♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

18/11/2020 07:16 DABANGA SUDAN

A compact digest of this week’s most-read highlights, from the heart of Sudan.

March held in Khartoum on October 10, 2019 to remember protestors who went missing during the revolution against the former regime in Sudan (RD)

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

November 12 – 2020 KHARTOUM The committee set up by Sudan’s Attorney General to investigate the cases of people missing since the start of the 2018 December Revolution found a mass grave last week.

The grave may contain the bodies of some of the people who are still considered to be missing following the Ramadan 29 massacre in front of the army command in Khartoum last year.

In a press statement yesterday, the committee reported that the bodies found in the mass grave “were killed and buried in a manner contrary to human dignity”. It will do “everything necessary” to complete the exhumation and re-autopsy procedures after the site has been marked and the necessary guarding has been placed on it to prevent the public from approaching the area until the procedures are completed.

The committee says it will present the facts, based on the principle of non-impunity, to the Sudanese people with full transparency. It called on the relatives of all missing people to cooperate in order to ensure investigations are completed.

Isolation wards full as COVID-19 cases rise

November 13 – 2020 KHARTOUM / WAD MADANI A significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, which rose above 800 since the beginning of November, has been reported by the Sudanese Authority for Epidemiology.

Doctor Osman Hemeida, member of the National Authority for Epidemiology Operations Office, said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that the main challenge concerning coronavirus lies in open borders and poor awareness. He also claimed that people have stopped wearing face masks, sterilising, and social distancing.

A statement by the Socialist Doctors Association (SDA) reflected statistics which confirm that Sudan is experiencing a second wave of cases. “There has been an increase in suspected and confirmed cases of coronavirus in hospitals. The isolation ward of the Khartoum Teaching Hospital and the isolation centre at El Shaab Hospital is full."

In addition, the Universal Hospital, the Naval Hospital Centre, the Imperial Hospital, and other private hospitals in Khartoum recorded a "remarkable increase" in the number of admissions, according to the SDA.

Public prosecutors call for Attorney General to be sacked

November 17 – 2020 KHARTOUM Sudan’s Public Prosecutors Association began a three-day strike on Tuesday demanding that Attorney General Tajelsir El Hibir be replaced. They accused him of “committing grave breaches that amount to criminal offenses”.

Rebel leaders welcomed in Khartoum

November 16 – 2020 KHARTOUM Tens of thousands of people gathered at Freedom Square in Khartoum to welcome the leaders of the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance, who signed the Juba Peace Agreement on October 3.

Holdout Darfur rebel movement willing to negotiate peace

November 16 – 2020 KAMPALA / JUBA The mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur is preparing to join the Sudanese peace process. El Nur has travelled to Kampala and has been invited to Juba.

Gum Arabic season kicks off across Sudan

November 15 – 2020 SENNAR / EL OBEID The State Forestry Administration in Sennar announced the start of the seasonal production of gum Arabic on Friday. The director of Sennar Forestry said that there are 350 public and private forests to harvest in the state.

Sudan will offer 27 oil blocks through global bid

November 14 – 2020 KHARTOUM Acting Energy Minister, Kheiri Abdelrahman, told the Sky News Arabia TV channel yesterday that Sudan will offer 27 oil concession blocks through a global bid, of which three are offshore blocks and the rest are land blocks.
 
November 14 – 2020 EL GEDAREF / KASSALA Camps for Ethiopian refugees fleeing the Tigray conflict lack even the “simplest necessities of life”, Hussein Taha of the El Gedaref Rescue Initiative told Radio Dabanga in an interview.
 

Protests over food, salary reforms, and work environment

November 13 – 2020 ZAMZAM / KHARTOUM / SENNAR Residents of Zamzam camp called for more food provisions, the Education Workers Union demanded a fair salary system, and the Union of Workers of the Sennar Dam Reservoir continued to strike.
 

North Darfur to register ‘Boko Haram’ vehicles

November 12 – 2020 EL FASHER The governor of North Darfur, Mohamed Arabi, announced that an understanding has been reached with the federal government to process, through normal customs procedures, more than 100,000 vehicles that were smuggled into the country.
 

Inflation continues to rise in Sudan

November 11 – 2020 KHARTOUM Inflation in Sudan rose to 229.85 per cent in October, an increase of 17.56 per cent compared to September. Protesters closed the Africa Road in Khartoum on Monday in protest against the dire living conditions.

Radio Dabanga’s editorial independence means that we can continue to provide factual updates about political developments to Sudanese and international actors, educate people about how to avoid outbreaks of infectious diseases, and provide a window to the world for those in all corners of Sudan. Support Radio Dabanga for as little as €2.50, the equivalent of a cup of coffee.