♦ 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
♦ UN condemns killing of displaced in Darfur's Sortony
May 10 – 2016 KABKABIYA Six displaced people, including two children, were killed in attacks in Sortony, near the Unamid team site in Kabkabiya, on Monday evening. A Unamid peacekeeper was injured in a gunfight between Unamid and the attackers. Sortony is adjacent to the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (Unamid) base in the area, where a large number of displaced people from Jebel Marra have taken refuge in the past four months.
Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that a large group of militiamen attacked the eastern side of Sortony at 6pm on Monday. They seized a number of cows from the camp residents, claiming that the animals belong to them.
The witnesses disclosed the names of the six people killed and five people wounded during the attacks. One of them reported that members of the militia raped two women aged 19 and 20 during the raid east of Sortony. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Marta Ruedas confirmed that six civilians were killed on Monday. Unamid is currently verifying the exact casualty number. Neither of the statements mentioned the occurrence of rape.
The Unamid peacekeepers engaged with the attackers in Sortony and exchanged gunfire, forcing them to flee. One of the peacekeepers sustained an injury during the confrontation. They managed to apprehend two of the attackers.
Tensions in Sortony have been escalating starting 2 May, when herders accused members of the displaced community of stealing their livestock and demanded the return of their cattle, Unamid reported today. Subsequently, the armed herders established an intermittent blockade on the Kabkabiya-Sortony road, an essential route for the provision of water and humanitarian aid.
A camp coordinator explained to Radio Dabanga that the people in Sortony suffer from the lack of drinking water. “Militiamen have blocked tankers carrying drinking water and other vehicles for three days in a row.”
♦ 120 US Congress members call on Obama to keep Sudan crisis a high priority
May 5 – 2016 WASHINGTON D.C. A bipartisan group of 120 members of Congress has called on President Obama to re-prioritize peace, accountability and protection of civilians in Sudan during his final year in office.
The bipartisan letter, dated Wednesday 4 May, is led by Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Joseph Pitts (R-PA), co-chairs of a bipartisan Congressional human rights commission, and the co-chairs of the bipartisan Sudan and South Sudan Issues Caucus: Representatives Michael McCaul (R-TX), Mike Capuano (D-MA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE).
In the letter, the lawmakers call for strong U.S. leadership and advocacy on the grave abuses and humanitarian crisis that persist and continue to worsen in Sudan.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) said: “As the violence in Sudan grows worse, the world is looking to the United States to be a strong partner in the effort to build a lasting peace and address this devastating humanitarian crisis. Today in Sudan, families are being displaced, hunger and malnutrition have reached crisis levels, and civilians face the constant threat of aerial bombings. With today’s letter, our bipartisan coalition is calling on President Obama to make Sudan a top priority by taking new steps to protect the Sudanese people and put an end to this violent conflict.”
Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA) said: “We must not allow the conflict in Sudan to vanish from our collective memory. The Sudanese government is purposely withholding aid from conflict regions, brandishing starvation as a weapon. Children in Darfur suffer from advanced stages of malnourishment, as food insecurity in the city is at emergency levels— one step below famine. My colleagues and I wrote to the Obama Administration today to encourage the President to keep the protection of human rights in Sudan at the forefront of his agenda in the last year of his presidency.”
More highlights from Dabanga Sudan:
€6.5 million for UN projects in Sudan
May 10 – 2016 KHARTOUM The European Union signed development cooperation agreements with two United Nations projects on the management of natural resources in Darfur and West Kordofan. The EU stays committed to improving its ties with Sudan regarding irregular …
Journalists harassed, detained by Sudanese security service
May 9 – 2016 EL GENEINA / KHARTOUM A correspondent for a West Darfur newspaper was interrogated by agents of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) on Sunday. A Khartoum reporter has been in detention since 13 April. According to a statement by the Journalists Network…
Three Darfur hay collectors raped
May 9 – 2016 TABIT Three young women, aged 23, 18, and 17, were raped by seven militiamen while they were collecting hay in North Darfur yesterday. A relative of the victims told Radio Dabanga that the women were collecting hay in the Dawa area near Tabit, when the militiamen intercepted…
Implementation Follow-Up Commission of the DDPD convenes in Sudan’s capital
May 9 – 2016 KHARTOUM The 11th meeting of the Implementation Follow-Up Commission (IFC) of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) was held today in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. The Commission discussed the progress made and the challenges…
Four dead, 15 raped in Darfur revenge attacks
May 8 – 2016 JEBEL MARRA Four people including three girls have been killed and at least 15 women and girls reportedly raped in separate incidents in Darfur’s Jebel Marra. An activist told Radio Dabanga that Sudanese army troops and allied…
West Darfur school destroyed as riot dispersed
May 6 – 2016 MURNEI Three people received gunshot wounds and a school was completely destroyed during a riot that broke out among school children in Murnei camp for the displaced in West Darfur on Wednesday. The Murnei camp Coordinator told Radio Dabanga that on…
USAID sorghum for Darfur lands in Port Sudan
May 5 – 2016 PORT SUDAN The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a significant in-kind food contribution, 47,500 metric tons of sorghum, from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Valued at approximately $37 million, this in-kind food…
Aerial attacks continue in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains
May 4 – 2016 NUBA MOUNTAINS Sudanese Air Force Antonov and MiG aircraft have continued to bomb and strafe residential areas in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan for the third day in a row. In a statement to Radio Dabanga, the military spokesman for the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement…
35,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad in dire need
May 4 – 2016 GOZ AMER CAMP The Sudanese refugees in Goz Amer camp in eastern Chad complain of a severe shortage of humanitarian aid, health services, and food. Speaking to Radio Dabanga on Tuesday, a number of refugees from the camp said that the health facilities of the camp, which…
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