♦ 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
♦ 'EU to continue migration programmes Sudan': Delegation in Khartoum
March 14 – 2017 KHARTOUM The head of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Sudan had a constructive meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today. There are many common areas of interest, he said, including cooperation on migration.
EU Ambassador Jean-Michel Dumond told journalists after the end of the meeting at the ministry that the talks with Ibrahim Ghandour, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and representatives of youth, women, and business groups were “open” and “constructive”. “Fifteen representatives of the EU member states for EU policy on Africa are visiting Sudan to deepen their understanding of the ongoing developments in the country and the region.”
Dumond said that they “discussed, with a general focus point, migration. We continue our programmes. We were in Kassala and Gedaref states last week […] and saw that our programmes are implemented for the benefit of refugees, locals, and migrants, in order to address the root causes of migration.” In April 2016, the EU officially allocated Sudan €100 million to improve the living conditions for refugees in Sudan and to improve security at the border. Sudan is considered as a transit country for migrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.
♦ Insecurity grows at hands of militias: Kutum residents, Darfur
March 12 – 2017 KUTUM / KASSAB Insecurity and the number of attacks have grown at the hands of militias in Kutum locality, residents reported to this station last week. “Authorities have not moved to prosecute the perpetrators.”
Militants hijacked two vehicles in separate incidents in Kutum locality in North Darfur on Saturday. Attackers seized the medicines and other properties of passengers in a vehicle that they intercepted between Kutum and Anka, and a group of militants robbed the passengers in a commercial vehicle driving to Farok.
Last week people in Kassab camp for the displaced reported this to Radio Dabanga. An activist in the camp said that the security conditions in Kutum and in the vicinity of the camp have started to deteriorate after Second Vice-President Hasabo Mohamed Abdelrahman visited the area in January. “Militiamen who then used vehicles and motorcycles to escort him, have spread here, and attacked civilians.”
A vehicle belonging to the Unamid peacekeeping mission, which was part of the convoy, was briefly hijacked by militants during Abdelrahman's visit.
An activist in Kassab reported that 45 attacks have occurred in Kutum and the camp since then, including four murders, rapes of women, robberies and cattle theft. “These happened at the hands of pro-government militias. Authorities have not moved to prosecute the perpetrators, despite people filing reports about such incidents to the police.”
More highlights from Radio Dabanga:
Kordofan teachers boycot examinations
March 14 – 2017 ABU JUBEIHA / EN NAHUD / EL GENEINA Teachers in examination committees in South Kordofan have started a boycot against the correction of basic school stage exams for the non-payment of their allowances. The…
Sudan releases three detainees in Mudawi case
March 13 – 2017 KHARTOUM (UPDATE 14-03 21:00) Two women and a driver have been released after more than two months arbitrary detention for their activities and communications for human rights defender Dr Mudawi Ibrahim. Lawyer…
Sudan presidential amnesty praised in view of peace talks
March 12 – 2017 KHARTOUM The African Union and political parties have continued to praise President Al Bashir's decision to drop the death penalties or release more than 250 rebels, as a move that may bridge the gap between the…
Opposition leader interrogated about critique on Sudan's NISS
March 10 – 2017 ATBARA The Sudanese security service arrested and interrogated one of the leaders of the Popular Congress Party in Atbara in River Nile state on Thursday. Ismail Faraj Allah was detained for five hours and released late…
Clubhouse ordered to cancel demo activities in Port Sudan
March 10 – 2017 PORT SUDAN A club in Port Sudan, the capital of Red Sea state, is threatened with closure for organising protest activities against the privatisation procedure of the seaports, which is opposed by seaports workers…
Sudan releases 258 rebel fighters
March 9 – 2017 BAHRI A total of 258 rebel fighters who were captured during various battles with government forces, have been released from Kober prison in Bahri, Khartoum, following a Presidential amnesty. The rebel fighters were captured during…
Women bear the brunt of suffering in Sudan
March 8 – 2017 SUDAN Today, as the world celebrates International Women’s Day, women leaders across Sudan and Darfur speak to Radio Dabanga of the complex social situations faced by women in the country, who are still vulnerable to violence…
This digest is an excerpt from the weekly Darfur & Sudan News Update. Subscribe to the newsletter here
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