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Page 1: SOUTH SUDAN – SUDAN: Dispute Rumbles On

Infrastructures Minister Adoum You-noussmi.

CNPCI is a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Petroleum Cor-poration (CNPC). (RNW, � AFP 20 ⁄ 1)

News agencies added on January 24ththat the move to close the refinery hadescalated the row, and it threatened todamage Chad’s relationship with Chi-nese investors, who have earmarked bil-lions of dollars for infrastructureprojects.

The refinery produces gasoline andother fuels for the domestic market atprices set by the government, whichrefinery officials say are too low tocover its crude costs.

‘‘Despite the concessions granted to themby Chad authorities over fuel prices, theChinese continue to run us around,’’ Ma-hamat Allahou Taher, Chad’s Ministerfor Trade and Industry, said, adding thatthe government had issued a notice sus-pending the deal with CNPC.

‘‘An inter-departmental committee willbe set up to renegotiate a new agree-ment,’’ he said. The disruptions havecaused fuel shortages in the country,and petrol is now being rationed. (NewsAgencies 24 ⁄ 1)

However, AFP reported on February6th that the government had decided toreopen the oil refinery in order to helpthe negotiations which had startedthree days earlier. (� AFP 6 ⁄ 2 2012)

KENYA - SOUTHSUDANOil Pipeline Agreement

The move will reduce dependence onSudan’s ports to export oil.

Kenya and South Sudan have signedan agreement for the construction of anoil pipeline connecting the two coun-tries. The agreement, signed in Juba onJanuary 24th and witnessed by PrimeMinister Raila Odinga and the Presi-dent of South Sudan Mr Salva Kiir,will allow the development of an oilpipeline and fibre optic connectionsbetween the oil fields in South Sudanand the Kenyan port town of Lamu.

The pipeline will be developed throughKenyan territory and will be built andowned by South Sudan. The two coun-tries will negotiate and agree on transitfees for the oil pipeline.

Despite South Sudan’s oil wealth withproduction of 470,000 barrels per day,it lacks the infrastructure to refine andexport oil. Oil firms active in SouthSudan include Chinese state-ownedChina National Oil Corporation

(CNPC), and Sinopec, Malaysia’sstate-owned Petronas, and Oil and Nat-ural Gas Corporation (ONGC) of India.(Daily Nation website, Nairobi 26 ⁄ 1)

Meanwhile, The Reporter website(28 ⁄ 1) revealed that the Hong Kong-based Chinese company, PetroTrans, isnegotiating with the government ofSouth Sudan on the construction of anoil pipeline from South Sudan oilfieldsto the port of Djibouti.

The Reporter said that PetroTrans hassubmitted a proposal to the South Suda-nese government on the pipeline con-struction that stretches from Gambela (aregional state in western Ethiopia, bor-dering South Sudan) to Djibouti.

The Chinese company is expected tocome up with a loan from the Chinesestate banks. However, the distance andcost of the pipeline construction is not yetdetermined. The project also needs theapproval of the Ethiopian government.(The Reporter website, Addis Ababa 28 ⁄ 1)

LIBYAMigration Route

The flood of illegal immigrants intransit to Europe resumes, despitethe massive risks to life.

At least 15 Somali migrants were killedand 40 left missing after their boat cap-sized off the coast of Libya at the endof January, the Somali ambassador toTripoli said.

‘‘Fifteen bodies, including one childand 12 women, were recovered off thecoast of Misrata after their boat sank,’’ambassador Abdelghami Wais toldAFP. The boat had been carrying 55Somalis, Wais said, and the other pas-sengers were still missing.

Libya has for decades been a destina-tion and a transit country to Europeanshores for hundreds of thousands ofAfrican migrants seeking jobs and abetter life.

The ousted regime of slain dictatorMouammar Gaddafy used the issue toexert pressure on Europe and asked for€5bn from the European Union (EU)in 2011 to stem the flow of illegals.

The new rulers of the North Africancountry have adopted a differentapproach, with Interior Minister FawziAbdelali saying Libya will not be the‘‘border guard’’ for Europe.

Citing ‘‘enormous problems’’ for Libyacaused by the influx of thousands ofmigrants, Abdelali called upon Europeand neighbouring countries to help dealwith the flow. He specifically asked forassistance to rehabilitate 19 detention

centres and with a system of bordersurveillance.

On January 19th, Interior Ministryspokesman General Abdelmonem al-Tunsi told AFP that illegal immigrationhad resumed since the end of the anti-Gaddafy revolt.

He said thousands of people fromunrest-swept Syria were also enteringthrough the Massad terminal on theborder with Egypt, apart from Africansinfiltrating through the southern bor-ders. Tunsi said that on January 10ththe authorities intercepted 260 such ille-gal migrants who were aided by threeLibyans armed with Kalashnikovs.

He said the flood of illegal immigrantsbegan at the end of the conflict as thecountry’s borders were not fullyguarded.

When the anti-Gaddafy revolt eruptedin February, tens of thousands of ille-gal immigrants fled Libya and fewdared venture into the North Africannation while fighting against Gaddafy’sforces raged in 2011. (� AFP 28 ⁄ 1 2012)

SOUTH SUDAN – SUDANDispute Rumbles On

An AU-brokered peace deal issigned, but the fundamental problemof oil transit fees remains unre-solved.

The governments of Sudan and SouthSudan have signed a non-aggressiontreaty in the Ethiopian capital, AddisAbaba, that is hoped to de-escalategrowing tensions between the neigh-bouring states.

The chairman of the African Union(AU) High Level Implementation Panel(AUHIP), Thabo Mbeki, said that theaccord also provides for a monitoringmechanism that would look into anyallegations of violations by either side.

‘‘In the event that there are complaintsor allegations from either side... thenthey should be appointed to the jointmechanism,’’ Mbeki told reporters,according to AFP.

The deal was signed by the head ofSouth Sudan’s intelligence bureau, Tho-mas Douth, and Sudan’s director ofNational Intelligence and SecurityServices (NISS) Mohammed Atta.

In recent weeks the leaders in Khar-toum and Juba have exchanged warn-ings of possible outbreak of warparticularly as the long standing dis-pute over oil showed no sign of easing.

At the end of January, South Sudansuspended its oil production in retalia-tion for a decision by Khartoum to seize

January 16th–February 15th 2012 Africa Research Bulletin – 19403

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� Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2012.

Page 2: SOUTH SUDAN – SUDAN: Dispute Rumbles On

1.7m barrels of its crude exportedthrough the north’s pipelines to satisfywhat it claims to be financial arrears.On top of that, the two countries accuseeach other of supporting rebel groupsfighting their respective governments.

In particular, Khartoum lodged com-plaints with the United Nations Secu-rity Council (UNSC) detailing supportit claims Juba gives to the Sudan Peo-ple’s Liberation Movement North(SPLM-N) fighting the Sudanese armyin the border states of Blue Nile andSouth Kordofan.

There have been several reports of aer-ial bombardments by Sudan ArmedForces (SAF) inside the borders ofSouth Sudan in the last few months.

According to the pact, the two sidesagreed to ‘‘respect each other’s sover-eignty and territorial integrity’’ and to‘‘refrain from launching any attack,including bombardment’’.

Mbeki urged both sides to adhere tothe peace deal.

It remains to be seen whether theagreement will produce any change onthe ground or tone down rhetoric fromofficials in the two countries.

Since its inception in October 2009, theAUHIP has worked tirelessly to helpKhartoum and Juba sort out theirpost-secession contentious issues suchas oil, borders, Abyei, national debtand citizenship.

But so far little progress has been madeon resolving these items. In June, theSudanese President Omar Hassanal-Bashir even scrapped an AUHIPbrokered framework agreement his

assistant signed relating to the conflictin South Kordofan.

Furthermore, another accord on Abyeicrafted by Mbeki’s panel faced difficul-ties in implementation after Khartoumlater attached conditions to fully with-drawing its troops from the disputedregion.

In New York, the United Nations Secre-tary General Ban Ki-moon warned onFebruary 10th that tensions between thetwo nations could escalate if outstandingissues are not resolved, urging peace andreaching agreements on all issues.

‘‘The moment has come for the leadersof both countries to make the necessarycompromises... that will guarantee apeaceful and prosperous future for bothnations,’’ he said in a statement. (SudanTribune, Khartoum 10 ⁄ 2) Fierce oil dispute

with Sudan Vol. 48, p. 19367B

Talks between the two sides would con-tinue until February 15th in Addis Ab-aba. The AU panel hopes technicaldetails, such as a pipeline fee and out-standing arrears, will be decided if theparties accept to talk.

On February 10th, British-based cam-paign group Global Witness said theinternational community must intervenein the latest round of the negotiationsto ease the rising tensions.

‘‘The AU, China and Western govern-ments must push for an immediate res-olution to the ongoing oil disputebetween Sudan and South Sudan,’’ thegroup said in a statement.

The South depends on oil for morethan 90% of its revenues, while Khar-toum’s Finance Minister has said thatthe loss of oil from the South left abudget shortfall of 30%.

Since then, Sudan has witnessed spiral-ling inflation, which the governmentsees reaching 17% in 2012 and thesharp devaluation of the Sudanesepound. (� AFP 10 ⁄ 2 2012)

Kidnapped Chinese Freed: The Sudanesearmy freed 14 Chinese constructionworkers abducted by militants in aremote region in the country’s south.

The rescued workers were evacuated tothe town of El Obeid, Ahmed Haroun,the governor of South Kordofan, saidon January 30th. Twenty-nine workershad been taken during an attack nearAbbasiya on January 28th. The remain-ing workers were freed and flown toKenya on February 7th by the Interna-tional Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC).

Sudanese officials blame the SudanPeople’s Liberation Movement-North,a branch of a guerrilla movementwhich fought Khartoum for decades

for the abductions. (The Independent,London 31 ⁄ 1; � AFP 7 ⁄ 2)

IN BRIEFAngola - US: Angola is the second largesttrading partner of the US in sub-SaharanAfrica, a US official said in Luanda on Jan-uary 21st.

The deputy assistant Secretary of State forSouthern Africa, Reuben Brigety, said at theend of a meeting with the Angolan State sec-retary of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Augusto,that they discussed specific areas tostrengthen partnership such as agricultureand education and reinforce the existingcooperation in oil and trade. (PANA, Lu-anda 21 ⁄ 1)Cape Verde - China: China will extend aUS$80m loan to Cape Verde for social hous-ing as well as to build a sports stadium andrevamp the presidential palace. Of the totalamount, US$63m is earmarked for socialhousing projects.

China is currently building a 15,000-seatsports stadium in Cape Verde which lies offthe western African coast. The presidentialpalace in Praia has never been refurbishedsince the island nation’s independence fromPortugal in 1975. (� AFP 5 ⁄ 1 2012)

DR Congo - UN: The country has receivedUS$9.1m from the United Nations CentralEmergency Response Fund (CERF) to fightoff cholera, which has affected more than22,000 people and killed 500 over the past year.

There has been a spike in cases in recentweeks, with the majority of them occurring ineastern provinces where cholera is endemic.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and theWorld Health Organisation (WHO) willreceive $4.4m and $4.7m, respectively, andwill work with a number of internationaland national NGOs as well as Congoleseauthorities to maximize the impact of theirefforts. (UN News Service 27 ⁄ 1)Ethiopia - South Sudan - Djibouti: The threecountries have signed a tripartite agreementto enhance cooperation and partnership ininfrastructure development. The main areasof cooperation will be in the development ofenergy and fibre optics.

Ethiopia and South Sudan signed a furtherMoU providing for technical and economiccooperation between the two countries onthe construction of roads and railways aswell as the installation of electricity and tele-communication lines. (ENA website, AddisAbaba 3 ⁄ 2)Mauritania - Qatar: The two countries havesigned a raft of fresh accords to boost ties infields such as tourism, health, finance andagriculture. Mauritanian workers will beable to go to the Middle Eastern nation.Other agreements signed deal with sustain-able development, justice, information andfinance. The National Bank of Qatarrecently opened a branch in Mauritania andthe Emir’s wife has financed a social devel-opment foundation in the country to fightilliteracy and rehabilitate youths. (� AFP5 ⁄ 1 2012)

Morocco - EU: The EU will grant Mor-occo €30m to finance a solar power station

(Africa Confidential 3/2)

S U D A N

S O U T HS U D A N

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BU..TANZ.

OIL PIPELINESPROPOSEDBY AFRICAINFRASTRUCTURECONSORTIUMINC. (AIC)

PRODUCTSPIPELINE

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OILFIELDS

NAIROBI

JUBA

KHARTOUM

NilePort

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L.Tana

Blue N

ile

WhiteNile

L.VictoriaGarissa

Lamu

Mombasa

Kisumu

Lodwar

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600 km300 miles

Continental Developments19404 – Africa Research Bulletin

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� Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2012.

Page 3: SOUTH SUDAN – SUDAN: Dispute Rumbles On

at Ouarzazate and €7m for a water pro-ject. Ongoing talks with the EU focus onthe liberalisation of the trade of agricul-tural products and the preparation of anew action plan on the preferential statusgranted by the EU to Morocco. (PANA,Brussels 19 ⁄ 1)

Refugees: Thousands of Touareg refugeesfleeing clashes in northern Mali enteredMauritania in early February, escaping thefighting between the Malian army and Toua-reg rebels from the National Movement forthe Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). Esti-mates suggest around 3,000 refugees accord-

ing to humanitarian organisations.(Magharebia.com 3 ⁄ 2)AFP adds that around 1,500 Malians fleeingthe Touareg rebellion and reprisal attacks inBamako have found refuge in Burkina Faso.Among the refugees are deserting soldiersand paramilitary forces. (� AFP 6 ⁄ 2 2012)

ECONOMIC TRENDS

DROUGHT AND FAMINEHorn of Africa Toll

Security problems massivelycomplicate aid delivery.

The slowness of the internationalresponse to the developing famine inthe Horn of Africa in 2011 needlesslycost thousands of lives, says a reportby Oxfam and Save the Children.Sources familiar with north-easternKenya and Somalia, however, toldAfrica Confidential that they may nothave taken enough account of the mas-sive security problems. Official esti-mates put the total death toll in thecrisis at 50,000–100,000 people. Almostall were in Somalia. It is better to drillboreholes and feed existing animals, thereport says, than to truck in water andrestock herds. Critics note that the waroften blocks such tasks.

Much of southern Somalia, where thefamine has been at its worst, is held bythe Islamist Al Shabaab militia, whichforbade many Western aid agencies tooperate in its zones and repeatedlydenied there was famine. Even so-calledgovernment-controlled areas are danger-ous. The Kenyan intervention in Octo-ber complicated aid delivery to southernSomalia. In Mogadishu, now under thecontrol of African Union Mission inSomalia (Amisom) forces, some esti-mates say over half the aid is stolen.

Displaced families are regularly forced tohand over half their rations to ‘gatekeep-ers’ who control the ramshackle campswhere they live. In December, twoSomali members of the United NationsWorld Food Programme (WFP) wereshot dead in Galgadud, territory nomi-nally controlled by a pro-governmentmilitia; Africa Confidential heard theyhad come across a ‘ghost camp’, set upto mimic a settlement of refugees so as tosiphon off aid supplies for profit.

Two foreign aid workers with Medecinssans frontieres (MSF) were shot dead inMogadishu by a former worker sacked

over missing supplies. In late 2011,Oxfam and MSF traded veiled barbsover how frank to be in public aboutthe difficulties. MSF said agenciesshould be more honest about the prob-lems. Oxfam replied that divisions inthe aid community were unhelpful.(Africa Confidential 20 ⁄ 1)

Somalia Famine Over: Famine condi-tions have ended in war-torn Somaliasix months after being first declared,the UN has said. The improvement inaccess to food is due to a good harvestand significant humanitarian assistance.

However, nearly a third of the popula-tion – some 2.34m people – still needemergency support, according to Soma-lia Food Security Nutrition AnalysisUnit, and on January 30th al Shabaabexpelled the International Committee ofthe Red Cross, one of the few interna-tional groups still delivering food aid toareas under their control.

‘‘The gains are fragile and will bereversed without continued support,’’said Mark Bowden, the UN’s humani-tarian co-ordinator for Somalia.

The UN said that the latest harvest inSomalia was double that of the averageover the past 17 years, lowering foodprices, though mortality rates in south-ern Somalia were still among the high-est in the world. The situation isparticularly precarious for an estimated325,000 children who are acutely mal-nourished, the UN said.

‘‘The crisis is not over. It can only beresolved with a combination of rainsand continued, co-ordinated, long-termactions that build up the resilience oflocal populations and link relief withdevelopment,’’ Jose Graziano da Silva,the new head of the UN’s Food andAgricultural Organisation, FAO, saidin Nairobi. (BBC News Online 3 ⁄ 2; Soma-lia Report 4 ⁄ 2)

West Africa – Long Term ApproachNeeded

With seven million people across fiveWest African countries facing the spectreof famine within months, Christian Aidannounced on January 24th it was step-

ping up its early response plans to assistthose living in the stricken Sahel region.

Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso andMauritania all suffer from chronic mal-nutrition crises, but the prospect of afull-blown emergency has prompted thegovernments of all five countries todeclare states of emergency and call forinternational assistance. The UN hasalso raised concerns over Senegal andnorthern parts ofNigeria and Cameroon.

As a result of failed rains and wide-spread drought, Mali lost 11.8% oftotal cereal output between 2010 and2011, while in Burkina Faso it is esti-mated that 41.47% of the country willface severe food insecurity, and inNiger the government believes thatmore than half of the nation’s villagesare now running out of basic food.

Families in the Sahel were also beingaffected by the recent conflicts in Libyaand Cote d’Ivoire as relatives are nolonger able to send money home fromthese countries.

The most recent joint evaluation by thePermanent Interstate Committee forDrought Control in the Sahel (CILSS),the FAO, the WFP and Famine EarlyWarning Systems Network (FEWS-NET), conducted in January, estimatesthat 5,458,000 people in Niger are foodinsecure, including 1,324,000 who areat severe levels.

Overall, the European Commission(EC) estimates that at least 7m peoplewill need support over the next sixmonths. (PANA, Dar es Salaam 24 ⁄ 1, 3 ⁄ 2)

As of February 6th, over US$150m hadbeen pledged to the Sahel said AmadouSow in the Africa coordination divisionof the UN Office for the Coordination ofHumanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Donorsare stepping up more quickly to meet Sa-hel’s humanitarian needs compared to2010, when they were slow to respond.However, they are still at fault for takinga quick-fix approach rather thanaddressing long-term disaster preventionand resilience needs, say aid groups.

The EC has directed $138m to theregion, according to Cyprien Fabre,head of ECHO (EU aid body) in WestAfrica. The EU is also expected torelease longer-term funding soon.

The US Agency for International Devel-opment (USAID) meanwhile, has chan-neled $25.5m to the WFP in Niger and

Policy and Practice

January 16th–February 15th 2012 Africa Research Bulletin – 19405

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� Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2012.