♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

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

♦ Sudan participates in US Africom summit for first time

April 18 – 2017 KHARTOUM / STUTTGART A senior Sudanese military delegation has arrived in Germany to attend a summit with the heads of staff of the United States Africa Command (Africom). The US Embassy in Khartoum has encouraged 'close cooperation among the Government of Sudan, United Nations, and native administrations'.

Africom is a unit of combat forces run by the US Department of Defence, responsible for military relations with 53 African nations. Brig. gen. Ahmed Khalifa Shami, spokesman for the Sudan Armed Forces, said that Sudan's participation in the meetings of Africom “is evidence on the breakthrough in the relationship with the United States”. He believed that Sudan's first participation in the meetings indicates that the country is committed to combating cross-border crimes, terrorism, illegal immigration and money laundering.

Meanwhile the military attaché of the US embassy in Sudan visited Darfur last week for a briefing by the State Governors. Lt. Col. Jörn Pung went to El Fasher, Tullus, and – for the first time – Golo, to meet with local, military and political leaders. The US Embassy staff found that the establishment of rule of law in the region “will require successful disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration process for former combatants”. The US “encourages close cooperation among the Government of Sudan, United Nations, and native administrations” to find a negotiated lasting peace for the region, reads the embassy's statement today.

The governors in North and South Darfur both informed Pung about their plans to collect arms from civilians in order to stabilise the states. In Kutum locality, for example, a series of renewed security measures will go into effect as of Wednesday.

♦ 'Militiamen living in and using our villages': Darfuri displaced

April 17 – 2017 BELEIL / ZALINGEI The continued announcements of the Sudanese government and the recent declaration of the US military attaché in Khartoum about the improved security situation in the region are “false propaganda”, according to the displaced people in Darfur.

These statements about security in Darfur have no basis in reality,” Hussein Abu Sharati, the spokesman for the Darfur Displaced and Refugees Association, commented to Radio Dabanga. “In terms of security and stability, the situation in Darfur is now more serious than three years ago. As the region is currently under the control of those who fought alongside government forces against the people, and chased them from their villages. The government rewarded them by letting them occupy our lands.” He said that the displaced and refugees do not refuse to return voluntarily.

“If the camp areas are annexed to the towns and the displaced registered as town residents, they will deprived from the possibility to reclaim their land. Thus the way to legalising the new settlers’ ownership of our lands will be paved,” added El Shafee Abdallah, Coordinator of the Central Darfur camps and one of the members of the Darfur Camps Coordination Committee.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Hamid Ali Nur, head of the Darfur Civil Society Platform, said: “The government militiamen known as janjaweed, recruited from Bedouin groups in the region and over the past couple of years also from neighbouring countries, are enjoying full immunity.”

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More highlights from Radio Dabanga:

‘Appeal against release of Dr Mudawi Ibrahim is improper’: defence lawyer

April 17 – 2017 KHARTOUM The appeal by the State Security Prosecutor against the ruling of the attorney-general concerning the release of human rights defenders Dr Mudawi Ibrahim and Hafiz Idris on bail is improper and illegal, says …

Sudan security bans No to Women’s Oppression event

April 17 – 2017 OMDURMAN The National Security and Intelligence Service (NISS) has banned an event at the El Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman without providing a justification. Dr Ihsan Figeiri, head of the organising committee…

Aid convoy leaves Sudan for South Sudan

April 16 – 2017 KHARTOUM On 30 March, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) began to move food assistance to reach famine-affected people in South Sudan using a new humanitarian corridor opened by the Government of Sudan earlier in…

Democracy First Group: ‘Discrimination growing against Christians in Sudan’

April 16 – 2017 KAMPALA In reaction to the recent attack by government forces on an Evangelical Church and School in Omdurman during which a church elder was killed, a Sudanese think-tank warns of the “expansion of the religious discrimination…

Cholera still spreading in Sudan’s El Gedaref

April 14 – 2017 EL GEDAREF On Thursday seven people were diagnosed with severe cholera in various parts of El Gedaref state. This follows reports of 29 infections this week. A medical source told Radio Dabanga that the isolation centre for the disease…

HIV/AIDS, Hep-C rife among service workers in Sudan capital

April 14 – 2017 KHARTOUM An alarming proportion of workers in cafeterias and beauty salons in Sudan’s Khartoum state are infected with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, according to a survey conducted by the state’s Ministry of Health.

Disease fells children, seniors in West Darfur camp

April 14 – 2017 MURNEI / EL FASHER At least 19 people, including 11 children and eight seniors, have already died during April of an unidentified fever that is spreading fast in Murnei camp for the displaced in West Darfur. The camp coordinator…

UXO blast claims young Darfur brothers

April 13 – 2017 EAST JEBEL MARRA Two young brothers were killed on Wednesday when an unexploded grenade they found detonated at Rogli in East Jebel Marra. A relative of the dead boys told Radio Dabanga that Hamouda (7) and…

Central Darfur displaced reject land rezoning

April 13 – 2017 GARSILA The residents of Arula of Garsila locality in Central Darfur, who fled to Garsila camps in 2003 because of the war, have refused a local committee's decision to build public facilities at Arula and compensating them with alternative…

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