UN condemns killing of 39 by Sudan's junta - Anti-military protesters to march on presidential palace

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Thanks to South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) for the below copied report by Reuters plus two short videos by SABC. They provide a general overview of news on Sudan since a military coup took place in Sudan on 25 Oct 2021.

SABC has produced accurate news reports on Sudan in the past. SABC is funded wholly or in part by the South African Government. 

South Africa sent 800+ South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers for peacekeeping duties in Darfur for AMIS (African Union Mission in Sudan) and then UNAMID 2004 to 2016. South Africa was one of the first to send peacekeepers to Darfur at the height of the war in 2004. A dangerous mission, peacekeepers are not permitted to fight back. 

The following report says anti-military protesters are to march on Sudan’s presidential palace, and that Sudanese politicians detained in the coup started a hunger strike. Also, the killing of 39 people by Sudanese security forces has been condemned by the UN, and the UN mission in Sudan calls for respect of the Constitution. I say, let’s hope that today’s technology captures evidence of the junta’s new crimes.

Here is the report written by Reuters

Published at SABC News (www.sabcnews.com - @sabcnews)

Dated Tuesday, 30 November 2021, 12:35 PM

Anti-military protesters to march on Sudan’s presidential palace

Protesters plan to march across Sudan and on the presidential palace on Tuesday in the latest protest against military rule following last month’s coup. 

Neighbourhood resistance committees called the protests despite an agreement last week that reinstated civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and brought the release of most top politicians detained since the coup.

The October 25 takeover ended a partnership with civilian political groups since the topping of Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and drew condemnation from Western powers who have suspended aid.

The committees and political parties have rejected the deal, but Hamdok said it would bring the release of dozens of detainees, end a crackdown on protesters that has seen 42 people die, and preserve billions in foreign aid.

Wagdi Salih, popular leader of a controversial anti-corruption taskforce, was released late on Monday night, according to his Twitter account and sources close to him.

However, Salih and others including still-detained politicians Ibrahim al-Sheikh and Ismail al-Tag, face charges of inciting the armed forces, lawyer Moiz Hadra said.

The killing of 39 people by Sudanese security forces condemned by the UN:

VIDEO Sudan protests | The killing of 39 people by Sudanese security forces condemned by the U.N. 

“There are still detainees in Soba prison in Khartoum, men, women and children who were arrested during the protests under the state of emergency and we demand their release along with others across Sudan’s states,” he added.

“We will continue the popular escalation along with all the true revolutionary forces, until the complete demise of the junta,” said the civilian coalition, known as the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), in a statement early on Tuesday [Nov 30].

Referencing top military generals, the Khartoum committees said on Monday [Nov 29] they “do not differentiate between Hamdok or Burhan or Hemedti and the rest of the generals, they are all participants in the coup and belong in the gallows.”

Military ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has said the takeover was needed to set Sudan’s transition back on track and that peaceful rallies are allowed. Deaths during protests are being investigated, he has said, blaming police and armed political factions.

The United Nations mission in Sudan calls for the respect of the Constitution: 

VIDEO Sudan politics | The United Nations mission in Sudan calls for the respect of the Constitution

Image: Reuters - People hold Sudanese flags during a protest, in Khartoum, Sudan.

View original: https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/anti-military-protesters-to-march-on-sudans-presidential-palace/

Security situation in Darfur 12 April 2010 - 4 UNAMID South African peacekeepers missing nr Nyala, S. Darfur, W. Sudan

Darfur/UNAMID Daily Media Brief 2010-04-12
From United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, Tuesday, April 13, 2010/APO:

Security situation in Darfur
Notwithstanding the fact that four UNAMID peacekeepers remain unaccounted for, the security situation in Darfur remains calm. UNAMID has mobilized its resources in the Nyala region and is working closely with the Government of the Sudan and local authorities in the search for the missing peacekeepers.

UNAMID military forces conducted 58 patrols including routine, short range, long range, night, and Humanitarian escort patrols, covering 45 villages and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps during the reporting period.

UNAMID police advisors also conducted 58 patrols in villages and IDP camps.

UNAMID leadership joins patrol of IDP camps
UNAMID Joint Special Representative (JSR) Ibrahim Gambari today accompanied UNAMID police as they conducted a patrol of Abu Shouk and Al Salam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps outside El Fasher, North Darfur. He was accompanied by Deputy Joint Special Representative (DJSR) Mohamed Yonis and Police Commissioner Micheal Fryer.

The delegation visited Community Policing Centres in both camps, as well as polling stations, where IDPs were casting their votes in the country’s first multi-party elections in 24 years.

After speaking to several voters, JSR Gambari remarked “they want to vote, they want to exercise their right to vote. I am very happy that I was here to see them.”

Ghana’s Kufuor visits Darfur as head of AU Election Mission
Former Ghanaian President, John Agyekum Kufuor, and head of the African Union (AU) Liaison Office in Sudan, Ambassador Mahmoud Kane, were received today by UNAMID Joint Special Representative (JSR) Ibrahim Gambari at the Mission’s headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur.

The Ghanaian statesman is heading a 50-member AU observer team for the first multi-party elections in Sudan since 1986.

Mr. Kufuor and Mr. Kane were briefed by UNAMID senior officials on the current security and situation and the political landscape of Darfur.

“We hope the electoral process will open opportunities for the people of the Sudan and enable them, using democracy [to] work for peace within the borders of this huge country,” Kufuor said.

Other international bodies, such as the Arab League and the Carter Center, have observers on the ground.

Darfur/UNAMID peacekeepers reported missing
From United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) via APO:

EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, April 13, 2010 - Four UNAMID peacekeepers have not been seen or heard from in nearly 24 hours. The peacekeepers last movement was reported at 16:00 hrs on 11 April 2010, as they departed their team site just outside of Nyala, South Darfur, on a 7km journey back to their private accommodation.

“There have been no sightings of our staff and we are deeply concerned for their well-being,” said UNAMID Joint Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari, who is in direct contact with Sudanese Government officials over this issue.

UNAMID has mobilized its resources in the region and is working closely with the Government of the Sudan and local authorities in the search for the missing peacekeepers.

Four South African peacekeepers kidnapped in Sudan's Darfur
From English.news.cn 2010-04-13 14:37:29 Editor: Xiong Tong

KHARTOUM, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Four peacekeepers belonging to the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur, a UNAMID source told Xinhua on Tuesday.

The anonymous source said the four South African peacekeepers, two male and two female, were stopped by some 10 gunmen when they were driving from their working site to their private accommodation near Nyala, the capital city of the South Darfur state, on Sunday.

The source quoted witnesses as saying that the four policemen were forced to step off their vehicle at gunpoint.

No armed group in Darfur has made contacts with the UNAMID to claim responsibility for the kidnapping, the source noted.

UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni has refused to confirm or deny the kidnapping, noting that the four peacekeepers were reported missing since Sunday.

"I can not confirm or deny this report (of the kidnapping), I have no confirmations on what had happened," the spokesman said on Tuesday.

Fears raised as four AU-UN peacekeepers go missing in Sudan's Darfur region
From UN News Centre - ‎Monday, 12 April 2010
Four peacekeepers serving with the joint African Union-United Nations force in the western Sudanese region of Darfur have not been seen or ...

Red Cross: 8 staff kidnapped in eastern Congo‎
From The Associated Press - Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Three foreign Red Cross workers were kidnapped in the Philippines last year, and French staff members were seized in Chad and Sudan. ...

Darfur/UNAMID loses another peacekeeper: Private Losedi Boitumelo Monaisa of South African Battalion

EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, September 24, 2008/African Press Organization (APO) - Darfur/UNAMID loses another peacekeeper:

The body of Late Private Losedi Boitumelo Monaisa of South African Battalion was yesterday flown home after a solemn farewell ceremony organized in her honour by her colleagues of the African Union-United Nations hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

“Late Pte Moaisa died under very distressing and sad circumstances…she did not loose her life in combat nor was she a victim of banditry or carjacking, but met her demise after being stung by a scorpion,” lamented UNAMID Principal Deputy Joint Special Representative (PDJSR) Mr. Henry Anyidoho.

Mr. Anyidoho conveyed on behalf of the Joint Special Representative, Mr. Rudophe Adada and the UNAMID leadership profound and heart-felt condolences to the family of Pte. Monaisa, and to the government, Defense Ministry and Armed Forces of the Republic of South Africa.

He lauded the continued support and contribution of South Africa in the quest for peace and security to Darfur and to end the sufferings of its people. He also applauded the bravely and gallantry of the South African military and police contingents and stressed that the sacrifices they have made and continue to make will be enshrined in the annals of the history of the African Union and United Nations to find a peaceful solution to the Darfur conflict.

In his tribute to Late Monaisa, UNAMID Force Commander, General Martin Luther Agwai, lamented the painful circumstances of Private Monaisa’s death which he said made it particularly painful. Gen. Agwai stated that within the brief period she spent in the mission, Pvte Monaisa discharged her duties with unqualified zeal, competence and professionalism. “We lack enough words to re-assure and console her waiting family and colleagues in South Africa,” Gen. Agwai said.

The FC emphasized that the best way we can mourn Pte Monaisa is to forge ahead and emulate her exemplary service. “There is no amount of grief or tears that can bring her back…she had dutifully completed her service here on earth, we look forward to meeting her one day,” Gen. Agwai said.

Late Pte. Monaisa aged 21, was stung by a scorpion on 19 September 2008. Despite the valiant efforts of the medical team to save her life, she succumbed to the venom of the scorpion leaving behind a six year old daughter.