25, June 2018
South Sudan foes meet face-to-face for first time in 2 years to end war 0
Major foes in the years-long conflict in South Sudan have embarked on a new round of peace talks to end the deadly war in the country.
The talks between President Salva Kiir and arch-foe Riek Machar in the Sudanese capital Khartoum began on Mondayو with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni mediating the negotiations that many hope would end South Sudan’s four-and-a-half year brutal civil war.
The talks come after a first meeting in Ethiopia on Thursday failed to achieve any breakthrough. Regional East African leaders have been struggling to come up with a solution to the conflict in South Sudan, the world’s newest country which would be hit with United Nations sanctions if it fails to put an end to the bloodshed.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly four million others displaced as a result of the war, which erupted in December 2013 when disputes intensified between Kiir and his then deputy Machar. The two met face-to-face for the first time in two years in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, but failed to reach any agreement. South Sudan’s government said right after the meeting that it “had enough” of Machar.
“As the people of South Sudan, not the president alone, but as the people of South Sudan, we are saying enough is enough,” said Michael Makuei, a government spokesman, on Friday, while rejecting the idea that Machar could be part of any transitional government.
South Sudan has repeatedly indicated that a future government could include rebel figures other than Machar who is blamed to have triggered the conflict by plotting a coup against Kiir five years ago. The official position, which was reiterated after talks in Ethiopia, once again showed the ever-increasing personal enmity between Kiir and Machar, which many say is the main cause of the protracted conflict in South Sudan that gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
However, Sudanese Foreign Minister Al-Dierdiry Ahmed said Monday that despite all existing differences between the two foes, talks in Khartoum could bear fruit.
“In this round of talks we are looking for a breakthrough to this thorny issue,” said Ahmed.
Source: Presstv
25, June 2018
Cameroon Dangles Unsavoury Bait To Ambazonians 0
A bloody conflict pitting Cameroun government forces and restorationist forces of Ambazonia is in its eighth month. Cameroun government has come up with a humanitarian assistance package to placate the suffering internally displaced populations and refugees from the Northwest and Southwest regions of the Cameroons.
The conflict begun in November 2016 with lawyers and teachers putting forward demands, which if addressed in timely manner and appropriately would have prevented the present bloody conflict. Instead, Cameroun government chose strong arm methods to quell the civilian demands of the populations. There were kidnappings, imprisonment without trial, mass rape, killings and scorched earth policy with the burning down of whole villages.
Restorationists retaliated fistfully, inflicting fatal blows and the fabric of government security groups. Scores of military and paramilitary have been killed.
Government forces, radicalized their actions. Unarmed civilians were slaughtered by Cameroun troops, with such savagery that should be the handiwork of a terrorist movement.
While restorationists take on government troops and administrators, perceived as architects of mismanagement and brutality, Cameroun government attacks everyone in targeted Anglophone villages as terrorists to be wiped out.
All Anglophones are presented to the world as terrorists, as such, restorationists claim they have only been defending their kindred targeted for genocide by Cameroon.
Government still believes they would be able to crush the restorationists, yet they dangle unsavoury baits to the suffering masses of the Northwest and Southwest regions of the Cameroons. The leadership of Ambazonia is warning people not to accept such GIFTS and has gone ahead to threaten to attack bearers of such GIFTS.
Violence has been equalized in the Cameroons with both sides of the conflict excelling in savagery. The restorationists are feeling embolden with their early gains on the warfront. They have succeeded the violent State military unleashing untold brutality on unarmed civilians.
Balance of power has been established, with government coming down from its high horse to entertain the possibility of dialogue on a peaceful resolution. Hawks among government, who were earlier opposed to any discussion on the form of the State are now ready to talk about federalism.
Restorationists say a lot of water has passed under the bridge, and they would stop at nothing short of independence.
In this conundrum, government came us with a plan to raise 12.7 billions Francs CFA for reconstruction, medical care and food supply to the displaced Ambazonians.
Yet The Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Nai Atanga is calling the fired up Ambazonian Defence Forces to lay down their arms and surrender. As he touts the restorationists, they intensify their attacks against soldiers and administrators on the field.
Government’s narrative must change if they are seriously seeking an honourable way out of the conflict. The war is unwinnable, and if government does not change its approach the troops would be doomed to meet the Waterloo restorationists have prepared for them.
While government troops are afraid of dying, the restorationists are ready to die for independence of Ambazonia. In this dilemma, government should withdraw its troops from the conflict zone and act as if they are conceding. They should help the restorationists to organize themselves to secure the Northwest and Southwest regions.
Failure would only attract the restorationists to cross their perceived borders to wreck havoc in the other eight regions of the Cameroons.
Source: Modern Ghana