♦ 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
♦ Acute watery diarrhoea, dengue fever reported in two Sudanese states
June 3 – 2018 ED DAMAZIN / PORT SUDAN Six cases of acute watery diarrhoea have been admitted to Ed Damazin Hospital in Sudan’s Blue Nile state this week. The rains have also seen an increase in cases suspected to be the mosquito-borne haemorrhagic (severe dengue) fever admitted to Port Sudan hospital in Red Sea state.
Sources in Blue Nile told Radio Dabanga that the isolation ward of the hospital received four cases of watery diarrhoea from Syrio, north of the Blue Nile state capital and two other cases from Ed Damazin town itself. Last month, Sudan’s federal Minister of Health, Bahr Idris Abu Garda told a coordination meeting of ministers of the states in Sennar, that Sudan is now free of the 'watery diarrhoea' outbreak (suspected to be cholera) that hit various parts of the country during the past year.
In Port Sudan, volunteers reported outbreaks of unknown fevers, believed to be haemorrhagic (severe dengue) fever, in a wide area of the city two weeks ago. Activists told Radio Dabanga that the Port Sudan Hospital wards have been full of people with fever, where a large number of the infected would prefer to receive treatment in their homes. They said no deaths have been recorded due to the fevers and warned of the worsening situation in the event the health authorities in the state do not take measures to contain the disease.
♦ Dozens of displaced people forced back to camps in North Darfur
May 30 – 2018 KABKABIYA On Sunday May 27th, approximately 250 displaced families were forced to return once again to camps in Kabkabiya in North Darfur after mediation attempts with new settlers in their home villages failed. Some of the returnees had traveled all the way from refugee camps in eastern Chad and temporarily settled in Kabkabiya in anticipation of the voluntary repatriation project in Sabarna area.
A source in the area of Sabarna told Radio Dabanga that commanders of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had tried to mediate between the returning displaced people and the new settlers on the lands. The stalled negotiations have prompted the voluntary returnees to return to the camps in Kabkabiya.
In April, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Commissioner of Refugees (COR) assisted Sudanese refugees from Chad in their return to Kabkabiya, among others. UNHCR replied to Radio Dabanga's questions that it has been informed about the disagreement over land, and that the agency is in contact with Sudanese authorities at the state and federal level on this issue.
Throughout 2018 Radio Dabanga has received reports of attacks on people leaving the camps for the displaced and returning to their home areas. Voluntary return is one of the options which the Sudanese government gives to the people in Darfur who have been displaced by the armed conflict that erupted in 2003. Khartoum plans to transform the camps into residential areas, or integrate them into existing towns.
More news from Radio Dabanga:
June 5 – 2018 ZALINGEI The government of Central Darfur has claimed that the security situation in the state is stable, and denied any clashes between the Sudanese forces and armed rebels in Jebel Marra…
June 4 – 2018 BRUSSELS Members of the European Parliament are working on a resolution on the case of Noura Hussein, a 19-year-old Sudanese women, who was recently sentenced to death for…
June 4 – 2018 EL FASHAGA A policeman and four civilians were shot in front of El Shuwak police station in El Fashaga locality in El Gedaref state on Saturday.Mubarak El Nur, independent MP representing…
June 3 – 2018 GOBU A woman and her young son were killed on Thursday night, reportedly while fleeing shell fire from government forces on Darfur’s Jebel Marra…
June 3 – 2018 ABU JUBEIHA Doctors at the hospital of Abu Jubeiha in South Kordofan complain of “an appalling deterioration in the health environment”. Massing medical waste…
June 3 – 2018 KHARTOUM The Ministry of Finance of Sudan has announced that the inflation rate has recorded a sharp rise by 54 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared…
June 1 – 2018 EL FASHER / SINKAT / KHARTOUM The camps in El Fasher, Zamzam, Abu Shouk, and El Salam in El Fasher locality are witnessing a severe water shortage because of the…
June 1 – 2018 EL FASHER A delegation of Unamid visited Zamzam camp in El Fasher and was informed about the difficulties for voluntary returnees on Thursday. The United States Chargé d'Affaires…
May 31 – 2018 DARFUR The Sudanese Communist Party has condemned “the ongoing government violations and the terrible security deterioration in large parts of Darfur.” A statement…
May 31 – 2018 EL FASHER The Charge d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Khartoum, said “the US administration is working hard with the United Nations to strengthen humanitarian efforts and…
May 31 – 2018 LIBYA Sudanese in Libya have expressed concern about the poor security situation in the country owing to the spread of human trafficking gangs…
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