♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

A compact digest of the past week's most-read highlights, from the heart of Sudan. Subscribe to receive this digest weekly in your inbox.

Hemeti charts official Sudan policy on Russia-Ukraine conflict

March 3 – 2022 KHARTOUM Deputy Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council and commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemeti' Dagalo, called on the international community to support the dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. This is the official position of the Sovereignty Council, he said in a statement to the Russian news channel Sputnik.

This statement followed Hemeti’s statements last week during his Moscow visit, where he declared support for Russia’s invasion by saying that Russia had a right to defend itself and its people. Observers consider the new statement as a retreat from his first position following calls from Western ambassadors and diplomats in Khartoum, who asked Sudan to “condemn the violations of the Russian Federation in clear terms”.

Professor accuses Sudan govt of pro-Russia bias in Ukraine conflict

March 4 – 2022 KHARTOUM Prof Salaheldin El Doma, a professor of political science at Sudanese universities, condemned the decision of Sudan’s coup authorities to abstain from voting on a resolution that condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a United Nations (UN) General Assembly.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Professor El Doma said that Sudan's abstention from voting on the issue of condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine is interpreted in international relations as a bias towards the Russian side. He said that Sudan should have voted in favour of condemnation because the Russian invasion of Ukraine violated international law and Russia had no right to attack a fully sovereign state without any justification.

Activists arrested in Sudan ahead of today’s women’s marches
March 8 – 2022 KHARTOUM / KHARTOUM NORTH / EL GEDAREF The Committee for the Defence of Those Affected by Arbitrary and Unlawful Detention reported the detention of dozens of activists in several areas in Khartoum after demonstrations took place to announce the women’s marches for International Women’s Day on March 8.
 
Sudan again unifies its currency exchange rate
March 8 – 2022 KHARTOUM The Central Bank of Sudan announced the unification of the Sudanese Pound exchange rate to allow for the determination of currency exchange rates without interference from the Central Bank. Foreign exchange dealers on the parallel market reported that the Dollar exchange rate recorded SDG560.
 
Int’l diplomats call for restoration of freedom of expression and media freedoms in Sudan
March 7 – 2022 KHARTOUM Leading members of the diplomatic corps in Khartoum have underlined their “steadfast support of the Sudanese people” to achieve the rights to freedom of expression and media freedoms.
 
Sudan Pound hits record low against US Dollar
March 7 – 2022 KHARTOUM The US Dollar and Sudanese Pound (SDG) exchange rate recorded a new high on the parallel forex market, reaching SDG565, compared to SDG535 on Thursday.
 
Gunmen wreak havoc in North and Central Darfur
March 4 – 2022 EL FASHER / NIERTETI The past days have seen various attacks against local sedentary farmers and displaced people by gunmen and herding militias in Darfur. Two villages in North Darfur were set on fire.
 
Amnesty: Sudan must release detained and tortured teenagers now
March 4 – 2022 KHARTOUM Amnesty International has launched a campaign in which they demand the release of Mohamed Adam (17) and Mohamed El Fateh (18), who have been detained since January 14 on suspicion of killing a police officer and have been subjected to severe torture.
 
Friends of Sudan issue statement on UNITAMS report
March 3 – 2022 KHARTOUM / BRUSSELS The Friends of Sudan called on the relevant Sudanese stakeholders to engage in the next phase of the political process to resolve the ongoing political crisis in Sudan.

UN WFP operations in Darfur ‘partially resumed’
March 2 – 2022 EL FASHER The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has partially resumed operations in North Darfur after more than a month’s suspension following a series of attacks and looting of all three of its warehouses in El Fasher in December 2021.

Murder accused ‘subjected to severe torture’ in Sudan
March 2 – 2022 KHARTOUM The defence team for those accused of killing Police Brigadier Ali Bereima El Rayeh say that the authorities extracted judicial confessions from the defendants and represented and photographed the crime under severe torture.
 
Slain protestors buried in Sudan
March 2 – 2022 OMDURMAN / KHARTOUM NORTH Omdurman and Khartoum North (Bahri) saw the funerals of two protestors who were shot dead during Monday’s Marches of the Millions.