Sunday, February 23, 2020

Sudan: Divided rebel groups in W. Sudan blamed for hampering regional & international efforts in Darfur

News report from and by Sudan Tribune.com
Dated Saturday 31 August 2019
Darfur armed groups agree to unify peace negotiating position
August 31, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - Four armed groups in Sudan’s Darfur region have agreed to unify their negotiating position before to engage in talks with the transitional government in the near future.

The joint statement was signed by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM), Sudan Liberation Movement - Transitional Council (SLM-TC), and the Sudan Liberation Forces Alliance (SLFA) from the South Sudanese capital on Saturday.

The four groups are participating in consultation meetings hosted by the South Sudanese government within its efforts to facilitate a comprehensive peace process to settle the armed conflicts in Darfur, the Blue Nile and South Kordofan, three regions on the common border between the two Sudans.

The joint statement reaffirmed that peace remains their first strategic choice, stressing that it should address the root causes of the Sudanese problem and tackle the effects of war and marginalization.

Further, JEM, SLM-MM, SLM-TC and SLFA said they will participate in the "peace negotiations with one negotiating position and a joint negotiating delegation".

In the same trend, they pledged to consult and unify their political positions towards all national issues.

More, they renewed their commitment to the declaration of a cessation of hostilities to create a conducive environment for peace.

The divided armed groups in the western Sudan region have been blamed for hampering regional and international efforts in Darfur.

In 2017, the United States decided the lift of economic sanctions on Sudan and refused calls to wait until a peace deal is struck in Darfur blaming the armed groups of obstructing peace.

"We reject all methods of exclusion practised by the Center on the pretext of efficiency and refusal of quotas".

The JEM, SLM-MM and SLM-TC are part of the Forces for Freedom and Change but the large coalition refused their demand to allocate them a quota in the transitional cabinet.

In reaction, the forces of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front refused to endorse the Political Agreement and the Constitutional Declaration. 

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Sudan: N. Darfur 10,000 families displaced this week - Poor humanitarian conditions, lack of water & food



NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: UNHCR has spent well over a decade and billions of dollars in funding to help ease the humanitarian crises in Darfur and other regions of Sudan, South Sudan and Chad. Surely UNHCR and other aid agencies should be providing decent humanitarian assistance, safe drinking water and enough food and medical care for people in desperate need.

In China last month, within one week the Chinese built, from scratch, a fully equipped emergency hospital to accommodate at least 1,000 patients suffering from the contagious Coronavirus. 

Billions of dollars worth of aid have been donated to Sudan and South Sudan over the past 15 years or so. What are UNHCR and other aid agencies failing to meet basic needs? Are they corrupt or what? Why are poor Sudanese people still suffering? Why isn't mainstream media investigating the work humanitarian aid agencies? Lazy bums. Note, I have added a tag entitled 'UNHCR corruption' and will keep an eye on news regarding aid agencies in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad. 

Sudan: Clashes in Darfur force 57,000+ to flee to Chad - UNHCR says food and water urgently needed

Report from News24 by Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Published 28 January 2020 18:00
Title: Clashes in Darfur force at least 57 000 to flee: UN

Violence in Sudan's West Darfur region has forced 57 000 people to flee their homes over the past month, including 11 000 who have crossed into Chad, the UN refugee agency said Tuesday [Feb 18].

In Chad, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said the refugees were scattered in several villages along the border.

"The conditions are dire. Most are staying in the open or under makeshift shelters, with little protection from the elements. Food and water are urgently needed," he said.

Baloch said that UNHCR and other organisations were providing some humanitarian assistance but added: "The rate of refugee arrivals risks outpacing our capacity".

UNHCR estimates that the number of refugees fleeing to Chad from West Darfur "could reach 30 000 in the coming weeks as tensions persist," he said.

The latest fighting in West Darfur was between an African tribe called Masalit and an Arab tribe called Rizeigat - two groups which have often fought over the years since the Darfur conflict first erupted in 2003.

The violence, which left dozens dead, is the latest example of fighting in Darfur between peasant farming tribes, which are mostly non-Arab, and nomadic pastoralists, who are mostly Arab.

"UNHCR teams on the ground are hearing accounts of people fleeing after their villages, houses and properties were attacked, many burnt to the ground," Baloch said.

He said UNHCR wanted "the international community's support for the transitional government of Sudan in addressing the root causes of the conflict in Darfur".

Darfur - made up of five states - spiralled into conflict in 2003. [...]

Although the unrest has reduced greatly in recent years, there are still regular outbreaks of violence.

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Image from Voice of America News (VOA) report by LISA SCHLEIN dated 28 Jan 2020:
'Violence in Sudan’s Darfur State Sends Thousands Fleeing to Chad'

Friday, February 21, 2020

Sudan: Violence in Darfur forces thousands to flee

Photo: A staff member with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, talks to Sudanese people who have just arrived in Adre, Chad, as refugees.   © UNHCR/Aristophane Ngargoune

Violence in Sudan’s Darfur forces thousands to flee
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. 28 January 2020 |  Español  |  Français  |  Ø¹Ø±Ø¨ÙŠ

Clashes in El Geneina, in Sudan’s West Darfur State, have forced more than 11,000 people to flee as refugees into neighbouring Chad since last month. Four thousand of them have fled during last week alone and it is estimated that the clashes have displaced some 46,000 inside the country.

Most of them were already internally displaced people and when attacks happened in West Darfur in late December 2019, including on displacement camps, people fled and found temporary refuge in schools, mosques and other buildings in El Geneina.

With El Geneina only 20 kilometers from the border, thousands of refugees crossed into Chad, a number UNHCR anticipates could reach 30,000 in the coming weeks as tensions persist. UNHCR teams on the ground are hearing accounts of people fleeing after their villages, houses and properties were attacked, many burnt to the ground.

In Chad, the refugees are currently scattered in several villages along a line that spans nearly 100 kilometers near the border, around the town of Adré, in the province of Ouaddaï which already hosts 128,000 Sudanese refugees. The conditions are dire. Most are staying in the open or under makeshift shelters, with little protection from the elements. Food and water are urgently needed, while health conditions are a concern.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, its Government counterpart and humanitarian partners are on the ground and coordinating the response to this emergency, registering refugees and providing lifesaving aid including food, water, relief items. Refugees needing special care, including unaccompanied children, are being identified and assisted.

However, the rate of refugee arrivals risks outpacing our capacity. More resources and support will be required to bolster the response.

Together with the Chadian government, UNHCR is in the process of identifying a new site further from the border, where the refugees can be relocated and receive the security and assistance they desperately need.

Meanwhile in West Darfur, UNHCR and other humanitarian actors are also rushing relief items such as blankets, sleeping mats and jerry cans to assist displaced men, women and children at over three dozen gathering points. In the past week, trucks with additional relief items arrived from UNHCR’s warehouses in other Darfur states, with more aid on the way.

UNHCR continues to seek international community’s support for the transitional government of Sudan in addressing the root causes of the conflict in Darfur. Restoring security will be key for peacebuilding. This will also allow much needed development assistance to support sustainable solutions, including the return of Sudanese displaced inside the country and living as refugees, once conditions are conducive.

For more information on this topic, please contact:

Sudan: RARE VIDEO of Darfur & Kalma refugee camp

THE BBC's Mohanad Hashim has gained rare access to Kalma refugee camp in western Sudan, home to nearly 200,000 Darfuris.

He is one of the first journalists to travel freely in the region in a decade.

To view the amazing BBC video report, published on 12 February 2020, click here.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Sudan: International help for starving lions in Khartoum zoo - Osman Salih's story goes viral

Sudan's starving lions 'getting help'
Getty Images
Photos of starving lions at the Sudanese zoo shocked people

The starving lions in a zoo in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, whose photos caused an online outcry earlier this week, are now getting treatment, news agency Reuters reports.

A plea from the Sudan Wildlife Research Centre (SWRC), and an online campaign, have resulted in help arriving for the malnourished lions, it says.

One of the lions died earlier this week.

Conservationists from SWRC say the lions belong to a rare subspecies that are only found in areas near Sudan and Ethiopia.

It is unclear how many lions are left in the wild in Sudan.

Sudan is in the middle of an economic crisis which has led to soaring food prices and a shortage of foreign currency.

[Sudan Watch editor: Apologies to the author of the above report, I got so upset and distracted reading it, I mislaid its date and hyperlink. I'm guessing the report is from the BBC's file of Animal Cruelty reports]
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International help for starving lions in Sudan zoo
Report from BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk
Written by MARY HARPER, Africa editor, BBC World Service
Published 27 January 2020 at 17:08

A team of wildlife conservationists has flown to Sudan to look after four starving lions in a zoo in the capital Khartoum.

The animals went hungry during the months of political and economic turmoil last year. They lost as much as two-thirds of their body weight.

A lioness at the zoo died from dehydration last week, despite receiving intravenous fluids.

The conservationists say their first priority is to provide food and medical care for the lions. They will then look for a long-term solution.
Photo: Four Paws animal welfare group
There has been widespread concern about the plight of the lions
[Sudan Watch Ed: Apologies to the author of above report, I was so shocked and upset reading it I mislaid its hyperlink]
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Sudan lions: outpouring of support for emaciated cats after viral campaign
Report from The National - www.thenational.ae 
Published 29 January 2020

When images of the starving lions circulated online, many in Khartoum stepped in to offer donations – despite poverty, food insecurity and unemployment being widespread
Photo: A team of international wildlife conservationists from Four Paws organisation examine one of the fours starving and sick lions at a zoo in the Sudanese capital on January 27, 2020 where a lioness died last week. Months of political and economic turmoil that rocked Sudan from late 2018 severely damaged the health of the lions faced with shortages of food and medicine. Al-Qureshi Park is run by Khartoum municipality but funded partly by private donations, which have dried up due to the economic crisis that sparked nationwide protests though much of last year. / AFP / ASHRAF SHAZLY
Help has finally arrived for four starving lions in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum after images went viral online showing the emaciated big cats.

The predicament of the lions first came to local and international attention when a Khartoum software engineer, Osman Salih, visited Al Qureshi park and posted images of the starving cats.

"It's so upsetting. These lions have been suffering for so long," Mr Salih told AFP.

Subsequent images, including video clips, also posted online showed them walking with extreme difficulty with flies swarming over open wounds. All the lions had protruding bones.

The park is run by the Khartoum municipality and officials there said the animals were left to starve because of lack of resources. They added that the chaos and violence that swept the Sudanese capital during months of street protests that began in December 2018 against the 29-year rule of dictator Omar Al Bashir, who was removed by the military in April, contributed to the decline in their condition.

The images prompted many in Khartoum to rush to the rescue of the animals. An online campaign with the hashtag #SudanAnimalRescue [ https://twitter.com/hashtag/SudanAnimalRescue?src=hashtag_click and  https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/sudananimalrescue/ and #SaveSudanLions https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveSudanLions?src=hashtag_clickproduced generous donations of meat and medicine and drew attention to the unrelated danger faced by the African lion.

“Lots of fresh meat was brought by several donors as well as two sheep,” Mr Salih wrote on Facebook last week. “Supply of regular meat from factories and slaughterhouses was also secured.”

On Monday, a rapid response team of wildlife conservationists from the Vienna-based Four Paws flew into Khartoum to treat the animals, but it was too late for a lioness that died last week from dehydration and starvation even though local veterinaries tried to save her with intravenous fluids.

"It's now important to improve the conditions of the animals... and the next step is to find a long-term solution," Amir Khalil of Four Paws told AFP.

Mr Khalil said carrying out tests on the animals would not be easy. "It's very difficult to approach the animals and very risky," he said. Mr Khalil was quoted by The Associated Press on Tuesday as saying two of the four surviving lions were in “critical condition” having lost a third of their weight.

“Their muscles are not even able to move. I don’t know how we will be able to do injections,” he said.

"The animals are very weak at this moment, so moving them won't be the best thing," said Juno Van Zon, another member of the team.

"I think for now we have to focus on getting the animals healthy and also to train the people."

Sudan’s wildlife has greatly suffered from the country’s near-constant civil wars since independence in 1956, especially decades of conflict in southern Sudan. The fighting forced a significant number of animals to escape to neighbouring countries in search of safety.

The tragedy of the Khartoum lions, meanwhile, has come to world attention at a time when the African lion is thought by conservationists to be “vulnerable,” with an estimated 20,000 of them left in the entire continent. That figure underlines a staggering decline of 43 per cent in the period between 1994 and 2014, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Humans are not doing much better in Sudan, a vast Afro-Arab country that, beside civil wars, has suffered a series of famines since the 1980s. The United Nations says that of a population of some 43 million people, 9.3 million – 23 per cent of the population – will need humanitarian assistance in 2020.

Throughout Sudan, said the UN, 58 per cent of households cannot afford basic daily food basket and over 2.7 million children suffer from acute malnutrition.

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UPDATE - 11 February 2020 ❤️❤️❤️
Look who is feeling better!
To see a heartwarming collage of lion Kandaka's 'before and after' photos click here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8cbWcrpiAu/

With thanks to @Osmano [ https://www.instagram.com/0smano/ ]
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Sudan: The Forgotten Lions
NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: I have used 'Google translate' to copy the following report, originally written in German, in English. To view a video of the poor forgotten lions in Sudan click here: https://www.daserste.de/information/politik-weltgeschehen/weltspiegel/sendung/sudan-vergessene-loewen-100.html 

News report from Das Erste - www.daserste.de
Author: Daniel Hechler/ARD Studio Cairo
Published 16 February 2020 8:27 PM
Title: Sudan: The Forgotten Lions

She was just a shadow of herself. Skin and bones after weeks without food. Today Kendaka is back on her feet. Still weak and thin, almost blind. But back in life and full of curiosity. A fighter. Even if there remain scars that tell of their suffering.

He saved them. Osman Sali strolls through a park in Khartoum in mid-January, discovering this creepy mini-zoo in a corner. Wild animals crammed together on a few square meters, without any care. Hyenas, eagles, lizards and also five lions. Three of them completely exhausted. Kendaka seems doomed. Osman is stunned.

"You couldn't see any fat, you couldn't see any more muscles. She was a skeleton on the ground, couldn't move. The cage was extremely dirty. It was sad to see them like this," says Osman Sali, an IT specialist.

Osman confronts the operator of the zoo. He reacts coolly. He ran out of food. Finally, everyone would suffer in Sudan. For the 35-year-old family man, nothing more than a stupid excuse, as he tells us.

"It's not fair to say that. Unlike humans, the lions are trapped in a cage. You can't go out, ask for help, shop, don't even go begging in the street," says Osman Sali.

Animals become a symbol of suffering and hunger in Sudan

At home, the IT specialist reaches into the buttons and uploads the photos. His wife and children are also shocked. Together they want to save the lions. Somehow. On Facebook, his post sparked outrage. Hundreds of comments in a few hours. The animals become a symbol of suffering and hunger in Sudan. 

But also for the determination to fight against not leaving them alone. "I was overwhelmed. I couldn't handle the pressure. It was just too much news. I had to turn my phone on silently because it rang all the time and I wanted to focus on solving the problem," says Osman Sali.

It will be hectic days for Osman. He commutes through Khartoum, organizes food, medicines, contacts the government, animal welfare organizations and experiences enormous helpfulness. Despite poverty, hardship and shortage in Sudan. The economic crisis is paralysing the country. Miles of queues in front of the petrol stations, the gasoline is scarce. There are also shortages of medicines, jobs, prospects.

"I have to take a taxi from morning to evening to make ends meet and put some money aside for my wedding," says Kassem Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, a taxi driver.

Everyone wants to help the lions

It is the legacy of 30 years of dictatorship and nepotism. The people have brought down the regime. After months of mass protests. The military and the opposition have agreed on a joint government and a roadmap for new elections. "I love my country very much. And I really hope that things will get better now," Osman Sali hopes. However, not much has been said for people about change. They have to queue for bread, often for hours. Money is running out, prices are rising. And yet many are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. 

"I'm optimistic. When people stand together, good things come into being. Our country has abundant natural resources. Three rivers, fertile soil. This will enable us to provide for the whole of Sudan," says Hamdi Abdel Kader.

Pride, solidarity, confidence. They also feel this in the zoo. According to Osman's posts, meat and food pile up there. Volunteers prepare special food for the emaciated lions. Minced meat, cat food, vitamins, proteins, antibiotics. 

Teamwork with Happy End

Amir Khalid from the organization 'Four Paws' offers help, flies in from Vienna. The veterinarian specialises in emergency operations. But he has never experienced one in 30 years. First, the Egyptian is skeptical whether the lions can survive. Gradually, however, they gain confidence, take on food and develop magnificently.

"They lost almost two-thirds of their body weight at that time, the chance of survival was zero percent. I'm so happy, it's 90 percent now, the muscles are very good, the immune system. I'm happy, it was a team effort. Especially the lions themselves, they want to live," says Amir Khalid, a veterinarian.

A team effort with a happy ending. And a proof of humanity also towards animals, as Amir Khalid and Osman Sali believe. 

"I am so relieved, grateful, happy with what we have achieved. She finally looks like a lioness again," says Osman Sali.

The government now wants to make a site at the gates of the capital available for the animals. Appropriate with plenty of spout. Osman and Dr. Amir are impressed by the plans. Everyone is pulling together now. It's a story that gives hope to the lions, but also to the whole country. A country in transition.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Sudan, Darfur: UN names 51 men for ICC prosecution

HERE is a copy of a post dated 21/2/2006 from the archives of this blog Sudan Watch:

List of top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)

Via Sudan Online Discussion Board 4/3/2005 - copy in full for future reference.

Quote: Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)

The United Nations International Commission of Inquiry's report into the atrocities in Darfur names 51 individuals it recommends for prosecution at the International Criminal Court. The file has been sealed, to be opened only by a 'competent prosecutor'.

The names of many people involved in Darfur policy have been published by governments, the United States Congress, human rights organisations and the media since the genocide/ethnic cleansing got under way in earnest in early 2003.

A 2004 Congressional report lists Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha as at first in 'charge of the offensive in Darfur' and later 'the key player behind the scenes', according to 'US and regional officials'. Other policy-making officials listed here and elsewhere include:

Lieutenant General Nafi'e Ali Nafi'e, seen as second-in-command on Darfur: Federal Government Minister, ex-External Intelligence boss;
Major Gen. Salah Abdullah 'Gosh', as third-in-command on Darfur: intelligence chief;
Maj. Gen. (Air Force) Abdullah Ali Safi el Din el Nur: State (junior) Minister for Cabinet Affairs and ex-North Darfur Governor; described in Congress members' June 2004 letter to President George W. Bush as 'General Coordinator of Janjaweed';
Colonel Ahmed Mohamed Haroun: Minister, Internal Affairs, former People's Police Force chief;
Ali Ahmed Kurti, Minister, ex-head People's Defence Force militias;
El Tayeb Ibrahim Mohamed Kheir (El Tayeb 'Sikha': Iron Bar): Presidential Security Advisor, ex-Darfur Governor;
Gen. Mutref Sideeg: Foreign Affairs Under Secretary; The published part of the US State Department's List of Janjaweed commanders comprises:
Musa Hilal Musa: Janjaweed coordinator and Buffalo Brigade (Liwa el Jamous) commander;
Brigadier Hamid Dawai: Terbeba-Arara-Beida area leader;
Abdullah Mustafa Abu Shineibat: Habila and Foro Burunga area;
Omada Saef: Misterei area;
Omar Babbush: Habila and Foro Burunga area;
Ahmed Dekheir: Mornei area;
Ahmed Abu Kamasha: Kailek area;The US Congress members' letter names as 'supervising and controlling Janjaweed activities and operations' several of the above, plus:
Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha: Commerce Minister;
Gen. Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein: Internal Affairs and Police Minister;
Maj. Gen. Adam Hamid Musa: South Darfur Governor;
Brig. Mohamed Ahmed Ali: Director, Riot Police, which attacked Darfur displaced people in Khartoum in March 2004;
Mohamed Yussef Abdullah, State Minister, Humanitarian Affairs; The Congress letter names a 'Coordination and Command Council of Janjaweed':
Lt. Col. (Abdel Rahim Ahmed Mohamed) 'Shukratallah': El Geneina;
Ahmed Mohamed Haroun: see above;
Osman Yussef Kebir: Governor, N. Darfur;
El Tahir Hassan Abboud: National Congress Party (ruling NIF faction);
Mohamed Salih el Sanusi Baraka: National Assembly member;
Mohamed Yusef el Tileit: State Minister, Western Darfur;
Maj. Gen. Hussein Abdullah Jibril: National Assembly;As field commanders, along with Musa Hilal and Hamid Dawai, theCongress members list:
Brig. Abdel Wahid (Said Ali Said): Kebkabiya area;
Brig. Mohamed Ibrahim Ginesto;
Maj. Hussein Tangos;
Maj. Omer Baabas;Also potentially of interest in their military/political roles are:
Gen. Abdel Karim Abdullah: intelligence chief;
Gen. Awad Ibn Auf: Military Intelligence chief;

Gen. Bakri Hassan Salih: Defence Minister;

Lt. Gen. Omer Hassan Ahmed el Beshir: President


Monday, February 17, 2020

Sudan: Salah Gosh in Egypt, his ex-agents attempt Sudan coup - Army retakes intelligence buildings

NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: The following news from Reuters dated 14 January 2020 says Sudan's former head of intelligence Mr Salah Gosh is believed to be in Egypt. Also, the Sudanese army quelled an armed revolt in Sudan by Gosh's former security agents on 14 January 2020. Wondering whether Alex de Waal would class the 'revolt' as an attempted coup and add it, plus the one last July (see below), to his list of others in Sudan (see History of coups in Khartoum Sudan by Alex de Waal - Sudan Watch, 21 April 2019 https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/04/history-of-coups-in-khartoum-sudan-alex.html)

Copy of news report from Reuters.com
Publication date: Tuesday 14 January 2020, 11:27 AM 
By: Khaled Abelaziz, El Tayeb Siddig
Title: UPDATE 6-Sudan quells revolt of former spy service men after clashes

* Gunfire heard in capital, two oilfields shut down
* Sudan in middle of transition after ousting of Bashir
* Paramilitary head says will not accept any coup (Adds army retakes intelligence buildings, details)

KHARTOUM, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Armed ex-security agents linked to Sudan’s toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir fought soldiers in the capital Khartoum for hours until government forces quelled the revolt late on Tuesday, residents and a military source said.

The violence was the biggest confrontation so far between the old guard and supporters of the new administration, which helped topple Bashir in April after 30 years in power.

The former employees of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) also shut two small oilfields in Darfur in protest about their severance packages, a government source told Reuters. They had an output of around 5,000 barrels per day.

Late Tuesday, soldiers seized back control of all buildings where ex-NISS agents had hours earlier opened fire on government forces, a military source told Reuters.

The former NISS staff surrendered after negotiations, the source said.

Restructuring the once feared security apparatus blamed for suppressing dissent under Bashir was among the key demands of the uprising that forced his removal.

However, once dismissed by the new transitional government, many of the security agents returned to their barracks without being disarmed after leaving the ministries and streets they once controlled.

Residents said the clashes broke out at noon between the former security staff and forces loyal to the transitional government in a northern district of Khartoum where gunfire could be heard for hours.

In a second location next to the airport, ex-NISS staff seized a security building, which was then surrounded by government forces and where gunfire could also be heard, witnesses said.

Four people suffered gunshot wounds but were in stable condition, a doctors’ committee linked to the civilian government said in a statement.

Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s most powerful paramilitary group, which supports the new government, said while he would not consider Tuesday’s incident a coup attempt, any such action would not be tolerated.

“We will not accept any coup, we will not accept any illegal change. The only change will come from the Sudanese people,” he said before his troops helped end the revolt.

AIRSPACE CLOSED
Information Minister Faisal Mohamed Saleh said the gunmen were former employees angry at the terms they had been offered upon their dismissal.

Authorities closed Sudan’s airspace for five hours as a precautionary measure after the start of the shooting, a Civil Aviation Ministry spokesman said.

Dagalo said that former Sudan intelligence chief Salah Gosh and a member of Bashir’s old ruling party was behind the NISS unrest.

“This is a coordinated plan by Salah Gosh and another member of the National Congress party including some generals from intelligence service,” he told a news conference during a visit to South Sudan’s capital Juba on Tuesday.

“The person behind this shooting today is Salah Gosh. He has many generals active within the security sector with an aim to create confusion and fighting.”

Gosh, believed to be in Egypt, could not be immediately reached for comment. 

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz, Eltayeb Siddig and Nayera Abdallah with additional reporting by Denis Dumo in Juba; Writing by Amina Ismail and Ulf Laessing; Editing by William Maclean, Alison Williams, and Marguerita Choy)

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Copy of news report by Reuters
Publication date: Tuesday 14 January 2020, 9:54 PM 
Title: Sudanese government forces retake all intelligence buildings in capital - military source
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese government forces managed late on Tuesday to retake all intelligence buildings in capital held by security agents in revolt, a military source said.

The security agents surrendered after negotiations with their leaders, the source said. They had opened fire to protest against their severance packages.

(Reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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Report from The Guardian UK 
By AFP in Khartoum, Sudan
Publication date: Thu 11 July 2019 23.04 BST
Last modified on Thu 11 July 2019 23.27 BST
Title: Sudan's ruling militia says it's survived coup attempt
Photo: Gen Jamal Omar of Sudan’s ruling military council says 16 soldiers have been arrested. Photograph: Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty

Excerpts: Sudan’s ruling military council has foiled a coup attempt, a top general has announced on state television, saying that 12 officers and four soldiers have been arrested.
“Officers and soldiers from the army and national intelligence and security service, some of them retired, were trying to carry out a coup,” Gen Jamal Omar of the ruling military council said in a statement broadcast live on state television. “The regular forces were able to foil the attempt.” He did not say when the attempt was made.