♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

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.

Farming in Sudan has become ‘a leap in the dark’

June 2 – 2022 KHARTOUM Farmers in Sudan have expressed serious concerns about the agricultural season that is supposed to start this month. The June-to-September main rainfall season is expected to be above average, and flooding is likely to result in crop losses, FEWS NET warns. The preparations for this year’s main agricultural season do not exceed three percent, Ahmed Babiker, Secretary-General of the El Gezira and El Managil Farmers Association, told the Sudanese Blue Nile Satellite Channel on Tuesday. “Farming now is like taking a leap in the dark”.

Babiker holds the state politics responsible for the dire situation: “Despite the great efforts made by the farmers during the winter season, serious errors made by the transitional government have led to a decrease in wheat productivity.” The last season turned out to be “a catastrophe” because of “the state’s lack of commitment to set indicative prices for wheat and cotton, maintain irrigation canals, provide the necessary inputs, such as fertilizers, on time”.

Renewed deadly shifta incursions on Sudan-Ethiopia border

June 1 – 2022 GALABAT Renewed violent cross-border banditry by Ethiopian gunmen, referred to as shifta in the region, are reported from Galabat where Ethiopia borders Sudan’s El Gedaref state. In the latest reports, police found the lifeless body of Hasan Yaqoub (75) who worked at a kiln as a charcoal burner. He was reportedly shot in the left eye and his right hand was severed. On Saturday, a group of shifta reportedly penetrated Sudanese territory in the area, seized an agricultural tractor, abducted its driver Idris Mohamed, and fled into Ethiopian territory.

The past weeks have seen an increase in such cross-border incidents, which prompted Sudanese authorities to close the crossing between Galabat and Metema in northern Ethiopia last week.

West Darfur: 15 dead in ‘dangerous and out of control’ Jebel Moon clashes
June 8 – 2022 KULBUS / JEBEL MOON At least 15 people have been killed, dozens more wounded, and eight villages burned to the ground in two days of ‘tribal clashes’ north of Jebel Moon in West Darfur. Policemen, including a police commander, as well as Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers, are reported to be among the casualties.
 
New 1000 Sudanese Pound banknote amidst rising inflation
June 7 – 2022 KHARTOUM The Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) announced that it will be issuing a new note of SDG 1,000. The new note comes amidst rising inflation in Sudan.
 
Political visioning in Sudan: NUP-DUP agreement and FFC-CC vision published
June 7 – 2022 KHARTOUM A week of political visioning for Sudan: The National Umma Party (NUP) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) agreed on an inter-Sudanese dialogue during a meeting in Khartoum on Sunday whilst the Forces of Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC) faction published its vision to end the coup and establish a new civil democratic path on Thursday.
 
UN S-G António Guterres welcomes efforts of AU-IGAD-UN Trilateral Mechanism ‘to facilitate a solution to the political crisis in Sudan’
June 6 – 2022 NEW YORK The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has welcomed the efforts of the Trilateral Mechanism of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), African Union (AU), and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to facilitate a solution to the political crisis in Sudan.
 
US Asst Secretary of State Molly Phee to visit Sudan this week
June 5 – 2022 WASHINGTON / KHARTOUM US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee, will travel to Sudan for five days, from June 5-9, to meet with a wide range of Sudanese stakeholders and political actors.
 
Op-ed: Unwarranted Criticism on the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS)
June 6 – 2022 KHARTOUM By: Sudan Documentation Center. On Thursday, 19 May 2022, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a Press Release about its assessment of the performance of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS). In their press conference and press release, the representatives of the military authorities expressed their dissatisfaction with the performance of UNITAMS.
 
UN expert ‘deeply concerned’ at human rights situation in Sudan
June 4 – 2022 KHARTOUM At the end of his four-day visit, the UN Expert on Human Rights in Sudan, Adama Dieng, expressed his deep concern about the human rights situation in the county. He criticised the human rights violations documented since the coup d’état on October 25 last year, the worsening of economic and social rights since the coup, and in a press conference in Khartoum before leaving the country this afternoon.
 
Sudan Emergency Lawyers: ‘More than 90 people continue to be detained despite lifting of State of Emergency’
June 2 – 2022 KHARTOUM Sudan’s Emergency Lawyers stated that more than 90 people continue to be detained in Soba and Rabak prison, despite the recent decision made by the President of the Sovereignty Council, Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, to lift the State of Emergency and release all detainees.
 
South Darfur Ministry staff strike for better wage
June 1 – 2022 NYALA A large number of employees of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of South Darfur organised a protest sit-in in front of the agricultural sector buildings in the state capital of Nyala, on Tuesday morning as part of a campaign of protests over the unification of the salary structure. The protesters chanted slogans condemning the low salary.
 
UNSC extends mandate of Sudan assistance mission UNITAMS for a year
June 1 – 2022 NEW YORK The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) until June 3, 2023. The mission, which replaced the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) peacekeeping force, is to assist Sudan “in its transition towards democratic governance, provide support for peace negotiations and bolster efforts to maintain accountable Rule of Law and security institutions”.