A roundup of a few key stories from the last week on political issues in Sudan and South Sudan: 

New ‘Sudan Liberation Forces’ unites three Darfur rebel factions (Radio Dabanga, 15 July) – Three offshoots of the Sudan Liberation Army, loyal to neither of the main factions led by Minni Minawi or Abdel Wahid Al Nur, have merged to form their own group. Among the leaders of the new group is the former West Darfur governor.

Governor Bakosoro arrives in Juba to launch elders’ dialogue (Radio Tamazuj, 14 July) – The governor of Western Equatoria, a federalist, brought a delegation of elders from his state saying he wanted them to meet with representatives of other regions, describing it as a dialogue initiative for peace-building. 

Sudan opposition leader sets conditions for resuming participation in national dialogue (Sudan Tribune, 15 July) – Umma party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi expressed optimism about the National Dialogue initiative, but said the government should not try to restrict the process to fit with its own agenda. Another opposition party, RNP, has decided to end its boycott of the initiative and join the national dialogue.

UN Security Council threatens action against South Sudan (Reuters, 16 July) –Council members are ‘alarmed’ that the South Sudanese warring parties are still recruiting more troops and buying arms. Three of the five permanent members of the council – France, the United Kingdom and the United States – have already put in place their own sanctions, whether bilaterally or through the European Union.  

Governor rebuts South Sudan leader’s ‘false’ remarks (Radio Tamazuj, 17 July) – Clement Wani, a leader of the federalist movement in Equatoria, addressed state MPs urging them to strengthen the state government. He also hit back at allegations that federalism will result in expulsions of non-Equatorians.

File photo: Reform Now Party (RNP) leader Ghazi Salah al-Deen al-Attabani, whose party has just joined the National Dialogue in Sudan.