Fresh fighting in southeast Sudan is exacerbating civilian suffering, with reports that over 136,000 people have fled their homes in search of safety, UN humanitarians have said.

“People are facing multiple protection risks and have reported widespread looting of homes and personal possessions,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a flash update issued late on Thursday.

Humanitarian partners receiving displaced people from Sennar state in the southeast of Sudan are scaling up response to meet their needs, it added.

Sennar, Sinja, and Ad Dinder localities were already hosting about 286,000 displaced people before the escalation in clashes there in late June.

This indicates that the newly displaced from Sennar may have already been displaced at least once before.

Homes, shops targeted

They are encountering numerous safety threats, with reports of widespread looting of their homes, vehicles and personal belongings, allegedly by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) members.

Local shops and markets have also been targeted, depriving civilians of vital resources and intensifying insecurity.

The war between rival militaries, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF started in April last year, amid escalating tensions related to a transition towards civilian governance.

Wider situation

OCHA further reported that those displaced in Sennar  have  been arriving in neighbouring states of Gedaref, Kassala, and Blue Nile.

About 26,000 people – including 6,800 children – are reported to have reached Gedaref. They are gathering at a local market in desperate need of food, water and shelter, according to an OCHA team in the area.

An additional 1,000 people from Sennar have arrived at the reception centre in Kassala state as of Wednesday.

Furthermore, over 30,000 people have arrived in Blue Nile state. Most of them are being hosted in school buildings, which were already hosting other displaced communities.

UN response

Responding to the influx, UN humanitarian teams have been distributing ready-to-eat meals and drinking water to families.

They are also providing basic health services through a mobile clinic and supporting a common kitchen capable of feeding about 15,000 people.

However, even as humanitarian partners are expanding their response in the wake of heightened displacement, more assistance is required to meet increasing needs, OCHA said.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., will on today Saturday, July 6, 2024, travel to Abuja, Nigeria to attend the 65th, Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority&Heads of State and Government.

Members of the President’s Official Delegation include:

1. Honorable Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Dean of the Cabinet 
2. Honorable Boima S. Kamara, Minister of Finance 
3. Honorable Amos Tweh, Managing Director, Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) 
4. Honorable Morley Kamara, Economic Advisor to the President

The President will also travel along with his support staff, Protocol, and assistants on communications and media, security, and personal matters.

The delegation is expected to return to the country on Monday, July 8, 2024.

While the President is away, the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Chief of Staff, Honorable Sylvester M. Grigsby, will Chair the Cabinet and work in consultation with the President.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of Liberia: Executive Mansion.

President William Ruto has congratulated Sir Keir Starmer on the overwhelming support garnered by the Labour Party in the just concluded elections, leading to his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The President described his election as a testament to the deep yearning of the citizens of the United Kingdom for progressive politics and policies championed by the Labour Party.

He said Kenya is keen on working with the new administration to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two nations for the mutual benefit of their citizens.

“I stand ready to work with Prime Minister Starmer to foster our bilateral commercial, defence, and political cooperation, while contributing together towards building a safer, equitable, and sustainable global future,” he said.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of President of the Republic of Kenya.

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has signed a facility agreement with BSMART Technology Ltd expanding the Afreximbank African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme (AACTGS) to cover the issuance of container deposit guarantees and customs bonds in the East African Community (EAC) region.

Under the terms of the agreement, signed at the just-concluded Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2024) in Nassau, The Bahamas, Afreximbank will issue container guarantees to shipping companies on behalf of BSMART Technology Ltd. On its part, BSMART Technology Ltd will process Bills of Lading and release containers to container users (importers and exporters) without requiring them to put up any security deposits, thereby providing capital relief which is ploughed back into the trade sectors.

The container guarantee facility covers payments, on behalf of container users, for all their obligations to shipping companies in connection with the containers, including damage, and total loss. The shipping companies would, ordinarily, require cash deposits of up to US$5,000 as collateral for each container.

Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development Bank, signed the agreement on behalf of Afreximbank while Dr. Stephen Teang, Managing Director, signed for BSMART Technology Ltd.

In comments on the agreement, Mrs. Awani underscored the strategic significance of container guarantee for the East African region and its impact on the northern, central, and southern corridors. Annually, this region sees approximately 3,500,000 containers requiring deposits that tie up an estimated US$14 billion from importers and exporters.

“Freeing up this immobilized liquidity could significantly bolster trade finance for businesses,” Mrs. Awani explained.  “The release of these funds will, indirectly, finance trading merchants and inject liquidity back into their operations. The facility will also support numerous small-scale and informal traders who, otherwise, will lack access to direct financing, thereby playing an essential role in enhancing trade and economic activity in the region,” she added.

Mrs. Awani added that the facility will lead to increased competitiveness and business opportunities by facilitating the movement of raw materials, manufacturing equipment and intermediate inputs required for export manufacturing, thereby facilitating participation in the regional and global value chains.

On his part, Dr. Teang noted that merchants in landlocked countries are particularly affected, facing the highest rates for container deposits — around US$5,000 per container — due to prolonged turnaround times.

“According to my estimation, through Afreximbank’s container guarantee initiative, about 2.6% of the region’s container traffic will benefit, freeing up approximately US$375 million in container deposits,” Dr. Teang said.

Hosted by the government of The Bahamas, AAM2024, which was combined with the third AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2024), was held from 12 June to 15 June, 2024.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

Media Contact:
Vincent Musumba
Manager, Communications and Events (Media Relations)
Email: press@afreximbank.com

Follow us on:
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram

About Afreximbank:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$37.3 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$6.1 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

For more information, visit: www.Afreximbank.com