♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦
A compact digest of the past week’s most-read highlights, from the heart of Sudan.
Ali Muhammad Ali Abdelrahman (known as ‘Ali Kushayb’) consults with his defence team before the start of his trial at the ICC on Tuesday (Photo- ICC)
A compact digest of the past week's most-read highlights, from the heart of Sudan. Subscribe to receive this digest weekly in your inbox.
March 31 – 2022 THE HAGUE – By Emma DiNapoli, Legal Officer at REDRESS* – 15 years after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Ali Muhammed Ali Abdelrahman (better known as “Ali Kushayb”), he now prepares to stand trial in The Hague on 5 April 2022. The trial will be the first case the ICC’s judges have handled on atrocities committed in Darfur in the early 2000s, and the first to come out of a UN Security Council referral. Kushayb’s trial is a major milestone: no other high-level perpetrator of crimes in Darfur has been prosecuted, whether in a Sudanese or international court.
Known to many in Sudan, Kushayb is a former commander of the Janjaweed, the government-sponsored militias which carried out brutal attacks on civilians. He is charged with 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Sudan Revolutionary Front presents political initiative to Troika, EU
April 13 – 2022 KHARTOUM A delegation from the leadership of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), headed by Member of the Sovereignty Council and Chairman of the SRF El Hadi Idris, met with the ambassadors and representatives of the Troika countries (USA, UK, and Norway) in Khartoum on Tuesday, followed by a meeting with ambassadors of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday. The SRF presented a detailed explanation of the political initiative they propose as the correct way out of the Sudanese crisis.
The Troika representatives welcomed the initiative and praised the role of the RSF and its quest to reach a comprehensive political settlement. The EU expressed its readiness and desire to play the role of facilitator between Sudanese parties.
Hot mic catches Sudan lawyer’s racist tirade against director on trial
April 14 – 2022 KHARTOUM Two defence lawyers, who were also on the defence team of leaders of Omar Al Bashir’s dictatorial regime, were caught on a hot mic making racist comments against the recently dismissed Director-General of the Public Authority for Radio and Television Luqman Ahmed during a live broadcast of his trial on Sudan’s official news agency (SUNA), who later took down the video.
Mass arrests amid Sudan’s revolution anniversary protests
April 12 – 2022 KHARTOUM The three-year anniversary processions commemorating the overthrow of the 30-year Omar Al Bashir dictatorship were held in Khartoum and across other cities in Sudan’s states on Monday. Coup authorities launched a campaign of arrests across Khartoum North (Bahri) on Sunday in anticipation of Monday’s anniversary protests.
UN Migration: ‘81% of rural Sudan does not have access to health services’
April 12 – 2022 NORTH DARFUR / KHARTOUM According to the United Nation’s affiliate agency, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Sudan, approximately 81 per cent of the population does not have access to a functional health centre within a two-hour walk from their home.
Sudan gender violence official charged with ‘Crimes Against the State’
April 11 – 2022 KHARTOUM Human rights activists, women’s groups, and lawyers in Sudan have reacted angrily after a case was filed with the Prosecution of Crimes Against the State against Salma Ishaq, the government official in charge of combating violence against women.
Sudan Revolutionary Front presents initiative to end political crisis
April 10 – 2022 KHARTOUM The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) presented its political initiative to all concerned parties internationally, regionally, and internally, at an expanded meeting on Khartoum on Saturday, that included the United Nations, represented by Head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) Volker Perthes, and the representatives of the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Former Sudan Minister and collaborators acquitted of terrorism charges
April 8 – 2022 KHARTOUM The Khartoum Criminal Court has acquitted former head of Sudan’s disbanded National Congress Party (lead by ousted dictator Omar Al Bashir) and former Foreign Affairs Minister Ibrahim Ghandour, alongside 12 others, of charges of inciting war against the state.
Darfur janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb brands ICC charges ‘misleading falsehoods’
April 7 – 2022 THE HAGUE Appearing for the second day before Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, Ali Muhammad Ali Abdelrahman (known as ‘Ali Kushayb’) has reiterated his denial of guilt in an unsworn statement from the dock, branding the accusations against him as “misleading falsehoods”.
Sudan doctors: One dead, at least 78 injured in April 6 anniversary protests
April 7 – 2022 KHARTOUM / OMDURMAN / PORT SUDAN / KOSTI The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) confirmed the death of one protestor and at least 78 injured, during nationwide anniversary demonstrations commemorating the 6 April 2019 protests that heralded the overthrow of the 30-year Omar Al Bashir’ dictatorship less than a week later.
Sudan opposition FFC announces new structure
April 6 – 2022 KHARTOUM The National Accord Group of Sudan’s opposition Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) have announced a new structure on Tuesday that includes “a comprehensive diversity of all the Sudanese people, and also included the committee composed of the General Secretariat, which has 26 members”.
Former Sudan Foreign Minister and collaborators face terrorism charges
April 4 – 2022 KHARTOUM The Khartoum Criminal Court charged the former head of Sudan’s disbanded National Congress Party and former Foreign Affairs Minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, for inciting war against the state alongside 12 others, on Sunday.
Sudan’s Gen El Burhan threatens to expel UNITAMS head for ‘interference’
April 2 – 2022 KHARTOUM / NEW YORK The head of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, threatened to expel the head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, accusing him of “overstepping the mandate of the UN mission” and interfering in Sudanese affairs.
Deadly Darfur tribal conflict: More than 30 killed, 56 injured
April 1 – 2022 NYALA Currently in the fourth day of unrest, the conflict between the tribesmen was sparked by the decision to demarcate the borders between tribes. The decision was issued by the Committee to Address the Situation in Eastern Sudan, headed by Gen Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo, Vice-President of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council.
Sudan: Armed motorcycle gang kills trader, loots over SDG40 mln from convoy
March 31 – 2022 SOUTH KORDOFAN An armed gang of motorcyclists shot and killed a passenger in a commercial convoy, before looting SDG43 million worth of goods from them in South Kordofan.
Friends of Sudan reiterate support for civilian-led transition to democracy
March 30 – 2022 KHARTOUM The member countries of Friends of Sudan have reiterated their strong support for the combined efforts of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission to Sudan (UNITAMS), the African Union (AU), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to facilitate a Sudanese-led political process with the aim of restoring a civilian-led transition to democracy.
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