♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

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

♦ NISS delays distribution of El Jareeda newspaper again

July 24 – 2018 KHARTOUM For the second day in a row, agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) affected the print runs of El Jareeda with their tactic to delay newspaper distributions.

El Jareeda was not allowed to appear on Monday morning, similar to the confiscation of the newspaper on Sunday morning. Also El Sayha newspaper was confiscated yesterday. The NISS agents have given no explanation to the editors of the newspapers.

The NISS held onto the confiscated copies until 8am. This means that the print-runs were released too late for distribution to Khartoum and other Sudanese cities. The NISS has executed this new tactic in the past weeks, to keep a tight rein on the press. Newspapers distributed later in the morning are also at risk of not being bought anymore.

El Jareeda Editor-in-Chief Ashraf Abdelaziz told Radio Dabanga that the losses of his newspaper have amounted to SDG200,000*($7,105). On Sunday he explained that he alleges the reason for the confiscation to be a report about the authorities’ preventing the editor-in-chief of El Masadir newspaper from attending a meeting between the Egyptian President Abdelfattah El Sisi and President Omar Al Bashir in Khartoum.

Media in Sudan are constantly subjected to attacks on press freedom. The country is ranked at the bottom of the World Press Freedom Index by the global monitoring institution Reporters Sans Frontières.

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♦ Torrential rains make victims in Kassala towns

July 24 – 2018 KASSALA Torrential rains followed by have swept through several parts of the town of Kassala in Sudan, causing hundreds of houses to collapse.

Residents of Kassala told Radio Dabanga that a flood swept through the districts Makram, El Ingaz and parts of northern Halanga and new Khatmiyah on Sunday. They said that the rain had lasted for five hours, causing considerable damage.

“A large number of the residents are living in the open after the collapse of their houses,” a resident said. They attributed the great damage of the floods to the non-expansion of water outlets in these parts of town.

The level of El Gash River has risen significantly, threatening several villages and towns along the banks. Villagers here have expressed concern over the flooding of El Gash towards Dukin, Mukli, and Aroma.

The Humanitarian Aid Commission in Kassala has appealed to relief organisations to act and help the people affected by the floods and torrential rains.

Recently the national parliament decided to extend the State of Emergency in Kassala with another six months, in order to combat the frequent smuggling of human beings and goods. This happened despite calls against the decision by opposition parties.

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