♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan's news highlights from Darfur and Sudan

♦  Cabinet reshuffle: Six Sudanese ministers resign, one dismissed

July 10 – 2020 KHARTOUM Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok dismissed Minister of Health Akram El Tom and accepted the resignation of six other ministers yesterday as part of a cabinet reshuffle. The ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Energy, Agriculture, Transport, and Animal Resources submitted their resignations at the cabinet meeting yesterday. They will be temporarily replaced until the appointment of new ministers, as agreed during the peace negotiations between Khartoum and the rebel movements.

Hamdok said the decision to replace the ministers “came after a thorough and accurate evaluation of the performance of the executive body, in order to implement the tasks of the transitional period and respond to the rapid economic and social changes”.

The No Oppression against Women Initiative commented that despite the wide participation of women in the revolution, the representation of women at decision-making positions is still “weak and unsatisfactory”. The women activists will continue to cooperate with revolutionaries in the country “to support the transitional government to accomplish the goals of the Revolution”.

A comprehensive peace agreement with the two factions of the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance is scheduled to be signed in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on July 16.

The parties to the talks agreed to add three seats to the Sovereign Council in favour of rebel leaders. Four federal ministries will be allocated to the rebel groups as well.

♦  Sit-ins against insecurity spread from Darfur to rest of Sudan

July 9 – 2020 NIERTETI / KHARTOUM / KASSALA / PORT SUDAN

Following an agreement between the leaders of the sit-in of Nierteti in Central Darfur and a delegation from the government in Khartoum earlier this week, protest vigils are also being staged in other parts of Darfur, in Khartoum, and in eastern Sudan’s Kassala and Port Sudan.

The Darfur actions (see video) carry similar demands to that of the sit-in of Nierteti, including protection of the agricultural season, the dismissal of corrupt officials affiliated with the former regime of Omar Al Bashir, and the return of the Rule of Law.

The sit-in in Nierteti that started on June 28, is continuing until the pledges made by the federal government delegation have been realised on the ground.

The protestors at the sit-in of Soba El Aradi in Khartoum demand the provision of drinking water, electricity, and improved health and educational services in the area.

In Kassala, demonstrators began a sit-in on Friday. They call for the dismissal of a number of officials, and development of the area.

Activists in Port Sudan, capital of Red Sea state, organised a vigil at the main bus station in the city, in support of the Nierteti protest. They further called on the authorities to play their role in restoring the Rule of Law and security in eastern Sudan.

More news from Radio Dabanga

Sudan abolishes strict Islamic legislation

July 13 – 2020 KHARTOUM (UPDATED) Sudan abolishes legislation that made apostacy punishable by death and allowed the Public Order police to publicly flog people. Non-Muslims will be permitted to drink, import and …

No breakthrough in Ethiopian Renaissance Dam talks

July 12 – 2020 KHARTOUM Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt will submit a report to the African Union (AU) concerning their negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). So far, no breakthrough has been …

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces occupy school in South Kordofan

July 12 – 2020 KADUGLI On June 14, members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) occupied the El Zahraa Basic School for Girls in Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan, and turned it into a military training centre. …

Eastern Sudanese farmers want their lands back

July 11 – 2020 EL GEDAREF Farmers living in eastern El Gedaref demand their lands back. The farms have been occupied by Ethiopians for decades. In a memorandum handed to Maj Gen Nasreldin Abdelgayoum, Governor of …

Sudan: Attacks on herders leave eight dead

July 11 – 2020 EL RADOOM / NIERTETI / LAGAWA On Thursday, five people were shot dead in El Radoom in South Darfur. The body of a man kidnapped in the area of Nierteti, Central Darfur, was found on Friday. In West …

Women’s participation in Sudan politics ‘inadequate and incomplete’

July 9 – 2020 KHARTOUM The participation of women in Sudan’s post-revolution political process is “inadequate and incomplete”, according to the Sudanese Women’s Group for Peace and Security. In an interview to be broadcast …

Covid-19 measures eased in Sudan

July 8 – 2020 KHARTOUM The Sudanese High Committee for Health Emergencies announced yesterday that the coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown, imposed on April 18, will be eased tomorrow. The curfew in Khartoum state will be …

Sudan’s first ‘Solar Lab’ launched in Khartoum

July 7 – 2020 KHARTOUM The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced that a joint Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization (SSMO)/UNDP ‘Solar Lab’ was launched in Khartoum on Monday …

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