♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

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

♦ Popular Congress Party will not take part in new Sudan govt.

October 14 – 2016 KHARTOUM The Popular Congress Party (PCP), one of the seven opposition parties that participated in the National Dialogue, doubts about the guarantees for the implementation of the Dialogue’s outcomes.
On Sunday, the members of Sudan’s National Dialogue passed the National Document containing the recommendations of the Dialogue committees. Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir stated that the National Document “reflects the will of the people of Sudan”, and “will serve as a basis for the ruling of the country”. A recommendation, for example, stipulates the restriction of the powers of the Sudanese intelligence service NISS.
“There are no guarantees for the implementation of our recommendations, except the President's commitment,” PCP Political Bureau member Abubaker Abdelrazeg told Radio Dabanga in an interview on Thursday. He pointed to “the lack of national consensus about the refusal of a number of armed movements and political parties to participate. Khartoum […] does not guarantee anything.”
Meanwhile, the National Umma Party (NUP) Deputy Chairman Mariam Sadig El Mahdi said her opposition party is ready to consider the outcome of the National Dialogue under certain conditions. At a symposium on Monday she said it would be better for the government to accept the African Union Roadmap, however, which was signed by the opposition group Sudan Appeal. This roadmap has international guarantees and is supported by political parties, which is not the case for the National Dialogue, El Mahdi said.

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♦ 'Sudan may have used chemical weapons in South Kordofan as well'

October 16 – 2016 GENEVA Aid workers and local officials in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan have reported suspected chemical weapons use by the Sudanese government. If accurate, the reports suggest a more deliberate and wide-ranging campaign by Khartoum against its restive regions, the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) says in a report published last week. Medical officials in war-torn South Kordofan have seen symptoms consistent with chemical weapons exposure, stretching back over at least four years of armed conflict.
Tom Catena, the only surgeon at the Mother of Mercy Hospital in Gidel, said the first incident he observed of a possible chemical attack was in April 2012, during fighting in Talodi. 18 victims of a government air raid were taken to the hospital, where they reported seeing grey smoke from the bombing that turned white. Those exposed to the smoke suffered from symptoms that could be the result of exposure to insecticides and herbicides, or nerve agents, the surgeon mentioned.
Amnesty International recently announced that at least 30 likely chemical attacks have taken place in Darfur’s Jebel Marra since the beginning of this year. Its research is based on interviews, satellite imagery, and analysis of photographs of injuries, as Sudan has blocked access to the conflict areas in Darfur and South Kordofan. Amnesty has now called on the public to help with 'Decode Darfur': analysing the large number of satellite images of Darfur online.

More news from Radio Dabanga:

Libya repatriates Sudanese from Tobruk

October 18 – 2016 TOBRUK Sudanese nationals stranded in the port city of Tobruk in Libya are being repatriated by Libyan authorities. Migrants in the country have reported a high number of cases of exploitation and abuses by human trafficker…

Elderly woman raped in West Kordofan

October 17 – 2016 LAGAWA A herder raped a senior woman (68) in West Kordofan on Friday. A relative of the victim reported to Radio Dabanga that the herder ambushed the woman when she was working on her farm in the area…

Whooping cough outbreak in North Darfur

October 14 – 2016 EL SEREIF The North Darfur Ministry of Health has reported the outbreak of whooping cough in El Sereif Beni Hussein locality in early September. As of 7 October, 323 suspected cases were reported in the locality….

Deadly aerial bombing resumes in Darfur’s Jebel Marra

October 13 – 2016 DERIBAT Deadly aerial bombardments have resumed on Darfur’s beleaguered Jebel Marra. One man reportedly died and scores of livestock were lost. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that Aboujmal Saleh Ahmed was killed …

Al Bashir extends ceasefire in Darfur, Two Areas till end 2016

October 11 – 2016 KHARTOUMSudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir has announced the extension of the ceasefire in Darfur, Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile until the end of the 2016, and the formation of a national mechanism for a permanent Constitution for the country….

Three women from besieged West Darfur camp raped

October 11 – 2016 MURNEI Three women are in critical condition after being repeatedly raped by a gang of militiamen in West Darfur. A sheikh of Sese camp for the displaced, north of Murnei in Kereinik locality told Radio Dabanga that the three victims…

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