Africa

A viral dance hit points the way to positive developments but there are dangers ahead.

January 3, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed on Sunday to hold bilateral meetings to determine points of agreement and disagreement between them over the Renaissance Dam, ahead of another meeting next week.

The three countries held a virtual meeting on Sunday chaired by the South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor to discuss better ways to break the deadlock in the talks on the filing of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)

"The meeting concluded with the adoption of Sudan's proposal that this week be devoted to bilateral meetings between the three countries and the group of experts and observers," said the Sudanese irrigation ministry in a statement released after the meeting.

The statement further said that the South African Foreign Minister requested that "the bilateral meetings be designated for "identifying points of agreement and disagreement between the three countries, provided that the tripartite meetings will be held again on Sunday, January 10, with the hope that the negotiations will be concluded by the end of the current months."

South Africa's chairmanship of the African Union will terminate by the end of January as the 34th AU Summit will be held in Addis Ababa on 6 and 7 February 2021.

In a separate statement, the Egyptian water ministry said its delegation stressed the need to reach an agreement on the GERD filling as soon as possible, before the start of the second phase of filling the dam reservoir.

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January 3, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) called to disband the Rapid Support Forces and its integrate its elements into the national army.

The request comes after the death under torture of a Sudanese held in an illegal detention facility established by the militia in Khartoum on 20 December 2020.

“To prevent any future violations, we demand the abolition of the Rapid Support Act and the integration of these forces into the army within a determined time frame (...) and the demobilization of those who do not fulfil the conditions required by the Armed Forces Act," reads do a letter addressed to the Attorney General and Justice Minister, seen by the Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

The SPA further called on the Attorney General, in coordination with the Police Director-General, to form a committee from the Public Prosecution and the Bar Association to inspect all the RSF centres to ensure that they are free of detained civilians and to hand any detainee over to the police if they are found.

The illegal detention of civilians by the RSF militiamen was widely condemned in the country as it constitutes a clear violation of the criminal procedure law which provides that detention is carried out by the police under the control of the Public Prosecutor Office.

Following the death of the detained civilian, the RSF did not explain why they held him, but only they said that those who are involved in his torture have been delivered to the police.

The Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, on his speech on the occasion of the new year, announced that his government had approved the ratification of the international treaty against torture and it will be endorsed in the upcoming meeting of the joint meeting of the cabinet and the Sovereign Council.

According to the Juba peace agreement, the RSF and the former rebel groups will merge with the Sudanese army.

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The United Nations Secretary-General has strongly condemned Saturday’s attack by unidentified gunmen on two villages in western Niger, which reportedly left about one hundred people dead, while hundreds of survivors fled the scene on foot. 

January 3, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sovereign Council, Sunday, distanced itself from statements made by a military official supporting a businessman accused of corruption and linked to the ousted regime.

However, the statements stirred up a controversy over the presence of such military in key positions at the Sudanese presidency after the popular revolution that ousted the former regime in April 2019.

Some dozens of people supporting Fadl Mohamed Khair a businessman linked to the former regime gathered outside the Republican Palace to submit a memorandum calling to return him his assets and companies confiscated by a committee to dismantle the former regime.

The protesters 'memo was submitted to the Sovereignty Council's Secretary-General, Major General Amir Youssef who pledged to hand it over to the Chairman of the Sovereign Council before showing sympathy with Fadl and his supporters.

Your support to Fadl "Is evidence of the ethics of the Sudanese who do not forget the kindness of those who worked with them," said Youssef before to add that the memorandum will find all the "needed care and appreciation".

"God willing, victory will be your ally," he concluded.

A few hours later, the video of the general's speech circulated in the social media stirring up interrogations about the military component and its intentions.

Reacting to the controversy the Sovereign Council issued a statement saying the secretary-general was tasked to receive the memo but not address the gathering.

"Therefore, what he said in his speech represents his point of view and does not in any way represent the opinion of the Sovereign Council," further stressed the statement.

It was not clear if the secretary-general will be dismissed for serious misconduct.

For its part, the Empowerment Removal Committee, which confiscated Mohamed Khair's assets and companies, issued a statement welcoming the clarification of the Sovereign Council.

The statement also recalled the right to resort to justice to challenge its decisions which are taken after legal investigations.

Wajedi Saleh a member of the Committee issued a statement stressing the need to review senior cadres in the government structures such as " those who wear the military uniform and hold sovereign positions and do not believe in this great revolution."

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Five steps Nigerian start-up Paystack took to build and strike a $200m deal with Stripe.

Photographer Hugh Kinsella Cunningham goes out with UN peacekeepers.

January 3, 2021 (GADAREF) - The Sudanese authorities opened a new camp for Ethiopian refugees on Sunday in Altindeba area of Gedaref state, which coincides with the confirmation of coronavirus cases among the resident of Um Rakuba camp.

The Sudanese authorities began transferring refugees to the Altindeba camp at the rate of 500 refugees per day from the Hashaba reception centre on the border with Ethiopia.

Initially, it had been planned to transfer 1000 refugees per day, but the recording of COVID-19 cases in the Um Rakuba camp pushed the authorities to reconsider their plans to avoid the spread of the respiratory disease in the new camp.

The Altindeba camp can accommodate about 30,000 refugees, while the Umm Rakuba camp has a capacity of 25,000 residents.

According to health workers, the patients who are tested positive in Um Rabuka were transferred to an isolation centre. Residents who were in contact with the patients were tested. Also, safety equipment including masks and sterilizers have distributed to refugees.

The continuing clashes between the federal army and the Tigray rebels led to an increase in the number of refugees fleeing to Sudan.

The number of refugees who crossed into eastern Sudan until Saturday was 61,816 refugees. Nowadays, the Hamdayet Center of Kassala hosts 28,172 refugees, in addition to 14,429 in Hashaba camp.

In statements to the Sudan Tribune, al-Fatih Hamdeen, director of the emergency services for refugee in Gedaref said that Altindeba camp had been prepared to receive refugees with housing, stores for food and other non-food items, in addition to a water station and toilets with the contribution of 13 international organizations.

Hamdeen referred to social distancing measures to protect refugees from the coronavirus saying that only 30 passengers allowed to board the bus from the centre to the camp, especially since the distance between Hashaba and Altindeba camp is about 500 km.

He said that the transfer of refugees will continue for a period of two months. As of 4th of January, there will be two trips per day from Hamdayet and Hashaba reception centres.

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The UN mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) condemned, in the strongest terms, succeeding assaults launched by armed groups in Damara on Saturday and Bangassou on Sunday.  

January 2, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The irrigation ministers of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia will resume talks Sunday to discuss ways to establish a mediation team after nine years of endless direct talks over the Renaissance Dam.

On November 21, 2020, Sudan suspended its participation in the talks on the first filing of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as the other parties declined its call for a new approach after nine years of futile negotiation.

The resumption of Sudanese participation comes after an agreement reached by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his Ethiopian counterpart, Abiy Ahmed, on December 13.

"The acting Foreign Minister, Omer Gamar Eldin, and Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas will participate in the ministerial meeting on the GERD which will take place on Sunday," said the official news agency SUNA on Saturday.

"The meeting will discuss Sudan's proposal to re-energize the negotiations by giving a greater role to the African Union through its experts to reach a binding legal agreement on the Renaissance Dam," stressed the statement.

The meeting is expected to examine a draft understanding prepared by the African Union experts to reach a satisfactory agreement for the three parties.

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, will chair the ministerial virtual meeting.

The three parties differ on technical and legal issues, including the need or no for a binding agreement, the future dispute settlement mechanism, the years needed for filling the GERD reservoir and how to manage the dam during periods of reduced rainfall or drought.

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January 2, 2021 - (KHARTOUM) - The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Gibril Ibrahim has to admit its responsibility for the murder of splinter commanders in order to engage in a reconciliation process, said a JEM faction led by Abdel Karim Dabajo.

Mohamed Bashar (ST)

On December 30, 2020, the deputy head of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Daglo ''Hemetti" launched a traditional process to pardon JEM leader Gibril Ibrahim for the murder of Mohamed Bashar and Arko Dahia the leaders of the splinter group in May 2013.

"The first step (to settle the case) is the recognition of the Gabriel Ibrahim's movement that they committed this heinous crime," said Nahar Osman Nahar the political secretary of JEM-Dabajo in statements to the Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

Nahar further said that the retribution or pardon remains the (private) right of the families of the dead and affected, in line with the Sudanese traditions. However, he added that their movement has the "public right" without elaborating on its nature.

Bashar and the movement political leadership were killed after the signing of a peace agreement in Doha in an ambush when they crossed the Chadian border heading to Khartoum.

The attack had been condemned by the UN Security Council and the regional mediation.

Hemetti said his mediation aims to prevent revenge attacks and violence between the two groups.

The lawsuit had been suspended to create a suitable atmosphere for the ongoing efforts to settle the dispute led by the paramount chief of the Rizeigat tribe.

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January 2, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Public Prosecutor office has arrested the former director of the forensic medicine authority, Hisham Zain-Alabidin, and the suspended director of the Omdurman morgue, Jamal Youssef, for the illegal burial of the victims of the attack on the pro-democracy sit-in on 3 June 2019.

On 11 November 2020, the public prosecutor found mass graves near the Al-Markhiyat Mountains northwest of Omdurman containing the remains of civilians who were killed during a bloody attack by security forces and militiamen outside the army headquarters.

Ten days later, the head of the prosecutor committee on enforced disappearances, al-Tayeb Ahmed Al-Abbas, decided to "exhume all mass graves and re-autopsy the bodies."

“The Committee arrested the director of the Omdurman morgue, Jamal Youssef, and the former director of the forensic medicine board, Hisham Zain-Alabidin,” judicial officials told the Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

The arrest of Youssef and Zain-Alabidin came against the background of "investigations related to the burial of bodies related to the attack on the sit-in in violation of the legal procedures."

Over 200 people were killed during the brutal on peaceful protesters however, the health authorities said that the number of the victims reached 85 peoples.

Recently, Youssef was suspended from office and investigated for issuing a medical report clearing Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of criminal wrongdoing in the death of a civilian who died in a detention facility on 20 December 2020.

Activists on social media circulated numerous violations committed by the suspended director of the Omdurman morgue, including the sale of unidentified bodies to be used in the training of students of medical colleges.

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A border dispute has led to armed clashes, deepening fears about insecurity in the region.

January 1, 2021 (GADAREF) - The number of Ethiopian refugees in eastern Sudan has increased to nearly 61,000 people as a result of the renewal of clashes in the northern region of Tigray.

The UNHCR and Sudan refugees body (COR) in their latest bulletin several days ago said they have registered over 54,411 Ethiopian refugees in Kassala's Hamdayet centre, Ludgi and Abderafi centres of Gedaref, and Wad Al-Mahi centre of the Blue Nile state.

However, more refugees have arrived in Sudan following recent clashes in the Tigray region.

"The military clashes between the federal army and the Tigray People's Liberation Front have resumed since Tuesday," Sudanese officials told the Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

The Sudanese military intelligence arrested 45 TPLF fighters in Hamdayet reception centre and they were transferred to the army's headquarters, the sources further said.

The sources which are not authorized to speak to the press said renewed military clashes led to the influx of refugees, as the number reached about 61,000. Also, thousands of refugees are expected to cross into Sudan in the coming days.

A refugee told Sudan Tribune that they had travelled on foot from their areas through the cities of Birkuta and Moya Khadra before to reach, the Hamdayet Center.

In a related development, Amhara and Tigray refugees in Um Rakoba camp clashed as some refugees urged from the absence of Sudanese police in the camp. While others said that the aid workers have to avoid placing refugees from the two ethnic groups in the same camp.

UNFPA Sudan estimates that amongst the refugees there are over 13,500 of which more than1200 are pregnant, with around 130 live births expected in the coming month.

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January 1, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Egypt slammed statements by an Ethiopian government official for stating that Cairo has been seeking to hamper the construction of a giant dam on the Blue Nile to distract its people from internal problems

Dina Mufti, the former Ethiopian Ambassador to Egypt and Foreign Ministry Spokesman recently said that the Egyptian government uses the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to divert the attention f its people from internal problems

On Wednesday 30 December, the Egyptian foreign ministry said that the Ethiopian chargé d'affaires had been summoned to explain Mufti's statements in which he touched on the Egyptian internal affairs.

Egypt "condemned these statements which are considered a blatant transgression," reads a statement released by the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ahmed Hafez on Thursday.

Hafez stressed that such an offence against his country is a continuation of the Ethiopian government's approach aiming to use a hostile tone and fuelling emotions to cover its "multiple failures domestically and externally".

He went further to speak to the ongoing internal troubles in the Tigray and Benishangul regions as well as the "constant tensions and instability in the Oromia region". Also, he referred to the ongoing border tensions with Sudan.

On 31 December, the head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reacted to statements by the Spokesman of the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry who said that Sudanese army had carried out inside Ethiopia.

The Sudanese armed forces "have not and will not cross international borders or attack neighbouring Ethiopia," said al-Burhan.

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have to resume meetings on the GERD in the upcoming days in a long process that has been continuing for nine years.

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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres reaffirmed the Organization’s commitment to the people of Guinea-Bissau on Thursday, the final day of operations for the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the West African country (UNIOGBIS).

The United Nations Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission have reiterated their commitment to continue to support Sudan consolidate peace as the AU-UN hybrid peacekeeping mission in the country’s Darfur region ends its operations on Thursday. 

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The Presiding Archbishop and General Overseer of the Action Chapel International (ACI) ministry, Nicholas Duncan-Williams who is popularly referred to as the 39;Papa 39; has admonished his congregants to be very wary about offending their fathers.