Day: May 17, 2022

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Head of the Sovereign Council discussed with Bruno Foucher, French Special Envoy to the Sahel the ongoing peace talks for peace in Chad, said the Sudanese presidency on Monday.

Qatar is hosting peace talks between the ruling military council and some 50 rebel groups. The Doha process, launched on March 13, aims to bring the armed factions to sign a peace agreement and participate in an inclusive National Dialogue in Ndjamena to adopt a new constitution and prepare for elections.

Earlier this month, the ruling military council in Chad Qatari decided to postpone the dialogue conference scheduled for May 10, upon the request of the mediation and France because the armed groups and the government failed to strike a deal.

Foucher discussed with al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo Hemetti Sudan’s contribution to ensuring the success of the Doha process, according to the Sovereign Council.

Al-Burhan reaffirmed Sudan’s keenness and support for the stability in Chad, reads a statement issued after the meeting. Also, he welcomed the Qatari mediated process.

The French envoy, in addition, discussed ways to enhance security in the border area as there are growing fears that rebel groups seek to operate from the troubled Darfur region.

In this respect, al-Burhan pointed out to the Sudanese-Chadian joint forces says it serves “as a model for bilateral security cooperation in the African continent”.

Already on March 31, the head of the Sovereign Council flew to Ndjamena to reiterate his commitment to preserving border stability and support for Mahamat Deby the head of the Military Transitional Council in Chad.

Deby had ordered to deploy more troops on the border with Sudan to prevent the spread of West Darfur tribal clashes into his country, during a visit to the Abéché a border town from the Chadian side on March 15.

Foucher has been closely following the peace process as he pays regular visits to Doha for consultations with the Qatari mediators and the Chadian stakeholders.

The French envoy discussed the situation in Libya and the region with the Sudanese senior officials.

The statement added that the visiting diplomat discussed joint cooperation between Khartoum and Paris to achieve regional stability without elaborating.

In May 2021, the two countries agreed to enhance security cooperation to preserve stability in the Central African Republic but the political crisis in Khartoum delayed the implementation of this deal.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Sudan’s Interior Minister, Gen. Anan Hamid Mohammed Omer and his Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Tewfik on Monday held bilateral to boost the cooperation between the two nations.

The meeting which was held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo also reviewed the latest developments on security issues of common concerns.

Speaking during the meeting, Tawfiq pledged his ministry’s keenness to build bridges of communication with the Sudanese security services in light of the close historical relations between the two brotherly countries.

He also expressed his government’s readiness to enhance cooperation mechanisms and exchange experiences and information with Khartoum.

The minister, however, stressed the need for concerted efforts to besiege and undermine all negative occurrences resulting from the spread of terrorism and all other forms of organized crimes in the two countries.

For his part, Anan said his visit to comes within the framework of the close and the continued consultation between officials of the brotherly countries.

He stressed Sudan’s interest and keenness to exchange experiences with Egypt’s security services, adding that Khartoum seeks to boost communication channels and information exchange mechanisms between both nations in the light of the security challenges arising from the political and security situation within the region.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Sudanese authorities announced on Monday it has shut down the Bashair Hospital mortuary located south of the capital Khartoum after discovering close to a thousand unidentified bodies that have begun to decompose.

Last month, Sudan’s Sovereignty Council established a technical committee to oversee the burial of the unidentified bodies as they overwhelmed morgues and hospitals thus posing environmental and health risks.

Hisham Zain al-Abidin, the Director of the Forensic Medicine Department at the Ministry of Health in the state of Khartoum, told {Sudan Tribune} that it was the ministry which took the closure decision.

He explained that the presence of these bodies lying on the floors of the mortuary and decomposing in light of extreme temperatures and frequent power cuts necessitated making this move.

“This situation led to having rodents that began to devour rotting corpses, which does not adhere to religion or morals and does not represent Sudanese values,” Zain al-Abidin said and noted that these bodies have been in the mortuary since 2019.

There are only three mortuaries in government hospitals in Khartoum and frequent power outages led to the decomposition of a large portion of the bodies which prompted citizens living in nearby areas to protest and press for resolution.

The official revealed that the number of unidentified bodies in the morgues in the state of Khartoum is about 2,300, including 1,000 in the Bashair Hospital, 1,000 in Omdurman Hospital and about 300 bodies in the Academic Hospital.

He underscored the necessity of burying the corpses in the mortuary after closing it in accordance with strict legal procedures that would include taking photos and autopsying them.

Last year some forensic doctors in Sudan claimed that the number of bodies in one of the mortuaries was tampered with were buried without identifying them after which they resigned en masse from the autopsy committees formed by the government’s attorney general.

The families of victims killed in the course of the December 2018 uprising and the June 2019 sit-in insist that these bodies are analyzed to prove the involvement of government troops in killing them.

Source: Sudan Tribune

The South Sudanese government says it would deploy its forces in the disputed oil-producing region of Abyei, amid concerns over what the unilateral decision would attract from Sudan.

The decision, an official said, aims at curbing rising insecurity in the region.

South Sudan’s Information minister, Michael Makuei said members of cabinet resolved this at a meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir on Friday.

The decision comes barely a week after fresh fighting was reported in the area of Malual-Aleu between Ngok Dinka and Twic, leaving scores injured.

According to reports, the insecurity forced travellers heading to the contested oil-producing area from Wau to turn back.

Makuei, however, said the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) “failed” to secure the lives and properties of citizens in the area.

“Despite their intervention, they could not solve any problem and as such, it is decided that the UNMISS [UN Mission in South Sudan] force should be informed to be vigilant, keep and maintain law and order…The SSPDF will be sent to the site in order to control the situation,” he told state-owned television (SSBC) on Friday.

Makuei said cabinet resolved to reinforce the investigation committee tasked to bring about peace between Ngok Dinka and Twic communities.

“The investigation committee needs to be strengthened so that the two parties can continue to maintain law and order until that time when the committee presents its report to the cabinet,” he further stressed.

In recent months, violence intensified in the contested region despite the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission the disputed oil-producing area.

In recent months, violence intensified in the contested region despite the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission (UNISFA) in the area.

According to authorities in the area, some of the attacks were carried out by the Sudanese Messeriya community. The most recent attack happened last month in the area where more than 40 civilians including women and children were killed by suspected Messeriya tribesmen in separate incidents in the area.

Source: Sudan Tribune