In this file photo taken on February 14, 2019, a member of SPLA-IO stands guard as peace talks take place in Pageri, Imatong State, South Sudan. Photo Alex McBride/AFP

Regional African body IGAD called Monday on rival military factions of South Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar’s movement to open the path for dialogue after deadly fighting at the weekend.

At least 30 people were reported dead in the clashes that broke out on Saturday, just days after Machar’s foes in his SPLA-I0 said they had ousted him as party leader and head of its armed forces.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) called the emergency meeting of its foreign ministers, saying the current political situation in the young nation required “the urgent attention of the council.”

IGAD executive secretary Workneh Gebeyehu said on Twitter he had called on the warring factions to settle their differences peacefully.

“I called on SPLM/SPLA-IO leaders to open the avenues of dialogue to settle differences in a peaceful manner so as to safeguard the implementation of the revitalized agreement on the resolution of the conflict,” he said, referring to Machar’s umbrella Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition.

The East African bloc has been a key player in peace talks to end the young country’s five-year civil war between forces loyal to Machar and his old foe President Salva Kiir that cost almost 400,000 lives.

The latest fighting in Machar’s own movement threatens to put further pressure on the already fragile peace accord signed by the two men in 2018 and their power-sharing deal.

Each side blamed the other for launching the early morning attacks on Saturday on rival forces in Upper Nile State which borders Sudan.

Machar’s forces killed two major generals and over 27 “enemy” soldiers, and lost three of their own men, a military spokesman for Machar said.

In turn, the forces led by Simon Gatwech Dual – the general named last week as interim SPLA-IO chief – claimed in a statement they had killed 28 and lost four in their ranks.

The world’s youngest nation has struggled with war, famine and chronic political and economic crisis since celebrating its hard-fought independence from Sudan in July 2011.

IGAD brings together Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. Eritrea suspended its membership in 2007 and has not been readmitted. - AFP/Al Arabiya

MOMBASA, Kenya, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday called for the strengthening of the international legal regime and institutions as part of global efforts to end the challenge of maritime insecurity.

Kenyatta who spoke during the virtual United Nations Security Council (UNSC) debate on maritime security said that threats to maritime insecurity such as terrorism, piracy and robbery at sea are predominantly a factor of land-based instability.

"International cooperation should prioritize equipping and training effective national coast guards. A properly contextualized regional and sub-regional approach is the way to go," he said according to a statement released by the presidency in the coastal city of Mombasa.

The Kenyan leader appealed for the cessation of geopolitical rivalries saying tensions between nations were creating an environment that aids maritime insecurity.

Kenyatta proposed the establishment of secure maritime routes and economic zones by strengthening the potential of countries to resolve domestic and regional security challenges.

He reminded the UNSC that rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions occasioned by climate change threatens the existence of some small island states and coastal populations, saying the challenge requires urgent international attention.

"Therefore, successful global climate change adaptation and mitigation is key to the security of these states," Kenyatta said

According to the president, Kenya will continue to champion for environmental friendly and sustainable utilization of blue economy resources. - Xinhua

Rwandan soldiers policemen prepare to board a plane for a military mission in Mozambique, at Kanombe airport, Kigali, Rwanda, July 10, 2021. On Sunday, along with Mozambican forces they drove jihadists from the key port town of Mocimboa da Praia. Photo AFP

MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE - Mozambican forces backed by Rwandan troops on Sunday said they had driven out jihadists occupying the key port town of Mocimboa da Praia in the gas-rich north of the country.

Mozambique's defense ministry confirmed an earlier tweet by Rwanda's army that the joint force had wrested control of the town on Sunday morning.

They now control government buildings, the port, airport, hospital, and other key installations, Colonel Omar Saranga, a ministry spokesman, told a press conference in the Mozambican capital, Maputo.  

The port town, from where the first Islamist attacks were staged in October 2017, has since last year become the de facto headquarters of the Islamic State-linked extremists, locally referred to as al-Shabab.

Mocimboa da Praia "was the last stronghold of the insurgents" and its recapture marks "the end of the first phase of counter-insurgency operations," Colonel Ronald Rwivanga, a spokesman for the joint military force, said in a text message.

Mozambican forces have been struggling to regain control over the northern Cabo Delgado province, site of one of Africa's biggest liquefied natural gas project, a $20 billion site operated by French energy major Total.

Rwanda sent 1,000 troops last month to shore up the Mozambican military.  
Last week they claimed their first success since deploying, saying they had helped the Mozambican army regain control of Awasse, a small but also strategic settlement near Mocimboa da Praia.

At least 800,000 people have been uprooted from their homes by the violence ravaging the region, with more than 3,100 killed, half of them civilians, according to conflict tracking organization ACLED   

"We will continue with security operations to completely pacify those areas and allow Mozambican and Rwandan forces to conduct stabilization operations" to enable people to return home and businesses to open, Rwivanga said.

After initially resisting outside help, Rwandan troops deployed on July 9 following an April visit to Kigali by Mozambican leader Filipe Nyusi.

They were followed weeks later by forces from neighboring countries, which are deploying under the aegis of the 16-member regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Botswana, whose President Mokgweetsi Masisi, has been outspoken on the urgent need for regional stability, became the first SADC country to send in troops on July 26.

Regional powerhouse and immediate neighbor South Africa announced on July 28 it would deploy 1,495 soldiers.

A day later, Zimbabwe unveiled plans to dispatch 304 non-combat soldiers to train Mozambique's infantry battalions.

Angola then deployed 20 specialized military air force personnel while Namibia will contribute N$5.8 million (about $400,000) toward the anti-insurgency offensive.

Masisi and Nyusi will on Monday formally launch the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) in Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province.

The European Union on July 12 formally established a military mission for Mozambique to help train its armed forces battling the jihadists.

Former colonial ruler Portugal is providing training for Mozambican troops, with Lisbon's military instructors expected to make up half of the new EU mission.

Mozambique's northernmost province of Cabo Delgado, which borders Tanzania, has been troubled by the jihadist insurgency since 2017.

Last year the militants had grown bolder, escalating attacks as part of a campaign to establish an Islamist caliphate.

In March this year, they attacked n the coastal town of Palma, killing dozens of people and triggering an exodus that included employees from the Total project, forcing the company to halt work. Agence France-Presse/Voice of America