♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

♦ Sudan uprising: Mass demos and detentions after Friday prayers

April 1 – 2019 KHARTOUM / KASSALA / EL GEZIRA / DARFUR / RIVER NILE The mass demonstrations calling for the immediate step-down of Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir and his regime from power are approaching their fourth consecutive month, with no sign of the momentum abating, in spite of harsh resistance by the Sudanese authorities. On Friday, demonstrations took place in Khartoum state after the time of prayers. Demonstrations also took place in Khashm El Girba in Kassala, Atbara in River Nile, Tullus in South Darfur, and in Wadi Sulfab and Masoudiya in El Gezira.

Also on Sunday demonstrations took place which the police and security forces attempted to quell with excessive violence, including the use of electric tazers, batons, and tear gas. They arrested dozens of people, and immediately tried them before the Emergency Courts.

On Saturday, families of people who have been detained in connection with ongoing protests staged an unannounced sit-in in front of the offices of the security service in Khartoum. They have not been allowed to visit their detained family members.

Hundreds of people, including politicians and journalists, have been detained during the four months of protests. On Friday, Sudanese authorities released Osman Mirghani, editor-in-chief of El Tayyar daily newspaper, after more than a month in detention. On Sunday the 88-year-old Siddig Yousef, prominent member of the Communist Party of Sudan and the National Consensus Forces, was released after being detained for 88 days.

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♦ Eight women killed in South Kordofan gold mine collapse

April 2 – 2019 EL LERI Eight women died and 11 other people sustained injuries when a gold mine collapsed in South Kordofan on Sunday. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that a mine east of Mount El Leri collapsed on dozens of women who were working inside. The deceased are Umelhussein Bashir, Kulla Jibril, Darelnaeem El Faki, El Sayda Ahmed, Souad Hasan, Marya Jaafar, Ranya Mohamed and Suraya Abdelrahman.

On April 18, at least 35 gold miners died at the Wad Nyala Mine in El Radoom locality in South Darfur when a mine shaft collapsed. The fact that miners could only reach the victims and bodies using traditional mining tools such as drills and spades, complicated the rescue.

Traditional mining accounts for about 80 per cent of Sudan’s annual gold production. Deteriorating health conditions of these miners are often attributed to environmental pollution caused by the use of toxics during traditional mining and by mining companies in the area.

Recently, gold miners throughout Sudan, including in Northern State and River Nile state, reported that the imposition of higher annual fees on machinery and deductions on any gold production and negative effects from the ongoing shortage of fuel and liquidity has affected the gold production.

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