♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

A compact digest of this week's most-read highlights, from the heart of Sudan. Subscribe to receive this digest weekly in your inbox.

Sudan secures international support at Paris Conference

May 18 – 2021 PARIS Yesterday marked the launch of the Paris Conference, attended by a large number of representatives of countries, international institutions, and businesses.

The conference was organised to encourage public and private international investments in Sudan after its removal from the USA list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) and to establish partnerships with the international community to contribute to debt relief for Sudan as it currently still has $60 billion worth of foreign debt.

Yesterday morning at the start of the conference, France pledged to provide a bridging loan of $1.5 billion to assist Sudan to clear its arrears to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

The government of Hamdok has taken tough measures such as subsidy cuts and introduced a managed currency float to qualify for an IMF debt relief programme. These unpopular measures were necessary to move towards debt relief by the end of the year, the PM said.

Last week, Radio Dabanga reported that the Council of Ministers approved the establishment of a gold stock market and an agricultural crops stock market. The IMF approved a financing plan “to cover its share of debt relief to Sudan”, and UK announced on Wednesday that it would provide a £148m bridging loan to help Sudan clear its African Development Bank arrears.
 

Washington calls for resumption of Ethiopian dam talks with Sudan and Egypt

May 15 – 2021 WASHINGTON / KHARTOUM The USA affirmed yesterday its commitment to working with international partners to find a solution to the deadlock in the negotiations about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as well as the Sudan-Ethiopia border dispute.

The US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, said in a statement at the end of his visit to the Horn of Africa that he discussed with leaders in Addis Ababa, Cairo, and Khartoum “Egypt’s and Sudan’s concerns over water security, and how the safety and operation of the dam can be reconciled with Ethiopia’s development needs”.

The envoy discussed the resumption of the dam talks under the auspices of the African Union, and emphasised that Washington is committed to providing political and technical support “to facilitate a successful outcome of the negotiations”.

According to PM Abdallah Hamdok, there will be too many risks without a tight and binding legal agreement on the Nile waters. “We hope to reach such an agreement before the date of filling the dam in July, as announced by Ethiopia,” he said earlier this year.
 

Sudan: Blue Nile campaign against sexual violence
May 18 – 2021 ED DAMAZIN Hundreds of civil society activists participated in a protest vigil against rape in the Blue Nile state capital Ed Damazin on Monday. The action was part of a campaign against gender-based violence, …

Sudan: At least 14 people killed in Abyei attacks
May 17 – 2021 ABYEI  Twelve people, allegedly policemen, were killed in an attack by militant Misseriya tribesmen on Dungoup village in Abyei, on Sunday. At least seven others were injured. Two days before, the same group killed two …
 
Sudan to discuss debt relief, investments in Paris conference
May 16 – 2021 KHARTOUM Tomorrow, the high-level Paris conference on investment in Sudan will start in the French capital. PM Abdallah Hamdok and other top Sudanese officials will be attending the conference, hosted by French …

Tribal clashes in Sudan’s Blue Nile state leave two dead
May 16 – 2021 ED DAMAZIN At least two people were killed and several others were injured in tribal fighting in Geisan, Blue Nile state, on Thursday, the first day of the Eid El Fitr. The Blue Nile Civil Society Initiative reported in a press statement …
 
El Geneina neighbourhoods resemble 'a ghost town'
May 14 – 2021 EL GENEINA “Driving through the Hay El Jebel neighbourhood of El Geneina is like driving through a ghost town,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) wrote on Wednesday. Most residents …
     
Sudanese parties condemn Tuesday's violent protest dispersal
May 13 – 2021 KHARTOUM Various political parties and organisations in Sudan condemned the violent dispersal of a peaceful protest near the General Command of the Sudanese army in Khartoum on Tuesday. The security forces used …

Sudan govt to charge those responsible for the violence against Tuesday's protesters
May 13 – 2021 KHARTOUM Minister of Defence Lt Gen Yasin Ibrahim announced that members of government forces accused of firing live bullets at peaceful demonstrators have been detained. Two demonstrators were killed on Tuesday …

North Darfur displaced protest closure of 16 health centres
May 12 – 2021 EL FASHER The suspension of the Sudanese NGO Anhar in North Darfur has triggered protests among the displaced people in the region. Earlier this week, the North Darfur department of the national Empowerment …