The U.N. declared famine in two parts of southern Somalia last July and extended the famine warning in September to six out of eight regions in the anarchic Horn of Africa country.

The U.N. said initially 750,000 Somalis faced imminent starvation and lowered this to 250,000 by November. Six months after famine was declared, 4 million Somalis were in need of aid and the U.N. said the number now stood at 2.34 million.

“The gains are fragile and will be reversed without continued support,” said Mark Bowden, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.

“There are 1.7 million people in southern Somalia still in crisis. Millions of people still need food, clean water, shelter and other assistance to survive and the situation is expected to deteriorate in May,” he said in a statement.

While aid deliveries to some 180,000 people in camps in the capital Mogadishu have improved the situation there, fighting in southern and central Somalia is still hampering food deliveries to the worst-hit areas.

Government forces have been fighting Islamist rebels for the past five years, while Kenyan and Ethiopian forces both moved into the country last year to help fight the al Qaeda-linked militants al Shabaab.

The fighting, combined with attacks on aid workers and a history of aid being manipulated for political gain, means Somalia is one of the toughest countries for relief agencies to operate in.

The U.N. said the latest harvest in Somalia was double the average of the past 17 years, and this had lowered food prices, though mortality rates in southern Somalia were still among the highest in the world.

Al Shabaab expelled the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday, one of the few international aid agencies delivering food aid to areas under rebel control, accusing it of providing out-of-date food to women and children.

The ICRC said it regretted the decision as it halted a programme that had given food to more than 1.2 million people between June and December 2011. The ICRC said 6 percent of the food provided had deteriorated and was withdrawn, or destroyed by al Shabaab.

“The crisis is not over,” said Jose Graziano da Silva, director general of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. “It can only be resolved with a combination of rains and continued, coordinated, long-term actions that build up the resilience of the population and link relief with development.”

Reuters.

The Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng summoned a senior diplomat at Sudan’s embassy in Beijing to deliver the message, the official Xinhua news agency said in a brief bulletin.

The message underscored the pressure that China faces to secure the safe return of the abducted construction workers, as did its announcement earlier on Tuesday that it had sent officials from the Foreign Ministry and other agencies to Sudan the previous day to “assist in rescue work”.

The workers’ plight has attracted widespread attention in China and any deaths could become a more serious headache for the government, which Chinese citizens assume can wield its influence to protect nationals abroad.

The abduction is the latest incident dramatising China’s difficulties with companies and workers venturing to dangerous places generally shunned by Western companies.

“The Chinese side calls on all the parties concerned to exercise calm and restraint,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Weimin, said in the statement announcing the dispatch of the team.

“Ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, and out of humanitarian considerations release them as soon as possible,” said Liu, in the statement on the ministry website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

The rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) said it took the 29 workers on Saturday for their own safety after a battle with the Sudanese army.

Since June, the Sudanese army has been fighting the SPLM-N in South Kordofan, which is in Sudan bordering the newly independent country of South Sudan.

There was initially hope that some of workers had been released, after Sudan’s state news agency said the military freed 14 of them.

But on Monday, Chinese and Sudanese officials denied the report. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said 29 of the workers remained in rebel hands while another 17 had reached safety and one was missing.

PRESSURE ON SUDAN’S GOVERNMENT

China’s ambassador to Sudan, Luo Xiaoguang, also upped the public pressure on the Sudanese government, according to the Xinhua news agency, urging authorities to find the Chinese nationals quickly.

“We hope that the Sudanese government will continue doing its utmost to bring back the missing and abducted Chinese nationals as soon as possible,” Luo said, according to Xinhua.

The evacuation of tens of thousands of Chinese workers trapped in Libya when fighting broke out there early last year also became a major news event in China. Chinese workers and engineers in Sudan were also abducted in 2004 and 2008.

China has major interests in oil and infrastructure building in Sudan and South Sudan, but those newly divided two sides are at odds over issues including oil revenues. Each accuses the other of supporting insurgencies.

China has more than 100 companies and 10,000 personnel working in both north and south Sudan, China’s then-ambassador to Khartoum, Li Chengwen, said early last year, according to Xinhua.

The abducted workers are employees of the Sinohydro Corp Ltd, which said they were building a $63.2 million road project funded by the Export-Import Bank of China, according to the People’s Daily website (www.people.com.cn).

South Kordofan is the main oil-producing state in Sudan. The SPLM is the ruling party in newly independent South Sudan, which broke off from its northern neighbour. South Sudan denies supporting SPLM-North rebels across the border.

SPLM-North is one of a number of rebel movements in underdeveloped border areas that say they are fighting to overthrow Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and end what they see as the dominance of the Khartoum political elite.

Reuters.

After claiming the world title with an impressive display of front-running in South Korea last August, the 23-year-old will be a strong favourite to claim his first Olympic gold in London on August 9.

Rudisha, who will run the 400 metres at the Sydney Track Classic on February 18 and step up to the two-lap race in Melbourne on March 2-3, said he was looking forward to commencing his season Down Under, as he has for the last two years.

“The people are friendly, the meets are good and it works as a very good start to my year,” he said in a news release.

“This year we of course have the Olympic Games and that is the big focus for all athletes but I want to run well throughout the year.”

Rudisha, who set his 800m world record time of one minute 41.01 seconds in Italy in 2010, said running the 400m in Sydney could lead to a bid to run in the relay in London.

“My personal best in the 400m is still from when I ran in Sydney two years ago, so I’m hoping that I can maybe lower that time,” he added.

“People have asked me if I will run on our 4×400 relay team, at the moment all I can say is that anything is possible but the focus for me is the 800. Having won the world championships I of course want to add that Olympic title.”

Reuters.

Under the plan, AU forces will push towards a Somali rebel stronghold outside the capital and Kenyan forces will focus on the Islamists’ bastions in the south.

Augustine Mahiga, who relocated to Mogadishu from Nairobi to become the most senior U.N. official in Somalia for 17 years, cautioned it was hard to predict if the complex strategy would defeat the rebels given their sophisticated weaponry and ability to melt into the population.

African Union and U.N. officials at an AU summit in Addis Ababa are optimistic the twin track of a coordinated military campaign as well as a political roadmap, which envisions elections by August, means “the prospect for peace in Somalia has never been so real”.

“AMISOM (the AU force) is (conducting) operations on the outskirts of Mogadishu and they’ll be heading towards the Afgoye corridor. That is where al Shabaab has retreated to and has the highest concentration of its troops,” Mahiga told Reuters on the summit’s sidelines.

“They (Kenyan troops) take Kismayu and from there … they’ll progress northwards to Marka and the AMISOM troops from Mogadishu will also be going further south. It is a strategy that has been divided into sectors,” he said.

It may not be that simple. The Ugandan and Burundian troops who make up the AMISOM force encountered fierce resistance in the battle for Mogadishu.

Equally, the advance of Kenyan soldiers towards the port city of Kismayu has been slower than anticipated since they crossed into Somalia in October.

Ethiopia, which has also deployed troops on Somali soil and seized some territory close to their shared border, said its force would stay put until AU troops replace them, to avoid a power vacuum.

Somalia has been in conflict for two decades with no single entity ever fully in control. Warlords and Islamist militants vie for control while drought has compounded hardship for many Somalis.

KISMAYU HEAVILY DEFENDED

Kismayu, the centre of al Shabaab’s operations, will be a tough battle but a necessary one to crush the militants, diplomats say.

Mahiga said the port served as an entry point for the foreign fighters in al Shabaab’s ranks and accounted for about 90 percent of the rebels’ revenues.

“(It’s) the place where imports and exports have been taking place including arms and export of charcoal … so this is heavily, heavily defended and it’s going to be quite a battle,” said Mahiga.

What’s more, seizing control of Kismayu is the relatively easy part, counter-insurgency experts say. Holding on to the city will be tougher.

Kenya wants to integrate its troops inside Somalia into the AMISOM force as soon as the U.N. Security Council approves an increase in the force’s current size from 12,000.

The AU wants to increase AMISOM’s numbers to close to 18,000. Mahiga said he had met EU officials who said they would “consider seriously” funding the extra troops. Under the current structure, the European Union, particularly Italy, is in charge of paying wages.

Al Shabaab’s growing recourse to al Qaeda-inspired suicide attacks makes quashing the five-year insurgency more difficult.

“They have always proven to be quite agile and they have over the years built a formidable arsenal of weapons,” Mahiga said. “They have been training all these years (and) can retreat and regroup.”

Reuters.

« Mon frère lui même était médecin, il avait été ministre au niveau régional, donc on n’a pas besoin de faire la guerre pour vivre. Mais on se bat pour la cause de notre peuple, qui n’a pas accès à l’eau potable, aux services de santé, à l’éducation. On n’a rien, et pas seulement au Darfour. Depuis l’indépendance en 1956, une petite clique qui ne représente même pas vraiment le Nord-Soudan contrôle tout ».

Gibril Ibrahim assure que le MJE va continuer sur la voie tracée par son frère, Khalil Ibrahim. L’objectif est de renverser le régime d’Omar El Béchir, car avec lui, dit-il, il n’y a pas de dialogue possible. Et aux observateurs qui pointent des divisions au sein de sa rébellion, il répond : «Il n’y a pas de risque de désintégration. Au contraire, la mort de notre leader a resserré les liens, le mouvement est plus uni que jamais, plus que jamais prêt à se battre ! En tuant Khalil, ils ont tué le processus de paix », dit encore Gibril Ibrahim, même si le MJE a lui même refusé l’an dernier de signer l’accord de paix de Doha, considérant qu’il ne s’attaquait pas aux problèmes clés du partage des richesses et des violations des droits de l’homme.

Aujourd’hui, le nouveau chef du MJE dit vouloir tendre la main à l’opposition politique et à tous les groupes rebelles à travers le Soudan.

RFI.

South Sudan took about three-quarters of Sudan’s oil output when it seceded in July, but still needs pipelines running through its northern neighbour to export its crude. The two have not agreed on a transit fee.

The new nation said on January 20 it would shut down production after Khartoum started confiscating some oil in lieu of what it said were unpaid fees.

South Sudan’s oil output — which officials last put at about 350,000 barrels per day in November — was completely shut down on Sunday, Minister of Petroleum and Mining Stephen Dhieu Dau told Reuters in Juba.

Oil is the lifeline of both countries’ economies, accounting for about 98 percent of South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest nations. China is the biggest buyer, getting about 5 percent of all its crude imports last year from Sudan, north and south.

The two countries’ presidents met on the sidelines of a meeting of East African officials in Ethiopia on Friday, but failed to resolve their differences.

COMPREHENSIVE DEAL NEEDED

“Oil production will restart when we have a comprehensive agreement and all the deals are signed. Sudan must recognise the 1956 border, which means they must give back all the areas under occupation,” he said, referring to an internal boundary used around the time of Sudan’s independence.

Sudan has already sold at least one tankerload of seized South Sudanese crude, but said on Saturday it would free other tankers to help defuse the row.

Dau said the four cargoes in question had not left the port yet, but that South Sudan’s agent said it had been told to prepare documentation so it was possible that they would leave later on Sunday or on Monday.

South Sudan was “committed to negotiations” but first Khartoum “must take some steps”, he said.

“First they must release the cargoes, and the stolen crude that was lifted by force must be returned to us, and any deal must be tied to the issues of the border and Abyei, and they must stop sponsoring militias in South Sudan,” he said.

“This deal must be overseen by the international community. We will restart operations when we agree all these issues. These issues must be resolved first.”

South Sudan’s population voted overwhelmingly to secede in a January referendum, held under the terms of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of devastating civil war between Sudan’s north and south.

Apart from oil, the two have yet to agree on issues including debt, the position of the shared boundary and control of the disputed territory of Abyei. Both sides accuse each other of backing rebels on the other side of the border.

Reuters.

Githae, a lawyer and minister for metropolitan development, was named to the finance portfolio after Uhuru Kenyatta quit the post on Thursday to face charges over the deadly post-election violence at the war crimes court in The Hague.

Githae’s statements and policies will be watched closely because east Africa’s largest economy is battling double-digit inflation, a weak currency, slowing growth and a deteriorating balance of payments position.

Githae said his first task will be to address a clamour from legislators for a law to cap interest rates.

An aggressive tightening cycle since October last year to stabilise the exchange rate and fight inflation, now at 18.9 percent, has given rise to concerns about what will happen to the quality of credit.

Kenya’s benchmark interest rate is at 18 percent.

“We have to sit down and reach an agreeable and amicable solution. The aim is to help the borrowers, not to kill the banks,” reported Kenya’s leading newspaper.

Parliament will debate a motion to set the minimum deposit rate at 70 percent of the central bank rate and cap lending rates at no more than 400 basis points above the rate.

The International Monetary Fund opposes the proposed cap.

Githae told Reuters on Friday he would formally address the media on Monday about his new role.

Githae also said he would focus on reducing the import bill to help ease pressure on the shilling.

“We must reduce the import bill. Why, for example, should we import eggs, oranges, sausages, maize, rice, sugar and wheat?… In my view, the only thing we should be importing is oil,” said the newspaper in remarks attributed to Githae.

The volatile shilling hit a record low of 107 hit on October 11, but has since recovered, helped by the central bank’s tightening stance following remarks by Kenyatta at the time that he would act decisively to stem the currency’s volatility.

Kenyatta quit the finance docket after being indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity during violence that followed the disputed election of 2007, where he is accused of directing violence.

Reuters.

“President Bashir is ready to make this gesture. Sudan is going to release the vessels detained in Port Sudan,” he told a media conference in the Ethiopian capital.

South Sudan became independent in July under a 2005 peace agreement with Khartoum that ended decades of conflict but both sides have failed to agree how to untangle their oil industries.

The new landlocked nation needs to use a northern pipeline and the port of Port Sudan to export its crude but has failed to reach an agreement with Khartoum over a transit fee, prompting Sudan to start seizing oil as compensation.

South Sudan said on Monday it had started shutting down oil production and accused Sudan of seizing $815 million worth of crude.

South Sudan’s top negotiator said on Friday his country would complete the shutdown by Saturday, after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir met on the sidelines of a meeting of East African officials in Ethiopia.

Sudan said it was freeing the ships to help end the deadlock.

“By doing this step, we expect the cover agreement to be signed, the shutdown to be halted, and the terms of the cover agreement to be respected,” said El-Khatib.

“Before the end of today, we could be able to sign the cover agreement. We, at least, are ready to sign.”

Officials said in November South Sudan was producing about 350,000 barrels of oil per day.

China is the biggest buyer of oil from the two countries, some 12.99 million barrels last year. That amounted to five percent of last year’s crude imports by China, which is also the top investor in South Sudan’s oilfields.

Reuters.

South Sudan became Africa’s newest nation in July after a 2005 peace agreement that ended decades of civil war of the mainly Muslim north and the South where most follow Christian and traditional beliefs.

More than 350,000 southerners have gone home since October 2010 after living in the north for decades but some 700,000 southerners still live in the north, according to the United Nations.

Sudan’s cabinet said it would treat southerners as foreigners from April 8, state news agency SUNA said. They would have to get residency or work permits after that, officials have said.

The United Nations has warned southerners will face legal uncertainties in the north because Juba has not yet opened an embassy that can issue passports.

Not all southerners will have left by April. Many say they want to go home but others hope to stay since they have jobs and fear unemployment in the poverty-stricken south.

Reuters.

“The pipeline will be developed through Kenyan territory and will be built and owned by South Sudan,” the Kenyan government said in a statement late on Tuesday, without giving a timeframe.

South Sudan’s deputy petroleum and mining minister Elizabeth James Bol told Reuters it would take around 11 months to build the pipeline.

“They will start as soon as possible,” she said, adding that the company which has won the contract will be announced this week.

Landlocked South Sudan has been seeking to build a pipeline to Kenya to end dependency on Sudan through which Juba now needs to exports its crude via a pipeline to the Sudanese port of Port Sudan.

South Sudan and Sudan are locked in a row over how to disentangle their oil industries.

Juba said on Monday it had started shutting down its oil production after Khartoum said it had begun seizing southern oil as compensation for what it called unpaid transit fees.

Officials said in November that South Sudan was producing about 350,000 barrels of oil per day. No recent update has been given.

China is the biggest buyer of oil from the two countries, some 12.99 million barrels last year. That amounted to five percent of last year’s crude imports by China, which is also the top investor in South Sudan’s oilfields.

Reuters.