What wasn't in Sudan peace talks before April 15?

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: I'm in love with Cameron Hudson's brain.

I spoke to @cnni last night about the potential for a permanent ceasefire and a mediated settlement. Pardon my scepticism, but there is nothing happening on the ground anywhere in #Sudan that gives me reason to believe the parties are sincere about anything but fighting. pic.twitter.com/I7Px1YiS3q

— Cameron Hudson (@_hudsonc) April 30, 2023

Here is another link to the above video: https://twitter.com/_hudsonc/status/1652661922624405508

Darfur: Sudan's Janjaweed on the attack again

NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: Further to a news report from The Telegraph reprinted here at Sudan Watch yesterday (Tue 23 May), the following report from BBC News dated 4 weeks ago, states that: 

"A major city in Sudan's Darfur region has been under fierce attack - days after thousands of people arrived there seeking safety after their own town was set ablaze by horse-riding Arab militias known as Janjaweed. 

For the first time in Geneina's history, the hospital has been completely evacuated. All health institutions in the city are closed," the country's Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors says on Twitter.

Even during the height of the Darfur conflict that started in 2003 - a war that has left about 300,000 people dead and more than two million homeless - Geneina's hospital in West Darfur kept operating.

Darfur is rich in gold - and there are accusations Janjaweed incursions are part of attempts to gain control of more land for prospecting."

Read more below about why Sudan's Janjaweed is on the attack again in Darfur, southwest Sudan. Click on a link in report to see video of a group of men. Yellow highlighting is mine for easy future reference. 

Incidentally, the labels at the end of each post, and a search box in the sidebar here, can be used to search Sudan Watch's archive. Due software improvements over the years, it takes a little time and patience to unearth old reports. In the early years, it was so dangerous reporting on Sudan, I would condense 10-20 reports within a single post so the reports couldn't be picked up by search engines and attract attention. 

From: BBC News [reprinted at Sudan Watch, Tue 24 May 2022]

By MOHANAD HASHIM

Published 26 April 2022 

Darfur: Why are Sudan's Janjaweed on the attack again?

IMAGE SOURCE, AFP. Caption, Rapid Support Forces expanded out of the Janjaweed and some of its members have been involved in the recent violence

A major city in Sudan's Darfur region has been under fierce attack - days after thousands of people arrived there seeking safety after their own town was set ablaze by horse-riding Arab militias known as Janjaweed.

"For the first time in Geneina's history, the hospital has been completely evacuated. All health institutions in the city are closed," the country's Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors says on Twitter.

Even during the height of the Darfur conflict that started in 2003 - a war that has left about 300,000 people dead and more than two million homeless - Geneina's hospital in West Darfur kept operating.

An aid worker in Geneina told the BBC that he and his colleagues were staying at a safe house and gunfire could be heard across the city.

Many families who already live in camps in the south of the city after fleeing from the Janjaweed in the past are panicking and leaving their makeshift accommodation.

The recent violence began 80km (50 miles) east of Geneina in Kreinik on Friday and more than 200 have been killed in clashes.

What sparked the clashes?

The fighting was caused by a dispute between Arab nomads and members of the Massalit community, who have clashed over land for decades.

It began after two Arab nomads were killed near Kreinik, a town that has become home to many displaced ethnic black Massalit communities over the last two decades - people who were driven from their rural villages by Janjaweed raids.

IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES. Caption, Many people have been driven out of their settlements over the last two decades

In retaliation for the nomads' deaths, early on Friday morning Arab fighters raided Kreinik, leaving nine people dead and 16 injured.

Then on Sunday, a more co-ordinated attack was launched, this time backed by Sudan's Rapid Support Force (RSF), a paramilitary force that grew out of the Janjaweed.

The attackers arrived in 4x4 vehicles mounted with machine guns, known as "technicals", motorbikes, camels and horses, a statement issued by the Kreinik Voluntary Youth group said.

An unverified video shared on social media shows a large group of Arab fighters on pick-up trucks and motorcycles as they set on their way to attack. Men in RSF fatigues could be seen in the clip.

The town was set alight and local sources said schools and clinics were not spared - six teachers were killed in the raid.

A hospital supported by the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was targeted.

"Three people, including two medical workers, were killed. The hospital´s pharmacy was also looted," MSF said in a statement.

Why didn't the security forces stop the attack?

For many years, UN peacekeepers were trying to keep the peace, but they withdrew at the end of 2020 after their mandate expired - their presence resented across the divides. But even when they were deployed, they would not have been able to stop an attack of this ferocity.

Maintaining peace and security in Darfur is now supposed to be carried out by a joint force made up of the police, army, the RSF and the rebel groups which signed a peace deal in 2020.

But behind the scenes - they are all have competing ambitions and in no way represent a united front.

For example, the police have many non-Arab Massalit members and the RSF has many former Janjaweed members - some of whom have been caught up in the recent fighting.

The local unit tasked with protecting Kreinik withdrew from its positions before the attack, according to local activists.

Why did the fighting spread to Geneina?

The Janjaweed and RSF were chasing a group of fighters from Kreinik to Geneina - and it led to the rampaging of the hospital and general chaos as ethnic tensions flared.

IMAGE SOURCE, BBC. Caption, Geneina is the traditional capital of the Massalit kingdom - a symbol of black power in Darfur, so is viewed with disdain by the Janjaweed, who have been accused of ethnic cleansing in Darfur.

Conflict first erupted in Darfur in 2003 when mostly non-Arabs took up arms against the government, complaining about discrimination and a lack of development.

The government retaliated by mobilising Janjaweed to fight the rebels, unleashing violence that caused global outrage that led to the deployment of peacekeepers and international arrest warrants.

It is the third time Geneina has come under attack since 2019 - a time of change for the country as Omar al-Bashir was ousted as president after nearly 30 years in power.

In March this year violent clashes left dozens dead and injured as well as several villages burnt in the Jebel Moon area to the north of Geneina.

Darfur is rich in gold - and there are accusations Janjaweed incursions are part of attempts to gain control of more land for prospecting.

Adam Rajal - a spokesman for the IDPs Co-ordination Committee, a group that liaises between all the camps for those who have fled their home since 2003 - suggests it is also an attempt to dismantle the camps.

He implies that perpetrators of alleged war crimes in Darfur are worried by the fate of a former Janjaweed leader whose trial has recently begun at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, denies charges of committing crimes against humanity. He is the first person to be tried by the ICC over the conflict - and Bashir too is wanted by the court for war crimes and genocide, which he denies.

"The target is to depopulate towns and dismantle the camps… these IDP camps are the most visible proof of the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and the war crimes perpetrated by the previous regime," says Mr Rajal.

Why is the RSF so powerful?

The governor of Darfur's regional government Minni Minawi, a former rebel leader, has accused the authorities in Khartoum of not doing enough to rein in the RSF.

But the paramilitary force wields a lot of power in the junta, and its leader Lt-Gen Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo, is Sudan's deputy leader.

Originally a Chadian Arab, he grew up in Darfur - and has expanded the RSF's membership to include fighters from across the country.

Observers say he is also using the inter-communal violence in Darfur to further his political ambitions.

The Janjaweed has long been accused of recruiting Arab fighters from Chad and other Sahel countries - encouraging them to bring their families as part of attempts to change the political constituency in Darfur.

Gen Hemeti has never commented on the allegations or on the recent violence in West Darfur, but in his public statements he calls for Darfur's diverse communities to live in peace.

More on the Darfur conflict:

• Return of Sudan's feared Janjaweed
• Why this 14-year-old boy has never seen his 'home'

View the original here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-61217999

Sudan: ICC Prosecutor briefs UNSC on Darfur 17 Jan

HERE is a full copy of What's in Blue report dated Tue 11 Jan 2022. Note that Sudan's Prime Minister Hamdok resigned on 2 Jan. The UN Security Council will receive the semi-annual briefing of the ICC Prosecutor on Darfur on 17 Jan. The following meeting was requested by the UK, the penholder on Sudan. 

Sudan: Meeting under “Any Other Business”

Tomorrow (12 January), following the open briefing and closed consultations on Yemen, Security Council members will discuss the situation in Sudan under “any other business”. The meeting was requested by the UK (the penholder on Sudan), together with Albania, France, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, and the US. Special Representative for Sudan and head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) Volker Perthes is expected to brief.

Perthes is expected to update members on the latest developments in the ongoing political crisis in Sudan following the military coup d’état of 25 October 2021, particularly in light of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s resignation on 2 January. Perthes last briefed the Council on 10 December 2021 (S/PV.8925) on the Secretary-General’s most recent 90-day report on UNITAMS (S/2021/1008). (For background, see our What’s in Blue story from 9 December 2021.)

Hamdok announced that he is stepping down in a televised address, during which he referred to failed mediation attempts between civilian and military leaders and said that the country is at a “dangerous turning point that threatens its whole survival”. His resignation came against the backdrop of ongoing widespread protests in the country against the 25 October 2021 coup and the subsequent power-sharing agreement between the civilian and military entities announced on 21 November 2021, which included Hamdok’s reinstatement as prime minister. Several parties have rejected the agreement, including the main opposition alliance, the Forces for Freedom and Change Coalition (FFC).

The crackdown on protestors since 25 October 2021 is another area of immediate concern for Council members. As at 9 January, according to the medical group Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, 62 people have been killed and hundreds have been injured during protests involving the excessive use of force by security forces since 25 October 2021. Some Council members may emphasise the need to conduct timely investigations into casualties during the demonstrations and the importance of accountability for this violence.

Secretary-General António Guterres took note of Hamdok’s resignation in a 3 January statement and expressed regret that “a political understanding on the way forward is not in place despite the gravity of the situation in Sudan”. He also condemned the “continued violence targeting protestors”. In a 4 January statement, the Troika on Sudan (Norway, the UK and the US) and the EU emphasised that “Sudanese stakeholders will need to work on the basis of the 2019 Constitutional Declaration on how to overcome the nation’s current political crisis, select new civilian leadership, and identify clear timelines and processes for the remaining transitional tasks – including establishing the legislative and judicial branches of government, creating accountability mechanisms, and laying the groundwork for elections”. The statement urged “stakeholders to commit to an immediate, Sudanese-led and internationally facilitated dialogue” and said that the killing and injuring of protestors “is unacceptable”, while calling for independent investigations and accountability for perpetrators. The statement was reportedly rejected by the military.

At tomorrow’s meeting, Council members will be interested in hearing more from Perthes on the role of UNITAMS, particularly regarding the “UN-facilitated intra-Sudanese political process” announced by Perthes in an 8 January statement. The political process is “aimed at supporting Sudanese stakeholders in agreeing on a way out of the current political crisis and agree[ing] on a sustainable path forward towards democracy and peace”, according to the statement. Noting that “measures taken to date have not succeeded in restoring the course of this transformation”, the statement says that “all key civilian and military stakeholders, including armed movements, political parties, civil society, women’s groups, and resistance committees will be invited to participate”.

The 8 January announcement about the UN-facilitated process followed international pressure to find a way forward in resolving the political crisis. The announcement was welcomed in a statement by the Quad on Sudan (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US), which expressed “strong support for the “UN-facilitated, Sudanese-led dialogue initiative”.

In a 10 January press briefing, Perthes announced the commencement of consultations on the way forward and provided further details, emphasising that the UN would play a facilitation role in the process, which will be Sudanese-led. Council members will likely seek further details on the next steps in this process, including an assessment of the various stakeholders’ willingness to participate. According to media reports, the Sudanese Professionals Association—an umbrella association of several trade unions—rejected participation in the initiative, while the FFC said that they would announce a position when further details are available. The military-led Transitional Sovereign Council reportedly welcomed the announcement of the UN-facilitated process, while also calling for AU involvement. (On 26 October 2021, the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) adopted a communiqué suspending Sudan from the AU “until the effective restoration of the civilian-led Transitional Authority”. The AU PSC decided, according to a 24 November 2021 communiqué, to “promptly dispatch a mission to Sudan”, which has yet to take place.)

In addition to political developments, members may want to hear more about the situation in Darfur, including after looting and attacks against UN facilities, equipment and supplies which took place during December 2021. On 24 December 2021, there was looting and violence at the former UN/AU Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) base in El Fasher, North Darfur, which was handed over to local Sudanese authorities three days earlier. On 28 December 2021, a World Food Programme warehouse in El Fasher was attacked by unknown armed groups. Over 1,900 metric tons of food commodities meant to feed 730,000 vulnerable people were stolen, according to the Secretary-General’s spokesperson.

Looking ahead, the Council will receive the semi-annual briefing of the ICC Prosecutor on Darfur on 17 January.

View original: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2022/01/sudan-meeting-under-any-other-business.php

Sudan’s PM Hamdok well but under house arrest

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: The following news report confirms that Mr Volker Perthes, the UN special representative to Sudan, said yesterday (Oct 31) that he had met Sudan’s prime minister, Mr Abdalla Hamdok, who is being held under armed guard by the ruling military junta. “He remains well but under house arrest,” Perthes said.

I say, looking at this report's photograph taken yesterday one can’t help wondering how many people it took to fetch and carry all the bricks that were needed to keep on creating barricades. This report tells us that as soon as the bricks were removed by the security forces, many of the barricades were put back when the security forces left :)  Good Sudanese people are so great, they make me laugh. I’m sure some Britishness and British sense of humour have seeped into their DNA somewhere along the line of history.

Here is a full report by The Guardian UK

Reporting by Guardian Correspondent and Agencies

Dated Sunday 31 October 2021 18.33 GMT UK

Sudan coup protesters return to barricades on seventh day of unrest

Militia and police personnel target protesters in south Khartoum a day after deadly crackdown

Photo: A brick barricade on a street in east Khartoum on Sunday [Oct 31]. Credit AFP/Getty Images

Sudanese anti-coup protesters gathered behind barricades in Khartoum on Sunday, a day after a deadly crackdown on mass rallies.

Tens of thousands of people turned out across the country for Saturday’s demonstrations, and at least three people were shot dead and more than 100 people wounded, according to medics. Police denied the killings or using live bullets.

On Sunday the feared Rapid Support Forces militia and police special forces ejected some protesters from barricades in al-Daim neighbourhood, in the south of Khartoum, as a defiant civil disobedience campaign against the military takeover extended into a seventh day.

Mustafa Hassan told the Guardian he had been sitting outside having coffee under a tree near where he lives in south Khartoum when the forces came in carrying guns and sticks.

“They beat me and everybody on the street including an elderly man, shouting at us to remove all the barricades. They do not have mercy, they do not respect old people. I felt sorry for the old man,” he said.

Another protester said many of the barricades were put back up when the security forces left.

“They ran away when the security forces came in here, but when they removed the barriers and left, they came back to build new barricades,” said the man, who did not want to give his name.

“The opposition to this coup is huge, it is on the social level. I was sitting here upstairs and seeing even children and women and young girls are all part of the resistance. That’s what the opposition lacked for years during [the former dictator Omar al-] Bashir’s time.”

The protests are in response to Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolving the government on 25 October, declaring a state of emergency and detaining Sudan’s civilian leadership.

Sudan had been ruled since August 2019 by a joint civilian-military council as part of a now derailed transition to full civilian rule.

Volker Perthes, the UN special representative to Sudan, said on Sunday he had met the detained prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, who is being held under armed guard by the ruling military junta.

“He remains well but under house arrest,” Perthes said.

“We discussed options for mediation and the way forward for Sudan. I will continue these efforts with other Sudanese stakeholders.”

The independent Central Committee of Sudan’s Doctors said on Sunday that militias had shot dead a protester on the day of the coup, pushing its overall tally to 12 dead. A senior US official had estimated that at least 20 to 30 people were killed before Saturday’s protests.

The coup has sparked a chorus of international condemnation and punitive aid cuts, and world powers have demanded a swift return to civilian rule and called for the military to show restraint against protesters.

View original: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/31/sudan-coup-protesters-man-barricades-on-seventh-day-of-unrest

Films show Sudanese security forces in El-Obeid North Kordofan firing towards schoolchildren

Article by Middle East Eye and agencies

Published date: Tuesday 30 July 2019 08:56 UTC 

Footage shows Sudanese security forces firing towards schoolchildren

Videos on social media show security forces in El-Obeid firing a truck-mounted 'Dushka' machine gun in the direction of protesters

Photo: The truck carries a skull and crossed swords insignia. The words on the windscreen read: "Playing with the big guys is tough" (Twitter)

Footage has emerged on social media which shows Sudanese security forces firing a heavy machine gun in the direction of marching schoolchildren in the southern city of El-Obeid where activists said at least five people were killed on Monday.

At least four of those killed and several others who were critically injured were schoolchildren who had been participating in the student-led march, the activist-aligned Sudanese Doctors' Committee (SDC) said in a statement.

The SDC said those killed and injured had been shot by snipers from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force which has played a leading role in quashing protests against Sudan’s ruling transitional military council.

But several videos of the scene posted from different angles show a member of the security forces firing a truck-mounted heavy machine gun, commonly known as a “Dushka” towards the protesters from close range.

فيديو واضح جدا للقوات الاطلقت الرصاص في الابيض #الأبيض_تنزف pic.twitter.com/022nZFrHFb

— cola eldabey (@coladabey2) 29 July 2019

 

To visit the above tweet click here: https://twitter.com/coladabey2/status/1155897190843375616

The truck is marked with a skull and crossed swords insignia and a windscreen sticker reads "Playing with the big guys is tough". Rocket-propelled grenades are also visible hanging on the side of the vehicle.

The footage shows the member of the security forces behind the gun rolling up his sleeves and then raising the gun at an angle to fire over the heads of those at the front of the crowd. Sustained gunfire can then be heard.

In one video filmed from the front of the crowd, another member of the security forces points in the direction of the camera and the gunmen swings the weapon round to point straight towards it, at which point the person filming appears to start running.

#مجزره_الابيض#الابيض_تنزف#نناضل_لا_نساوم #السودان#تسقط_بس pic.twitter.com/00s29N55EI

— Mai Albashir (@shambat2000) 30 July 2019

To visit the above tweet click here: https://twitter.com/shambat2000/status/1156156337954447360

The location visible in the footage of the shooting is consistent with other footage of the student protest posted online.

The truck is parked alongside the Sudanese French Bank building two blocks north of the El-Obeid Great Mosque in the city centre.

On Tuesday, the head of the transitional military council condemned the shooting of protesters as a crime.

"What happened in El-Obeid is a regrettable and upsetting matter and the killing of peaceful citizens is unacceptable and rejected and a crime that requires immediate and deterrent accountability," Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the SUNA state news agency.

A curfew is still in place in several towns in North Kordofan province, where the governor on Monday ordered all schools to suspend classes.

On Tuesday, Sudanese authorities extended that order, closing all schools nationwide indefinitely, after crowds of students launched demonstrations against Monday's attack. 

Protest call

Sudan's main protest group has called for nationwide demonstrations on Tuesday to condemn what it described as a "massacre".

"We call on our people to take to the streets. To denounce the El-Obeid massacre, to demand the perpetrators be brought to justice," the Sudanese Professionals Association said.

Negotiators for the Alliance for Freedom and Change, an umbrella protest movement, have also said they will not be holding planned talks with the country's ruling generals on Tuesday because they are still in El-Obeid and will only return tonight.

Hundreds of schoolchildren had been marching through the city's main market on Monday morning when the shooting occurred.

A resident told the AFP news agency that the protests were prompted by fuel and bread shortages. 

"School children were affected as there is no transport to help them reach their schools. Today, they staged a rally and when it reached downtown there were shots fired," the resident said. 

A live-stream broadcast on Facebook shortly after the firing showed protesters carrying the body of a dead schoolchild to his family home and hundreds gathering for funeral prayers.

SOURCE: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudans-military-ruler-says-el-obeid-killings-unacceptable-crime

- - -

News report and film footage from the BBC

Date: Wednesday 31 July 2019

Sudan crisis: Schools suspended after student killings

The ruling military authorities ordered schools in Sudan to close their doors, the state news agency said.

It follows mass demonstrations in the country over the shooting dead of schoolchildren at a rally.

Protesting students gathered in cities including the capital Khartoum following the killings on Monday [29 July].

- - -

NEXT STORY TO FOLLOW: Saudi Arabia deposits $250m into Sudan's central bank. Payment comes as a doctors committee close to opposition movement said sixth Al-Obeid protester has died of wounds.

Explainer: What's at stake in Sudan's transition? The 2 sides still need to sign a constitutional declaration

Note from Sudan Watch Editor: To be clear, the two sides - Transitional Military Council (TMC) and Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) - still need to sign a constitutional declaration that is meant to complete the political deal. In my experience of blogging news about agreements signed in Sudan things change before the ink is dry, creating delay, after delay, after delay, going on year, after year, after year. Sigh.

Article by Reuters

Published Thursday 18 July 2019 4:35 PM

Explainer: What's at stake in Sudan's transition?

CAIRO (Reuters) - Sudan’s ruling military council and an alliance of protest and opposition groups have signed a political accord on a three-year transition towards elections.

But progress towards a final deal has been slow and marred by violence, casting doubt on protesters’ hopes for civilian rule and democracy.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

In December, protests triggered by an economic crisis swept across Sudan, demanding an end to Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year rule.

On April 11 the military toppled and arrested Bashir, announcing the formation of a transitional military council.

But protests continued, demanding the transition be civilian-led.

The military council and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance began talks, which soon stalled over the make-up of a sovereign council to steer the transition.

At dawn on June 3, security forces — led according to witnesses by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — moved to clear a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry in Khartoum. Doctors linked to the opposition said 128 people were killed in the raid and ensuing violence. The government has confirmed 61 deaths.

Talks collapsed, resuming after several weeks under pressure from African-led mediators and after massive protests on June 30. Agreement on a power-sharing deal was announced on July 5.

WHO ARE THE KEY ACTORS?

The military council is formed of seven members, led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Its most prominent member, however, is his deputy General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who also leads the RSF and is widely known as Hemedti.

Both Burhan and Hemedti have close ties to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates due to Sudan’s participation in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

The driving force in the FFC has been the Sudanese Professionals Association, which rose to prominence coordinating the protests against Bashir. It has no leader or strict hierarchy, though top members include Mohammad Naji al-Assam and Ahmed al-Rabie.

Prominent constituents of the alliance also include the Umma Party led by former prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and three of Sudan’s five rebel groups.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

The two sides still need to sign a constitutional declaration that is meant to complete the political deal.

That would allow transitional bodies to be formed, including a sovereign council that would include five officers selected by the military council, five civilians chosen by the FFC and another civilian to be agreed by both sides.

The initial agreement also provides for a government of technocrats and an independent investigation into recent violence.

WHAT HAS HELD UP A DEAL?

The deal was meant to be signed days after its announcement, but was thrown into doubt by a demand from the military council that its members be granted immunity from prosecution.

Blanket immunity is strongly opposed by the protest movement, already concerned about how an independent investigation could be guaranteed with the military still in charge.

They continue to hold rallies to honour those killed since protests started in December and call for accountability for their deaths.

More broadly, Sudan’s security forces see themselves as the country’s natural rulers and want to protect their sprawling economic interests.

“Their natural tendency is to surrender nothing and to maintain ...the last word in all matters of the state – which was the situation under Bashir essentially,” said Magdi El Gizouli, a fellow at the Rift Valley Institute.

“...Upturning this arrangement is a formidable task.”

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

Sudan has a recent history of civil conflicts including in the western region of Darfur and South Kordofan and Blue Nile in the south. These could flare again if political turmoil continues.

Suffering for Sudanese civilians already subjected to a severe economic crisis could also intensify. Of a population of 44 million, more than 5 million people are in need of assistance and nearly 2 million displaced, according to the United Nations.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES INTERNATIONALLY?

Sudan sits in a volatile region in northeast Africa. Instability could have an impact on war-torn South Sudan, where a fragile peace deal was signed last September, and on Libya to the north, where fighting has recently escalated.

Wealthy Gulf states have an interest in Sudan because of its agricultural potential and its Red Sea ports. The RSF is contributing troops to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

European powers and Egypt are concerned about potential northward flows of migrants from Sudan, which is on one of the transit routes towards the Mediterranean.

Reporting by Aidan Lewis, Khalid Abdelaziz and Nadine Awadalla; Writing by Aidan Lewis; editing by John Stonestreet

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SOURCE: https://in.reuters.com/article/sudan-politics-idINKCN1UD27

Hospitals targeted, activists tortured, 10 people killed, 181 wounded in protests 30 June across Sudan

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: The following press release from UNHCR provides details of the protests across Sudan last Sunday 30 June and serves as a fair and accurate amalgamation of many articles published online by mainstream media.

Press Release from UNHCR

Published: 04 July 2019 via APO

Title: Bachelet urges Sudan to restore freedoms, investigate violations and move swiftly to civilian rule

Bachelet said her office had received a number of allegations of excessive use of force by the security forces against protestors

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 4, 2019/APO Group/ -- As more details emerge about casualties during Sunday’s [30 June] mass protests in towns and cities across Sudan, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday [03 July] called on the Sudanese authorities to lift restrictions on the internet and launch proper independent investigations into all acts of violence and allegations of excessive use of force, including attacks on hospitals.

She also urged the authorities to respect people’s right to protest peacefully and to ensure a swift transition to a civilian government, in line with the clear wishes of large segments of the Sudanese population and of the African Union.

The mass protests reportedly took place in more than ten major towns and cities, including Khartoum, Omdurman, Kassala, Gadaref, Madani, Port Sudan, Atbara, El Fasher, Nyala, Zalingie and Kosti, in response to calls from the Sudan Professionals Association to support demands for a civilian-led transitional authority.

Despite the total shutdown of the internet by the Transitional Military Council (TMC) on 10 June, the scale and breadth of Sunday’s protests appear to have been unprecedented in recent Sudanese history.

Bachelet said her office had received a number of allegations of excessive use of force by the security forces against protestors. A senior Ministry of Health official reportedly announced late on 30 June that seven people had been killed and 181 wounded during the protests that day. He blamed much of the violence on the protestors, noting that the injured included ten members of the security forces.

The Sudanese Doctors Central Committee, affiliated with the Sudan Professionals Association, also reported that seven protestors had been killed in Omdurman and Atbara by live bullets allegedly fired by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other security forces.

An additional three bodies of local activists were found in Khor Abu Anga in Omdurman on the morning of 1 July, reportedly with visible signs of torture, taking the death toll to at least ten since the start of Sunday’s nationwide protests. “It is essential there are prompt, transparent and independent investigations into how all these people lost their lives, as well as into the causes of such a large number of injuries,” Bachelet said.

Bachelet said she was especially disturbed by reports that, once again, hospitals had been attacked by security forces. The public hospital in Gadaref city was allegedly raided by joint RSF, security and police forces who chased protestors inside the hospital, firing live ammunition and tear gas, injuring at least one person. The UN Human Rights Office received similar allegations that RSF and police had pursued protestors into the military hospital in Omdurman firing tear gas and live bullets, and that a member of the medical staff was shot dead inside the hospital. The Al-Tabib hospital in Khartoum was also reported to have been raided by the RSF and police.

The UN Human Rights Chief noted that earlier calls for investigations into the killings, attacks on medical facilities and thousands of reported rapes and sexual assaults that took place on 3 June and subsequent days had gone unheeded.

“The RSF were alleged to have been heavily implicated in the mass violations in early June,” Bachelet said. “The fact that no serious action has been taken to investigate what happened then, and further in the past, simply feeds the belief that members of the RSF and other security forces have carte blanche to do what they want to protestors and other people. This is a completely unacceptable situation and the Transitional Military Council has an obligation to ensure that members of the security forces are held accountable for any crimes they commit.”

She noted that her offer on 7 June to deploy a UN human rights monitoring team to examine allegations of human rights violations committed since 3 June, had gone unanswered.

She said the TMC’s 27 June offer to release prisoners of war was a welcome gesture, but regretted that the 30 June deadline set by the African Union for a handover to a civilian authorities had not been met.

“This recipe of restrictions, unmet promises, and bouts of unbridled violence which are neither investigated nor punished is stoking massive resentment – as Sunday’s protests showed all too clearly,” she said. “If things continue like this, it will be a recipe for disaster.”

The UN Human Rights Chief said the authorities must issue clear instructions to all security forces not to use force against peaceful protestors, noting that use of firearms is prohibited unless there is imminent risk of life or serious injury.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

https://www.africa-newsroom.com/press/bachelet-urges-sudan-to-restore-freedoms-investigate-violations-and-move-swiftly-to-civilian-rule?lang=en