PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd – South Sudan

"We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do anything, with nothing" By Konstantin Josef Jireček, a Czech historian, diplomat and slavist.

Riek Machar is seeking a visa for eye treatment in South Africa

5 min read

8 years ago PaanLuel Wël

By Kenya Standard Reporter, Sun, August 21st 2016

Reports from Isiro in DRC where ousted South Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar is under protection indicated yesterday that he is seeking a visa for eye treatment in South Africa. On Friday, UN helicopters carrying Dr Machar returned to Dungu where he was evacuated from days earlier to take away about 75 soldiers from his army.

UN admitted that peacekeepers in DRC rescued Machar and his wife Angelina Teny from the jungle. The Standard on Sunday independently established that the ousted VP’s entry into DRC was facilitated by Chad with support from Sudan. Following the Chadian intervention, the Kinshasa government authorised its military intelligence to extract Machar from Dungu, about 90km from DRC’s border with South Sudan but the planned rescue mission was abandoned for lack of adequate capacity.

Independent reports indicate that the DRC government contacted an official in Monusco known to Machar to arrange an evacuation. READ MORE South Sudan leaders must account for atrocities Runaway S. Sudan VP Riek Machar is injured, in Congo hideout South Sudan: Why the world should care A plan to send an aircraft from Nairobi to Dungu was abandoned on Wednesday.

Later that day, UN helicopters from Goma in the East of the DRC lifted the ousted VP and part of his entourage to Isiro, about 200km southwest of Dungu. On Thursday evening, reports from the DRC alleged that Machar was handed over to Congolese and Sudanese officials at Isiro who flew in from Kinshasa. A transport plane from Khartoum carrying commandos and a top official landed at Isiro airstrip.

Initially, UN officials in Nairobi and the peacekeeping mission in DRC, MONUSCO denied knowledge of the rescue which was exclusively reported by The Standard on Thursday before Machar’s spokesman James Gatdet Dak also admitted the former VP had fled into DRC. The report indicated that the ousted VP was wounded and stranded at Dungu, after entering DRC around August 12 after Chad intervened on his behalf with the government of President Joseph Kabila.

On Thursday evening the UN disclosed that Monusco evacuated Machar, his wife and ten other people “on humanitarian grounds” on August 17. “We can confirm that an operation was undertaken by Monusco on humanitarian grounds to facilitate the extraction of Riek Machar, his wife and ten others from a location in the DRC, in support of the DRC authorities,” read the statement in part.

From the UN statement it is not clear how the UN discovered Machar was in DRC but it implies Monusco knew about his arrival in Kinshasa. “As soon as Monusco was alerted of the presence of Riek Machar in the DRC, the Mission contacted the DRC authorities, who requested Monusco to facilitate his extraction and transfer to their care. Riek Machar has been handed over to the DRC authorities. We are not in a position to confirm his location,” said the UN statement on Thursday.

Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000212782/riek-machar-seeking-help-for-ailing-eye/?pageNo=2

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New Details about Machar’s Evacuation Emerge, Rescue was Personally Authorized by UN’s Ban Ki-moon

BY AGENCIES ON AUGUST 19, 2016 LOCAL NEWS

The rescue of South Sudan opposition leader Riek Machar from Congo was personally authorized by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, according to a European expert involved in the exfiltration.

Machar had walked 200 kilometers from Eastern Equatoria inside Sudan following the collapse of the peace agreement on July 8 and an alleged attempt to murder him.

He was accompanied by his wife Angelina and 100 soldiers. By August 15, they had not eaten for three days but were 20 kilometres inside Congo.

Machar, overweight and in his 60s, was weak and exhausted. He suffers from varicose veins and his legs were in poor shape.

The opposition leader believed he was being followed by South Sudanese army units. But he was more concerned that he was being tracked by mercenaries, formerly associated with the American defense contractor Blackwater, who had been given a contract to eliminate him by the South Sudan government after July 8.

Using a Thuraya satellite phone, Machar managed to contact a sympathizer in the Nairobi and the UN official. He told them that only a chopper could get him out as there was nowhere for a plane to land

They contacted Monusco who managed to contact Ban Ki Moon on August 16 and he authorized the exfiltration because “he knew the peace agreement depends on him”, according to the European official.

Machar was concerned that the mercenaries and South Sudanese soldiers following him might try to shoot down the chopper as he was in a particularly lawless part of Congo.

Eventually Monusco picked Machar at 5pm on August 17, along with Anjelina and 10 of his officers. He was flown to a local hospital where he was held overnight.

The expert said the story in the Standard newspaper on Thursday was incorrect to say that a Sudanese airplane picked up Machar. The European officials insisted that Khartoum was not involved in his extraction and it was solely a UN operation.

Machar’s whereabouts are unclear although he might be in Kinshasa. His advisers want him to transfer to Addis Ababa where IGAD still recognises him as the legitimate vice-president of South Sudan.

“Machar is not going back to Juba. This is the second murder attempt he has survived after the one in December 2013. Maybe they would get lucky the third time if he went back,” said the European official.

Machar withdrew from Juba, several weeks ago during fierce fighting with government troops. Some South Sudan officials claimed he was attempting a coup although he only had 1,200 troops in Juba compared to 20,000 for President Salva Kiir.

A statement issued by the leadership of the SPLA In Opposition (SPLA-IO) said he had left on Wednesday to a ” safe country within the region “.

Machar led a two-year rebellion against Kiir before the two sides reached a peace deal in August 2015. Under the deal, he returned to Juba in April to resume his role as vice president.

Since the July fighting, Kiir has sacked Machar from his post and appointed Taban Deng Gai, a former opposition negotiator who broke ranks with Machar, as vice president.

The United Nations told Kiir any political changes must be consistent with the peace deal, which stated that the vice president must be chosen by the South Sudan Armed Opposition.

About Post Author

PaanLuel Wël

administrator

PaanLuel Wël is the founder and editor-in-chief of PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd, a news website that covers news, opinions, analysis, history, culture and literature of South Sudan and the world. Founded in July 2011 by PaanLuel Wël to create a platform for free expression and constructive dialogue, the website features articles from various contributors, including columnists, commentators, poets, authors, activists and academics. PaanLuel Wël believes that media can play a vital role in informing, educating and empowering the people to participate in nation-building and social transformation. He also believes that media can foster a culture of dialogue, tolerance and diversity among different communities and groups, and hopes to inspire and mentor the next generation of South Sudanese writers and journalists.

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