♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

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

♦ Water and food gap in North Darfur: Residents, reserchers

November 7 – 2017 UM KEDDADA / EL LAIT / EL TAWEISHA People in eastern localities of North Darfur complained of a severe shortage of drinking water in the villages. The poor rainy season resulted in a food gap, residents and researchers reported.
Listeners in Um Keddada, El Taweisha, and El Lait spoke to Radio Dabanga about the drinking water shortage and the food gap they suffer from following the poor rainy season. They have to walk long distances to obtain potable water, people complained. “We hope the authorities can dig more wells so we can face the shortage of drinking water,” a resident said.

The head of the North Darfur Legislative Council, Eisa Mohamed Abdallah, said that his council is looking forward to take measures to bridge the gap in the strategic food stocks of the areas. He called for the formation of councils within the localities that can monitor the development.

Poor rainfall in parts of North Darfur, Kassala state and northern El Gedaref have led to very poor regeneration of pasture and water sources for livestock, reported the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net). National cereal and cash crop harvests for the 2017/18 season are likely to be below the average production in these parts of North Darfur.

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♦ Al Bashir, Kiir agree to strengthen ties between the Sudans

November 6 – 2017 KHARTOUM / EL FULA Last week, during a visit of South Sudan President Salva Kiir to Khartoum, President Omar Al Bashir and his South Sudanese counterpart agreed to activate the joint security arrangements, and to re-open four of the ten border crossings between the two countries.

President Kiir arrived on Wednesday and discussed with Al Bashir outstanding security issues between the two countries. He affirmed his government's seriousness to go ahead with the implementation of the Road Map agreed upon by both countries.

Al Bashir stated that the two sides agreed they would no longer tolerate any hostile political or military activities against each other, stressing that Sudan briefed South Sudan on its experiment distancing itself from any harbouring of rebel movements.

So far the border crossings between Sudan’s West Kordofan and South Sudan have reportedly remained closed, despite the recent agreement between Khartoum and Juba to reopen four of them. “El Naam and El Meiram crossings at the West Kordofan-South Sudan border have not been opened so far,” a trader told Radio Dabanga from the West Kordofan capital of El Fula. He is awaiting the opening of the crossings for merchandise to be to transported freely between the two countries.

More news from Radio Dabanga:

US Dollar rate breaks record in Sudan markets

November 7 – 2017 KHARTOUM The exchange rate of the U.S. Dollar against the Sudanese pound rose to an all-time high of 23 pounds in Sudanese parallel markets…
 

Al Bashir: 'Sudan free of conflicts in 2020'

November 7 – 2017 KHARTOUM President Omar Al Bashir vowed to hand over Sudan “free of conflicts” to the new president in 2020, after calling on the rebel movements to join the…
 

More Sudan forces deployed for Darfur arms collection

November 6 – 2017 KHARTOUM The commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces announced on Sunday that Khartoum will deploy extra forces for its disarmament campaign in Darfur. He ruled out…
 

Herders abduct two farmers, attack others in Darfur

November 6 – 2017 TAWILA / KUTUM / MUKJAR A group of herders abducted two villagers from their farms in North Darfur’s Tawila locality on Saturday. Herders are grazing their livestock on farms in…

‘Haemorrhagic fever spreading in eastern Sudan’s Kassala’

November 6 – 2017 KASSALA Two people reportedly died from haemorrhagic fever in Kassala last week.A medical source told Radio Dabanga that two people suffering from haemorrhagic fever died at Kassala Hospital last week. “This…

Unamid urges collaborative approach to arms collection in Darfur camps

November 5 – 2017 EL FASHER In a press statement on Saturday, Unamid called on the Sudanese authorities to coordinate the search of illegal weapons in the Darfur camps for the displaced with the UN-AU peacekeepers. The…
 

Dozens of Border Guards join Sudan RSF militia

November 5 – 2017 EL FASHER About 120 members of the paramilitary Border Guards who broke away from the Ali Rizgallah group arrived in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher on Thursday.The defectors from the Ali Rizgallah group…
 

Chronic water crisis in parts of Red Sea state

November 2 – 2017 ARBAAT / EL GEDAREF The Ishink area east of Arbaat in Sudan’s Red Sea state has been experiencing a severe drinking water crisis since May. In El Gedaref, residents complain of unfinished roads…
 

NUP condemn head-shaving assault on Darfur girl

November 2 – 2017 EL FASHER Sudan’s opposition National Umma Party (NUP) has condemned the attack on a girl named Amna by Rapid Support Forces militiamen, who shaved her head bald in Kutum locality on Friday…
 

White House extends US National Emergency on Sudan

November 1 – 2017 WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has renewed the US national emergency with respect to Sudan, saying that actions and policies of the Government of Sudan “continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary…
 

Trial of five Sudanese church leaders postponed

November 1 – 2017 OMDURMAN On Wednesday the Criminal Court of El Sawra Block 1 in Omdurman postponed the trial of five priests until 15 November owing to the absence of the complainant…