♦ 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
♦ Rebels deny child soldiers claim as Sudan declares amnesty
September 13 – 2016 KHARTOUM The rebel Justice and Equality Movement denied that there were minors within their fighting troops or prisoners held by the government, in response to President Omar Al Bashir’s claims.
President Al Bashir claimed that Sudan's forces have released child soldiers who were fighting for the JEM in a battle at Goz Dongor in April. He made the remarks during celebrations in the North Darfur capital last week. He said that the child soldiers would be released to social care homes for rehabilitation.
Meanwhile the JEM denounced the imprisonment of its combatants, captured during a battle at Goz Dongor in April 2015, by Sudanese authorities in unknown places and under harsh conditions. The battle at Goz Dongor in April 2015 has recently been mentioned often by President Al Bashir and the JEM. The rebels reported one week ago that 181 of their combatants, captured by the Rapid Support Forces, are being held in a Omdurman prison in a “miserable” health situation. Some are reportedly suffering from tuberculosis.
On the occasion of the Muslim holiday Eid El Adha, the JEM decided to release all prisoners captured during battles with the Sudanese military. President Al Bashir also announced a general amnesty for all rebel fighters who have laid-down their arms, during his address at the completion of the Doha peace agreement last week.
♦ Eid El Adha: 'More than enough sheep in Sudan, but unaffordable'
September 11 – 2016 RADIO DABANGA Sudanese all over the country complained about the recent price hikes, and the sky-rocketing prices of sheep at the eve of the Eid El Adha, the Islamic Feast of the Sacrifice that commenced on Monday.
The outcome of a short poll conducted by Radio Dabanga reveals that sheep are not affordable to the “common man” in Sudan. Most of the people interviewed hold the government and traders responsible for the “crazy rise of consumer goods prices”.
In Khartoum, the costs of purchasing a sheep range between SDG1,500 and SDG3,000 ($490), which is the maximum monthly income of an average family, journalist Amna Suleiman said. She added that the tradition of slaughtering a sheep “seems to be disappearing”, and that many children will not be wearing new garments this year, as the prices of especially children’s clothes have become “incredibly expensive”. In the South Darfur capital of Nyala, the price of a sheep ranges from SDG900 to SDG2,500 ($410), a housewife told Radio Dabanga – and the financial situation in eastern Sudan is not any different.
In addition, people complained about a significant rise of bus ticket prices. The Eid El Adha is preferably spent with relatives in home towns. Authorities seized the number plates of many buses that were taking extra passengers from the bus station in south Khartoum, a passenger said last Friday.
More highlights from Radio Dabanga:
September 12 – 2016 KHARTOUM Farmers in North Kordofan and North Darfur are complaining about the spread of locusts. Bara and Sodari localities in North Kordofan, and Saraf Umra, Tawila, and Dar…
Shoppers beaten in South Darfur armed robbery
September 12 – 2016 MERSHING A number of people were injured in an armed robbery in Mershing in South Darfur on Sunday. One of the victims reported to Radio Dabanga that janjaweed riding on camels…
More than 400,000 children have cancer in Sudan
September 11 – 2016 KHARTOUM The number of cancer cases among children in Sudan has risen to more than 400,000, says the General Coordinator of the Children's Cancer Hospital in Khartoum…
74,000 residents return to secure Abyei areas: South Sudan
September 9 – 2016 ABYEI Thousands of residents of Abyei, on the border between Sudan and South Sudan, have returned to the contested area after certain parts have witnessed a steady security…
New classrooms approved in Sortony camp, Darfur
September 9 – 2016 SORTONY The Sudanese government has approved the construction of temporary classrooms for newly displaced children in the Sortony site in North Darfur. But the education assistance …
36 NGOs and individuals write open letter on concerns over human rights in Sudan
September 8 – 2016 GENEVA A group of 36 NGOs and individuals regarding have signed an open letter on the eve of the 33rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, voicing their concerns about the human rights…
El Fasher University in North Darfur raided to prevent demo
September 8 – 2016 EL FASHER At least one student was arrested, and others beaten and subject to tear gas when security agents and police raided the campus of El Fasher University in the North Darfur capital…
Policeman shot after arrest for Darfur gang-rape
September 7 – 2016 TAWILA One policeman is dead, another arrested, and an alleged rapist at large following an arrest in North Darfur’s Tawila on Tuesday. Omda Mukhtar Bosh, coordinator of the Tawila …
This digest is an excerpt from the weekly Darfur & Sudan News Update. Subscribe to the newsletter here
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