♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

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

Abdelrahman El Sadig El Mahdi attends the funeral of his father (Social media)

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 26 – 2020 OMDURMAN El Sadig El Mahdi, Imam of the followers of the Mahdi and President of the National Umma Party (NUP) died on Thursday morning in a hospital in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In a short statement on social media posted around 01:00, the party announced his death. He died from complications of COVID-19. El Sadig El Mahdi was transferred to the UAE on November 2 after he tested positive for COVID-19 the week before.

Born in 1935, he was the great-grandson of Mohamed Ahmed bin Abdallah, the Mahdi [the Chosen One, the messianic saviour of Islam] who led the Mahdist War in the late 19th century to free Sudan from Anglo-Egyptian rule.

El Sadig El Mahdi was first and foremost a politician who spent most of his political life in the opposition. The NUP leader was prime minister twice, between 1966-1967, and 1986-1989.

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdouk eulogised El Mahdi in statement via Sudan News Agency (SUNA) this morning, referring to the deceased NUP leader as “a paradigm for democracy and a model for good governance”.


Protestors mark fourth anniversary of detention of Musa Hilal
November 27 – 2020 KHARTOUM / DARFUR Protests calling for the release of former janjaweed leader Musa Hilal, organised by his relatives and supporters, took place in Khartoum and a number of Darfur state capitals last week.

The day marked four years since the detention of Hilal and his supporters, the Revolutionary Awakening Council (RAC), founded in North Darfur in 2014. The protestors marched to the Public Prosecution in Khartoum, calling on the office to intervene to release the detainees.

The memorandum stated that the detention of Musa Hilal and his companions was ordered by ousted president Omar Al Bashir, expressing their surprise that they were not released after the fall of the regime. The statement asked for justification over “all Al Bashir's decisions being cancelled except for the detention of Hilal and members of the RAC.”

Since last year, relatives and supporters of Hilal have been organising vigils and demonstrations in Darfur and Khartoum in protest against the prolonged detention without charge of their leader, his relatives, and his followers.


Surge of lawlessness across the country
December 1 – 2020 DARFUR / KHARTOUM NORTH / KORDOFAN In Saraf Omra, North Darfur, a man was killed by armed robbers on Sunday. In a separate incident, three farmers were injured in an attack by herders. An explosion in Khartoum North left another two people dead.

November 30 – 2020 KHARTOUM The Sudanese government does not seek to impose a second lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, although the second wave of the corona pandemic is more severe in Sudan than the first.
 

Professor: GERD has economic and social importance

November 28 – 2020 ROSEIRES Professor Muhammad Akoud, member of the negotiation delegation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam stressed the importance of reaching a legally binding agreement between Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia for filling and operating the dam.

Polio vaccine campaign launches in Khartoum

November 28 – 2020 KHARTOUM The first round of a national polio vaccination campaign was launched by the Sudanese Ministry of Health in Khartoum. There are 46 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 cases reported in Sudan in 2020 so far.

Minister: COVID-19 levels ‘highest since May’

November 26 – 2020 KHARTOUM The Sudanese Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday that 3,025 cases of coronavirus were recorded so far in November, which is the highest infection rate reported since May.

Spate of highway robberies in South Kordofan

November 26 – 2020 TALODI The road linking Talodi and Kologi in South Kordofan witnessed at least three armed robberies this week. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a victim reported that a group of four men intercepted the passenger vehicle he was travelling in on Sunday.
 

United Nations: ‘Not enough humanitarian aid for Ethiopian refugees in Sudan’

November 25 – 2020 EL GEDAREF / KHARTOUM / NEW YORK The number of Ethiopian refugees who have fled Tigray to eastern Sudan’s El Gedaref and Kassala has risen to about 40,000, reported the Director of the El Gedaref Ministry of Health and Social Development.
 

Govt ratifies UN Convention against enforced disappearances

November 25 – 2020 KHARTOUM The Council of Ministers ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The decision needs to be approved by the Sovereign Council, the Forces for Freedom and Change and some armed rebel movements.


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