Showing posts with label BlueNile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BlueNile. Show all posts

Monday, July 03, 2023

Sudan: Malik Agar visits Russia to discuss Sudan crisis

NOTE from Sudan Watch Ed: Further to the previous post at Sudan Watch (Mon 03 Jul 2023 - 'Sudan: Thousands of Sudanese citizens flee to Ethiopia as security deteriorates in Blue Nile') here is a thread of 7 tweets posted in Arabic Thu 29 Jun 2023 at the Twitter account of Malik Agar @MalikAgar1 “the official account of the President of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Vice President the Sudanese Sovereignty Council”.

This copy has been translated from Arabic using Google translate.


1/7

Today morning, June 29, I visited the Federal Republic of Russia, accompanied by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others. During the visit, I and my accompanying delegation, which also included the Sudanese Ambassador to Russia, held a session of talks in the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Mr. Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister.

11:10 PM · Jun 29, 2023 24.5K Views

____

2/7

In addition to the Russian President's envoy to Africa and the Middle East, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and a number of officials of the Russian Foreign Ministry, we discussed during the session developments in Sudan, where I provided a detailed explanation of the events in Sudan since the outbreak of the Rapid Support Forces rebellion on April 15.

11:11 PM · Jun 29, 2023 1,954 Views

____

3/7

And its developments in field and humanitarian aspects, and its repercussions on Sudan and neighboring countries. During the session, the regional and international initiatives and efforts made to find solutions to the crisis and the position of the Government of Sudan on it were touched upon. We clarified Sudan's position on the UN mission and its head, and Sudan's adherence to its sovereign rights.

11:12 PM · Jun 29, 2023 1,192 Views

____

4/7

And his duty is to defend its territorial integrity, security and stability, and the Russian side has understood Sudan's position towards the United Nations and its decision regarding the head of the UNTAMS mission.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, expressed the solidarity of the Government of the Russian Federation with the government and people of Sudan and its existing legitimate institutions.

11:14 PM · Jun 29, 2023 1,436 Views

____


5/7

Stressing his follow-up to the developments of the situation in Sudan since its inception, he added that the crisis in Sudan is an internal matter and its solution is in the hands of the Sudanese themselves. Lavrov indicated the Russian government's readiness to support the Sudanese people whenever they are asked to do so.

11:15 PM · Jun 29, 2023 1,366 Views

____


6/7

We also agreed with the Russian side to continue and strengthen bilateral relations in all fields and to activate this through the agreed upon bilateral mechanisms. We also renewed our commitment to coordination in international and regional forums. We also touched on developments in the Sudanese neighborhood and the regional situation.

11:17 PM · Jun 29, 2023 1,963 Views

____


7/7

They stressed the importance of coordination and consultation between the two countries. During the talks, the Russian side expressed its aspiration for the President of the Sovereignty Council to participate in the Russian-African Summit, which will be held at the end of next July in St. Petersburg, Russia.

11:18 PM · Jun 29, 2023 1,797 Views

____


View original*: https://twitter.com/MalikAgar1/status/1674540887651635200


*Only viewable to those with a registered account at Twitter.com


[Ends]

Sunday, August 18, 2019

More RSF than ever in Darfur Sudan - To live in any area controlled by the RSF is to live in constant fear

Article from 3Ayin.com
Dated Wednesday, 07 August 2019
Silence and fear: Life under the RSF in a Darfur town
Amna Daoud Morsal has worked in Nyala’s main market for decades. At 55, she has developed a well-established market stall in Sudan’s third largest city – a city whose name means the “place of chatting” in the local Daju language. But few have time to chat when the sun starts to set, despite a challenging economy [ https://3ayin.com/sudanese-pay-a-price-for-revolution-as-cost-of-living-soars/ ] where Amna struggles with less and less customers, she must pack her wares hurriedly and rush home. “Ten years ago, you could walk around Nyala till morning time and nobody would ask you anything, there was no danger, no one to steal your things –the situation was safe but now, when the sun is setting, you cannot set foot inside Nyala,” Amna Daoud told Ayin. 

Nyala, like most of the towns and villages in Darfur, have struggled with the presence of pro-government militias for decades, but the heaviest presence to date has been the Rapid Support Force. “To live in any area controlled by the RSF (Rapid Support Forces), Nyala included, is to live in a constant state of fear,” says Nyala resident Abu Al-Bashir Adam. Anything could happen while working in the market, Daoud says, “Even daytime is dangerous, they [RSF] start fights with people, steal money and mobile phones, and if you try to say this is wrong they can shoot you.”
More RSF than ever
Nyala residents have grown accustomed to the heavy presence of the RSF militia –but now even more have trickled in since the revolution started last December calling for civilian rule. Nyala residents believe the additional RSF forces came in an effort to consolidate power and ensure authority during this political transition period. 

The deputy head of the military council, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (aka “Himmedti”) leads the RSF which until recently took direct orders from former president Omar al-Bashir, terrorizing citizenry and rebels alike in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile States. 

“Himmedti and his gang [the RSF] have always had a presence in Nyala,” said Ahmed Abdallah* a recent university graduate living in Nyala. “But once the revolution started and people called for civilian rule –they started to be deployed in all public areas across the state.” As one of the main recruiting areas, Nyala hosts ten RSF training camps alone. But it’s not only Nyala. “It’s true that the RSF increased dramatically recently, with the idea to show power and control,” a UN worker based in West Darfur State’s capital city, El Geneina, told Ayin. “Now they drive around here at high speeds, if you don’t get out of their way, you’ll be beaten. As a woman, after 7 pm, there is no way I can walk the streets.”

The RSF have always had a heavy, deadly presence in Darfur to date. According to the 2017 UN Panel of Experts report [ https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/N1740048.pdf ] the RSF militia are the main perpetrators of abuses against civilians in Darfur including looting, rapes and torching of homes. An Amnesty International June report [ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/06/sudan-fresh-evidence-of-government-sponsored-crimes-in-darfur-shows-drawdown-of-peacekeepers-premature-and-reckless/ ] says they have satellite imagery and testimonials that show the RSF and other government forces continue to commit war crimes and human rights violations in Darfur –including the partial or complete destruction of 45 villages, unlawful killings, and sexual violence. “In Darfur, as in Khartoum, we’ve witnessed the Rapid Support Forces’ despicable brutality against Sudanese civilians – the only difference being, in Darfur they have committed atrocities with impunity for years,” stated Amnesty Secretary General Kumi Naidoo. 

A convenient black hole
The RSF have enjoyed total impunity for years in Darfur partly due to the ousting [ https://africanarguments.org/2009/03/24/ingos-expelled-from-darfur-time-to-acknowledge-the-smoking-and-loaded-gun/ ] of international NGOs and local and foreign journalists 
[ https://nubareports.org/a-q-a-with-award-winning-photographer-adriane-ohanesian/ ] effectively banned [ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/05/captured-in-darfur-south-sudan ] from the region. Phil Cox, a photojournalist and filmmaker, is possibly one of the last foreigners to venture into Darfur in December 2016 when RSF forces kidnapped [ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/05/captured-in-darfur-south-sudan ], tortured and jailed Cox and his colleague Daoud Hari for 70 days. At the time, the Sudanese government issued a massive bounty for their capture, indicative of their deep determination to keep the world’s eyes away from Darfur and what future investigations might reveal, Cox told Ayin. “Darfur has gone from being the focus of global attention and international condemnation that mobilized activists, celebrities and world leaders alike, to a forgotten conflict smothered by an information black hole,” Cox said. “No media team or investigators have had independent access there for years –yet rumours of atrocities and ethnic cleansing have persisted.” 

Darfur Bar Association lawyer, Abdel-Basset Al-Hajj, says the RSF enjoy “official immunity” and no accountability for their actions. “The RSF have no legal justifications to carry out law enforcement, arrest, imprisonment –they enjoy being the police, prosecutor and judge all in one,” Al-Hajj told Ayin. While they enjoy these powers, Al-Hajj said, they carry out these duties with no recourse to the law or training. “They don’t know how to investigate a crime, they simply rely on torture and somehow think this is the rule of law.” 

In July 2017, the RSF raided [ https://nubareports.org/south-darfur-residents-fear-insecurity-with-militia-control-of-police-station/ ] Nyala’s second largest police station in the Al-Masan’i neighbourhood with four heavily armed Land Cruisers, threatening the police officer in charge of the station to leave within 48 hours, according to a police officer from the station preferring anonymity for his security. The RSF order to evacuate the station was made on the pretext that Himmedti purchased the land where the police station was based. A lawyer working for the local land registry who also requested anonymity for security reasons, said the land allegedly purchased by the RSF leader was government-owned property. Lt.-Gen. Mohamed Hamden Daglo did not present any documents regarding the purchase, the lawyer said, and suspect the RSF leader seized the land by force. 

Nyala-based Police Officer Ali Osman* remembers the raid well. “Of course it was not legal but nobody from the local government can talk to them, they may shoot you,” the officer said. Well-equipped and paid salaries five times that of a regular Nyala police officer, Officer Osman told Ayin he is powerless to stop them whenever they steal from the public. “I can’t do anything –those people are outside the law and can kill me.” 
They have made the security situation more precarious here,” lawyer and El-Geneina resident Ibrahim Shamou said, “crime, murder and theft have increased –[it’s] a state of terror and chaos.”

El Geneina, Daein
Since the revolution started, the RSF also increased their presence in other Darfur capitals cities such as El Geneina and Daein in West and East Darfur, respectfully -targeting and terrorising civilians with the same impunity. There are roughly 200 RSF armed four-wheel drive vehicles (commonly referred to as ‘technicals’) patrolling West Darfur State, lawyer and El-Geneina resident Ibrahim Shamou told Ayin. “They have made the security situation more precarious here,” Shamou said, “crime, murder and theft have increased –[it’s] a state of terror and chaos.” Even farmers outside the city are not safe from the RSF, the lawyer said. With no one to protect them while working in the fields, RSF have been looting farmers of livestock and money since June. 

RSF have arrested local government members in Daein during the state of emergency imposed by the former president back in February with no real recourse to the law, according to Daein resident Maala Awad al-Karim. RSF have also imprisoned a large number of citizens arbitrarily, al-Karim adds, some of which still remain there since February. Many people have ran away from Daein and have attempted to eke out a living in outside villages to avoid the RSF, according to Daein resident and lawyer Mohamed Abdallah. “These militias don’t follow any rule of law,” Abdallah added, “even the courts look at them like people who took the authority of the court without any permission.”

According to Officer Osman*, RSF are already recruiting from outside Sudan, particularly via Chad and receive Sudanese identity cards in Nyala … more on RSF’s regional dynamics: http://bit.ly/2KwT3nw
RSF as a regional force
While the RSF have increased their presence in the Darfur region, there are signs the militia could become more of a regional force. According to Officer Osman, RSF are already recruiting from outside Sudan, particularly via Chad and receive Sudanese identity cards in Nyala. Osman said he could identify them as foreigners from their features and the fact they do not speak Arabic. “We must remember RSF is a tribal militia and Himmedti has influence with his ethnic extensions in bordering countries like Chad where they are coming from,” Osman said. Well funded by exploiting Darfur gold reserves independently of the state and as a parallel budget, the RSF are well placed to become regional mercenaries in East and Central Africa, Nyala lawyer Al-Hajj told Ayin. The RSF can “carry out criminal acts internally and externally,” Al-Hajj said, “and will provide those with interests with all the necessary components to continue and control the reins of the state.”

Future of RSF, future of Sudan
The question still remains if the RSF will continue to control large swathes of the country and whether this influence will expand further both nationally and cross borders during the transitional period. The Transitional Military Council’s deputy leader Himmedti will, after all, likely be part of the ruling sovereign council during this stage. A constitutional declaration agreed upon by the Military Council and opposition on Sunday [4 AUG 2019] also ensures the sovereign council to be lead by a military general for the first 21 months of the transitional period. Nevertheless, the parties also agreed that sovereign council members would not be immune to prosecution for war crimes and crimes against humanity. According to the recently penned constitutional declaration, the RSF are meant to be under the command of the Sudanese army and stipulated that citizen’s rights are to be free from arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment. There are signs of more accountability within the RSF ranks –military authorities allegedly detained [ https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/africa/Sudan-detains-nine-soldiers-after-el-obeid-killings/4552902-5220132-rs45nn/index.html ] and dismissed nine RSF soldiers last week, implicated in the killing of six protestors in El Obeid. But the fact that security forces killed 
[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/protesters-killed-live-ammunition-sudan-omdurman-190801190332665.html ] four more protestors in Omdurman just a day prior to the prosecution of the RSF soldiers hardly imbibes confidence for reform within Sudan’s security sector and the RSF militia in particular.

While much-needed RSF reforms may not emerge from the political negotiation process-taking place in Khartoum, the people of Nyala may induce change themselves. Despite the daily intimidation by RSF forces, Nyala residents conducted three separate demonstrations [ https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/protests-unabated-across-sudan%20 ] last month to condemn the ongoing detention of Nyala citizens, the attack on protestors in El Obeid, in solidarity with rape survivors across the country and to call for the revival of independent trade unions. “We don’t know what will happen in Khartoum,” said one Nyala activist, “but we will continue to struggle here no matter the outcome.”
* Names changed to protect their security

The law = RSF
“The RSF have no legal justifications to carry out law enforcement, arrest, imprisonment –they enjoy being
the police, prosecutor and judge all in one,” Al-Hajj told Ayin

View original article here: https://3ayin.com/rsf-in-darfur/
- - -

Kidnapped, tortured and thrown in jail: my 70 days in Sudan
A photograph taken by Cox while being held hostage in Sudan on Christmas Day 2016. Photograph: Phil Cox/Native Voice Films
Phil Cox and Daoud Hari on the Chad-Sudan border in December 2016. Photograph: Native Voice Films

Read full story here: http://trib.al/inI80TQ

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Sudan's TMC Hemeti, AFC FFC, SPLM/A North (Al-Helou), Sudan Call, attend meetings in Juba S. Sudan

Article from Radio Tamazuj.org
Date: Saturday, 27 July 2019 - Juba, South Sudan

Sudan's deputy head of military council visits Juba
Photo: General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo speaking to reporters in Juba on Saturday, 27 July, 2019 (Radio Tamazuj)

The deputy head of Sudan's ruling military council arrived Saturday [27 July] in Juba, where he is to meet President Salva Kiir and Sudan rebels.

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known by his nickname Hemeti, is on his first trip to South Sudan since his appointment as deputy head of Sudan's military council following the April ouster of Omar al-Bashir after months of protests.

His visit comes after members of Sudan's opposition coalition reached what they call a "political deal" in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Hemeti, who also commands a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, told reporters that he visited Juba to meet with President Kiir and Sudanese rebel groups.

“We have come to Juba to brief the president on the situation in Sudan. Also, we want to meet with our brother Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu and leaders of armed movements,” Hemeti said.

“I hope that we will find solutions as soon as possible,” he added.

Hemeti was a close ally of Omar al-Bashir, but as anti-government protests escalated in December 2018, his loyalty soon wavered.

Hemeti is the one at the forefront of peace talks with opposition groups.

- - -

Copy of 27 July 2019 by Eric Reeves
(yellow highlighting is his)
- - -

Article from Middle East Monitor.com
Date: 28 June 2019 at 4:11 pm
Sudan’s Alliance for Freedom and Change to visits Juba

The Sudanese opposition alliance Sudan Call announced yesterday [27 June] that a delegation from the Alliance for Freedom and Change will travel to South Sudan to meet with the head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Abdel Aziz Al-Helou tomorrow.

A spokesman for Sudan Call Khaled Bahr told the Anadolu Agency that the Alliance for Freedom and Change met to arrange the delegation’s visit to Juba.

He pointed out that Sudan Call also met to select its representatives to the delegation that will travel to Juba.

Since June 2011, SPLM has been fighting the Sudanese government in the states of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Sudan: Darfur rebel groups say agreement signed between TMC and FFC does not represent all the FFC

Article from Middle East Monitor
July 18, 2019 at 4:52 am
Armed movements in Sudan: political declaration will not achieve peace
Photo: Sudanese people gather to celebrate the ongoing negotiations between Transitional Military Council and the Forces for Freedom and Change opposition alliance, in Khartoum, Sudan on 5 July 2019 [Mahmoud Hjaj / Anadolu Agency]

Armed movements in Sudan announced, Wednesday [17 July], their reservations about the political declaration signed between the Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change. The stated that the declaration does not meet the aspirations for achieving a comprehensive peace in the country.

“We do appreciate the motives of those who signed the agreement. However, these parties do not represent all the Forces of Freedom and Change. The agreement ignores important issues being discussed in Addis Ababa upon which progress has been made,” said Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North leader, Malek Akar.

“There has been an in-depth dialogue between active leaders in the Forces of Freedom and Change and the Sudan Revolutionary Front,” Akar said in a statement seen by Anadolu Agency.

He continued: “The agreement has negatively affected this dialogue and what it includes about peace does not go beyond public relations.”

“We are for the Forces of Freedom and Change, and this agreement will lead to different positions… We are studying with our comrades in the Revolutionary Front a position that we will announce today,” Akar added.

Gibril Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement, said on Twitter: “the signing of a political agreement between the Transitional Military Council and parties from the Forces of Freedom and Change disregards the consultations taking place in Addis Ababa.”

“The Sudan Revolutionary Front is not a party to this agreement,” Ibrahim added.

There have been consultations in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa between the Sudan Revolutionary Front and the Forces of Freedom and Change to reach understandings on achieving peace in conflict areas.

Since 2003, the Darfur region has endured conflict between the Sudanese government and rebel movements, killing more than 300,000 people and displacing about 2.5 million people out of a total of 7 million people, according to the United Nations.

Since June 2011, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – north – has been waging an armed insurgency in the provinces of South Kordofan (south) and the Blue Nile (south-east), affecting one million and two hundred people, according to UN statistics.

On Wednesday morning, the Sudanese parties signed with initials the document of the Transitional Phase Agreement between the Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change in Khartoum after a three-day postponement and negotiations since Tuesday evening.

The agreement provides for the formation of a sovereign council of 11 members, with five military officers who would be selected by the Military Council, five civilians would be chosen by the Forces of Change, in addition to a civilian figure who will be determined by consensus between the two sides.

A military member shall preside over the Council of Sovereignty for 21 months from the date of signature of the Agreement, followed by the Presidency of a civilian member for the remaining 18 months of the transitional period (39 months).

The Military Council has been in power since the army leadership ousted Omar Al-Bashir on April 11 from the presidency (1989- 2019), under pressure from widespread protests that have started since late 2018, denouncing the deteriorating economic conditions.

Monday, July 08, 2019

Sudan’s TMC talks with Alliance of Freedom and Change (AFC) includes NUP, SLA-MM, SPLM-N

Article from Al-Ahram Weekly.org.eg
By HAITHAM NOURI
Published Thursday 4 Jul 2019
Title: Sudan’s message to the world

Sudan needs a government of technocrats and interest-based relationships with other countries if its political transition is to succeed, says Deputy Chairman of National Umma Party Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi from Khartoum
Photo caption: Sudan’s message to the world

Sudan’s opposition Alliance of Freedom and Change (AFC) returned to the capital Khartoum after a two-day visit to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, where its delegation held meetings with leaders of the African Union (AU) and African ambassadors “to update them on the situation in Khartoum.”

The AFC delegation comprised opposition figures Wagdi Saleh, Hassan Abdel-Ati, Monser Al-Tayed and Moetaz Saleh, in addition to Deputy Chairman of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi.

It also included Mona Arko Minawi, head of the Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) and Yassir Arman, deputy chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), militarily active in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

Al-Mahdi, a physician, has been one of the “staunchest opponents” of the 30-year regime of ousted former president Omar Al-Bashir who toppled her father’s government in June 1989.

Since the onset of negotiations between the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the AFC, the umbrella bloc that includes the NUP headed by Mariam’s father Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, the physician has been a member of the team negotiating with the TMC.

She did not take part in the latest round of negotiations that took place after communications were temporarily severed between the TMC and AFC, however. Sitting in her stead was Ibrahim Al-Amin.

“These negotiations are part of an attempt to break the ranks of the AFC,” Mariam Al-Mahdi told Al-Ahram Weekly in an interview from Khartoum. “But it is normal to change the members of the negotiating delegation, particularly if the talks take a long time, as is the case with Sudan.”

Like her father, she has been no stranger to jail and self-exile. But she has always preferred to stay in Khartoum to make fiery statements against Al-Bashir’s regime and take part in opposition activities over the past two decades.

With the eruption of the nationwide protests that toppled Al-Bashir on 6 April, Al-Mahdi ended her self-exile and returned from London, despite facing threats from Sudan’s security forces, according to family sources.

Al-Mahdi was not arrested when she arrived in Sudan, but she was later arrested along with her sister Rabah on charges of illegal protests. The sisters were fined, but they refused to pay.

Al-Mahdi told the Weekly that the AFC’s visit to Addis Ababa was “important. We met the chairperson of the AU Commission and a number of African ambassadors to put them in the picture about what is happening in Sudan.”

“The AU has suspended Sudan’s membership until authority is handed over to a civilian government. This is in line with AU agreements,” she said.

The AU also froze Burkina Faso’s membership following the overthrow of dictator Blaise Compaore in 2014 within the framework of the 2003 Protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act of the African Union. The AU had earlier granted the TMC three months to hand over power to a civilian government.

Al-Mahdi pointed to the “positive environment” in Addis Ababa that houses the headquarters of the AU Commission. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had also stepped in to mediate between the AFC and TMC, she said.

She accused the TMC of “stalling in handing over authority” to civilians. “We don’t want to end one period of authoritarian rule to be handed over to another one. We want a government of technocrats as soon as possible,” she added.

Regarding accusations made by the TMC that it was the AFC that was “stalling the negotiations,” Al-Mahdi said that “this is not true. We accepted Ethiopia’s mediation to resume the talks, albeit with conditions, such as investigating the dispersal of the sit-in [in front of the army headquarters in central Khartoum], the resumption of Internet services and freeing the detainees.”

“We suspended the successful civil disobedience out of a desire to build trust, offer our good will and show our commitment to the negotiations. The TMC has not responded to any of our demands.”

NUP head Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi had rejected the calls for a general strike and civil disobedience on the grounds that these were “escalatory measures” against the TMC, which he called a “partner in change.”

TMC Spokesperson Shamseddin Al-Kebashi said that elements from the armed forces had dispersed the sit-in “without receiving orders from general command.”

He said the army was intent on investigating their conduct and would punish them if they were found to have contravened orders.

Activists have pointed accusing fingers at the Rapid Support Forces (RDF) led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). The Sudan Doctors’ Union said 118 Sudanese were killed in the incident, while the Ministry of Health put the figure at 46.

Al-Mahdi avoided implicating any specific party, saying “let’s leave it to a neutral investigating committee” instead.

She stated that she was coordinating with Saudi Arabia and the UAE after she and her father had received the Riyadh and Abu Dhabi ambassadors at their house in Omdurman.

“We want to establish interest-based relationships with all the countries in the world. We don’t want relationships between rulers that are then terminated with the end of their regime. We want relationships based on clear economic and political interests and relationships that don’t change no matter how governments change,” Al-Mahdi told the Weekly.

“Sudan has plenty to offer the Arab world and Africa, primarily in the economic field. We don’t want the aid we received during Al-Bashir’s rule. We want investments that will be to the benefit of all,” she added.

“Why is it that when Ethiopia offered to mediate, no one in Sudan objected, and then their voices grew louder when it came to Sudan’s relationship with Gulf countries? The Gulf countries, Egypt and Ethiopia are our neighbours. This is a fact no one can deny,” Al-Mahdi said.

“Everybody wants to end the state of stagnation, but any hint at holding elections within nine months or [anytime soon] is refused,” she stated.

Regarding news that the TMC could ask Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi to form a civilian government, Mariam Al-Mahdi said that “this can’t take place unless there is nationwide accord from the TMC, the AFC, and all the groups in Sudan. It is a big step that can’t be taken without a consensus.”

 *A version of this article appears in print in the 4 July, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Sudan’s message to the world

Thursday, June 06, 2019

Janjaweed and gunfire in Khartoum Sudan, death toll rising, bodies in Nile, Yasir Arman beaten and arrested

SADLY the security situation in Sudan has deteriorated rapidly over the past few days. Various news reports say the death toll related to protests in Sudan's capital Khartoum is rapidly rising: 100+ deaths including 40+ bodies floating in the Nile, 500+ wounded. Protestors dispersed, streets emptying, situation volatile.

An Associated Press (AP) report 5 June 2019 says the death toll over the past three days is 108 and at least 509 people had been wounded. Here are some extracts. Note, AP writer Bassam Hatoum reported this story in Khartoum and AP writer Samy Magdy reported from Cairo: 

"The reported discovery of the bodies in the Nile suggested that Monday's violent dispersal of the protest movement's main sit-in camp, outside military headquarters, was even bloodier than initially believed. The attack on the camp was led by a notorious paramilitary unit called the Rapid Support Forces, along with other troops who waded into the camp, opening fire and beating protesters.

During the mayhem, the Doctors Committee said witnesses reported seeing bodies loaded into military vehicles to be dumped into the river. The camp was not far from the Blue Nile, just upstream from where it joins the White Nile and then flows north through Sudan and Egypt to the Mediterranean.

The committee said in a statement that a day earlier, militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces were seen pulling 40 bodies from the river and taking them away. It said it was not known where they were taken.

One activist, Amal al-Zein, said the number could be even higher. She said activists and private citizens had pulled dozens more bodies from the Nile in areas near the sit-in and took them to a hospital morgue. "Some bodies have wounds from bullets, others seemed to have beaten and thrown in the Nile," she said."
- - -

Arman beaten and arrested by Sudanese security forces

BRITAIN'S Ambassador in Khartoum, Sudan, Mr Irfan Siddiq posted news on his Twitter page @FCOIrfan today (Wed 5 June) confirming that Mr Yasir Arman, leader of SPLM-N(Agar) has been beaten and arrested by Sudanese security forces. Click here to see the Ambassador's tweet 
- - -

HERE is a news analysis by BBC Africa editor Fergal Keane OBE. I have reprinted it in full because it is so well researched with reliable photos and film footage showing the gunfire in Khartoum. Today's technology makes it so easy for anyone to alter reports, photos and film for circulating online as propaganda. The BBC uses sophisticated technology to carefully check and verify news, images and film clips before publishing.
Another reason for reprinting it in full is this: in the weeks, months and years ahead it will slip out of the BBC's headlines while here at Sudan Watch it will remain alive with a spotlight shining brightly on the truth.
Rest in peace all who were murdered by their own government + + +

Sudan crisis: Return of the feared Janjaweed
By Fergal Keane
BBC's Africa editor
Tuesday 4 June 2019



















Protesters set ablaze tyres to try to stop Sudan's security forces on Monday 
AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Sudan's military has faced mounting international condemnation for its violent attack on protesters which reportedly left at least 30 dead. But there were clear signs this was likely to happen.

Even when the crowds were at their largest and most joyous there was a sense of looming danger.

You did not have to walk far from the sit-in to encounter the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) lounging on their pick-up trucks.

Unlike the regular army these militiamen rarely responded to greetings or if they did it was with a non-committal nod, no hint of a smile.

It did not surprise me.

I remembered them from Darfur 14 years before. There they were known as the Janjaweed and became notorious for atrocities inflicted on the civilian population.

In 2005 I saw them beat and terrorise civilians in a camp for the displaced and I interviewed the survivors of torture and rape.

Now they have brought their violence to the streets of the capital.

This is the sound of gunfire in Khartoum, Sudan...

Sudan military attacks protestors

Sudan has been driven backwards by the conspiracy of a military elite whose priority is the survival of their power and privilege.

The Transitional Military Council has scrapped the agreements reached with the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) under the guise of speeding up the transition to full democratic elections.

These are to be held within nine months.

The plan is more than likely a fiction, not designed to produce civilian rule or anything like it.

There is ample precedent in Africa and elsewhere these days for elections which go through the motions of democracy but deliver none of its substance.

Don't be surprised to see senior figures from the TMC "retiring" from the military and standing as civilian candidates.

What will not change is military control of Sudanese life.

In part the FFC and its civil society allies are victims of their own dizzying success in the early days of the revolution.

Within 24 hours they toppled President Omar al-Bashir and the military man who led the coup against him.

Thirty years of rule appeared to have been vanquished.
The sight of the sit-in drew activists from all spheres of Sudanese life. It became a citadel of freedom.

The atmosphere was intoxicating.

People debated and sang and produced art.



















GETTY IMAGES

They produced manifestos on women's rights, media freedom, justice and the economy, and much more besides.

Yet diversity was also a vulnerability.

Everybody agreed that civilian rule was the essential demand.

But there were inevitable differences over the specifics of achieving that aim: what should the timeframe be, what would be the balance between military and civilian representatives, which personalities representing which groupings would take positions in any transitional arrangements?

None of these debates were in themselves fatal to the cause.

But they highlighted the difficulties of being a "people's movement" compared to an established political party with the structures and internal discipline to make swift changes at the negotiating table.

Hard line take control

There was another problem.

As the shockwaves of Mr Bashir's overthrow dissipated the old politics of Sudan re-emerged.

Parties and personalities who had been suppressed under dictatorship were determined not to be left out if political power was being shared.

This allowed the military to characterise the protesters as simply one of the groups who were part of the negotiations, ignoring the fact that there would have been no negotiations without the demonstrations.

Delaying or dissembling in the name of inclusivity became a tactic.

Once the military had recovered from the confusion around Mr Bashir's overthrow it regrouped and the most hard line elements took control.

This explains the pre-eminence of the RSF commander, Mohammed "Hemedti" Hamadan whose personal ruthlessness in Darfur always made him the most likely leader of a counter-revolution.

Unlike many of the military elite "Hemedti" is an outsider.

From a rural background he has no family ties or sentimental affiliation with the young middle class protesting on the streets of the Khartoum.

Divided world

The military also enjoys another big advantage.

This is an age of international division.

The notion of an "international community" which might pressure the regime is a fantasy.

The world is now governed by a collection of interests - occasionally they are complimentary, more often they are in competition.

The UN Security Council is not a forum where any kind of concerted action on Sudan might be approved.

Russia and China would block any move to increase sanctions on Khartoum.

The condemnation from US National Security Advisor, John Bolton - he called the Khartoum violence "abhorrent" - will only mean something if the US demands that its regional allies - Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - exert pressure on the Sudanese military.

For now it is hard to imagine President Donald Trump picking up the phone to Cairo or Riyadh and insisting on a swift transition to civilian rule.

Mr Trump has other priorities like the Mexican border, Venezuela, Iran and the trade war with China.





















Sudanese forces tried to disperse the sit-in Monday 
ASHRAF SHAZLY

What about an African solution?

The African Union (AU) was an early supporter of civilian rule after the fall of Mr Bashir but the AU's actions around the election results in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January are cautionary: the AU first criticised what many observers saw as a fix but then rowed back.

In recent weeks the African body has spoken of the need for international actors not to meddle in Sudanese affairs.

Bear in mind too that the AU's current chairperson is Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who is himself a symbol of military usurpation of power.

The Sudan crisis exposes the dominant reality of the international scene.

Force can have its way without consequence if the killers and torturers represent a valuable enough asset to other stronger powers - in strategic, ideological, intelligence or economic terms.

It is possible that President Trump will make a stand on Sudan and pressure his allies to act, that the AU will threaten to expel and isolate Sudan, that more moderate elements in the military will emerge and challenge "Hemedti" and his supporters. Possible. But certainly not probable.

I remember speaking with a leading activist at the demonstrations back in April.

He told me that "the sit-in is the only card we have. That is why we have to maintain it."



















Sudanese people had been protesting for many weeks by this point in May, well after Mr Bashir had been forced out of office 
GETTY IMAGES

But now that the sit-in is smashed where does the opposition go?

The peaceful revolutionaries are beaten and traumatised.

It is impossible to say now whether the Forces of Freedom and Change can come back as a street-driven force.

There have been calls for civil disobedience and strikes.

Any such will likely be met with ruthless violence.

What will not change, in fact what has been deepened, is the alienation of people from their rulers.



















Demonstrators were still protesting peacefully at the beginning of May at a sit-in outside the army's headquarters 
GETTY IMAGES

Repression may work as a strategy for now but not indefinitely.

Sudan is now dependant on powerful neighbours for its economic survival and beset by internal divisions.

Dependency on the Egyptians and Saudis will rankle with many Sudanese beyond the protesters, adding a more overtly nationalist dimension to the current crisis.

The generals have succeeded in smashing the protest but their troubles may only be starting.

Road to transition












Image copyright 
AFP
  • 19 December 2018 - Protests erupt after fuel and bread price rises announced
  • 22 February 2019 - President Bashir dissolves the government
  • 24 February - Protests continue as security forces respond by firing live bullets
  • 6 April - Activists begin sit-in at military headquarters, vowing not to move until Mr Bashir steps down
  • 11 April - Army generals announce that Mr Bashir has been toppled but sit-in continues as people demand civilian rule
  • 20 April - Talks between the military rulers and civilian representatives begin
  • 13 May - Shooting outside the military headquarters leaves six people dead
  • 14 May - Military and civilians announce a deal on a three-year transition period
  • 16 May - Talks postponed as military demands some barricades are removed
  • 3 June - Activists announce the suspension of talks with the military, accusing them of using force to disperse their sit-in
More on Sudan
View the original analysis by BBC Africa Editor Fergal Keane OBE Wed 5 June 2019 here:
- - -

Tweets about infiltration by rogue groups - situation extremely volatile - protest leaders calling for international mediation

Snippets from BBC Africa Editor Fergal Keane’s Twitter page @fergalkeane47 Wed 5 Jun 2019 (Sudan Watch Ed: yellow highlighting is mine):

This could point mean there is divergence between the two. But, the fact that Hemdti is talking to his soldiers about rouge groups impersonating them is more worrying. Is he psyching them for more, or is he serious and there is another militia that he does not control.!

Very mixed messages from Sudan's military today. As General Burhan apologises + calls for talks, his deputy Mohammed "Hemeti" Hamadan is on Sudan TV telling his RSF militia that protesters had been infiltrated by rogue elements + drug dealers and firm action was warranted

#SudanUprising #Saudi statement of “deep concern” and condolences to families of  victims. Says KSA “affirms the importance of resuming the dialogue between the various parties in Sudan to fulfill the aspirations of the brotherly Sudanese people.” 1/3

This may explain regime offer of talks, indicate pressure at international and regional level is being applied on Khartoum. It might - a big might - stop a recurrence of large scale killing. But honestly with the current Sudanese regime there are no guarantees. 2/3

The situation is extremely volatile. Trust in military offer of talks will be minimal. Protest leaders have called for international mediation. But that is a huge step for the regime to accept. 3/3
6:01 am - 5 Jun 2019
- - -

Sudan crisis: 40 bodies pulled from Nile, opposition says

Residents in Khartoum told the BBC they were living in fear as members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) roamed the streets. The paramilitary unit - formerly known as the Janjaweed militia - gained notoriety in the Darfur conflict in western Sudan in 2003.

"Forty bodies of our noble martyrs were recovered from the river Nile yesterday," the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said in a Facebook post.

An official from the group told the BBC that they had witnessed and verified the bodies in hospitals and that the death toll now stood at 100.

A former security officer quoted by Channel 4's Sudanese journalist Yousra Elbagir said that some of those thrown into the Nile had been beaten or shot to death and others hacked to death with machetes.
"It was a massacre," the unnamed source said.

Read the full analysis by BBC Africa Editor Fergal Keane Wed 5 June 2019 here:
- - -

Finally got in touch my intelligence source (a defected NISS officer) he says: 

"This is all a planned attack by the RSF, NISS, People's Police militia, People's Security Militia, Defence Miltia, Student Security Militia & AbdelHai Islamist Militia. They were a force of 10,000."