Showing posts with label Abdelwahid El Nur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abdelwahid El Nur. Show all posts

Friday, February 16, 2024

Situation Update Feb 2024: 10 months into conflict between SAF & RSF, war in Sudan is taking a new turn

"The mobilisation of rebel groups and ethnic militias in North Darfur forced the RSF to avoid a direct confrontation. In Kordofan, a sustained collaboration between the SAF and al-Hilu may push the RSF out of Dilling and other areas where the al-Hilu faction of the SPLM-N holds sway. However, clashes between these collaborators elsewhere in South Kordofan add to the uncertainty of the situation." Read more in following analysis.

Analysis from ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project)

Dated Friday, 16 February 2024 - here is a copy in full:

 

Sudan Situation Update | February 2024

Sudan: The SAF Breaks the Siege

16 February 2024


Sudan at a Glance: 6 January-9 February 2024

VITAL TRENDS

  • Since fighting first broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April, ACLED records over 5,000 events of political violence and more than 14,600 reported fatalities in Sudan.
  • From 6 January to 9 February 2024, ACLED records over 655 political violence events and 1,068 reported fatalities. 
  • Most political violence was recorded in Khartoum state during the reporting period, with over 440 events and 434 reported fatalities. 
  • During the reporting period, violent events in West Kordofan were particularly lethal, with 21 events resulting in at least 138 reported fatalities.

The SAF Breaks Siege

Ten months into the conflict between the SAF and the RSF, the war in Sudan has taken a new turn. The fall of al-Jazirah in December 2023 sparked armed mobilization in regions controlled by the SAF, with self-defense militias arming themselves to protect against the advancing RSF. Less than a month later, the SAF transitioned from a tactical defensive mode into an offensive one, regaining territories from the RSF and establishing checkpoints to consolidate its gains around its bases in Khartoum. Notably, the SAF now appears on the verge of breaking the RSF siege on the Engineers Corps in Omdurman, where the SAF has been on the defensive since April 2023. Other gains were made in North Bahri in Khartoum, while mediation attempts by the West Kordofan native administration failed to prevent clashes between the RSF and members of the SAF 22nd Infantry Division in Babanusa. In South Kordofan, a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu turned to the SAF to repel an RSF attack on Dilling. 


The Fight to Reunify Forces Split in Khartoum

The SAF’s withdrawal from Wad Madani, the capital of al-Jazirah state, in December 2023, attracted widespread criticism against the SAF, including claims that SAF commanders were colluding with the RSF. These losses, however, prompted the formation of self-defense militias and enabled a tactical shift in the SAF from defense to offense. Since April 2023, Khartoum’s metropolitan area has been the epicenter of fighting between the SAF and the RSF, with the former strategically adopting a defensive stance and concentrating its efforts on maintaining control of its military bases. However, in January, the SAF initiated a coordinated offensive against the RSF on various fronts in Khartoum’s tri-cities, reclaiming control over several territories (see map below). 

The RSF’s focus on maintaining control in Darfur, al-Jazirah, and other active frontlines, and the isolation of its forces in Old Omdurman, created an opportunity for the SAF to begin its offensive. The first target was the SAF-controlled Engineers Corps military base in south Omdurman. Since the outbreak of the conflict, the RSF has imposed a siege on the base, targeting the SAF troops with artillery and sniper fire. The siege limited the movements of the SAF troops, with the RSF using the surrounding civilian neighborhoods (such as al-Arda and al-Abbasiya) as hideouts. Direct confrontations between the SAF and the RSF were thus limited to frequent exchanges of fire between the two sides.


On 8 January, SAF forces in the Engineers Corps began to attack the RSF in Omdurman, breaking the siege and forcing the RSF into a retreat. However, RSF snipers stationed in the high-rise buildings of al-Arda neighborhood slowed down the attack, preventing the SAF from establishing a direct connection between its troops in north and south Omdurman. Although the RSF command deployed reinforcements in Omdurman, its troops struggled to maintain control over north and south Old Omdurman. Intense artillery fire and drone strikes by the SAF further limited the movements of the RSF. 


At the time of writing, the RSF still maintains control over key positions in Omdurman, including al-Arda Street and the Radio and Television Commission building. The goal of the SAF offensive is to link its forces in Omdurman, eventually forcing the RSF out of the city. The RSF may, however, still circumvent the SAF Engineers Corps and impede further SAF advances, thus retaining control over parts of Omdurman. Importantly, the Engineers Corps is numerically and militarily less equipped than other SAF forces in north Omdurman, where the SAF has established its operational command center in Karrari.


Elsewhere in Khartoum, the SAF also mounted an offensive against the RSF in Bahri. At the end of January, SAF troops from the Weapons and Ammunition Corps stationed in north Bahri and SAF troops in the Reconnaissance Corps in northeast Bahri launched coordinated raids against the RSF north of the city. Supported by artillery and shelling from the SAF in Karrari, the SAF expanded its control around these bases and in the surrounding neighborhoods. Meanwhile, besieged members of the SAF in the Signal Corps in south Bahri also claimed to have pushed the RSF back. The SAF’s objective behind these maneuvers might be to cut off RSF forces in the central area of Bahri from their supply route in Sharg al-Nile and besiege them from three fronts — north, east, and south of the city. The RSF forces in the central Bahri area may become isolated as the Shambat bridge, which served as their access point to Omdurman, was destroyed in November 2023. As a result, the SAF might have an opportunity to break the siege on the Signal Corps and, subsequently, the General Command HQ in the northern part of Khartoum city.


The SAF advancements in Omdurman mark a potential turning point in the conflict, with the possibility of regaining control over Khartoum’s metropolitan area. If the SAF forces can successfully link up in Omdurman, they may be able to support their counterparts in Bahri, leveraging advancements in north Bahri to potentially secure control over both sides of the al-Halfaya bridge. If the SAF is able to link their forces in north and south Bahri, this move would effectively break the siege on the General Command headquarters.


Mediation Failures and Shifting Alliances in Kordofan

In January, Babanusa — a city situated in West Kordofan, near the border with South Sudan — turned into a contested battleground as the RSF attempted to seize control of the SAF-controlled 22nd Infantry Division (see map below). Until November 2023, Babanusa was spared the conflict, mainly due to the dominance of the Misseriya, an ethnic group with historical ties to both the SAF and the RSF. Before and after the independence of South Sudan, the SAF recruited the Misseriya to fight the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and the al-Hilu faction of SPLM-N, respectively.1 Most recently, a significant portion of RSF fighters were recruited from the Misseriya ethnic group, often leading to the targeting of all ethnic Misseriya by the SAF.2 After the conflict erupted in April 2023, the SAF military intelligence classified the Misseriya tribe as supporters of the RSF in June, leading to increased tensions and targeting of Misseriya.3 The designation sparked clashes between the Reserve Forces Eagles Brigade — a Hamar ethnic militia created by the SAF on 29 August — and militants from the Awlad Mansour clan of the Misseriya ethnic group in Umm Kaddada. The fighting tapped into long-standing land disputes between the Hamar and Misseriya ethnic groups in Kordofan that escalated in 2022.4

Against this backdrop is the power struggle between the SAF and the RSF. In November, SAF troops withdrew from six bases in West Kordofan, likely facilitated by the Misseriya native administration to avoid tensions between the SAF and the RSF.5 On 29 November, an agreement was signed between the SAF and the RSF to stop armed clashes and airstrikes in the city.6 However, on 30 December, 22 Misseriya leaders opposed the prospected removal of the SAF from Misseriya lands, as they considered that the fall of the 22nd SAF Infantry Division would leave West Kordofan without protection from cross-border raids.7 Complicating matters even further, the close ties between Misseriya soldiers in both SAF and RSF led to multiple defections from the SAF to the RSF.8 In January, some clans of the Misseriya ethnic group declared their support for the RSF, while others opposed this decision, threatening to fight the RSF if the force attempted to take control of Babanusa.9


SAF airstrikes began to target the RSF in El Tibbun, west of Babanusa, on 13 January. In turn, on 15 January, the RSF mobilized significant forces in various directions around Babanusa, including in El Tibbun, Samoaa in the southwest, and Muglad in the south. The RSF launched an offensive on 22 January, targeting the 22nd SAF Infantry Division. The clashes continued for two weeks, during which the RSF gained control over multiple locations in the city — including several police stations — and released videos from inside the 22nd SAF Infantry Division. The SAF managed to later repel the RSF from the base. The clashes in Babanusa left at least 100 people dead and displaced another 45,000 people.10 Fighting continued despite a two-day ceasefire facilitated by the Misseriya native administration on 28 January, which was intended to allow civilians trapped in conflict areas to relocate to safer locations.11


In South Kordofan, factional and ethnic divisions also intersect with the national war. Shifting alliances emerged in the city of Dilling, where the al-Hilu faction of the SPLM-N militarily supports the SAF. Communities in South Kordofan have splintered during the conflict, with the Arab tribes — particularly the Hawazmah — aligning with the RSF. The Nuba ethnic group has also split along factional lines, between clans supporting SAF and those siding with Abdelaziz al-Hilu, the long-time leader of a faction of the SPLM-N. The al-Hilu faction has controlled some parts of South Kordofan since 2012. 


Al-Hilu’s faction has expanded its control over South Kordofan since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023. However, the RSF advanced in the region, threatening the power of the al-Hilu’s faction. In December, the town of Habila, 50 kilometers to the east of Dilling in the Nuba mountains, fell to the RSF which formed a local administration in the locality.12 Reports also emerged of targeted violence carried out by RSF fighters against members of the Nuba ethnic group.13 The SPLM-N faction under the leadership of al-Hilu joined the SAF on 6 January to defend Dilling from other RSF attacks.14


The outbreak of fighting around Dilling ignited inter-ethnic violence. While al-Hilu’s intervention is more likely aimed at preserving its areas of control rather than seizing Dilling, several neighborhoods affiliated with the RSF-aligned Hawazmah tribe in Dilling were reportedly burned by SAF and al-Hilu as retribution for the tribe’s support to the RSF. The RSF accused the SAF and the SPLM-N-al-Hilu of ethnic cleansing against the Hawazamah.15 The violence persisted for several days, with the SAF and SPLM-N-al-Hilu pounding RSF positions and in Dilling. 


These developments highlight the multiple intersecting layers of the war in Sudan. From Darfur to Kordofan, ethnic divisions intersect with the national war between the SAF and the RSF,  igniting or escalating existing inter-ethnic tensions. In West Kordofan, the RSF’s insistence on overtaking Babanusa may prompt the fragmentation of the Misseriya tribe, whose members maintain ties with both the SAF and the RSF. 


For its part, the SPLM-N’s al-Hilu faction’s support for the SAF in Dilling mirrors a decision made by the Abdul Wahid al-Nur faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) to deploy forces in North Darfur when it faced the RSF in November (for more, see the December 2023 Sudan Situation Update). The mobilization of rebel groups and ethnic militias in North Darfur forced the RSF to avoid a direct confrontation. In Kordofan, a sustained collaboration between the SAF and al-Hilu may push the RSF out of Dilling and other areas where the al-Hilu faction of the SPLM-N holds sway. However, clashes between these collaborators elsewhere in South Kordofan add to the uncertainty of the situation.


View original: 

https://acleddata.com/2024/02/16/sudan-situation-update-february-2024-sudan-the-saf-breaks-the-siege/

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Related


Sudan Watch - February 16, 2024

Sudan: Malik Agar explains his 3-day visit to S. Sudan

“I went on an official working visit to the State of South Sudan on February 12, 2024 for the purpose of meeting with His Excellency the President of the Republic, Salva Kiir. The Minister of Finance, Dr. Jibril Ibrahim, accompanied me during the first meeting with the President, which touched on issues concerning the two countries. 

In the conversation, we touched on the Sudanese position on regional initiatives from the African Union and IGAD.

[…] my visit, which lasted for three days, concluded with two separate meetings, the first meeting included a group of ambassadors and heads of missions of the Troika countries and the European Union in South Sudan followed by another meeting that included African ambassadors in South Sudan and the representative of the African Union in South Sudan. As well as the Ambassador of Sudan in Juba, Jamal Malik.”

Full story: https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/02/sudan-malik-agar-explains-his-3-day.html

___


Sudan Watch - February 14, 2024

Darfur tribal leaders agree with Sudanese Sheikh Musa Hilal to lead initiative to stop war in Sudan

A civil delegation of tribal leaders in Darfur states announced that it has agreed with the head of the Revolutionary Awakening Council, Sheikh Musa Hilal, to lead a national initiative to stop the war between the army and the Rapid Support.


The delegation, which included the principals of the tribes of Tarjum, Fallata and Rizeigat and notables of a number of tribes in the states of South, East, Central and West Darfur, visited Sheikh Musa Hilal in the suburb of Mistriha in North Darfur state, and the delegation spent about a week during which he held several meetings with notables of the region.

Full story: https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/02/darfur-tribal-leaders-agree-with.html

___


Radio Dabanga - 14 February, 2024

South Sudan president discusses civil bloc outcomes with Minawi

Consultative sessions aimed at reaching an end to the war in Sudan concluded in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Monday. In attendance were several Sudanese political and civil blocs, a delegation of which met with South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday. 


Moataz El Fahl, a leader in the Forces for Freedom and Change-Democratic Bloc (FFC-DB) and Secretary-General of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), told Dabanga in an interview that the meeting concluded with the “formation of a mini-mechanism for communication with the Sovereignty Council, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and other political and civil forces”. 


The meeting included several political and civil blocs, most notably the FFC-DB, the National Movement Forces coalition, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N Agar), led by Sovereignty Council Vice President Malik Agar.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit meets with a Sudanese delegation in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Monday (Photo: @ArkoMinawi via X)


Full story: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/south-sudan-president-discusses-civil-bloc-outcomes-with-minawi


END

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Sudan: Clashes between SLA-AW & Arab armed group in Gharb Jabal Marrah (Thur Village), Central Dafur

From Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Sudan 
UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) - https://dtm.iom.int/
Early Warning Flash Alert
Dated Sunday, 31 December 2023 - here is a copy in full including map:


DTM Sudan Flash Alert: Conflict in Gharb Jabal Marrah (Thur Village), Central Dafur


DTM Sudan's Early Warning Flash Alerts provide immediate updates on incidents and sudden displacement in Sudan. These Flash Alerts aim to notify humanitarian partners of sudden events where DTM's Emergency Event Tracking (EET) may subsequently take place.


Update One: 31 December 2023

On 24 December 2023, clashes erupted between the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA – Abdelwahid) and an Arab armed group in Thur village of Gharb Jabal Marrah locality, Central Darfur. Field teams reported that approximately 50 households were displaced from Nertiti Town to Golo village of Gharb Jabal Marrah locality. The situation remains tense and unpredictable. DTM is monitoring the situation closely and will provide further information on displacement and population mobility across Sudan, on a monthly basis, via its Monthly Displacement Overview.

Disclaimer: Due to the current circumstances, the DTM network is relying on remote interviews with key informants and further verification is not possible at this time.

*DTM Sudan Flash Alerts provide an initial estimation of affected population figures gathered from field reports. All information is therefore pending verification through DTM’s Emergency Event Tracking (EET) and/or registration activities and is not to be used as official figures.


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ENDS

Thursday, May 04, 2023

Darfur war leader Abdul Wahid Nur is in South Sudan

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: A day after I mentioned Abdul Wahid Nur's name here, I go to sleep and wake up to find him in this news report by AFP.

He’s 55. 20 years ago he and his gormless gang along with a more intelligent and ruthless JEM gang started the Darfur war. Tintin springs to mind here. 

AFP's report says he is now based in Juba, South Sudan but doesn't say how he funds his work-free life, travel, hotel rooms, fancy clothes, family if any.

France & Germany host Darfur rebels. Maybe supporters pay for him to laze around Paris, save his skin, drink beer, visit Israel. He makes my foot itch. 


The report is copied here in full to show the standard of his chat. Note that he states the obvious saying Sudanese people want a civilian government. 


He rarely visits Darfur as support for him has dwindled. He has delusions of becoming president of Sudan or Darfur or anywhere that'll have him. 

________________________________________________________________________________


Report from Yahoo News

By Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Dated Thursday 4 May 2023, 11:24 am BST - full copy:


'No winner' in Sudan war: exiled Darfur rebel leader


Sudanese exiled rebel leader Abdel Wahid Nur -- a veteran of decades of fighting in the troubled Darfur region -- says there can be "no winner" in the war now raging between two rival generals.


"The Sudanese people want neither of them," Nur, now based in neighbouring South Sudan, told AFP. "They want a civilian government."


Battles have flared for weeks between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).


"What's happening in Sudan is a disaster," Nur, 55, said in an interview in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, where he lives after spending years in Paris.


"There is no winner in this war," said the leader of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) whose members, he said, have not joined the fighting.


The battles have turned Khartoum into a war zone and also killed scores in Darfur, which Nur said once more suffers "war crimes and crimes against humanity".


Nur was a leader of the Darfur rebellion from 2003 when African minority groups rose up against Arab elites they accused of monopolising Sudan's political power and wealth.


The Islamist-backed strongman then in power, Omar al-Bashir, unleashed the notorious Janjaweed militias, the forerunners of the RSF, whose atrocities shocked the world.


The unrest killed at least 300,000 people and displaced 2.5 million, according to the UN. The bloodshed led to international charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against Bashir and others.


Although Darfur's conflict subsided over the years, the region remains awash with weapons and sporadic violence erupts, often over access to water, land and resources.


- 'Hands of oppression' -


Sudan's military ousted Bashir in April 2019 following mass pro-democracy protests, and Burhan has been the de facto leader since then.


Daglo, from Darfur's pastoralist camel-herding Arab Rizeigat people, rose to prominence with the Janjaweed, which made up the bulk of the RSF formed in 2013.


In October 2021, Burhan and his then number-two Daglo jointly staged another coup that upended the country's fragile transition to civilian rule.


The two generals then engaged in a power struggle, most recently over the RSF's integration into the regular army, which has now flared into bloody violence.


"The two bodies fighting now once acted as Bashir's hands of oppression," said Nur.


"The army and Burhan personally supervised the making of the Janjaweed," he said, adding that his own movement opposes both and only fights "oppression".


Nur described the conflict as the expected outcome of a "political struggle that became militarised".


The current fighting has killed more than 550 people, wounded thousands and sent more than 100,000 fleeing abroad.


In West Darfur state, the UN says, the hostilities "have triggered intercommunal violence", which have seen many deaths and accounts of rampant looting and burning of property.


- Ambition to rule -


Nur's SLM faction refused to sign a 2020 peace deal with Sudan's short-lived transitional government installed following Bashir's ouster.


It charged that the accord, signed by other rebel groups, failed to address the root causes of Sudan's conflicts.


Nur said his movement had however observed "a unilateral ceasefire since Bashir's ouster and have since committed to it" to give a chance to the planned transition to civilian rule.


Nur belongs to the ethnic Fur tribe in Darfur, and analysts believe his faction still maintains considerable support.


A report last year by UN experts said Nur's faction was among Darfuri armed groups "receiving payments and logistical support" in exchange for sending mercenaries to strife-torn Libya.


The UN experts, in 2020, also said Nur's group had strengthened its miliary capability following the discovery of gold in its area.


Nur rejects the allegations and says he does not support either side in the current war, stressing that his fighters play no role in it.


Nur said the conflict reflects the two generals' ambitions to rule Sudan but is only "increasing the suffering" of the people, especially in Darfur.


In a country with a history of military coups, Burhan and Daglo have each touted themselves as champions of democracy seeking to restore the transition to civilian rule.


Nur, recalling the mass youth-led protests that led to Bashir's overthrow, said the Sudanese people reject both of them.


"I don't think they will ever accept military rule," he said.


bur/it/fz


View original: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/no-winner-sudan-war-exiled-102413405.html?guccounter=1


[Ends]

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Sudan: Darfur war leader Abdelwahid El Nur calls for revolution to overthrow Burhan's military coup

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor:  It is difficult to imagine where Sudan and South Sudan would be without Mr Abdelwahid El Nur (pictured below). Putting a complicated situation simply, he and other armed rebels including JEM started the Darfur war in 2003. They have much blood on their hands. 

The photo caption does not indicate where or when the photo was taken. Since shortly after starting the Darfur war he has been living in luxury in Paris and travels widely even as far as Israel. Once in a while he pops up in Sudan on rare occasions when the security situation is unusually calm. 

In the photo he is wearing an expensive jacket. His face still doesn't show any worry lines, guilt, angst, suffering, poverty or malnutrition. He is from Darfur. Years ago he used to brag about the people from Darfur being his people. Until fifteen years ago he had the support of many Sudanese people in and from Darfur. I suspect most of them gave up on him while he sat enjoying himself in Parisian bars and hotels. Maybe he's too shy to visit Darfur incase the world will see how little support he has nowadays. 

He once said he aims to be the president of Sudan. As stated many times here at Sudan Watch, I believe he is too cowardly and not intelligent or skilled enough to preside over Sudan or anything else. In the report below by Netherlands-based Radio Dabanga one can see how he states the obvious and uses the words and ideas other people have already thought of and publicised for years. He's an opportunist, not a leader. 

When he uses his brain and his own words and ideas he sounds like an idiot. I can't recall reading news that explains how he is funded and manages to travel abroad while living safely in Paris. He directed the Darfur war using a satellite phone while sitting in a comfortable armchair in a Parisian hotel. 

If he made sense and was a genuinely brave freedom fighter with realistic and good intentions not only for the people of Darfur but for all Sudanese people, he could be someone to respect and admire. Frankly speaking, seeing his face makes me feel sick. I've observed how much death and destruction his idiotic thinking and actions have caused. Deep down he must know he's responsible for the suffering of millions of Sudanese people. I find it odd that journalists fail to explain how he lives and how he is funded.

The following report respectfully gives him a platform from which to pontificate his nonsense, none of which he deserves. In my view, he's a dodgy character and a deluded chancer. He reminds me of Tintin.

Copy of news report at and by Radio Dabanga.org
Dated 4 November 2021 - KHARTOUM
Sudan rebel leader Abdelwahid El Nur calls for ‘comprehensive popular revolution to overthrow coup’
Photo: The head of the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW), Abdelwahid El Nur (File photo)

The head of the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW), Abdelwahid El Nur, has called for “a comprehensive popular revolution in order to overthrow the coup and restore Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok”, and calling on the resistance committees “not to accept any compromise”.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga broadcast today, El Nur asserts that “the salvation of Sudan lies in the restructuring of the military institution,” and called for the reintegration of all military and paramilitary forces into a single unified army, with a combat doctrine aimed at defending the citizens and protecting the land and the constitution, and non-interference in politics.

‘The army’s intervention to suppress the demonstrations is an attempt to turn the peaceful uprising into a bloody one…’

He considers the army’s intervention to suppress the demonstrations as “an attempt to turn the peaceful uprising into a bloody one,” stressing the need to adhere to peace. He stressed that the people’s will is stronger than all weapons.

El Nur accused the military institution of committing crimes in the south, Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, the Blue Nile and the East since 56, and said that it had committed genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and caused the displacement of millions, and created militias and mujahideen.

‘Sudan possesses the human and economic resources that can rescue it from the current situation…’

On the Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue initiative adopted by the movement, the rebel leader said that the initiative aims to reach the state of institutions and form a unified national army. He stressed the need to adhere to PM Abdallah Hamdok’s government “to move from a state of obstruction to future horizons”, explaining that Sudan possesses the human and economic resources that can rescue it from the current situation through a national project. He called for giving priority to the interests of the Sudanese people, dealing with foreign countries according to their positions, and helping Sudan to get out of the crisis in order to reach a civil state and a civil government.

Friday, February 28, 2020

Sudan allows former foe Israel to fly over its territory - Gaddafi said Israel, not Bashir, behind Darfur war

Sudan allows former foe Israel to fly over its territory
Report by BBC World Service
Dated 17 February 2020
BBC Image credit and caption: Nur Photo
The first Israeli plane crossed Sudan on Saturday on its way to South America (file photo)

Israel says it has begun flying commercial aircraft through Sudanese airspace under an agreement with the Khartoum government.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told a group of visiting US Jewish leaders that the first Israeli plane crossed Sudan on Saturday, bound for South America.

He said the new air corridor would cut the flying time on the route by three hours.

Sudan said in early Ferbruary that it had given initial approval for Israeli planes to fly over its territory.

Mr Netanyahu said Israel was discussing rapid normalisation of ties with its former foe.

Sudan, which has close ties with the Palestinians, has stopped short of referring to improving ties with Israel.

- - -

Copy of Reuters report from the archives of Sudan Watch 2009:
Gaddafi says Israel, not Bashir, behind Darfur war
Report from Reuters
Written by Lamine Ghanmi; Editing by Kevin Liffey 
Dated 24 February 2009 / 6:43 PM / 11 YEARS AGO

TRIPOLI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the current African Union president, on Tuesday accused "foreign forces" including Israel of being behind the Darfur conflict.

Judges from the International Criminal Court are due to announce on March 4 whether they will issue a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir over allegations that he masterminded genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region. U.N. diplomats have told Reuters the warrant will be issued.

But Gaddafi, addressing a meeting on ways to expand cooperation between the United Nations and African Union, urged the Court to stop its proceedings against Bashir:

"Why do we have to hold President Bashir or the Sudanese government responsible when the Darfur problem was caused by outside parties, and Tel Aviv (Israel), for example, is behind the Darfur crisis?"

Gaddafi suggested, without presenting any evidence, that the Israeli military was among those stoking the conflict:

"It is not a secret. We have found evidence proving clearly that foreign forces are behind the Darfur problem and are fanning its fire," Gaddafi said, according to the Libyan state news agency Jana.

"We discovered that some of the main leaders of the Darfur rebels have opened offices in Tel Aviv and hold meetings with the military there to add fuel to the conflict fire."

Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Sudan’s government in 2003, accusing it of neglecting the Darfur region. Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militias to crush the rebellion.

International experts say the fighting has killed 200,000 people and uprooted 2.7 million. Sudan’s government denies any genocide, saying that 10,000 have been killed and that Western media exaggerate the conflict.

Gaddafi himself has made a number of attempts to broker peace talks between Darfur rebels and the Sudanese government. 

View Original: https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLO50752
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FURTHER READING
From the archives of Sudan Watch:

August 17, 2019
Ex-Israel spy admits lobbying US on behalf of Sudan military council
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May 27, 2009
Suspected Israeli airstrike on a convoy in Sudan January 2009 killed 119 people
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April 13, 2009
Envoy to Tehran stresses Mossad's role in Sudan's insecurity
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April 05, 2009
Africa Confidential heard that another arms convoy was moving north near Red Sea coast and Egyptian forces were moving to Sudan border to block it
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March 26, 2009
Unidentified aircraft destroyed suspected arms convoy in E. Sudan last January (Update 4)
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February 28, 2009
AU Chairman: Hard Evidence Proves Israel behind Darfur Conflict
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February 18, 2009
SLM's Abdel Wahid al-Nur visits Israel - 
Sudanese rebel leader meets with Israeli spies
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February 03, 2009
Israeli owner of MV Faina pays $3.2m ransom - Its cargo destined for Darfur? JEM has received heavy military logistical support from Israel?
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October 31, 2008
Ukraine says military hardware carried by hijacked Ukrainian ship MV Faina had been officially sold to Kenya (Update 1)