Tonight Juba is quiet, with kids swimming in the rivers and playing amongst the rubbish, and goats, that is piling up on the streets. Apparently, the shooting in Juba last night was due to soldiers being drunk on duty, and criminal elements in the early hours of this morning. There was a short burst of fire at around 8am.

Fierce fighting is going on in Malakal as Anti-Government forces try and take the town with the focus on disrupting oil supplies. The senseless death of over 200 people when their ferry capsized in trying to flee across the Nile, a barometer of how little the people of South Sudan are considered by the combatants.

South of Juba, an SPLA General was killed in an ambush, and there were further clashes north of Juba with casualties.

We are, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and UNESCO, working on the design of the National Archive building in Juba, a project supported by the Embassy of Norway. This building is to be the first national level culture institution to be constructed. Despite the current situation, the design process is still ongoing, and all partners remain strongly committed to the project. The team recently submitted a 90% complete version of the detailed design drawings and is now working closely with the government on the final stages of the task. The archive building plays an important symbolic role in the establishment of the state and nation, which is one of the main reasons why everybody involved considers it so important to continue this project in light of the current crisis.

The link to the most recent pictures on Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.243688512467435.1073741831.186546301514990&type=1

Sher, Rachael and Simon have moved into the UNDP housing which means I have the house back to myself. The linen has been washed and dried, without too much of the dust that is driving me nuts, settling in stripes.

Eddie and I did an Innovation Dinner Challenge with bougette (yes Juba Town is improving) , pâté and an excellent pecorino from the Vineyards.