Sunday, August 04, 2019

UN Envoy Nicholas Haysom: Sudan in deep economic crisis - Fragile transition will need military protection

Note from Sudan Watch Editor: The United Nations Secretary-General's special adviser on Sudan, Nicholas Haysom is interviewed by Asharq Al-Awsat. Below is a copy of the interview. Yellow highlighting is mine.

Note, in the interview Mr Haysom describes Sudan as an Arab country. Also, he explains that Sudan is suspended by the African Union until such time as there is a civilian handover. And that the US Congress passed a resolution maintaining its suspension and sanction against the regime until there is a handover. He says Sudan is in deep economic crisis, so the sooner there is a handover the sooner Sudan can begin to normalise its both diplomatic and economic relations with the rest of the world.

In the interview, Mr Haysom talks about how the UN Security Council suspended recently the withdrawal of UNAMID from Darfur and that there needs to be a discussion with the Sudanese government about the pulldown of UNAMID and the consequences of that pulldown, and the question is who to talk to, given that there is going to be a new civilian led government.

Mr Haysom says the UN took a position early on to support the African Union initiative. He added that the international community wanted to “see a clear commitment: a civilian led authority, but we would recognise that the transition would be a fragile and volatile period, and it will need the military to protect it.” Full interview here below.

Article from Asharq Al-Awsat
Written by ALI BARADA - New York
Date published: Tuesday, 16 July 2019 10:30
Photo: UN envoy Nicholas Haysom (AFP)

UN Envoy to Asharq Al-Awsat: Sudan Transition Will Be Fragile and Need Military Protection

United Nations Secretary-General's special adviser on Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, revealed that the international community has thrown its weight behind the African Union initiative on the transition of power following the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir. 

In exclusive remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said the UN took a position early on to support the initiative. He added that the international community wanted a to “see a clear commitment: a civilian led authority, but we would recognize that the transition would be a fragile and volatile period, and it will need the military to protect it.”

*It seems that the parties in Sudan have made some progress toward settling the situation there after toppling Bashir rule. How do you view this development from a UN perspective?

- The UN took a position early on to support the African Union initiative. The African Union has set a benchmark which was to transfer from military rule to a civilian led authority. It is not quite clear what a civilian led authority means in detail, but of course what is important is that the Sudanese themselves agree on an arrangement that could be suggestive that it has the support of the civilian section of the dispute. It is quite clear from the agreement that there is some kind of partnership or alliance between the civilians and the military. But what is still disputed the exact terms of that partnership. I think from the international community, we would want to see a clear commitment: a civilian led authority, but we would recognize that the transition would be a fragile and volatile period, and it will need the military to protect it. At the same time, we would want to see civilians in charge of the business of governing and some respect for that from the military. How that will exactly play out we’ve yet to see. You may know that they are trying to agree a text as we speak. Hopefully they will finalize that soon to deal with some important issues, such as to how the relationship between the military and the civilians, will the military have a veto over the civilian decisions.

*So you don’t see what they have achieved so far as a breakthrough?

- It is a breakthrough that they reached an agreement. The terms of that agreement once they start to look at it, both sides realize they have different interpretations. So we wouldn’t celebrate it as a done deal until it is a done deal.

*How quickly do you want to see the powers transferred to civilians?

- I think the sooner the better. I must say the international community will feel uneasy dealing and making long term arrangements with the military authority. There is some impatience to see civilian authority in place, so we can begin to deal with some of the important issues which lie ahead. Now let just stress that Sudan is in a deep economic crisis apart from its political challenges. Digging at us is the economic crisis, is a medium to long term endeavor which will require the commitment of the member states, international financial institutions and the neighborhood to put in place a program which will see Sudan’s economic relationship with the rest of the world normalized. As you know, it is listed by the United States as a state sponsoring terrorism, which impacts also its attempts to secure debt relief. These things are all possible: lifting it of the list, securing the debt relief, and there is a considerable good will toward Sudan if it makes progress toward a civilian lead authority…

*How is the UN and yourself helping in achieving these objectives?

- We’ve been confining our support largely to securing international support for the African Union on this issue and its initiative. In other words, we’ve avoided trying to introduce a UN track in addition to the AU track. That would be problematic. 

*We witnessed how the Arab world has extended some support in that direction.

- Yes, there is good will towards the efforts that the Sudanese people, because you know they’ve quite bravely trying to take their destiny in their own hands, and they’ve done that with discipline, and they’ve held six months of absolutely peaceful demonstrations despite provocations, and they’ve done so with considerable courage, and the participation of ordinary people. Look at the pictures, we would see women and children and ordinary people who are taking the streets.

Sudan needs Arab support

*What are your expectations from the Arab states? Sudan is an Arab country beside its African identity.

- There was a delegation from the League of the Arab States in Sudan. They’ve expressed support, and we would count on them to continue their support. We also need the support of the neighborhood which are across the Red sea including the Gulf countries. Bear in mind that Sudan is a poor country as well, and would need financial support not only from the Arab world but also from the rest of the world, but certainly from the Arab countries. Sudan itself certainly has an element of Arab and African identity, surrounded by African countries, and in particularly volatile region, the Horn of Africa. It is boarded by countries in conflict: Somalia, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Libya. If things go badly in Sudan, it would have an impact on the region as a whole, which is already quite fragile.

On the other hand, this is a remarkable opportunity for Sudan, not just to deal with its current political crisis, but also to deal with the problems and the fault lines which have affected it for more than fifty years, to create a new social contract which involves also, as they say in Sudan, not only the river on people but also the periphery and Darfur… So what we are hoping for is not this agreement coming up and trying to sign now, but a much larger agreement which would resolve the issues that the Sudanese face with each other across the regions of Sudan.

*Have you conveyed this message to the Sudanese?

- Yes, to the players, all of them, that this is to be sure a challenge, but also an incredible opportunity that shouldn’t let slip.

*What do you hear from them?

- They recognize that, and I think that both sides have prioritized the broader peace. The armed groups in different parts of the country has a priority facing the transitional government.

*So do you think this is an opportunity to lift Sudan not only from the current crisis but also from its chronic ills?

- Yes, from the chronic crisis that has been there for a long time. Yes.

*What do they have to do?

- I think in the first instance, they have to find a way in which the armed groups can participate in a larger discussion about how Sudan should be managed and governed.

*Is the UN willing and working on helping achieve this goal?

- We’ve been speaking to them, and encouraging people.

*Who did you speak with?

- I spoke recently to and to Malik Agar and Minni Minnawi… I was in Addis Ababa also. In the past I had a meeting with the military.

*It is worthwhile mentioning the military because of the major role they are playing now.

- They have both the power to take the country to a better place but also the power to insure that it slips into catastrophic crisis if they try to cling to power.

*So are you worried?

- No, that is why we are happy about the agreement because it seems to signal an appreciation that there needs to be a handover to a civilian authorities.

Jealous sub-regional organizations 

*Let me be honest, there is this notion that the UN is useless when it comes to crises like this one. Why the UN would succeed in Sudan if it fails everywhere else?

- Let me try to repeat: we are not trying to lead the efforts in Sudan. It is quite right that the UN shouldn’t lead every effort where in Africa the regional and the sub-regional organizations are quite jealous about the need to be in the first instance those who try to resolve the problems in their own neighborhood. So that is not abandoning those people. We are behaving appropriately and in support of those who should take the lead. I am not sure that the UN is useless to the extent to which is more likely regarded as ineffective is not because of the staff of the UN or its methodologies, but that has been largely a reflection of the member states divisions and inability to find consensus in the Security Council.

*Is there enough support in the Security Council?

- I think there is one circumstance in which it is more likely to be broad base support, and that is the multilateral organizations of the continent have given a lead in the Security Council across its political spectrum is more likely to support that initiative.

*We have not seen a powerful product from the Security Council to support the efforts that you are making, and that of the AU?

- Well they issued a united statement days after they debated the situation in Sudan, and I think that was critically because the African Union had given a clear signal that it expected the Security Council to support it. That doesn’t really apply elsewhere very often.

*You are a mediator. Do you need the support of the Security Council?

- I think at the end of the day, the Security Council is the sort of ultimate authority, and if it can’t muster a voice to give a lead of an issue, then the mediator hands are also weakened.

Accountability for past crimes

*One of the other lingering issues is that Bashir and others have been indicted by the ICC, and there is a question about what is going to happen now with them.

- This is an issue that I think you have to turn to the Sudanese people to decide. I can’t be decided solely by the external community. They have to decide whether they want accountability for past crimes and how far they should go. You know the more immediate issue is not President Bashir. The more immediate issue is the killing of the protesters during the course of the this. The protesters have now demanded some form of accountability, and there is currently a debate in Sudan on whether that should have an international character or a national form of accountability. I don’t want to comment now on whether I prefer national or international accountability, but I would stress that the Sudanese should have ownership of it if it is going to have a more lasting effect… They have to support what form of accountability they choose. It needs to be part of there reconciliation process, and that is more likely to happen where there is national ownership, which may mean some international involvement or not.

*When are you going back to Sudan? What are you going to do?

- I hope I can go this week, and that there will be a signing ceremony for the agreement. This agreement will need to be developed as it goes along. It will need to be implemented and it won’t be easy. It is quite clear from what we’ve seen that there are different perspectives on how strong the supervisory role the military should have if at all, and how this will play out as they go forward in establishing a government and appointing ministers and other important aspects of the civilian rule.

*Is there a timeframe?

- There is no timeframe envisaged thus yet. But as we speak, Sudan is suspended by the African Union until such time where a civilian handover. The US Congress passed a resolution maintaining its suspension and sanction against the regime until there is a handover. So the sooner there is a handover the sooner Sudan can begin to normalize its both diplomatic and economic relations with the rest of the world.

*Also the Security Council suspended recently the withdrawal of UNAMID from Darfur.

- That’s right. There needs to be a discussion with the Sudanese government about the pulldown of UNAMID and the consequences of that pulldown, and the question that beg is who do we talk to, given that there is going to be a new civilian led government.

*And ultimately there should be some kind of elections...

- Ultimately this is about a transitional phase, which is about establishing a bridge to a normal situation, a democracy or whatever the country wants to establish. Transition normally culminate an election, then it stops to be a transition. It is a new government.


Further Reading

US backs Sudan transition deal fearing state collapse
Article from The Financial Times 11 July 2019 
Sudan Watch - Friday 12 July 2019

Film: Grieving mother and sister of Mahgoub Al-Taj

Note from Sudan Watch Editor: Many film clips are being posted online from Sudan, especially on Twitter. Much of the amateur footage is shockingly graphic. This clip in particular conveys the deep emotion felt by a mother (with her daughter) while continuing to protest after the killing of her son Mahgoub Al-Taj. The footage, probably shot from a phone camera, brings the viewer close into the midst of a sorrowful crowd.
To visit the above tweet click here: https://twitter.com/SudaneseTc/status/1157195013777870848
Hat tip: @Eric Reeves https://twitter.com/sudanreeves

Saturday, August 03, 2019

Saudi Arabia deposits $250m into Sudan's central bank - Sixth Al-Obeid protester has died of wounds

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. The financial grant is part of a package with the United Arab Emirates worth $500m announced in April (Reuters)

Article by Middle East Eye and agencies
Date: Wed 31 July 2019 09:01 UTC

Saudi Arabia deposits $250m into Sudan's central bank

Saudi Arabia has deposited $250m into the central bank of Sudan to support its financial position, the Saudi Finance Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday [30 July].

The grant is half of a $500m package the kingdom is providing along with the United Arab Emirates in order to alleviate pressure on the Sudanese pound. This package is part of $3bn in overall aid pledged by both countries in April.

The remaining money will go towards fuel, wheat and medicine, Reuters reported.

The aid offer in April was met with protests in Khartoum from demonstrators who reportedly said they suspected that the Gulf states were trying to influence the country's Transitional Military Council.

Just weeks before the aid announcement, mass protests led the Sudanese army to topple longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

However, the economy is still haunted by Bashir's legacy, including the penalties imposed for his support of armed groups and for the offensive he launched to crush rebels in the western region of Darfur.

Because Sudan is still listed by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism and has $1.3bn of IMF arrears, it is unable to tap the IMF and World Bank for support. 

Sudanese banks have struggled to re-establish correspondent relationships with foreign banks.

Sixth protester dies
As unrest in the country continued, authorities on Tuesday ordered all schools nationwide to suspend classes indefinitely after crowds of students launched demonstrations against the killing of six protesters, including four pupils at a rally in a central town on Monday.

"Killing a student is killing a nation," chanted hundreds of schoolchildren, dressed in their uniforms and waving Sudanese flags, as they took to the streets of Khartoum in protest at the killings in El-Obeid.
Footage shows Sudanese security forces firing towards schoolchildren 
Four high school students were shot dead and more than 60 wounded, some by snipers, when they rallied in El-Obeid against fuel and bread shortages, the protest movement and residents said.

Late on Tuesday, a doctors committee close to the protest movement said a sixth protester died of wounds after he was "shot with a bullet in the head".

The committee did not say if he too was a student.
Demonstrators accused feared paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of shooting dead the teenagers.

Calls for investigation
In a statement on Wednesday, Save the Children said: "Schoolchildren should not be a target and we call on the government to invest in safe spaces to protect them."

Adil Al Mahi, Save the Children Sudan Country Director, said: "Countless young lives have been cut short or shattered by this violence.

"We urge the government to investigate these attacks, ensure perpetrators are brought to justice and that injured children have access to support so they can make a full recovery."

The UN children's agency UNICEF has also called on the authorities to investigate the killings and hold the perpetrators accountable.

The head of Sudan's military council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, condemned the killings on Tuesday.

"What happened in Al-Obeid is sad. Killing peaceful civilians is an unacceptable crime that needs immediate accountability," he told journalists, quoted by state television.

The killings came a day before protest leaders were due to hold talks with generals on the remaining aspects of installing civilian rule, after the two sides inked a power-sharing deal earlier this month.
But protest leaders called off Tuesday's meeting.

"There will be no negotiation today with the Transitional Military Council as our negotiating team is still in Al-Obeid and will return only tonight," said a negotiator and prominent protest leader, Satea al-Haj.

Later, in a television interview on Tuesday, Burhan called on negotiators from both sides to "expedite" the dialogue given the overall impasse in the country.

Deluded SLM leader Abdelwahid El Nur will continue to fight for "his people" until he becomes president

Note from Sudan Watch Editor: It is difficult to believe that Abdelwahid El Nur is still commenting on his Darfur war from Paris, France.  How has he made his living during the past 16 years, I wonder.  Why does he not live in Sudan?  Perhaps he is afraid he no longer has the support of the Darfuris.  In my view, he sold out many years ago while seated safely in a Paris hotel directing the Darfur war from a satellite phone. 

Nothing he ever says makes much sense to me. In this article he is quoted as saying his Sudan Liberation Movement “will adhere to the revolution until a radical change takes place and a real civilian authority is established”.  I guess he means, when all is done in 3 years, and the way is clear and safe for him to return. Coward.

Article from Radio Dabanga.org
Dated 09 August 9 2019 - PARIS
Abdelwahid El Nur: ‘Sudan junta, opposition kidnapped the revolution’
SLM leader Abdelwahid El Nur (File photo)

The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) will not recognise the accords reached between the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC). According to SLM leader Abdelwahid, the agreements only legitimise the power of the junta.

The Darfur armed movement led by El Nur does not recognise the agreements. “They are just power-sharing deals between remnants of the former regime and forces that kidnapped the revolution from the youth,” the rebel leader said in an interview with Radio Dabanga.

“The junta is just an extension of the ousted regime of Omar Al Bashir, responsible for the killing of people in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, Kajbar, and all over Sudan.  

“The janjaweed militia, now called Rapid Support Forces, that committed crimes against the people of Darfur, are still committing the same crimes, now in the entire country.”

El Nur further said he does not have confidence in the Forces for Freedom and Change. “The group was formed only after the people revolted. The members are the same bodies that used to negotiate with the old regime.

“As a result, the slogan of the revolution 'Just fall, that’s all' disappeared. The FFC opted for legitimising the members of the junta and its militias, and now considers them partners in the revolution.”

Agreements

After negotiations brokered by the African Union, the TMC and the pro-democracy movement signed a basic power-sharing Political Charter on July 17. A week ago, the two parties agreed on the Constitutional Declaration, which outlines the powers and the relationships between the branches of the interim government.

The constitutional document, to be officially signed on August 17, will mark the beginning of the interim period led by a civilian government for three years and three months, after which elections will be held.

A Sovereign Council, consisting of 11 members, will rule the country. Five members will be from the military, five will be civilians. The 11th member will be civilian, to be selected by both parties. For the first 21 months, the president will be from the military, followed by a civilian for 18 months.

The 250-pages-long Constitutional Declaration approves the procedural immunity of the members of the Sovereign Council and the rulers of the states, abolishes the laws and texts restricting freedoms, and stipulates the liquidation of the former regime.

‘Radical change’

El Nur said his Sudan Liberation Movement “will adhere to the revolution until a radical change takes place and a real civilian authority is established”.

He explained that continuing with armed struggle is not the movement's option at this stage. “The SLM-AW will depend on popular struggle as an opposition tool, together with the Sudanese people, in order to reach this end, summarised in Just fall, that’s all.”

According to the SLM-AW leader, “The Sudanese people who forced Al Bashir to disappear from the scene are able to overthrow the junta and all other forces that hijacked the revolution in the name of the people, and pave the way for a state based on equal citizenship”.

The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF, a coalition of the armed movements) reached an agreement with the FFC on the peace process in Sudan in the Ethiopian capital on July 25. The SLM-AW is no part of the SRF anymore. The movement withdrew when the coalition opted for a peaceful solution instead of continuing the armed struggle. El Nur says he will only join peace negotiations after Khartoum has restored stability and security in Darfur.

Serious doubts

In his op-ed published by Radio Dabanga on August 7, Prof Eric Reeves, expresses his concerns on issues that have not been addressed in the Constitutional Declaration.

“The first, and most frequent, is that far too much power has been left in the hands of the military, now a hybrid military, with both the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) nominally under the command of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. [..]

“The second criticism, voiced in various forms, is that the fundamental economic issues in Sudan—a nation struggling under the burden of an economy that has largely collapsed—are nowhere addressed with any specificity,” the well-known Sudan researcher and analyst states.

SOURCE: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/abdelwahid-el-nur-sudan-junta-opposition-kidnapped-the-revolution

Friday, August 02, 2019

Sudanese people really find a way to turn everything into a party😂

THIS fun film footage was tweeted on 10 April 2019. According to a Timeline of Key Events I have posted in the sidebar here at Sudan Watch, on 11 April 2019 "the Sudanese army arrests al-Bashir and says it takes over for the next 2 years, suspending the country’s constitution and closing its borders and airspace. A three-month state of emergency is also imposed." 

Presumably the footage was tweeted around the time the arrest was made. Or maybe the film is just a normal night out for the boys.  Where are the girls?  Are girls not allowed out at night?
To visit above tweet click here: https://twitter.com/zobaidaxo/status/1115793738473852928 

Sudan’s rapidly rising prices, lack of medicines - Hospitals and pharmacies short of normal saline

Article from Radio Dabanga.org
Date:  28 July 2019 KASSALA / EL GENEINA / EL FULA

Complaints about rapidly rising prices, lack of medicines in Sudan
A pharmacy in the outskirts of Khartoum (File photo)

Many Sudanese are suffering from rising prices of food and medicines. A number of medicines have become hard to find or are not available at all.

Listeners told Radio Dabanga from Halfa El Jadeeda in eastern Sudan’s Kassala that the price for a kilogram of lamb meat jumped from DSDG 300 ($7*) to SDG 400 last week. The price for a kilogram of beef rose from SDG 180 to SDG 280. Adding a salad to the meal now costs SDG 100 ($2.20) instead of SDG 30.

In El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, the price of a gallon of benzine rose to SDG 180 and a gallon of diesel SDG 150.

Various people in the city lamented the high food costs. “We now pay SDG 2,200 ($49) for a 100kg sack of sorghum,” one of them said.

Shortages of medicines were reported in the five states of Darfur and in North and West Kordofan. 
Pharmacists confirmed that a variety of medicines are not on the markets anymore.

They complained about a lack of life-saving medicines, medications for psychiatric and neurological patients, and fever drops for new-borns.

“Many people come to the pharmacy with prescriptions but return to the hospital or home empty-handed because the medicines are not available anymore or they cannot afford to pay for them,” a pharmacist reported from El Fula in West Kordofan.

Already in September 2018, Radio Dabanga reported that Sudanese in various parts of the country were having difficulty in coping with the continuously rising food and consumer goods prices. A number of families complained that the circumstances forced them to reduce their daily meals to just one.

* As foreign exchange rates can vary in Sudan, Radio Dabanga bases all SDG currency conversions on the daily US dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS)

- - -

Sudan hospitals and pharmacies short of normal saline
Note from Sudan Watch Editor posted Friday 02 Aug 2019 12:36 GMT UK: 
On Twitter, Sudanese tweeters claim there is a lack of normal saline in all
hospitals and even pharmacies. Click on the following hashtag to read the
tweets on Twitter and calls for help: #NormalSalineForSudan

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.

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.

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.

- - -

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 bankPayment comes as a doctors committee close to opposition movement said sixth Al-Obeid protester has died of wounds.

The New Arab tweet - ‘Sudan's revolutionaries must remove Hemedti by any means necessary’


To visit the above tweet published at The New Arab Twitter page 27 July 2019 click here: https://twitter.com/The_NewArab/status/1155104324286128130