DAKAR (Reuters) – From a concrete jetty on Dakar’s sun-baked coastline, Senegalese photographer Amy Saar clicked the shutter of her vintage Pentax camera, capturing the light of the horizon on colour film purchased from the country’s only developer.

“Dakar looks great with certain coloured films, because they really bring out the warm, vibrant colours,” Saar said, loading a fresh roll into the camera. “Film can be really great in Africa, because in general it’s sunny (and) very colourful.”

Saar is part of a growing resurgence of analogue photography enthusiasts in Senegal, nurtured by Le Sel studio in the capital’s Ouakam neighbourhood.

Founded two years ago in owner Kevin Aubert’s apartment, Senegal’s only studio of its kind aims to rekindle the country’s love for the craft through film sales and workshops.

After decades of dwindling interest, the global market for film cameras and equipment is expected to grow nearly 4% through 2029, according to a study published by Precision Reports in May.

Limited access to film and darkroom spaces have hindered African photographers’ ability to participate in film’s global resurgence, despite the craft having played a significant role in the region’s post-colonial artistic history.

Le Sel’s mission is not just to develop film, Aubert said, but to educate photographers about the origins of the medium, and show that understanding the analogue process can enhance their digital expertise.

“When they see the image they shot themselves appearing for the first time, it is always a treat.” Aubert said as he led a workshop. “It teaches us a lot about the image, the way to look at it, and the way to manage it.”

Aubert hopes to expand Le Sel into a larger space to house more workshops, exhibits, and even an in-house gallery. In the meantime, local photographers like Eva Diallo are already showing works developed there at some of Dakar’s most prestigious art houses.

“The film process is much more conscious than digital or iPhone photos,” Diallo said during her solo exhibition at Dakar’s Gallerie Cecile Fakhoury. “It’s important to be aware during the time it takes, from the moment you take the image … and the moment you have it on paper.”

Sudan’s government on Monday refused to join a regional meeting aimed at ending nearly three months of brutal fighting, accusing Kenya, which chaired the talks, of favouring the rival paramilitaries.

A power struggle between Sudanese Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), spilled into war in mid-April and has since killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

The East African regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) had invited the foes to a meeting in Ethiopia’s capital on Monday, while fighting still raged across Sudan.

Neither Burhan nor Daglo personally attended the talks in Addis Ababa, although the RSF sent a representative to the “quartet” meeting led by Kenya, South Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia.

Since April 15, around 3,000 people have been killed in the violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, but the actual death toll is believed to be much higher as parts of the country remain inaccessible.

A further three million people have been displaced internally or fled across borders, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Multiple diplomatic initiatives to halt the fighting have produced only brief respites, with the UN warning on Sunday that Sudan was on “the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilising the entire region”.

Previous truce deals have been brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, but the East African bloc now seeks to take the lead.

However, on Monday Sudan’s foreign ministry said its delegation would not participate until its request to remove Kenya as chair of the talks was met.

The ministry had asked for “Kenyan President William Ruto (to) be replaced… in particular because of his partiality”, the statement said.

‘External interference’

In a communique released after Monday’s meeting, the quartet noted “the regrettable absence of the delegation of the Sudanese Armed Forces in spite of the invitation and confirmation of attendance”.

Daglo had sent a political adviser to the talks in Addis Ababa, while the RSF in a statement denounced “irresponsible behaviour” on the army’s part.

The quartet agreed to “mobilise and concentrate the efforts of all stakeholders towards delivering a face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the warring parties”, its statement said.

It also called on the rival generals to “immediately stop the violence and sign an unconditional and indefinite ceasefire”.

Igad said it would request the African Union to look into possibly deploying the East Africa Standby Force — usually tasked with election observer missions — in Sudan “for the protection of civilians and… humanitarian access”.

Sudanese ex-rebel leader Mubarak Ardol, now aligned with Burhan, denounced “a plan to occupy Sudan” and moves to “promote military interference”, while praising the army for boycotting the meeting.

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee was also in the Ethiopian capital on Monday for meetings with Sudanese and regional officials.

In a statement on Sunday, she had called on the forces loyal to Burhan and Daglo to “immediately end the fighting”.

“We echo the call of countries in the region to prevent any external interference and military support which would only intensify and prolong the conflict,” added Phee.

Experts say that both the army and the RSF enjoy support beyond Sudan’s borders. Neighbouring Egypt backs Burhan, while the United Arab Emirates and Russia’s Wagner mercenary group support Daglo’s efforts.

On the ground, residents reported battles and air strikes in several areas of Khartoum.

“Rockets fell on houses of civilians”, one told AFP.

Witnesses also reported fighting in El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan and a commercial hub some 350 kilometres south of Khartoum.

An army source said troops “pushed back against an attack” by rebel forces in Blue Nile state near Ethiopia.      

South Sudan is now 12 years old, but the celebrations may not be as loud as expected of a country marking an independence anniversary.

And, after years of war, the South Sudanese are still waiting for the day they will line up again, since that historic referendum in 2011, to elect their leaders.

The country has failed in previous attempts, blamed on insecurity, lack of funds and other challenges. And the latest bid is planned for December 2024. This week, President Salva Kiir promised that it will happen.

“We are committed to implement the chapters in the Revitalised Peace Agreement as stated, and the election will take place in 2024,” President Kiir said on Monday, after his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) endorsed him to run for president.

But he did admit that the road to those polls won’t be smooth.

He has been the country’s only President since it gained independence, but he has never been elected.

Since 2017, the country has not been able to publicly celebrate Independence, Day citing financial constraints to a struggling economy. In fact, some questioned the need for the ceremony.

This anniversary, though, comes at a point of reflection: Will the country have the capacity to hold credible elections in 17 months’ time? There is also the question of the status of the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement, known formally as the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which helped bring together a coalition of President Kiir and former opponents and armed groups, including his First Vice-President Riek Machar.

South Sudan Permanent Representative to the African Union James Morgan says Juba will prove itself this time round.

“South Sudan will hold its first democratic elections in 2024 bringing to an end the past years of political uncertainty, instability, and conflicts,” Mr Morgan said.

The head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Hayson, expressed concern, however, that this year will be a “make-or-break” period for the country. For South Sudan to hold credible elections, it needs to complete security sector reforms, resettle more than two million refugees in the neighbouring countries, and enact a permanent constitution.

The chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), Maj-Gen (rtd) Charles Gituai, on June 21, told the UN Security Council that for South Sudan to hold free and credible elections in December 2024, the unification and redeployment of forces must be completed in order to provide election-related security; institutions concerned with the preparation of conduct of elections such as the Political Parties Council and the National Elections Commission must be reconstituted.

The third prerequisite is to complete a people-centred constitution to guide the conduct of elections; carry out judicial reforms to enhance the capacity and independence of the judicial institutions to deal with elections-related disputes; and the improvement to the overall political and civic space in which multiparty elections are conducted.

“The 2018 peace agreement legitimises the Transitional Government of National Unity and remains the most plausible blueprint for a peaceful transition. With prospects of elections looming only 18 months away, there is a need for our collective efforts to focus on South Sudan at this critical time and ensure that the Agreement is implemented in letter and spirit,” said Maj-Gen Gituai.

He added that over the past five years of the implementation of the agreement, South Sudan has enjoyed its longest period of relative peace and stability since its independence. However, the pace of implementation has been slow, as much of what was expected to have been implemented by the end of the stipulated 36 months of the transitional period was not achieved.

Consequently, the Revitalised Peace Agreement was extended for 24 months, from February 2023 to February 2025, to enable the completion of the unification of forces, the making of the permanent constitution, and to prepare for the conduct of credible, free, and fair elections in December 2024.

Overall, key achievements in the implementation include the fact that the parties have addressed the issues of governance with the executive and legislative arms of the transitional government having been established at both the national and state levels.

The dispute over the number of states was resolved, and the peace agreement was incorporated into the transitional constitution.
Also, some crucial legal, judicial, and institutional reforms are ongoing.

There have also been security arrangements, with about 55,000 of the expected 83,000 unified have been trained.

These troops remain in their training areas awaiting deployment to their respective units. However, Phase 2 and the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration process is yet to commence.

On humanitarian affairs, the opening of key humanitarian corridors has facilitated the return of some South Sudanese refugees and IDPs.

However, over 2 million South Sudan refugees are still stuck in neighbouring countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

Peter Biar Ajak, a South Sudanese peace activist, scholar, and former political prisoner says that over 80 percent desire that elections will be held so as to help South Sudan move forward. “But despite this excitement from the people of South Sudan to go to the ballot, many prerequisites remain outstanding and could hinder the conduct of free and fair elections,” he says.

Then there is the issue of the constitution which could take time.

The constitution will allow South Sudanese to debate and agree on critical issues of governance including: whether the country will have a presidential or a parliamentary system of governance; the nature of federal arrangement between the national government and sub-national units; term limits for executive and legislative posts; whether to adopt federalisms being agitated by holdout groups such as Gen Thomas Cirillo; the independence of judiciary and development of robust dispute resolution mechanisms.

Gen Gituai says that challenges abound. There is a trust deficit among the parties; a lack of adequate resources; a lack of capacity of some institutions relevant to the implementation of the peace agreement; persistent levels of inter-communal violence in the states; negative activities of the holdout groups, and natural calamities like floods.

“Without predictable and adequate funding, our assessment is that South Sudan will continue to struggle to adhere to the implementation schedule of the agreement Most recently, additional strain has been placed on humanitarian and other resources in South Sudan by the influx of refugees and returnees from the conflict in the Republic of Sudan,” said Gen Gituai.

The country needs at least $50 million for the National Election Commission (Nec) to conduct the general elections.

According to a new survey released by the UN Mission in South Sudan on June 21, the security situation in South Sudan declined in 2022 compared with 2021, with more than half of South Sudanese expressing concerns about their safety.

A roadside bombing blamed on the militia group Al Shabaab killed eight members of an extended family in central Somalia, a local mayor said on Monday.

The blast occurred late Sunday near a village outside Buloburde, which lies about 220 kilometres north of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

“Eight innocent civilians were killed from the same family, among them a woman,” Sadam Abdi Idow, the mayor of Buloburde, told reporters.

“Al Shabaab terrorists planted the mine after they were defeated in ongoing military operations in the region. These terrorists have no regard for civilians.”

According to witnesses, seven victims died at the scene, while another died later.

“This was a disaster… three were from one family, and the rest from another related family. They were all related,” said Abdikarin Hassan, from Buloburde.

Al Shabaab, which is affiliated with Al Qaeda, has been trying to overthrow the foreign-backed government in Mogadishu since 2007 through a bloody insurgency.

Its fighters were driven from Mogadishu in 2011 but it remains a deadly force, despite a major offensive launched last August by pro-government forces, backed by African Union troops and US air strikes.

The attack near Buloburde followed a sustained firefight in the region, military sources said.

“The terrorists were defeated during this armed confrontation… and they took their revenge on civilians. They planted a landmine along the main road used by civilians,” Ahmed Ali, a Somali military commander, said by phone.