♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

♦ Mass Sudan protests: 28 journalists, doctors and students detained

January 15 – 2019 KHARTOUM The National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) detained 28 journalists for several hours ahead of a planned sit-in to protest the pre-publication censorship on Sudanese newspapers El Jareeda and El Baath, on Monday. El Jareeda reporter Lubna Abdallah told Radio Dabanga that a NISS force surrounded their building. “They started detaining journalists as they left the building.” Also the editor-in-chief was arrested.

In addition, the security service beat and detained a number of journalists who were covering the peaceful march in Khartoum Bahri on Sunday, including Mohamed Abdelmajid, Mohamed Salman, Aisha El Samani and Yousef El Jalal. All told Radio Dabanga that there were large numbers of security officers brutally beating them and protesters.

Sunday witnessed large and simultaneous demonstrations in Khartoum North, Wad Madani in El Gezira, Nyala in South Darfur, Port Sudan in Red Sea state, Amri in the Northern State, Sennar, El Faw and El Gedaref in eastern Sudan, and Ed Duweim in White Nile. Large protests or strikes have been announced for later this week.

Also doctors are targeted by the security force and a number is being held in detention. In Nyala they arrested Dr Amar El Obeid on Monday, the day that President Omar Al Bashir visited the South Darfur capital to gain support for his beleaguered regime. The amount of demonstrators detained to this day is unclear but several official sources stated that over a thousand people have been in detention or remain in detention, amid calls by the international community, Sudanese imams and civilians upon the authorities to stop killing protesters.

Continue reading

♦ Live fire used during demonstrations in Khartoum North

January 14 – 2019 KHARTOUM The security services used live ammunition, tear gas, and batons to disperse demonstrators in Khartoum North yesterday. Along with the detention of an unknown number of people taking part in protests in response to the call of the Sudanese Professionals Association and allied opposition forces, thousands demonstrated in Khartoum North on Sunday as Sudan entered its fourth week of unrest. Five separate marches took place along the main streets in the northern part of the capital. security forces fired tear gas at the crowd at several occasions and launched a random arrest campaign before and after the demonstration, detaining protesters and journalists.

In their Friday sermons, a number of imams in mosques in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum condemning the security forces' killing of demonstrators and statements of former Vice President Ali Osman Taha and leading member of the ruling National Congress Party, El Fateh Izzeldin, saying demonstrators should be killed. “He who shoots bullets is a murderer, aims his gun at demonstrators is a murderer, whoever supports them is a murderer, and those who are ordering them to do so are even more evil,” the Imam of El Rahma Mosque said in his sermon.

On Wednesday 9 January, government forces entered the Omdurman Teaching Hospital and fired live bullets and tear gas in their pursue of wounded protesters from earlier that day. They marched into the emergency and medical sections of the Omdurman Hospital roughing up both patients and doctors.

More news from Radio Dabanga: