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In March of 2012, two 24-year-old white males were abducted by a group of South Sudanese Africans in Antioch, TN. It was early in the morning and the victims were getting ready to do a paper route. The victims were subjected to 45 minutes of humiliating torture. They were forced to perform sexual acts on each other, sexually tortured, beaten, and stabbed. The perpetrators taunted them the entire time. After the torture, the men were left to die. They were dumped on the side of the road naked and covered in blood. Each had ten stab wounds. One of the...

South Sudan allows fighters to rape women as payment while children and the disabled are burned alive in 'one of the most horrendous human rights situations in the world', a UN report has found. The UN human rights office painted a harrowing picture of civilians suspected of supporting the opposition being torched, suffocated in shipping containers, hanged from trees and cut to pieces. In scorching detail, the report cited cases of parents being forced to watch their children being raped during the country's two-year civil war.

South Sudan's civil war began on the night of December 15, 2013, when a firefight erupted between soldiers serving in the presidential garrison in the capital city, Juba. "Between" is an important word. The battle pitted soldiers from the Dinka tribe (largest in South Sudan) against soldiers in the Nuer tribe (second largest). The government, led by president Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and the rebels, led by Riek Machar, a Nuer, agreed to their first ceasefire on December 31. Fire and combat, however, never ceased. Instead, it spread. Every ceasefire and peace declaration since has failed to hold. Poor communication...

The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has been accused of a “complete and utter failure” to protect civilians in one of the most dangerous and volatile parts of the war-ravaged country. ..“There has not been any protection to speak of until now while the violence has been ongoing and there have been thousands of people coming into the [Protection of Civilians] sites in Bentiu from southern Unity – those who manage to flee – and they have been telling their stories.” He added: “It’s not like this is a secret. They talk about the most horrendous incidents of sexual...

A cargo plane has crashed on take-off near the international airport in South Sudan's capital Juba, with at least 25 killed. Some reports put the death toll as high as 40.

"Our situation here in Maridi is not good," he said, pointing out that most of the injured people are women and children. He added that other badly burned bodies have also been found around the wreckage of the tanker. On Thursday, Information Minister of Western Equatoria State Charles Kisagna said over 100 people were killed and about 50 others injured in South Sudan when an oil tanker swerved and exploded. The minister noted that "those people may not survive because we do not have the facilities to treat the highly burnt people." The oil tanker was traveling from the South...

Russia came in for harsh criticism last week when state-owned jet producer MiG delivered 12 MiG-29 planes to Sudan. Amnesty International suggested that the jets could be used against civilians in Sudan's western region of Darfur, where attacks against indigenous black tribes by the government-backed Arab janjaweed militia over the last 15 months have left at least 30,000 people dead, forced villagers into refugee camps and left some 2 million people without sufficient food and medicine. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton blasted MiG for selling modern weapons to a government the United States considers a sponsor of international terrorism....

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, the world’s only sitting leader wanted on genocide charges, is expected to win a landslide victory in elections this week, extending a 25-year reign in which the country has endured multiple insurgencies and the secession of the oil-rich south. Despite Sudan’s seemingly perpetual unrest, al-Bashir survived the 2011 Arab Spring. His ruling party dominates the parliament and local councils, and the massive security apparatus has left the once-vibrant opposition a husk of its former self. Al-Bashir has ruled the country since taking power in a 1989 coup, but billboards across Khartoum showing him in traditional robes...

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow on Monday where the issue of Middle East peace talks will be raised, Russian authorities announced Thursday. “The two leaders will hold talks concerning key aspects of Russian-Palestinian relations and their future, with particular attention on the trade, economy and humanitarian sectors,” the Kremlin said in a statement according to AFP. There will also be “an exchange of ideas on the process of Israeli-Palestinian talks and other problematic regional situations,” the statement continued, adding that North Africa would also be on the agenda. …

(CNN)Armed groups raided a South Sudanese school and seized 89 children who were taking their exams, the United Nations said Saturday. It pointed out that boys were among those taken. The abduction occurred near Malakal, where thousands of people have taken refuge following months of violence in the nation. Kidnappers gathered around a community and conducted house-to-house searches, according to the U.N. children's agency. It said boys over age 12 were taken away by force. U.N. officials warned the abductors that they're violating international law. "The recruitment and use of children by armed forces destroys families and communities," said Jonathan...

Uganda's army has accused the Lord's Resistance Army rebels of hacking to death 45 civilians in a Catholic church in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Capt Chris Magezi said the scene was "horrendous... dead bodies of mostly women and children cut in pieces". The attack happened on 26 December. A rebel spokesman has denied responsibility for the killings, which follow a collapse in the peace process. The UN says at least 189 people were killed in several attacks last week. Some reports say more than 100 people were killed in the church alone. The armies of Uganda, South Sudan and DR...

UNMISS said in a statement that "the armed mob forced entry into the site and opened fire on the internally displaced persons sheltering inside the base". Its forces returned fire -- first firing warning shots and then taking part in a ferocious gun battle -- before the fighters retreated, it added. The civilians had fled into the base weeks ago amid brutal ethnic massacres in the world's newest nation. Information Minister Michael Makuei said that a "huge number" of gunmen had come seeking revenge for the rebel capture of the oil town of Bentiu two days ago hoping to kill...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is sending military aircraft and more special operations forces to Uganda to assist in the search for fugitive African warlord Joseph Kony. A senior U.S. military official confirmed Monday that the U.S. is sending at least four CV-22 Osprey aircraft about about 150 more Air Force special operations members and airmen to assist local forces in their long-running battle against Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA. The official confirmed the plans, first reported by The Washington Post, on condition of anonymity without authorization to discuss them on the record.

<p>President Obama is committing more military resources, including aircraft and special operations forces, to the hunt for notorious African warlord Joseph Kony.</p> <p>Early Monday, the White House confirmed a Washington Post report that the U.S. was sending "associated support personnel," and a "limited number" of CV-22 Osprey aircraft to assist local forces in their long-running battle against Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA. Obama sent about 100 U.S. troops to help the African forces in 2011.</p>

African Union Welcomes Phase Two of South Sudan Peace ProcessADDIS ABABA — March 7, 2014 … The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, welcomed the conclusion of Phase II of the South Sudan Peace Process. The South Sudan Peace Process has consisted of two weeks of substantive consultations on a Declaration of Principle and a Framework for Political Dialogue towards National Reconciliation and Healing. She commended the IGAD Special Envoys, including its Chair, Ambassador Seyoum Mesfin, for their relentless efforts towards the resumption of the political negotiations and the progress they have achieved thus...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://www.frontpagemag.com - The Douala-Djibouti CorridorPosted By Jerome Vitenberg On February 6, 2014 @ 12:15 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 1 Comment The current French involvement in the Central African Republic, which follows in the footsteps of its ongoing “Operation Serval” in Mali, has led many to wonder about President Francois Hollande’s goals in his African campaigns.In recent months, the CAR’s ex-Séléka Muslim rebel fighters, bolstered by Sudanese and Chadian mercenaries, have waged a campaign of murder, rape and pillage against the country’s 80% Christian-majority population. With the government in disarray, Christians have organized defensive “anti-balaka” (“anti-machete”)...

South Sudan: Rebels Stole 1,700 Tons of Food From PoorBy Joe Odaby South Sudan NewsJuba — February 6, 2014 … In its latest analytical report from the respected African think-tank The Fashoda Institute, it is pointed out that “in South Sudan the ceasefire is becoming a political nightmare. Localized fighting continues because coup leader and former Vice-President Riek Machar has no control over the rebel forces, while the administration of President Salva Kiir in Juba is under international pressure to make more and more concessions to rebels”. The Fashoda Institute points that “liberal West’s traditional approach — that the “rebels”...

South Sudan: Cease-Fire SignedBy South Sudan News StaffNAIROBI, Kenya — January 23 … The government of South Sudan was pleased to announce that rebels loyal to the country’s ousted former vice president signed a cease-fire agreement today. The cease-fire ends more than a month of fighting that displaced thousands of people. Under the agreement, signed in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, both sides in the conflict promised to lay down their weapons. But they have also said that a cessation of hostilities would be a temporary measure, short of a formal peace agreement, and that negotiations would have to continue....

South Sudan Optimistic Of Reaching CeasefireBy South Sudan News StaffJuba — January 15 … The head of the South Sudan governmental delegation on peace talks has expressed optimism over the ongoing peace talks with rebels loyal to former South Sudan Vice President Dr. Riek Machar in the Ethiopian Capital, Addis Ababa. Nhial Deng Nhial, the Head of the South Sudan government negotiation team arrived home from Addis Ababa on Monday for consultations with President Salva Kiir following the start of face to face talks with the rebels in its first day on Monday. “We are hopeful,” Nhial told journalists in...

The top U.S. military commander for Africa says the Pentagon is planning to begin training 5,000 to 8,000 Libyan soldiers by midyear to help bolster the nation's security. The U.S. is also looking into providing additional airlift assistance to South Sudan, where violence has killed more than 1,000 people and driven 180,000 from their homes in the last month. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Gen. David Rodriguez, head of U.S. Africa Command, said the U.S. is planning a 24-week training program to help the Libyans, as part of a broader international effort to shore up security in the country...