Kenya: Child, Two Police Officer Die in Sunday Attacks

Nairobi--Two Kenyan police officers have been killed in a gun attack in the north-eastern town of Garissa near the Somali border, hours after a nine year-old boy was killed in a grenade attack on a church in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Sunday.

The Weekend attacks come days after Kenyan forces in Somalia launched a surprise offensive on the southern port city of Kismayu, the last major bastion held by the Islamist militant
group al-Shabab. A nine year-old boy died and three other children suffered injures Sunday, when a hand grenade was thrown into the Sunday school service in St. Polycarp’s church on Nairobi’s Juja Road. Police have have blamed sympathisers of al-Shabab for the attack following
latest assault on the group.

"We suspect this blast might have been carried out by sympathisers of al Shabaab," said
deputy police spokesman Charles Owino. Mr Owino said several suspects have been arrested in connection with the grenade attack. Moments later angry protesters stormed streets of area of the incident, attacking Somalis living near the church with stones and sticks in suspected revenge attacks.

Few hours later two police officers were killed in the dusty Garissa town near the Somali border by suspected sympathisers of the al-Shabab. Area deputy police head Herman Ndiema told the Reuters news agency that the two officers were on their way walking to a technical college they had been assigned to guard, when the assailants drove up to them in a taxi and shot them dead.

"We suspect sympathisers of the al Shabaab militant group were behind the attack and we have sealed all exit routes to nab them," Ndiema was quoted saying.

He said G3rifles stolen from the slain officers were later recovered a short distance from the scene of the attack, as police have stepped up security patrols in the area. Last Friday, the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) alongside Somali government troops launched a pre-dawn
assault on Kismayu, al-Shabab’s major source of revenue and supplies, forcing the militant fighters to flee into forested regions under heavy fire attack.

Police have warned of heightened risk of attacks following the recent loss by the group. Kenya has suffered a series of grenade attacks mainly in Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa since it
launched a military operation in Somalia last October, to hunt for the dreaded al-Qaeda linked Islamists it blamed for several kidnappings inside its border.

In July at least 17 people were killed when masked assailants launched simultaneous gun and grenade attacks on two churches in Garissa.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Sudan, South Sudan Approve New Deal

Governments of Sudan and South Sudan have backed up the recent deal which both leaders of the neigbouring states signed last week at the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on resolving
outstanding issues after south became Independent last year.

Cabinets of the two states have approved proposal by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) on the contested oil-rich Abyei and other contested regions along the 1800km border.

The AUHIP propose for a UN organized referendum in October 2013 to resolve the citizenship issue of the flashpoint  Abyei region. The two Sudans signed a comprehensive agreement on cooperation, security and post-secession in a presidential summit between President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir, witnessed by the mediators from the AUHIP.

The summit fell short of striking a deal on the contested border regions, though both agreed on a demilitarized border buffer zone. On Saturday South Sudan’s cabinet unanimously endorsed the AUHIP plan calling for immediate implementation to its realisation. This was followed by the Sudanese Council of Minister convene an emergency session on Sunday where also they approved the agreement.

“The council has approved the agreements which the Sudanese government signed with South Sudan in Addis Ababa prior to submitting them to the Sudanese Parliament for official endorsement," Omer Mohamed Saleh, Secretary General of the Sudanese
cabinet, said.

In Juba, President Kiir alongside the country’s negotiating team, called a briefing meeting for the cabinet and members of the national legislative assembly on Sunday to report on latest
developments between the two states.

Pagan Amum, head of South’s negotiation team said his government expects the African Union Peace and Security Council to endorse the Abyei proposal saying that both sides have agreed
to continue negotiations for possible settlements within the next one month.

"We have agreed to continue the dialogue to and focus on the way forward to resolve the other remaining issues. We will continue engaging ourselves to find last solutions", said Amum.

Dispute over Abyei and other outstanding issues such as sharing of oil resources and national debt have grappled Sudan’s peace process and implementation of the 2005 peace agreement
that ended two decade-long north-south strife.

Two sides have in the past failed to strike accord on what would qualify as Abyei’s citizenship after a planned referendum alongside that of South’s secession failed due to voting rights.

Voting rights of the Misseriya-Arab nomads in the area held by native Dinka Ngok- who form
the greater population of the region- is yet to be decided, with the Misseriya threatening to carry out acts of violence if they won’t be allowed to participate.

The south accuses the north of settling the Misseriya in the region to influence the vote against the Dinka Ngok who support independence with the south.