January 1, 2012 (JUBA) — At least 9 civilians have been killed in two separate incidents in South Sudan’s northwestern region of Bahr el Ghazal.

Several others have also sustained injuries in the same incidents which took place in Aweil, the provincial capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and Warrap state.

Authorities in Warrap State, where seven people died, attributed the killings to a dispute between two local groups over the name of Mangar village in Gogrial West County.

December 28, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir appointed Tuesday the members of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), five months after the signing of a peace deal with the former rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) last July in the Qatari capital.

In accordance with the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), the DRA is tasked mainly with the implementation of the peace accord. It also has to coordinate the post-conflict development projects with the federal government and different states in Darfur.

December 25, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government has called on the holders of arms in Darfur region to resort to peace, citing the fate of rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim as an example of the futility of violence.

December 16, 2011 (JUBA) — The lack of political will to resolve the persistent tribal conflict between the Murle and Luo Nuer communities in South Sudan’s Jonglei state could spark an outbreak of "genocide" in the region, activists have warned.

The caution emerged out of Thursday’s round table discussions on the Luo Nuer and Murle conflict organized by Minority Rights Group International and Boma Development Initiative in Juba, the South Sudan capital.

December 12, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Rebels fighting the Sudanese government in South Kordofan State have reported fresh clashes in which 19 people were killed on Saturday as Sudan’s army claimed it choked rebels’ supplies of arms.

The spokesman of the rebels Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N), Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, told AFP on Monday that heavy fighting erupted on Saturday when their forces repelled an attack by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Warni, in the far east of Talodi locality.

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

December 12, 2011 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia and Sudan have agreed not to receive rebel figures or host each other’s rebel forces in their territory, the Sudanese Media Center (SMC) reported last week.

The agreement was reached following the 14th joint Border Development Commission Meeting held last week in Amhara region’s Bahardar town.

Sennar state Governor, Ahmad Abbas said the agreement is aimed to secure border security of the two countries and cripple any attempt of military activities of rebel groups in both sides.

December 6, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — Tijani el-Sissi, chairman of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) said today in Khartoum that peace in Darfur depends on the return of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees to their place of origin or choice and closure of IDPs camps in Darfur.

Sissi, who signed the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) last July returned from Washington where he attended a workshop on peace in Darfur. His group, Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) is also preparing to participate in the national and Darfur governments.

December 5, 2011 (KAMPALA) -The World Health Organization (WHO) will soon begin construction of a maternity wards in Jonglei Bor civil hospital in South Sudan.

A US$1.2 million project funded by Canada International Development Agency (CIDA) aims to reduce mortality and infancy death rates in Jonglei according to Abdi Aden Mohamed, the head of South Sudan WHO office during the opening of the state ministry of health headquarters in Bor on 24 November.

Mohamed said the ward will be equipped with necessary medical equipment and relevant drugs by WHO.