In September 2018, South Sudan signed a peace accord to end five years of civil war. However, the agreement remains extremely fragile, and over two years later key parts of the unity government between President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar – now Vice President – have not been constituted. According to Betty Bigombe, Uganda’s special envoy to South Sudan, the peace process suffers from an overemphasis on power sharing, a lack of political will and a region that has placed the peace process on the backburner. Betty joins Alan Boswell to examine the mediation process led by East Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and why some claim the South Sudan people don’t own the deal. They look at the role of Uganda and Sudan, former foes, in reconciling the two main parties. Betty tells Alan that a more inclusive national dialogue is needed that brings together the political elites, civil society and refugees. They also discuss whether IGAD s
December 18 - 2020 EL FASHAGA / EL GEDAREF
Map, updated on December 9, to show the movement of refugees from Ethiopia s Tigray region into Sudan s Kassala, El Gedaref, Sennar, and Blue Nile states (USAID/UNHCR)
The number of wounded in the attack by Ethiopian armed and militia forces on members of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in El Fashaga, El Gedaref, on Tuesday has risen to 27.
Sources from El Fashaga told Radio Dabanga yesterday that Ethiopian militiamen from neighbouring Amarah region (called
shifta in the region)
and Ethiopian army troops seized army vehicles and captured at least seven Sudanese soldiers during the attack on Tuesday.