Saudi King promises Al Bashir he’ll ‘stand with Sudan in good and bad’

Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir has concluded an official two-day tour of the Gulf states, which began in Kuwait on Sunday, included Doha in Qatar, and ended with a visit to Saudi Arabia. President Al Bashir led a high-level Sudanese delegation on the tour.

In the Saudi capital Riyadh, promised to help Sudan improve relations with the USA and said he will continue to demand that Sudan be removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

After meeting Al Bashir in Riyadh on Tuesday, Saudi King Salman Ibn Abdelaziz said that “Sudan is one of the most important countries of interest to the [Saudi] Kingdom that we want to enjoy security and stability which means the security of the kingdom”.

He added “Sudan is of great importance to the Kingdom and we always stand with it in good and bad”.

The King stressed that his country appreciates Sudan's positions towards Saudi Arabia and will continue to demand that the USA lift the name of Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and help it improve relations with Washington and other countries.

He suggested that a coordination meeting be held between the competent authorities of the two countries to prepare a plan to inform international public opinion of Sudan's positions and its role in international peace and security.

Call for Sudanese forces to withdraw from Yemen conflict

MP Hasan Osman Rizig from Reformation Now Party, has called for withdrawal of the Sudanese forces from the war in Yemen.

He told the Parliament in Omdurman during a deliberation session on Prime Minister Bakri Hasan Saleh's speech on Tuesday that “If the justification for participation is a threat to Mecca and Medina, there is no threat to them, and if it is to restore legitimacy in Yemen, legitimacy is to be determined by the people of Yemen”.

He added “If the participation of the Sudanese forces is because of Saudi Arabia's friendship, it does not mean we should go to war with it”.

He referred to countries that are friendly to Saudi Arabia yet have not fought a war with it.

Rizig warned that participation in the war in Yemen would cause damage to the country, referring to the Sudanese who have lost their lives.

'No money for militias'

MPs have demanded that no militias be allocated funds or supported in the budget for next year 2018.

They also have called for public accountability of the corrupt, speeding up the formation of a commission on corruption, enactment of the permanent constitution and amendment of freedom restricting laws.

MP Yagoub El Malik has considered that the police in the crisis areas of Darfur are tribal and not neutral.

 He has called for a political decision to restore police nationalism and neutrality in the implementation of the law.