Politics

South Sudan fires back at UN over renewed sanctions, accuses Security Council of double standard

Published

2 years ago

May 29, 2022

South Sudan’s Unity Government has fired back at the United Nations Security Council after the body extended an arms embargo and sanctions imposed on it in 2018, describing the renewal as unfortunate and unproductive.

The UN Security Council had, on Friday, voted to renew the sanctions on the African country amid the escalating unrest in the country.

The Council had taken the decision at its extraordinary meeting held on Thursday, resolving to extend the measures until May 2023.

The resolution which was drafted by the United States was passed with the support of 10 of the 15 council condemned “past and ongoing human rights violations and abuses, and violations of international humanitarian law, including the alarming surge in conflict-related sexual violence.”

But in a a reaction to the embargo extension in press statement on Saturday, the seen South Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, accused the Security Council of double standard when it comes to dealing with some countries, adding that the UN agency should have followed the position adopted by the African Union in approaching the issues it raised.

“The African people have spoken clearly through the African Union Decision 815 of February 2022 that sanctions and arms embargo is unproductive.

“That some countries would dismiss the African Union’s stance on this matter shows an old hubris with no value for a world shaken by wars, including Africa and Europe,” said the ministry.

The Unity Gvernment, however, lauded China, India, Russia, Gabon and Kenya, which declined from voting for the sanctions renewalon Juba. The five countries abstained from the vote.

“These countries understand that the United Nation’s vision of world peace requires that sovereign nations respect one another as equals. They stand in solidarity with the people of South Sudan for whom these sanctions are cruel policy with no clear intention.

“South Sudan will continue to model reconciliation through the peace agreement knowing other countries too experience violent political discord that requires tolerance, accommodation and healing.

“Just as sanctions on those countries would be counterproductive, they are also counterproductive to South Sudan.

“We, instead, invite friendly nations to support our efforts to stabilise the country, including the sovereign right to defend our territorial integrity,” the Foreign Affairs ministry said.

The arms embargo and sanctions on Africa’s youngest country was imposed by the UN in 2018 after a peace agreement ended five years of bloody civil war between factions loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar.

Click to comment

Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

23 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

An al Qaeda offshoot in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the attack in central Mali, killing at least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor company.

Wagner earlier lost a battle in July with mostly Tuareg rebels and Islamists close to Mali’s Algerian border, exposing the perils faced by mercenaries used by military juntas in the Sahel area of West Africa.

The separatists and strong branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have taken over large areas of the Sahel over the past 12 years, are difficult for Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to control.

The al Qaeda offshoot JNIM claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group, which keeps an eye on extremist activity in the area. According to SITE, JNIM captured several weapons and killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Following an attack, the bodies of at least five white males wearing army fatigues were seen laying near a military truck in a video obtained by Reuters. The validity of the footage could not be confirmed by Reuters.

SITE Intelligence posted images allegedly from JNIM that showed many crates of weapons and ammo together with the dead and bloodied bodies of troops.

Although two local officials acknowledged the incident, a Malian army source claimed to have seen seven dead bodies, including Russian fighters. Five Wagner warriors were slain, according to one of them.

At least six Russians have been murdered in the attack, which was carried out by Katiba Macina, a division of JNIM, according to a consultant working on security in the area.

The expert referred to the Russians as Africa Corps warriors, a paramilitary group under Kremlin leadership that has taken Wagner’s position in Africa throughout the previous 12 months.

Mali has previously said that Russian servicemen trainers are assisting local troops with Russian-purchased weaponry rather than mercenaries.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.