south sudan

unmiss  march 2014
the united nations mission in s sudan apologized to the government of s sudan on the huge chunk of weapons seized in rambek which were destined for dr riek machar forces in unity state using unmiss transport vehicles.the weapons include anti-tank rocket launchers,anti-personnel mines,assorted armaments and ammunition.
the weapons were uncovered concealed in containers labeled "food items for the internally displaced people in unity state which was meant to be carrying food items for the idps in unity state who were displaced during the recent conflict between the government and the rebesl allied to dr riek machar.an sst reporter confirms that the manifest they had indicated "food items and building materials,"however the real content was weapons contrary to what was declared to the government who gave them clearance for food items only.
13 trucks belonging to unmiss which were carrying these weapons are currently detained in rumbek until investigations are carried out by the government and other relevant institutions an eyewitness revealed."iit is a policy of the unmiss that during a crisis all arms and ammunition for peacekeeping contingents are flown into areas of deployment and not taken by road.this is an important security measure,"miss hide said in a press release by unmiss.
according to the same press release,the srsg confirmed that the goods belong to unmiss contingent and they were not supposed to have weapons on board the trucks carrying food.
"in connection with the transport of cargo containing general goods belonging to the ghanian battalion on its way to dentiu,several containers were wrongly labeled and inadvertently contained weapons and ammunition.this is regrettable.the ghanian troops are part of the surge of unmiss troops to assist s sudan and the goods were en route to bentiu,passing through rumbek,"Miss hide said.
she added that un hq in ny intends to dispatch a high level investigation team in cooperation with the government of s sudan to look into this matter on an urgent basis.
according to public opinion,this is not the first tiem unmiss supplied dr riek with weapons.in the recent conflict at jonglei,unmiss supplied rebels with 20 apc's in akabo and bor which aided them to launch an advance on juba.they were later defeated by the spla and national security forces on juba bar road.sonya marie de mein,a unmiss employee supplied satellite phones and credit worth $500 to dr riek machar who is still in hiding.
among other support anti-government forces are garnering from unmiss include treatment of their wounded soldiers in un hospitals throughout s sudan,even his bodyguards who are being treated currently at juba.
according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity to sst "unmiss has also been smuggling dr reiks politicians and defected senior officers from unmiss compounds in juba and malakel where they are being hosted to the rebel-controlled areas."
most of the weapons discovered being ferried by unmiss are lethal,internationally banned and incompatible with the status of force agreement between un and the government of the republic of s sudan.
the views expressed in'opinion' articles published by the equatorial sun are solely those of the writer.the veracity of any claims made are the responsibility of the author,the equatorial sun.

confused eagle

tommorrow morning at 90 hours the commanding general of AFRICOM will brief the senate armed services committee as part of the fy15 budget process.here are some issues that need to be addressed:
the s sudan crisis:
just yesterday chris smith(r-nj) who is chariman of the house foreign affairs subcommittee on Africa global health,human rights and international organizations urged pres. o'bama to call s Sudanese presidentsalem kin in an effort to restart the peace talks which are currently at an impasse.there is also a dear colleague letter moving through the house as well bu the Sudanese and s Sudanese caucuses.why this administration is supporting the efforts of rick machar is mind boggling.there are now calls for an interim government and new elections to replace salva kir as well.speaking of sudan has anyone noticed the reports in Iraqi media where they are planning to assist bashir by constructing a new refinery?we know that Iraq is a soverieign state and can conduct its own foreign policy but you have to admire the irony of this.
central African republic friend france has voted to extend their presence in the strife torn nation where a resolution to the crisis with various facets seems to be sliding out of reach daily.in recent days us allies Georgia and turkey have announced their commitment to provide troops to the eu mission that is supposed to take over from france.the situation is so dire that after the success that monusco had with a regional intervention brigade in the kivo provinces in the dem.rep. of congo that the concept is currently being discussed to see if it will be applicable in the central African republic.
Nigeria
book haram has killed an estimated 400 people in a series of attacks.these include the destruction of two villages as well.the group has also threatened neighboring Cameroon as well as the country has reportedly been offering intelligence and logistical support to Nigeria.there has also been a report that 25 bh fighters have been captured recently while training in niger.this should be an interesting line of questioning if asked.

free sudan

one of the people with free sudan was with bosnia and the genocide stopped there.they have ties to Ukraine.church groups might work for Ukraine.a family friend is ukranian.genocides are fewer and maybe Darfur can be helped.stop by the Ghana café in dc.fini,the Italian fascist,may have been tied to this and he's probably finished in Italy.the mayor of naples is doing gay marriage.