). According to the Federal Research Division of the US Library of Congress: "in the early 1990s possibly no more than 10 percent of southern Sudan's population was Christian". However, some news reports claim a Christian majority, and the US Episcopal Church claims the existence of large numbers of Anglican adherents from the Episcopal Church of the Sudan: 2 million members in 2005. Likewise, according to the World Christian Encyclopedia, the Catholic Church is the largest single Christian body in Sudan since 1995, with 2.7 million Catholics mainly concentrated in South Sudan.

Speaking at Saint Theresa Cathedral in Juba, South Sudanese President Kiir, a Roman Catholic who has a Muslim son, stated that South Sudan would be a nation which respects the freedom of religion.Amongst Christians, most are Catholic and Anglican, though other denominations are also active, and animist beliefs are often blended with Christian beliefs.

Economy

The economy of South Sudan is one of the world's weakest and most underdeveloped with South Sudan having little existing infrastructure and the highest maternal mortality and female illiteracy rates in the world as of 2011. South Sudan exports timber to the international market. The region also contains many natural resources such as petroleum, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, and hydropower. The country's economy, as in many other developing countries, is heavily dependent on agriculture.

Oil

The oilfields in the South have kept the region's economy alive during the past several decades. However, after South Sudan became an independent nation in July 2011, southern and northern negotiators were not immediately able to reach an agreement on how to split the revenue from these southern oilfields. During the second period of autonomy from 2005 to 2011, the government of Sudan exacted 50 percent of the income from Southern Sudanese oil exports, as Southern Sudan was forced to rely on pipelines and refineries in the North, as well as the Red Sea seaport at Port Sudan. A similar arrangement is likely to continue during the independence era of South Sudan, with Northern negotiators reportedly pressing for a deal maintaining the 50–50 split of oil revenues and the South Sudanese holding out for more favorable terms.

Transport,Railway

South Sudan has 248 km (154 mi) of single-track 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway line from the Sudanese border to Wau terminus. There are proposed extensions from Wau to Juba. There are also plans to link Juba with the Kenyan and Ugandan railway networks.

Airports in South Sudan

The busiest and most developed airport in South Sudan is Juba Airport, which has regular international connections to Entebbe, Nairobi, Cairo, Addis Ababa, and Khartoum. Juba Airport is also the home base of Feeder Airlines Company. Other international airports include Malakal, with international flights to Addis Ababa and Khartoum; Wau, with weekly service to Khartoum; and Rumbek, also with weekly flights to Khartoum. Southern Sudan Airlines also serves Nimule and Akobo, the airstrips of which are unpaved. There are several smaller airports throughout South Sudan, the majority of which consist of little more than dirt airstrips.

Games and sports

South Sudan is popular for many traditional and modern games and sports, particularly wrestling and mock battles. The traditional sports were mainly played after the harvest seasons to celebrate the harvests and finish the farming seasons. The wrestlers were generally strong, well-trained young men. During the matches, they smeared themselves with ochre – perhaps to enhance the grip or heighten their perception. The matches attracted large numbers of spectators who sang, played drums and danced in support of their favourite wrestlers. Though these were perceived as competition, they were primarily for entertainment. At the conclusion, people feasted and generally made merry.

In the modern era, South Sudanese have excelled in international sports. Luol Deng is a basketball star with the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association. Other leading international basketball players from South Sudan include Manute Bol, Ajou Deng, Kueth Duany, Deng Gai and Ater Majok. The South Sudan national basketball team played its first match against Uganda on 10 July 2011 in Juba.

Association football is also becoming popular in South Sudan, and there are many initiatives by the Government of South Sudan and other partners to promote the sport and improve the level of play. One of these initiatives is South Sudan Youth Sports Association (SSYSA). SSYSA is already holding soccer clinics in Konyokonyo and Muniki areas of Juba in which young boys are coached. In recognition of these efforts with youth soccer, the country recently hosted the CECAFA youth soccer competitions. Barely a month earlier, it had also hosted the larger East African Schools Sports tournaments. The South Sudan national association football team was formed in May 2011, although it does not have membership of FIFA. The team played its first match against Tusker FC of the Kenyan Premier League on July 10, 2011 in Juba, scoring early but losing 1–3 to the more experienced team. According to Salih Samuel, the football team's coach, South Sudan is preparing to apply to join the Confederation of African Football, a branch of FIFA.

Humanitarian situation

South Sudan is acknowledged to have some of the worst health indicators in the world. The under-five infant mortality rate is 112 per 1,000, whilst maternal mortality is the highest in the world at 2,053.9 per 100,000 live births. In 2004, there were only three surgeons serving southern Sudan, with three proper hospitals, and in some areas there was just one doctor for every 500,000 people.

The epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the South Sudan is poorly documented but the prevalence is thought to be around 3.1%.

At the time of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005, humanitarian needs in Southern Sudan were massive. However, humanitarian organizations under the leadership of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) managed to ensure sufficient funding to bring relief to the local populations. Along with recovery and development aid, humanitarian projects were included in the 2007 Work Plan of the United Nations and partners. More than 90% of the population of South Sudan live on less than $1 a day, despite the GDP per capita of the entirety of Sudan being $1200 ($3.29/day).

In 2007, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (under the leadership of Éliane Duthoit) decreased its involvement in Southern Sudan, as humanitarian needs gradually diminished, slowly but markedly turning over control to the recovery and development activities of NGOs and community-based organisations.