♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

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

♦  Sudan peace talks: Cease fire extended for two months

December 16 – 2019 JUBA On Saturday, the Sudanese government and armed movements signed a goodwill agreement to extend the Juba Declaration of Principles, which includes a mutual cease fire for two months.
 
The agreement, that ends on February 14, 2020, was signed by the chief negotiator of the government, Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemeti', and representatives of the rebel groups in the South Sudanese capital Juba, where the peace talks are taking place.

Tut Galuak, head of the South Sudanese mediation team, said that the extension would allow the negotiating parties to reach an agreement on all outstanding issues.

The Juba Declaration of Principles, aiming to build confidence and stop hostilities, was signed on September 11.

Exactly three months later, the third round of the reconvened negotiations between the government delegation headed by Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemeti', Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council, and the armed movements started in an "optimistic mood".

On December 12, Khartoum and the SPLM-N faction led by Abdelaziz El Hilu agreed to form a joint team to study the movement's demands for self-determination and a secular state.

♦  Wife of Al Bashir arrested in Sudan capital

December 13 – 2019 KHARTOUM NORTH On Thursday, the second wife of ousted president Omar Al Bashir was arrested from her home in Khartoum North, on charges of illegal ownership of wealth and suspicious richness.

A police force took Widad Babikr from her and her husband's residence in Kafouri in Khartoum North to the prosecution office in Khartoum, where she was questioned about her bank accounts and the possession of residential lands and real estates – which have been frozen by the prosecution.

Since the ousting of her husband on April 11, Babikr was placed under house arrest under strict security measures.

Al Bashir's first wife, Fatima Khalid, is one of his cousins. His second wife whom he married in 2003, was the widow of Col Ibrahim Shamseldin, member of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation and one of Al Bashir's closest military friends, who died in a helicopter crash in April 2001.
 

More news from Radio Dabanga:

Sudan moves against unregulated mining
December 17 – 2019 KHARTOUM Sudan’s National Committee for Environment Advocacy has said that they submitted more than 16 legal petitions against mining  …

Anniversary of Sudan's December 2018 Revolution' – Cartoons by Omar Dafallah
December 15 – 2019 DABANGA SUDAN This retrospective features a series from the sharp-witted and often barbed pen of Sudanese cartoonist Omar Dafallah …

Three Sudanese kidnapped by Ethiopian militia

December 15 – 2019 EAST EL GALABAT On Friday, angry protestors in El Gedaref blocked the main border between Sudan and Ethiopia at El Galabat in protest against  …

Dengue fever still on the rise in Sudan
December 15 – 2019 PORT SUDAN / KASSALA The number of reported cases of dengue fever continues to increase in Sudan, especially in Red Sea state. On Thursday, …

Sentry/Enough: USA should accelerate removal of Sudan from 'terrorism list'
December 13 – 2019 WASHINGTON DC The time has come to remove Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) list, and the USA should accelerate its ongoing …

Friends of Sudan meet in Khartoum
December 12 – 2019 KHARTOUM Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok has called on the Friends of Sudan group to provide political and economic support to overcome the current …

Protests against herder violence across Darfur, Sudan
December 12 – 2019 TAWILA / DUBO EL OMDA / EL GEDAREF On Wednesday, residents of Tawila in North Darfur went out in a demonstration, condemning the continuing …

Committee formed to remove remnants of former Sudan regime
December 11 – 2019 KHARTOUM The chairman of the Sovereign Council, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, issued a decree to form a committee to remove remnants of …

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