Showing posts with label al-Burhan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label al-Burhan. Show all posts

Sunday, April 16, 2023

Hamdok's video message to Al-Burhan, Mohamed "Hemeti" Dagalo, and leaders of the SAF and RSF

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Many years before Sudan's president Bashir was jailed he fondly nicknamed Dagalo "Hemeti". He saw him as his replacement and the son he never had. He dislikes being called Hemeti. 
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From: BBC News LIVE - full copy
Saturday 15 April 2023 at 16:37 GMT UK

Edited by Rob Corp


Fighting must stop immediately - former  Sudanese prime minister


Copyright: Getty Images

Abdallah Hamdok in 2021

Image caption: Abdallah Hamdok in 2021


Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok has made a statement in a video posted on his Facebook account.


He says the "exchange of fire must stop immediately" and calls on the Sudanese people to "stay strong". 


Quote Message: My first message is to General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the leaders of the Sudanese military, and to Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). 


The exchange of fire must stop immeditately, and the voice of reason must rule, everyone will lose, and there is no victory when it is atop the bodies of our people." from Abdallah Hamdok Former Prime Minister of Sudan


My first message is to General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the leaders of the Sudanese military, and to Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The exchange of fire must stop immeditately, and the voice of reason must rule, everyone will lose, and there is no victory when it is atop the bodies of our people."

Abdallah Hamdok

Former Prime Minister of Sudan


He asks the Sudanese people not to allow "the drums of war to take over", before issuing a plea to the international community to "do their duty in finding a solution".


Hamdok served from 2019 until he was ousted in the October 2021 coup, before being reinstated again a month later.


He resigned last year after long-running disagreements with the army.


Source and further updates by the BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-65285254


[Ends]

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From BBC Live 



Saturday 15 April 2023 at 7:02 GMT UK - full copy

Military action will not resolve situation - UK foreign secretary

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has tweeted in the last few moments. 

He says the violence in Sudan "must stop immediately". 

Quote Message: The UK calls on the Sudanese leadership to do all they can to restrain their troops and deescalate to prevent further bloodshed. 
Quote Message: Military action will not resolve this situation." from James Cleverly UK Foreign Secretary
James CleverlyUK Foreign Secretary

[Ends]

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Saturday, December 04, 2021

URGENT MESSAGE TO ICC: Sudan’s Dagalo, Burhan, Bashir must be tried for alleged war crimes - Ethiopia’s war triggers fears in Kenya, South Sudan

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: After 18 years of gathering news on Sudan and South Sudan for documenting at this site, the below copied report by Al Jazeera.com is, to me, the last straw. I'm shocked that on Fri, 26 Nov. 2021 Al Jazeera decided to publish the report containing its exclusive interview with Gen Dagalo aka Hemeti, deputy of military coup leader Gen Burhan.

Something seems to have changed at Al Jazeera. A recent news report at its website showed a video of a man talking (probably Sudanese Prime Minister Hamdok, I can't recall). The video's audio consisted of a male narrator seemingly providing, in English, an interpretation of what was being said by the man on film. There were no subtitles showing what the man on film was saying. Also, in that report (or another video report on Sudan) Al Jazeera used sinister, anxiety provoking music in the background, like the beating of an electronic war drum. To my ears the music and beat sounded Arabic.

My point is, after 18 years - and after seeing Aljazeera's interview with Hemeti (see link below) and noting its date - I believe the time has now come for Messrs Dagalo, Burhan and Bashir to be put on trial by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as soon as humanly possible. There is no time to waste.

In the interview, Hemeti shows his true colours for all to see by wearing civilian clothing: a dark navy blue suit and tie, white shirt, black footwear, a small enamel Sudanese flag on his lapel in an effort to appear worldly and presidential. Surely, the interview is evidence of Hemeti's intention to preside over Sudan even if it's not what the people want or in the best interest of the country. The people of Sudan want civilian, not military rule. If memory serves, former Sudanese President Bashir fondly nicknamed Dagalo "Hemeti" his little boy, the son he never had. Hemeti is Bashir's heir. 

Reportedly, an editor at Al Jazeera was recently arrested by the junta and released soon after. Who knows whether Al Jazeera was forced into doing the interview to include in a news report at its website as a condition of the editors’s safety and release. I wonder how the interview came about and when and where it took place. I have not seen much publicity about the film.

I have no doubt that Al Jazeera accurately quoted Hemeti in its report and that the timing of its publication and interview is an attempt by Hemeti to reduce the power, support and popularity of PM Hamdok in order to justify the coup and frame Hamdok as a complicit participant in it for personal gain.

Here at Sudan Watch there is a copy of a recent news report by AP featuring one of PM Hamdok's former colleagues recently released from detention who said they felt a coup could happen but didn't know when. 

This is the exact quote: "Faisal Saleh, an advisor to Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, told The Associated Press that security forces took him blindfolded from his home in the early hours of Oct. 25. “We were expecting that there was a military coup coming," said Saleh, who also served as minister of information from 2019 until earlier this year. ”We just didn't know how or when it would take place." 

Aljazeera's interview with Hemeti catches him red handed on film working against Sudan blatantly risking its destabilisation and causing suffering to its people again. He's poorly educated, dim witted and doesn't understand English. He's so ruthless and cruel he could be a psychopath. For him to be in charge of Sudan would be a disaster. It'd plunge the country back into the dark ages upending millions of Sudanese lives.

Nowadays, wars like the current one between the US and China need not be conducted in the old ways of the past. They can be a war of words and cyber attacks. The pen is mightier than the sword. Note the tags at the end of this post and the one labelled '51 names for ICC’. 

Right now, the world is in a precarious state. Russia is agitating to undermine the west. Ethiopia is suffering war (see maps below). France and others and the UN have advised their people in Ethiopia to leave. 

I've waited 18 years for the time to be right for Messrs Bashir, Burhan, Dagalo to be tried by the ICC. The people of Sudan deserve to see justice served and to know that anyone suspected of a crime can be apprehended and tried fairly in a court and treated as innocent until proven guilty.

If a suspected criminal is innocent, they’d have nothing to fear. They'd be fairly treated and released if found innocent. The people of Sudan need to know that criminals and war criminals cannot walk freely with impunity. 

Only by holding Messrs Dagalo, Burhan, Bashir to account will young Sudanese people understand that what is happening now, and why, is the culmination of a 30+ year story filled with death, destruction and unspeakable horrors inflicted on millions of Sudanese civilians, forcing survivors to flee for their lives with just the clothes they were wearing.

I'm writing this in haste. Time is of the essence. If there are any errors in this urgent open message to the ICC, it doesn't matter. What matters is that Dagalo, Burhan and Bashir are questioned under oath, asap.

I’ll leave this note with a link to Aljazeera's report and its must-see video interview at the top of this page before I go on strike in protest of the wicked claims made by Hemeti in his power-grab for the presidency.

I shan't return until the ICC issues a statement explaining its findings and intentions regarding Messrs Bashir, Burhan, Dagalo. Sad to say, Darfur is under attack again. God help the Sudanese people. Peace and love, Ingrid x

Here is a copy of an exclusive report at Al Jazeera.com

Written by Al Jazeera.com English - reprinted online by MSN.com

Published at Al Jazeera.com dated Friday 26 November 2021 c.11am GMT

Title: Sudan’s PM Hamdok backed military takeover, says general

Deputy head of Sudan’s sovereign council, General Dagalo, tells Al Jazeera that reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was part of discussions leading to the military takeover in October.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was deposed by the military on October 25 but reinstated as interim premier November 21 [File: Ashraf Shazly/AFP]


The deputy head of Sudan’s governing sovereign council, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has said that Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was aware of last month’s military takeover before it happened and was “completely agreeable” to it.

Hamdok was deposed by the military on October 25 but reinstated as interim premier after signing a deal on Sunday with Sudan’s top general to restore the transition to civilian rule.

“What happened on October 25 was the ultimate outcome of a long process. Many discussions were made, and many initiatives proposed,” Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, told Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview released on Friday.

“The prime minister himself proposed two initiatives during the meetings. We were left with three options, the best of which was the move we took, and it was completely agreeable to the prime minister himself,” said Dagalo. “We did not make such a move on our own.”

Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar said that the claims were a “bold allegation” since many Sudanese people have been asking whether Hamdok was part of the military takeover or had been aware it would happen.

“When I asked him, he said he didn’t know that the military coup was coming,” said Atas, referring to a recent interview with the prime minister after he was reinstated this week.

“Now the deputy chairman says they had actually discussed it with Hamdok and he knew of the military takeover before it took place,” said Atas.

“People were already questioning his independence. After this allegation, people will question his legitimacy even more,” he added.

On October 25, top General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the government, arrested the civilian leadership, and declared a state of emergency – drawing widespread international condemnation and triggering widespread anti-coup protests.

Hamdok was placed under house arrest after the military seized power.

On November 11, al-Burhan issued a decree creating a new 14-member ruling sovereign council, with himself at the head.

The coup, more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime strongman Omar al-Bashir, derailed a transition towards democratic elections and drew international criticism.

The 14-point deal between Hamdok and the military, signed in the presidential palace in Khartoum on Sunday, provided for the release of all political prisoners detained during the coup and stipulated that a 2019 constitutional declaration be the basis for a political transition, according to details read out on state television.

Following the deal, the reinstated premier told Al Jazeera that he would form a “technocratic government” made up of qualified professionals to lead the country to elections by June 2023.

The deal was largely welcomed by the international community, but Sudanese pro-democracy activists have rejected it as an “attempt to legitimise the coup”.

They demand that the military should not be part of any future Sudanese government and Sudanese people have continued to protest against the military’s involvement in politics since the agreement was signed.

“Tens of thousands of people have been back to the streets, insisting on their demands,” said Serdar, who added that the formation of a new cabinet and the release of political prisoners are the two main issues yet to be resolved.

Twelve cabinet ministers also submitted their resignation to Hamdok in protest against the deal between the prime minister and the military.

At least 41 people have been killed during confrontations with security forces since the coup, as security forces have at times used live rounds to disperse anti-coup demonstrators.

View reprint at MSN: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/sudan-e2-80-99s-pm-hamdok-backed-military-takeover-says-general/ar-AAR9JCg

View original report and Aljazeera's 26-minute video interview with Hemeti entitled Sudan's General Dagalo: Military takeover was the 'best option'https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/26/sudan-pm-hamdok-backed-military-takeover-general-dagalo

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Ethiopia’s war triggers fears in Kenya, South Sudan

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Here are two maps showing Ethiopia's proximity to Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Eritrea, Somalia.


______________________________________________________________________________

From the website of The International Criminal Court (ICC) 
Trying individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression

The Court is participating in a global fight to end impunity, and through international criminal justice, the Court aims to hold those responsible accountable for their crimes and to help prevent these crimes from happening again. 

​​The Court cannot reach these goals alone. As a court of last resort, it seeks to complement, not replace, national Courts. Governed by an international treaty called the Rome Statute, the ICC is the world’s first permanent international criminal court. 

Towards stability and lastin​g peace

Justice is a key prerequisite for lasting peace. International justice can contribute to long‐term peace, stability and equitable development in post‐conflict societies. These elements are foundational for building a future free ​of violence. ​​

Read more: https://www.icc-cpi.int/about

Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir

President of the Republic of Sudan since 16 October 1993 at time of warrants. Arrest warrants: 4 March 2009 and 12 July 2010

Charges: five counts of crimes against humanity: murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape; two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking part in hostilities, and pillaging; three counts of genocide: by killing, by causing serious bodily or mental harm, and by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction, allegedly committed at least between 2003 and 2008 in Darfur, Sudan

Read more: https://www.icc-cpi.int/darfur/albashir

See the other defendants at large including Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, Ahmad Muhammad Harun ("Ahmad Harun"), Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain here: 


Friday, December 03, 2021

RSF's Hemeti Dagalo is blackmailing the international community into recognising his control of Sudan

Thursday, December 02, 2021

Sudan: Chairman Burhan commends Dagalo's efforts in political agreement and praises efforts of the Sufis

Here is a full copy of a news report at Sudan News Agency (SUNA)

Dated Sunday 21 November 2021

Al-Burhan commends Abdel Rahim Dagalo's efforts in political agreement


© Provided by Sudan News Agency (SUNA)


Khartoum, Nov. 21 (SUNA) - The Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, has commended the efforts and stances of the second commander of the Rapid Support Forces Lieutenant-General Abdel Rahim Daglao.

During his address to the signing ceremony of the political agreement with Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdouk, Al- Burhan noted that Abdul Rahim Dagalo has been playing a pivotal national role in the past period and exerted great efforts in maintaining security and stability, extending thanks all the national efforts that played roles in making the situations calm.

He also praised the efforts of the Sufis to bring the ranks and unity of the word to preserve stability. (ta)

View original: https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/other/al-burhan-commends-abdel-rahim-dagalos-efforts-in-political-agreement/ar-AAQZGEr

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Sudan: International Red Cross must visit detainees

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: According to various news reports such as the one copied here below, more than 100 government officials, political leaders, activists and protesters have been detained in Sudan since the military coup on October 25. 

Twenty-five of those detained including Ibrahim al-Sheikh face charges of inciting troops to rebel against their leaders, according to El Tahir Maki Idris, one of the lawyers working with those detained and a family member of al-Sheikh. They could face life imprisonment if convicted.

Also, since the military coup at least 14 anti-coup protesters have been killed due to excessive force used by Sudan's security forces, according to Sudanese doctors and the United Nations and the internet is still cut off.

This site Sudan Watch has received visits from China but, unusually, not Sudan. I have not yet found news of any neutral aid organisations such as the International Red Cross being called upon by the UN to visit the 100+ detainees to verify their wellbeing and living conditions.

Surely there are international laws in place such as the Geneva Conventions [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conventions ] to protect people from being arrested and detained at secret locations where there is no evidence of how they are being treated and when they will be released. 

Here is a full copy of a news report from and by Rédaction Africanews

Dated Wednesday 10 November 2021

Sudan coup: Detained minister's wife Amani Malik Ibrahim worried

Amani Malik Ibrahim has seen her husband detained many times during his fight for democracy in Sudan, but she never thought once he became a government minister he would be subjected to the same thing.

Yet armed soldiers knocked on the door in the early hours of October 25, before putting a gun to Ibrahim al-Sheikh's head and one to his wife's chest.

As al-Sheikh was being detained, his son Mohammed managed to take a few pictures, quickly sending them to his sister in Egypt.

A few hours later the internet was cut off in Sudan.

This was hours before top general Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan dissolved the transitional government and detained other government officials including al-Sheikh, and the country's prime minister Abdalla Hamdok.

More than 100 government officials, political leaders, activists and protesters have been detained since October 25.

The coup came more than two years after a popular uprising forced the military's removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019.

Al-Sheikh, was the minister of industry during the country's fragile planned transition to democratic rule.

He is also the head of the Sudanese Congress Party.

Ibrahim, his wife, is a lawyer and says the whole family has a history of detentions in the fight for democracy.

She says al-Sheikh has been arrested at least 15 times throughout his lifetime. His longest stint in detention was 100 days.

While they are used to the stress of detention, this time al-Sheikh's health is weak.

"At the end of the day, we are human. It shook us," Ibrahim said from their family home in Bahri.

Ibrahim says her husband has diabetes and high blood pressure, and was already ill before he was taken away.

After 12 days without news, al-Sheikh along with many others detained was allowed to call their family but his voice worried Ibrahim.

Ibrahim is working along with an association of lawyers on her husband's case along with others detained.

Twenty-five of those detained including al-Sheikh face charges of inciting troops to rebel against their leaders, according to El Tahir Maki Idris, one of the lawyers working with those detained and a family member of al-Sheikh.

They could face life imprisonment if convicted.

But little information is given to the lawyers who have been working furiously on the case but hear little back from the prosecutor's office.

In the days since October 25, there have been massive protests in the streets of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

Sudanese have taken to the streets in masses against the coup.

The protest movement insists on a full civilian government to rule Sudan during the transition.

Since the takeover, at least 14 anti-coup protesters have been killed due to excessive force used by the country's security forces, according to Sudanese doctors and the United Nations.

Military leaders have maintained they were compelled to take over because of alleged quarrels among political parties that they claimed could lead to civil war.

See video posted at the original report here:  https://www.africanews.com/2021/11/10/sudan-coup-detained-minister-s-wife-amani-malik-ibrahim-worried-over-his-health/

Monday, November 01, 2021

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

Sunday, October 31, 2021

Inside the frantic days leading to Sudan’s coup

Report by ABDI LATIF DAHIR and DECLAN WALSH, The New York Times

Published: Sun 31 Oct 2021 08:21 AM BdST - Reprinted by bdnews24.com

Title: 'They lied.’ Inside the frantic days leading to Sudan’s coup

For days, the American envoy navigated between Sudan’s army chief and prime minister, striving to head off the collapse of a tenuous democratic transition in the country that had been two years in the making.


In a frantic series of meetings in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum last weekend, Jeffrey Feltman, the US envoy to the Horn of Africa, sought to narrow the differences between the army chief, Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, who had been sharing power since the 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

At a final meeting Sunday afternoon, al-Burhan argued that Sudan’s Cabinet should be dismissed and replaced with technocrats but gave no indication he was preparing to seize power. With that reassurance, the American diplomat wrapped things up and caught a flight to Qatar where, on landing, his phone lit up: A coup was underway in Sudan.

“They lied to him,” said Nureldin Satti, Sudan’s ambassador to the United States, referring to his country’s military leadership. “This is very serious, because when you lie to the US, you have to pay the consequences.”

No one factor appeared to prompt al-Burhan to call a halt to Sudan’s democratic transition. Nor is it certain his coup will succeed, given the mass demonstrations called for this Saturday.

In a series of interviews with analysts and multiple American, Sudanese and European officials, a picture emerged of a military that had grown frustrated with its civilian partners and was intent on maintaining its privileged position and avoiding any investigations into its business affairs or human rights abuses during al-Bashir’s three decades of rule.

Some also faulted the civilian opposition for failing to assuage the generals’ fears of prosecution while the transition to democracy was still underway, while one US official said that Russia had encouraged the coup in hopes of securing commercial advantages and a port on the Red Sea.

Sudan’s civilian leadership had been living in fear of a military coup for at least 18 months. Last weekend, as pro-military protesters camped outside the presidential palace and a pro-military ethnic group closed off the country’s main seaport, it seemed imminent.

Around noon Monday, al-Burhan announced the dissolution of the country’s governing bodies, arrested the prime minister, blocked the internet and announced a nationwide state of emergency. He also disbanded the committees managing the country’s trade unions, while his security forces arrested top civilian leaders, at least one of whom was badly beaten, according to Western officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, under normal diplomatic practice.

His moves plunged the nation into a wave of deadly protests and work stoppages, and drew condemnation from regional and global leaders who insisted on the need to return to civilian leadership. But none of that has seemed to soften the resolve of al-Burhan and his confederates.

“We are back to square one,” said Jihad Mashamoun, a Sudanese researcher and analyst. “General al-Burhan has once again set the seal on the military’s dominance in Sudanese affairs, and the people will come out to face him.”

Little known before 2019, al-Burhan, 61, rose to power in the tumultuous aftermath of the military-led coup that ousted al-Bashir. Then the inspector general of the armed forces, he played a role in sending Sudanese troops, including children, to fight in Yemen’s civil war. He had also served as a regional army commander in Darfur, when 300,000 people were killed and millions of others displaced in fighting between 2003 and 2008.

A close associate of al-Bashir, the general firmly believed the military was the most important institution in the country, tantamount to the state itself, said Cameron Hudson, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Africa Centre.

Thrust into the public eye following a popular uprising against the strongman ruler, he proved a reluctant leader, unaccustomed to the international stage. Under the long decades of isolation and international sanctions under al-Bashir, his sphere of travel had been limited to a handful of Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

By contrast, Hamdok, 65, an economist by training, had spent much of his career working at international financial institutions and consulting firms.

The two leaders remained amicable in the beginning, with Hamdok’s government overseeing a raft of reforms that succeeded in removing Sudan from the US list of countries that sponsor terrorism, banned female genital cutting and scrapped apostasy laws. He also signed a peace agreement with rebel groups.

But their relationship soon soured over the question of how best to manage the country and the economy. Those differences deepened after a coup attempt in September.

Tensions rose further in recent months as pro-democracy groups stepped up calls for the military to relinquish power to civilians and for the transitional government to investigate human rights abuses and corruption under al-Bashir. The military balked, analysts and officials said, fearful that any measures of accountability would expose their personal, financial and factional interests.

“It’s all tactical retreat,” said Hudson, arguing that the generals signed the power-sharing agreement in 2019 to relieve pressure on the military, not because they truly believed in it. “The only throughline in all of this is the military’s survival.”

Another divisive issue was whether to hand over al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court, where he has been charged with crimes against humanity and other offenses. Neither al-Burhan nor Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, also known as Hemeti, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that were accused of genocidal violence in Darfur, have been indicted by the court, and analysts say they are keen to maintain the status quo.

“The two generals have had very close relations since Darfur and have everything to worry about if Mr al-Bashir is taken to the ICC,” Mashamoun said. “They would like to see some sort of immunity.”

The armed forces and intelligence services have also resisted efforts to rein in their extensive financial power.

Together they control hundreds of state-owned enterprises dealing in the production and sale of minerals, including gold, imports and exports of livestock, construction materials and pharmaceuticals. Rife with corruption, the companies rarely contribute their profits to the national budget, said Suliman Baldo, a senior adviser at The Sentry, a Washington-based group that seeks to expose corruption in Africa.

Al-Burhan also heads the board of trustees for Defence Industrial Systems, one of the military’s biggest firms. “He is doubling up as a corporate baron while he’s also the general commander of the army and now the de facto head of state,” Baldo said.

But civilian leaders in the transitional government bear some of the blame for the breakdown in relations, said Satti, the Sudanese ambassador, whom the military said Thursday it had fired along with other ambassadors who had publicly condemned the coup. Satti insisted that he was still on the job.

“There is a tug of war and a mutual provocation between the two sides,” he said. He added that some civilians did not understand the importance of alleviating the military’s fears.

With rising inflation and a shortage of basic goods, Hamdok faced a lot of pressure, too. A technocrat by training and temperament, he lacked the political skills to manage the tensions, Satti said.

There were “too many actors, a lot of disagreements and not a proper background to understand the requirements of the moment,” he said. “And he pushed too hard, too fast.”

Analysts said that al-Burhan would not have undertaken the coup without at least the tacit approval of powerful allies in the Middle East. Two of those, Egypt and the UAE, have yet to criticise the coup, while Saudi Arabia has condemned it, the US State Department said in a statement.

Al-Burhan has defended the coup as necessary to avert a “civil war” and promised to transfer power following elections in 2023. It is a timeline many young Sudanese say they do not agree with, a point they plan on making in Saturday’s protests.

“It’s going to be a showdown,” Mashamoun said.

© 2021 The New York Times Company

IMAGE, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan attends a news conference during the International Conference in support of Sudan at the Temporary Grand Palais in Paris, France, May 17, 2021. REUTERS 

View source: https://bdnews24.com/world/africa/2021/10/31/they-lied.-inside-the-frantic-days-leading-to-sudans-coup

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Sudan's PM Hamdok, detained after coup, is home

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor:  Although I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the following report, I am posting it here because it provides some details about Sudan's Prime Minister Hamdok and his wife. Sadly, I have not found any reliable news about Mr Hamdok's cabinet colleagues, their current whereabouts and how they are being treated. I am reluctant to post this report here today but am confident that Mr Hamdok and his wife have been released safely. Reportedly, they were abducted and detained at the home of Sudan's coup leader Gen. Burhan. More on this at a later date.   
















Photo, Sudan's head of the military Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan speaks during a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)


Sudan’s prime minister, detained after coup, returns home

Report at Fox17 dot com 

Written by SAMY MAGDY, Associated Press (AP) 

Published Wednesday 27 October 2021 


Sudan's deposed prime minister and his wife were allowed to return home Tuesday, a day after they were detained when the military seized power in a coup, according to a statement issued by his office.

The release of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his wife followed international condemnation of the coup and calls for the military to release all the government officials who were detained when Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan seized power on Monday.

The statement by Hamdok's office said other government officials remained in detention, their locations unknown. The deposed prime minister and his wife were under "heavy security" at home in the upscale Kafouri neighborhood of the capital Khartoum, said a military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. The official did not say whether they were free to leave or make calls.

Earlier in the day, Burhan said Hamdok had been held for his own safety and would be released. But he warned that other members of the dissolved government could face trial as protests against the putsch continued in the streets.

View full report plus 14 photos here:  https://fox17.com/news/nation-world/sudans-prime-minister-detained-after-coup-returns-home

Friday, March 13, 2020

Sudan: Getting quick debt relief & credit seems bleak

  • On his return from his recent trip to Washington DC, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said that the transitional government will be closing the offices of both Hamas and Hezbollah, designated by the US as terrorist groups.
  • By remaining on the list, Sudan is prevented from accessing the much-need $10bn in aid it was hoping to raise to repair the battered economy.
  • According to professor David Shinn, a former US diplomat and an expert on Sudanese affairs, the US is keeping Sudan on the SST list to see how the transitional government will bring the RSF under its control. 
  • As it will take more than three years to remove Sudan from the SST list, the hope to get immediate debt relief and credit seems bleak. Read more:
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Sudan needs US support – both diplomatic and economic
Opinion Piece from The Africa Report.com
Published Monday 10 February 2020 09:51, updated Tuesday 11 February 2020 16:10
By Jihad Mashamoun (pictured below) Doctoral candidate of Middle East Politics within the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of the University of Exeter, England, United Kingdom
The Sudanese government is working hard to get itself removed from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) in order to get much-needed investment into the country.

On his return from his recent trip to Washington DC, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said that the transitional government will be closing the offices of both Hamas and Hezbollah, designated by the US as terrorist groups.

By remaining on the list, Sudan is prevented from accessing the much-needed $10bn in aid it was hoping to raise to repair the battered economy.

Although Hamdok’s visit to the US was certainly positive – the US agreed to upgrade its diplomatic representation to the ambassador level – removing Sudan from the US list will take longer than the three-year period of the transitional government.

So what are the implications of the US keeping Sudan in its SST list? How could the US help Sudan overcome those obstacles?

From a distance

As the US does not want the bloody crackdown on protesters of 3 June to occur again, Makila James, deputy assistant secretary for East Africa and the Sudans, has informed US House officials that the government is looking at options including sanctions should similar events occur.

That pressured the Transitional Military Council (TMC) to reach an agreement with the opposition. However, the US remains uneasy about the inclusion of the military in the transition process.

That is because the transitional process includes military elements of the former regime of president Omar al-Bashir.

Those elements include Lt. General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the former chairman of the TMC, and Lt. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ‘Hemeti’, former deputy chairman of the TMC and who is the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Both military leaders have been implicated in the genocide that took place in Darfur in 2014 [Sudan Watch Ed: stating that genocide took place in Darfur in 2014 is an error, it should read 2004 not 2014 - also, as far as I am aware, genocide in Darfur has not been proven in a court of law. In my view, the Darfur war, reportedly starting in 2003, was a horrific counter-insurgency costing 300,000-400,000 lives and badly affecting and displacing millions of other Darfuris]. Moreover, the independence of Lt. General Hemeti and his RSF from the Sudanese Armed Forces has been a cause of concern US officials, especially since the emptying of the protest site in front of the Sudanese military headquarters on 3 June.

According to professor David Shinn, a former US diplomat and an expert on Sudanese affairs, the US is keeping Sudan on the SST list to see how the transitional government will bring the RSF under its control.

What about the security establishment?

Another point of concern for US officials is the hold of the former regime over the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), which has been recently revamped into the General Intelligence Services (GIS).

The US included Sudan on the SST list in 1990s even though its Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had joint operations with the NISS, which was headed by Salah Abdallah ‘Gosh’ at the time. In 2005, the CIA flew him into its headquarters as a reward for Sudan’s support in detaining suspected militants and providing information on Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda following the 11 September 2001 attacks.

In the 1990s, Sudan invited and hosted Bin Laden. The US had deemed him a threat for his planning of the attack on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The US attack on the Shifa pharmaceutical factory in 1998 was a turning point where Sudan abandoned Bin Laden by attempting to hand him over to the CIA.

Thereafter, the Bashir regime decided to work with the US intelligence agencies to repair the relationship between the two countries and to remove Sudan from the SST list.

One of the central individuals who was tasked with supporting ties with the US was the controversial Salah Gosh. He and the Bashir regime helped the CIA in counter-terrorism operations.

With the removal of Salah Gosh from his position as head of the NISS, the US has concerns about its counter-terrorism partner.

On 2 December, Cameron Hudson, who was a former US diplomat and former chief of staff of the George Bush administration, said the US worries that Salah Gosh has supporters who could undermine the country’s reform efforts.

The recent mutiny of the operations unit of the GIS shows that the US’s fears were well founded.

That is because it became apparent that Lt. General Mustafa Abubakr Dambalab, who was appointed as the chief of the GIS, was a supporter of Salah Gosh. 

Salah Gosh founded the operations unit of the NISS in 2005.

Sources say Salah Gosh manipulated the operations unit to mutiny and to try to instigate a coup as Lt. General Hemeti on 13 January 2020.

Sailing into safer waters
As the recent mutiny has shown that the supporters of the former regime will continue to threaten the transition process by creating insecurity, it is apparent that the inclusion of Sudan on the SST list is also threatening the transition process.

As it will take more than three years to remove Sudan from the SST list, the hope to get immediate debt relief and credit seems bleak.

However, to help guide Sudan’s transitional process into safe waters, there are a series of immediate measures that could satisfy the immediate goals of both Sudan and the US:
  • 1.  As fellow Sudanese have understandably great expectations, the US could help Hamdok’s government in managing the expectations of the population by appointing a pro-active ambassador.
  • It is recommended that the ambassador work with both the Sudanese government and the governing Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces party in communicating clearly what the US expects from Sudan.
  • 2.  The US could help address Sudan’s security problems by working with its regional allies to hand over Salah Gosh and other members of the former regime to Sudan so that they can face prosecution for the crimes they committed against the people since 30 June 1989.
  • 3.  While Hamdok’s government has been operating with public support so far, removing fuel and food subsidies to balance the books will undermine it. Therefore, rather than following policies driven by the narrow economic agenda of the World Bank and IMF, the government and the international community could work together in retrieving the billions of dollars that the former regime leaders have stashed outside Sudan.