Day: January 25, 2022

The Unified Doctors’ Office announced the arrest of nine physicians, six foreigners and three Sudanese, by the security authorities on Monday.

According to a press release, the medical staff are members of the international humanitarian medical organization Médecins Sans frontières (MSF) working at Al-Jawda Hospital in Khartoum.

The Sudan Tribune learnt that nine doctors four including four women were taken to the Police Northern Section. Three are French, an Italian, a Pakistani and a Yemeni.

The coalition of prodemocracy groups said the arrest of nine doctors is part of the continued violations against civilians, medical and health personnel, and the sanctities of hospitals.

“MSF provides a great humanitarian service to the people wounded by the bullets of putschists and other various tools of repression on a daily basis. Their arrest is a direct attack on the humanity and disrupts the message of medicine and humanitarian cooperation between peoples,” reads the joint statement.

The group called for the release of the detained doctors, stressing that the military controlled Sovereign Council bears the responsibility for their safety.

The Unified Doctors’ Office gathers three pro-democracy groups Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, the legitimate Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, the Committee of Consultants and Specialists.

The security forces used to attack hospitals after protests and beat medical personnel. However, the arrest of doctors is a new escalation in the violent repression by the military leders.

Source: Sudan Tribune

The National Umma Party (NUP) called on the Chairman of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, to step down from the head of the transitional collegial presidency.

The NUP’s political bureau held a meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation in the country and the continued violent repression of protesters by the security services.

In a statement after the meeting, the party said their road map to end the current political stalemate aims to end the coup, restore the civilian-led democratic transition.

The NUP underscored that the escalating violence by the “coup leadership,” despite the ongoing UN led-consultations on a political process to restore legitimacy, confirms that they will continue the brutal crackdown and invent new forms to commit “violent massacres”, arresting protesters and other violations.

“For all these reasons, we strongly demand that the head of the coup and members of his entire coup authority step down immediately (..),” said the NUP in a statement released on Monday

The statement further said that the party would hand over a memorandum formally requesting al-Burhan’s resignation.

Source: Sudan Tribune

South Sudan President Salva Kiir urged community leaders, intellectuals, and imminent personalities in Jonglei state to come together and make a decisive action to break dispute pitting two bishops and their followings in Anglican church in Bor town.

Presidential Affairs Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told reporters on Monday president Kiir decided to hold a meeting with the leaders from Bor Community in Jonglei State to discuss how to resolve the ongoing disputes in Jonglei Internal Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan.

“The dispute which has erupted within the leadership of a church in Jonglei’s internal province of the Anglican Church is becoming a great concern not only to us as the people from Jonglei and leaders but also the faithful,” said Benjamin who is from Jonglei.

He underscored that this conflict has caused divisions and now growing into a security matter in Jonglei.

“His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit is also concerned about the ongoing crisis in Bor Town and has urged the church to abide by the laws of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, which would be the best way in resolving the dispute,” the minister said.

According to Benjamin, has asked all the leaders of the Bor community to make a decisive action to contain the situation from spiraling out of control .

The meeting was attended by Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior, senior presidential affairs Kuol Manyang Juuk and presidential affairs minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin. Other officials who attended the meeting were information minister Michael Makuei Lueth, deputy foreign affairs and international cooperation minister and the secretary General of the government Abdon Agau Nhial. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hon. Deng Dau appealed to Christians in Jonglei Internal Province to accept the proposed solutions to bring an end to the crisis in the Church.

Also, Kiir decided to convene a meeting with the Bor community leadership in a bid to end dispute in Jonglei internal province.

The Anglican church in Jonglei split in August 2020 when the Church’s Primate Justin Badi Arama defrocked Bishop Reuben Akurdit Ngong accusing him of canonical disobedience for rejecting suspension a year earlier.

Akurdit rejected the defrocking, citing nonprocedural and filed a lawsuit at a Juba High court. He used the court to overturn the decision of the Primate. But; the court dismissed the case referring it to a church tribunal.

Tensions later grew and continued to undermine working relations and worship.

Bishop Moses Anur told Sudan Tribune on Monday that he and three bishops were attacked last week on “Saturday at 03.00am at St. Peter Church by a group loyal to a rival Bishop Akurdit.

“It was unbelievable that Bishop Gabriel Thuc, Bishop Zechariah Manyok and I came under attack. They wanted to kill us. They fired into our rooms with PKM and AK-47. In my rooms alone they fired 28 bullets. They left big holes there I speak to you. This was after failing to open our doors”, explained Anur.

The church leader said he and his group were evacuated to Juba after the incident when the state government and community leadership intervened and asked them to leave the state so that tension is diffused and to restore calm in Bor town by the state and security organs.

Bishop Akurdit denied accusations that he was involved in the attack, describing the statement as a propaganda.

He acknowledged existence of a dispute in the church was still waiting the Archbishop of Juba diocese and Primate to guide how the dispute could be amicably resolved within the hierarchy of the church instead of allowing it to simmer and spiral out of control to divide the faithful and the church.

Source: Sudan Tribune