Category: General

The UN mission for democratic transition assistance in Sudan known as UNITAMS denied statements attributed to its head in response to al-Burhan’s threats to expel him.

“Mr Volker Perthes made no statements or remarks in response to the statements of the Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereign Council,” reads a tweet by the mission spokesman on Saturday.

Some news outlets reported that the special had said his arrival or departure from Sudan does not depend on the will of al-Burhan but decided. by the United Nations.

“The statements attributed to Mr Perthes by some news websites are completely untrue,” the spokesman stressed.

Al-Burhan on Thursday threatened to declare Perthes persona non grata and expel him.

The statement comes after accusations made by al-Burhan and military officials of inference in Sudan’s internal political affairs and negligence of the core of his mandate peace implementation and elections.

Also, the foreign ministry reacted to a regular report he made to the Security Council saying they replied to his report and corrected the information provided to the UN 15-member body.

Perthes, in agreement with the military rulers, launched consultations with the political forces to prepare an intra-Sudanese dialogue that he would only facilitate.

In his briefing to the Council, he announced that the UNITAMS, African Union, and IGAD would launch the dialogue process soon.

Source: Sudan Tribune

The decision by the United Nations Human Rights Council to renew its investigative mandate on South Sudan sends a powerful message to the country’s leaders that accountability remains essential to the transition process, a senior Human Rights Watch official said Friday.

On March 31, the UN Human Rights Council voted to renew in full the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, despite opposition from government.

“The decision by the UN’s top human rights body to renew its investigative mandate on South Sudan sends a powerful message to the country’s leaders that accountability remains essential to the transition process,” said John Fisher, the Geneva director at Human Rights Watch.

He added, “In the face of a deteriorating human rights and humanitarian crisis, the government should cooperate with the Commission, implement its recommendations, and urgently fulfil their commitments to end systemic impunity for serious crimes.

The Commission currently comprises of Yasmin Sooka (South Africa), Andrew Clapham (UK and Switzerland) and Barney Afako (Uganda).

Established in March 2016, mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is to determine and report the facts and circumstances of, collect and preserve evidence of, and clarify responsibility for alleged gross violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence and ethnic violence, with a view to ending impunity and providing accountability.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Commander in Chief of the Sudanese army on Saturday said some political parties are leading a campaign targeting the national army.

In a speech to the newly graduated army officers, al-Burhan warned the army against a “campaign of misinformation orchestrated by well-known parties that have been rejected by the people, because they do not want good for the country,” he said.

“The armed forces stand united and are not afraid of any party, organization or political force. The army continues to serve the country in a manner that preserves its security and stability without fearing anyone,” he reiterated.

On Friday, at the graduation ceremony, al-Burhan said that the political forces should be responsible for the current deteriorating political and economic situation because they failed to agree on a transitional programme.

In October 2021, the head of the Sudanese army carried out a coup suspending an internationally supported transition to re-establish a democratic regime in Sudan.

Since he has placed the country under martial law and ruled the country with the support of his deputy -a paramilitary leader- and armed groups signatory of the Juba Peace Agreement.

There are rumours in the Sudanese capital about frustrations within the army saying they reject the bloody repression of protesters and its negative impact on the image of the armed forces.

Also, the army has been irritated by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and al-Burhan’s support for its leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti” who is co-governing the country with him, particularly after the coup while the other army generals have been marginalized.

The head of the military-led Sovereign Council concluded his speech by repeating that they would only hand over power to “an honest elected authority accepted by the people”.

Source: Sudan Tribune

GENEVA —

A senior U.N. official warns South Sudan is facing its worst humanitarian crisis since the country became independent in July 2011.

The celebrations that greeted that joyful event and the hopes that were raised for a peaceful, more prosperous future have been dashed. More than a decade later, the country remains riven in conflict, crushed by multiple natural and man-made disasters, and unable to feed its population.

U.N. humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, said the number of people struggling to eke out a living keeps rising year after year. She said year after year, more people are plunged into extreme poverty and desperation. She said the situation cannot go on. Something must change.

“As much as we need $1.7 billion this year for humanitarian needs, we also need funding for development and for peacebuilding, ensuring social cohesion, and resilience,” she said. “Humanitarian aid will not solve the problems of the people of South Sudan…We need to make sure we protect and support those who are most vulnerable, but at the same time, where possible, we need to start now to build capacity.”

Nyanti said it is important to empower those who can feed themselves. She did, however, acknowledge the primary need to provide food to some 8.3 million people suffering from acute hunger.

She said aid also must be given to millions of people who have no access to safe drinking water and sanitation or to medical care. She said it is crucial to provide protection and psychosocial treatment to vulnerable people who are victims of violence, human rights violations, and gender-based sexual violence, including rape.

While the emergency needs remain a priority, Nyanti said donors also should invest in development projects in relatively stable areas of South Sudan, which could benefit from such support.

“We are talking about a humanitarian operation that will be structured in a way to increase the dignity that the people of South Sudan deserve,” she said. “And that will come with empowerment. It will come with us doing things differently, looking at cross-development and peace. Humanitarian response is necessary now to save lives. A development response is necessary to preserve the future.”

Humanitarian coordinator Nyanti said investing in development in South Sudan and shoring up people’s ability to become self-sufficient will loosen the country’s dependency on international aid. She said the benefits of helping people to help themselves are undeniable.

Source: Voice of America

CAIRO —

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan — when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk — began at sunrise Saturday in much of the Middle East, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent energy and food prices soaring.

The conflict cast a pall over Ramadan, when large gatherings over meals and family celebrations are a tradition. Many in the Southeast Asian nation of Indonesia planned to start observing Sunday, and some Shiites in Lebanon, Iran and Iraq were also marking the start of Ramadan a day later.

Muslims follow a lunar calendar, and a moon-sighting methodology can lead to different countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart.

Muslim-majority nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates had declared the month would begin Saturday morning.

A Saudi statement Friday was broadcast on the kingdom’s state-run Saudi TV and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates, congratulated Muslims on Ramadan’s arrival.

Jordan, a predominantly Sunni country, also said the first day of Ramadan would be on Sunday, in a break from following Saudi Arabia. The kingdom said the Islamic religious authority was unable to spot the crescent moon indicating the beginning of the month.

Indonesia’s second-largest Islamic group, Muhammadiyah, which counts more than 60 million members, said that according to its astronomical calculations Ramadan begins Saturday. But the country’s religious affairs minister had announced Friday that Ramadan would start on Sunday, after Islamic astronomers in the country failed to sight the new moon.

It wasn’t the first time the Muhammadiyah has offered a differing opinion on the matter, but most Indonesians — Muslims comprise nearly 90% of the country’s 270 million people — are expected to follow the government’s official date.

Many had hoped for a more cheerful Ramadan after the coronavirus pandemic blocked the world’s 2 billion Muslims from many rituals the past two years.

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, millions of people in the Middle East are now wondering where their next meals will come from. The skyrocketing prices are affecting people whose lives were already upended by conflict, displacement and poverty from Lebanon, Iraq and Syria to Sudan and Yemen.

Ukraine and Russia account for a third of global wheat and barley exports, which Middle East countries rely on to feed millions of people who subsist on subsidized bread and bargain noodles. They are also top exporters of other grains and sunflower seed oil used for cooking.

Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, has received most of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine in recent years. Its currency has now also taken a dive, adding to other pressures driving up prices.

Shoppers in the capital, Cairo, turned out earlier this week to stock up on groceries and festive decorations, but many had to buy less than last year because of the prices.

Ramadan tradition calls for colorful lanterns and lights strung throughout Cairo’s narrow alleys and around mosques. Some people with the means to do so set up tables on the streets to dish up free post-fast Iftar meals for the poor. The practice is known in the Islamic world as Tables of the Compassionate.

“This could help in this situation,” said Rabei Hassan, the muezzin of a mosque in Giza as he bought vegetables and other food from a nearby market. “People are tired of the prices.”

Worshippers attended mosque for hours of evening prayers, or tarawih. On Friday evening, thousands of people packed the al-Azhar Mosque after attendance was banned for the past two years to stem the pandemic.

“They were difficult (times) … Ramadan without tarawih at the mosque is not Ramadan,” said Saeed Abdel-Rahman, a 64-year-old retired teacher as he entered al-Azhar for prayers.

Higher prices also exacerbated the woes of Lebanese already facing a major economic crisis. Over the past two years, the currency collapsed and the country’s middle class was plunged into poverty. The meltdown has also brought on severe shortages in electricity, fuel and medicine.

In the Gaza Strip, few people were shopping on Friday in markets usually packed at this time of year. Merchants said Russia’s war on Ukraine has sent prices skyrocketing, alongside the usual challenges, putting a damper on the festive atmosphere that Ramadan usually creates.

The living conditions of the 2.3 million Palestinians in the impoverished coastal territory are tough, compounded by a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade since 2007.

Toward the end of Ramadan last year, a deadly 11-day war between Gaza’s Hamas rulers and Israel cast a cloud over festivities, including the Eid al-Fitr holiday that follows the holy month. It was the fourth bruising war with Israel in just over a decade.

In Iraq, the start of Ramadan highlighted widespread frustration over a meteoric rise in food prices, exacerbated in the past month by the war in Ukraine.

Suhaila Assam, a 62-year-old retired teacher and women’s rights activist, said she and her retired husband are struggling to survive on their combined pension of $1,000 a month, with prices of cooking oil, flour and other essentials having more than doubled.

“We, as Iraqis, use cooking oil and flour a lot. Almost in every meal. So how can a family of five members survive?” she asked.

Akeel Sabah, 38, is a flour distributor in the Jamila wholesale market, which supplies all of Baghdad’s Rasafa district on the eastern side of the Tigris River with food. He said flour and almost all other foodstuffs are imported, which means distributors have to pay for them in dollars. A ton of flour used to cost $390.

“Today I bought the ton for $625,” he said.

“The currency devaluation a year ago already led to an increase in prices, but with the ongoing (Ukraine) crisis, prices are skyrocketing. Distributors lost millions,” he said.

In Istanbul, Muslims held the first Ramadan prayers in 88 years in the Hagia Sophia, nearly two years after the iconic former cathedral was converted into a mosque.

Worshippers filled the 6th-century building and the square outside Friday night for tarawih prayers led by Ali Erbas, the government head of religious affairs. Although converted for Islamic use and renamed the Grand Hagia Sophia Mosque in July 2020, COVID-19 restrictions had limited worship at the site.

“After 88 years of separation, the Hagia Sophia Mosque has regained the tarawih prayer,” Erbas said, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

Source: Voice of America