♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

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

♦ Newspapers covering Sudan peace talks seized

August 16 – 2016 KHARTOUM On Monday, the print runs of three newspapers were seized following their publication of interviews with the leaders of the rebel movements who held negotiations with the Sudanese government. The talks have reached a deadlock days after the launch

Agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in Khartoum confiscated the print runs of El Mijhar El Siyasi, El Ahram El Youm, and El Sayha right from the printing press. The newspapers received instructions from the NISS to stop the publication of any reports from the Ethiopian capital, where the negotiations had been held since Thursday.

An official from the National Press and Publication Council confirmed to Radio Dabanga that the council was surprised to hear about the latest confiscations. The security apparatus warned the media in particular after it became clear that the negotiations on a ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid in conflict areas reached a stalemate on Sunday.

Each party has accused the other of obstructing the possibility of reaching a cessation of hostilities for the period of one month, among other points set in the peace roadmap that was drafted by the AU mediation team, chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki. The mediators intervened on Sunday by proposing a compromise to the warring parties. No date has been set to resume the talks.

♦ 114 killed in floods: Sudan aid commission

August 16 – 2016 KASSALA / EL GEZIRA / NORTH DARFUR At least 114 people have been killed in the torrential rains and floods in Sudan, according to the Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commission. The deadliest floods occurred in Kassala and El Gezira states in eastern Sudan. More than 160,000 people have been affected by the destructive rainfall and floods as more than 14,000 houses in many parts of Sudan are swept away. In eastern Sudan, heavy rainfall swept away large parts of a bridge south of El Gedaref, creating huge traffic problems. Refuse in stagnant water pools is promoting the spread of malaria in Kassala state.

Rainfall and flooding on Saturday blocked the highway connecting Nyala, capital of South Darfur, with the North Darfur capital El Fasher. Dozens of vehicles carrying hundreds of people were stranded, passengers reported. In Kabkabiya in North Darfur, a displaced mother and her child drowned in Sortony Valley on 9 August.

Meanwhile the Sudanese Red Crescent Society in Khartoum has warned that an alarming “new rise in the Blue Nile is expected to reach Sennar, central Sudan, Khartoum, and the Northern State”.

The Government of Sudan is leading and coordinating the response, and has reactivated the Flood Task Force (FTF) at federal and state levels.

More highlights from Radio Dabanga:

USA calls on Sudan for ‘immediate release’ of Nierteti detainees

August 15 – 2016 WASHINGTON, DC The USA has called on the Sudanese government to release all the displaced people who were detained in Nierteti in Central Darfur over the past two weeks. In a press statement…

Five North Darfuris killed in air raid on Benghazi in Libya

August 15 – 2016 BENGHAZI / KHARTOUM Five members of a North Darfur family were killed in an air raid in Benghazi in Libya on Friday. A Sudanese friend of the victims told Radio Dabanga on Sunday that a fighter…

Blue Nile refugees in South Sudan living rough

August 14 – 2016 YOUSEF BATEL CAMP The humanitarian situation for Sudanese refugees in the South Sudanese Yousef Batel camp has deteriorated significantly as a result of torrential rains in the past weeks…

Woman killed in air raid on Darfur's Jebel Marra

August 14 – 2016 JEBEL MARRA An elderly woman was killed in an air raid by the Sudanese Air Force in southern Jebel Marra on Friday. A listener reported to Radio Dabanga from Turung Tawra that Maryam El Haj…

Sudan police demolish dozens of homes in Khartoum

August 14 – 2016 KHARTOUM On Thursday, a police contingent demolished 67 homes in El Shajara district in the Sudanese capital without prior notice to the inhabitants. “The police arrived with bulldozers at El…

Unamid’s Sudanese staff lift strike

August 12 – 2016 DARFUR The Sudanese staff members of Unamid, who went on strike on 28 July, have agreed to lift the strike pending the response of UN officials to their demands. In a meeting of the General…

Journalist assaulted, paper seized in Sudanese capital

August 11 – 2016 KHARTOUM A reporter from El Jareeda newspaper was assaulted, detained, and questioned by Khartoum state police, while covering the demolition of the city’s El Takamol district on Wednesday…

This digest is an excerpt from the weekly Darfur & Sudan News Update. Subscribe to the newsletter here