♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

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

♦  Khartoum-Port Sudan highway paralysed by protestors

July 29 – 2020 RED SEA STATE / KASSALA / KHARTOUM Yesterday, the Khartoum-Port Sudan highway witnessed complete paralysis, with hundreds of lorries and public transport vehicles lined up on both sides of the road.

 In Kassala, protesters closed a number of government institutions and ministries on Tuesday in protest against the appointment of the new governor.

The High Council of Beja Nazirs and Independent Chieftains conditioned the opening of the road with an official response to the demands they submitted to the Sovereign Council and the Cabinet.

The memo holds demands related to the eastern track, negotiated during the peace talks in Juba and the appointment of civilian governors in Kassala and El Gedaref.

The High Council has given the government 72 hours to respond to the demands. The Beja chiefs say they will opt for self-determination for eastern Sudan (Red Sea state, Kassala, and El Gedaref) in the event that the demands are rejected.

In Khartoum, members of the Sovereign Council and a delegation of eastern Sudanese civil society activists “reached an understanding concerning all differences of opinion, and this will be discussed in detail in a consultative dialogue after the Eid El Adha”.

♦  Sudan starts regulated gold export

July 28 – 2020 KHARTOUM On Monday, Sudan’s Sovereign Council inaugurated its first shipment of gold, through the governmental Strategic Commodities Portfolio.

Sudan created a Strategic Commodities Portfolio last month to secure the provision of basic commodities such as wheat, medicines, and fuel, in exchange for regulated gold sales.

In January, Sudan decided to permit private traders to export gold, in a bid to stop the recurrent smuggling of the precious metal, and to attract foreign currency.

For years, the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) that had a monopoly on exports, bought gold in Sudan at fixed prices at collection sites in the country, which led to illegal trade.

In his speech during the inauguration ceremony on Monday, Deputy chairperson of the Sovereign Council, Chairman of the High Committee for Economic Emergencies, and Commander-in-Chief of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’ lauded the strict measures Khartoum has taken to stop the smuggling of gold.

According to Global Witness, Hemeti captured a large part of the gold market in Sudan in previous years.

Sudan produced an estimated 93 tons of gold in 2018, the then Minister of Energy and Mining, Adil Ibrahim, reported in November last year.

More news from Radio Dabanga

Khartoum Cabinet lauds Pompeo’s will to remove Sudan from US terror list

August 2 – 2020 WASHINGTON / KHARTOUM Sudan’s Council of Ministers has welcomed remarks by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of his wish to remove Sudan from the list of State …

ACJPS: Militia holds 72 people incommunicado in West Darfur

July 31 – 2020 NEW YORK The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) has expresses its “deep concern” for the well-being of 72 people arbitrarily detained and held incommunicado without charge by the Rapid Support …

UN chief António Guterres urges restraint after Darfur violence

July 30 – 2020 NEW YORK The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has expressed deep concern about the increasing violence in many parts of the Darfur region of Sudan, notably the attacks in Misterei in West …

Sudan Minister: ‘Ethiopia dam talks need clear agenda’

July 31 – 2020 KHARTOUM The negotiations on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have been postponed to next week, on the request of Khartoum – though the Ethiopian prime minister reported …

Covid-19: 2020 Khartoum International Book Fair shelved

July 30 – 2020 KHARTOUM The 16th edition of the Khartoum International Book Fair, that was scheduled to take place in the Sudanese capital in October, has been suspended in line with Covid-19 precautionary measures. The Ministry …

South Kordofan protestors demand 'end to bloodshed'

July 29 – 2020 ABU JUBEIHA / KADUGLI The sit-in in Abu Jubeiha in South Kordofan has demanded better services and the removal of gold mining plants that use cyanide, while civil society activists in the state capital, Kadugli, protested …

Covid-19: Caution urged in Sudan before Eid El Adha holiday

July 29 – 2020 KHARTOUM Precautionary measures against the spread of coronavirus will be maintained across the country for the next three weeks, as the number of new recorded cases remains at zero in most of Sudan's states. No new …

Railway Corp staff strike across Sudan

July 29 – 2020 KHARTOUM On Tuesday, all personnel of the Sudan Railways Corporation in the country staged a protest against “the failure of the Ministry of Finance to fulfil its obligations”. In a statement, the Steering Committee of the …

Sudan’s new state Walis vow to maintain ‘equality without discrimination’

July 28 – 2020 KHARTOUM Sudan’s new civilian governors (Walis) have vowed to “treat all residents in their states equally with no discrimination.” The governors affirmed their great concern for people’s livelihoods, security issues, and …

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