♦ This week’s news in brief ♦
A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan’s highlights of the news from Darfur and Sudan
A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan's highlights of the news from Darfur and Sudan
♦ 'No death penalty for Noura, whatever the circumstances'
May 15 – 2018 KHARTOUM The European Union Heads of Mission and the Norwegian and Swiss ambassadors to Sudan have expressed their concern about Noura Hussein, who has recently been sentenced to death for killing her husband after being forced into marriage, and allegedly being raped. In a press statement released today, the EU heads of missions recall their “firm opposition” to the death penalty: “whatever the place and circumstances”.
The concerns follow the conviction of 19-year-old Noura Hussein in Sudan on Thursday. The Central Omdurman Court in the twin city of Khartoum sentenced her to death by hanging for murdering her husband. Hussein has claimed that she refused to consummate the marriage after which her husband’s relatives held her down while he raped her.
The Sudanese No to Suppression of Women Initiative has launched a campaign against the ruling. Internationally, the case of Noura Hussein has raised attention to the issues of forced marriage and marital rape in Sudan. The legal age of marriage is 10 and marital rape goes unpunished. With the hashtag #JusticeForNoura and #SaveNoura many rights activists have expressed their condenmnation of the unjust punishment.
♦ Thousands newly displaced by Jebel Marra fighting
May 15 – 2018 KASS Thousands of civilians have reportedly been newly displaced from villages in southern Jebel Marra as fighting broke out between government forces, allied militias and armed rebels in the area of Kass on Friday. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the fighting in the Jebel Marra mountains in South Darfur has pushed “thousands of civilians to flee” to several small villages.
Their numbers add to the reported 11,500 displaced people who have fled from the fighting in northern Jebel Marra at the end of April. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at least 2,280 newly displaced households (about 11,500 people) arrived in Rokoro town and nearby Jemeiza at the time.
People who fled from Gobo village on Friday told Radio Dabanga that two people had been killed and four others wounded in the clashes in southern Jebel Marra. People from a neighbouring village said that they heard shooting and explosions until Friday afternoon. Smoke was seen billowing above the areas of Tara, Tarantara, and Kalokitting.
This year in March, government forces, consisting mainly of RSF troops, attacked rebel sites in East Jebel Marra. The next month, areas in north-western Jebel Marra were targeted. At least 13 villages burned to the ground. Tens of thousands of people fled their homes. In the past years, government forces have made various attempts to eliminate the bases of rebels in the Jebel Marra region during the dry seasons. In 2016, more than 80,000 people were displaced by a major military offensive against the holdout rebels in the area.
More news from Radio Dabanga:
May 15 – 2018 KHARTOUM Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir has reshuffled the cabinet members of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in his government and appointed a new foreign minister to replace the recently-dismissed Ibrahim….
Still no slack in Sudan’s food prices as Ramadan approaches
May 15 – 2018 KHARTOUM With Ramadan rapidly approaching, people in Sudan head into the holy month with diminishing happiness because of the price hikes in consumer goods and growing shortage of fuel. “A general strike is…
Sudanese farmers warn for ‘famine’ if fuel crisis continues
May 14 – 2018 WAD MADANI Farmers of El Gezira and El Managil Agricultural Scheme are warning for “famine in the country”, as they doubt the upcoming farming season will bring about any yields.“The fuel crisis that has affected…
Three gold miners shot dead in North Darfur
May 14 – 2018 UM KEDDADA Three gold miners were fatally hit by bullets in Um Keddada in North Darfur on Saturday.Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a local source reported that a group of gunmen attacked a vehicle on the road between El…
HRW: Unamid absent as attacks surge villages in Darfur’s Jebel Marra
May 13 – 2018 DABANGA SUDAN In response to the latest report of the UN Secretary-General on the joint African Union-United Nations mission in Darfur (Unamid), Human Rights Watch urges the peacekeepers “to deepen and…
Niger sends Sudanese refugees back to Libya
May 13 – 2018 AGADEZ Niger has deported at least 132 Sudanese asylum seekers to Libya, drawing criticism that it is flouting international law by sending them back to dangerous and inhumane conditions from which they recently escaped. The…
Sudanese in Holland protest human rights violations in their country
May 13 – 2018 THE HAGUE Members of Sudanese civil society organisations in the Netherlands carried out a protest in front of the Dutch Foreign Ministry and the Sudanese embassy in The Hague on Friday.The protestors handed a memorandum…
Militiamen attack group of returnees in Tawila, North Darfur
May 11 – 2018 TABIT Militiamen beat a number of displaced people west of Tabit in North Darfur and caused them varying injuries on Wednesday. The attackers threatened to kill the victims were they to return to the area…
Heavy rain destroys dozens of homes in Central Darfur camp
May 11 – 2018 MUKJAR Torrential rains in Central Darfur caused the destruction of more than 250 homes in a camp for displaced people on Monday. The rainy season is off to an early start this year as this is the first reported heavy…
Students held, beaten as Sudan crisis demo dispersed
May 10 – 2018 EL GEDAREF / KHARTOUM Agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) detained 13 students of the University of El Gedaref in Sudan and violently dispersed a student protest…
UNHCR receives $2 million from Japan to support refugees in Sudan
May 9 – 2018 KHARTOUM The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has received a contribution of $2 million from Japan to protect and assist South Sudanese refugees in Sudan. Japan’s funding will help UNHCR work with the government of…
Continued press confiscations in Sudan
May 9 – 2018 KHARTOUM The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in Sudan has continued to confiscate newspapers from printing press for the third day in a row…
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