Politics

Will South Sudan know peace? Questions asked as Kiir and Machar sign accord to end brutal war

South Sudan’s warring parties signed a peace deal granting rebels key positions in a transitional government, the latest bid to end an almost five-year conflict that’s claimed tens of thousands of lives

Published

6 years ago

August 6, 2018

Africa News Watch

The accord will restore rebel leader Riek Machar as President Salva Kiir’s deputy, while appointing four other vice presidents and adding new posts for ministers and lawmakers. Following the collapse of a similar pact in July 2016, it will be the second attempt at a power-sharing government since the start of the civil war in the East African nation.

Kiir and Machar signed the deal -which came after weeks of incremental agreements — Sunday in Khartoum, the capital of neighboring Sudan. Other opposition politicians and rebel groups also took part in the ceremony.

“We shall rededicate ourselves soberly, our people, and go for peaceful transforming of power through dialogue and ballot boxes rather than the bullets of the guns,” Kiir said after signing.

Celebrations erupted late Sunday in the streets of South Sudan’s capital, Juba, where a peace agreement is long-awaited. The nation has faced economic chaos because of a decline in oil income, while 4 million people have fled their homes and some areas have been on the verge of famine. Both government forces and rebels have been accused of atrocities and the United Nations Security Council recently imposed an arms embargo.

The warring parties now have eight months to form the government that’s supposed to last 36 months and eventually usher in South Sudan’s first elections since it seceded from Sudan in July 2011.

Kiir and Machar, who was fired as Kiir’s deputy months before the war erupted in December 2013, signed a broadly similar deal in 2015. It collapsed weeks into its enactment the following year, spurring a new wave of violence that fueled Africa’s biggest refugee crisis.

Machar eventually fled into exile and has yet to return to South Sudan.

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Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

4 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.