♦ This week’s news in brief ♦
A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan’s highlights of the news from Darfur and Sudan
A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan's highlights of the news from Darfur and Sudan
♦ EU: No support to Sudan's paramilitary force
September 6 – 2016 KHARTOUM The European Union said it does not support Sudan's main paramilitary force through its cooperation with the Sudanese government for tackling migration to Europe, in reaction to statements by the paramilitary force's field commander last week.
The assistance to Sudan by the EU is delivered at bilateral and regional levels through international agencies and NGOs, not through the Sudanese government, the press statement by the union on Tuesday evening read. “No support has ever been provided to the Rapid Support Forces.”
The statement follows last Thursday's remarks by the field commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Maj. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who hit-out at the EU for not thanking his forces for stopping illegal migrants at the border with Libya.
The rebel SPLM-N confirmed this on Sunday, claiming that they received information about a plan drawn by President Omar Al Bashir and his security apparatus to finance the RSF from funds provided by the EU.
Meanwhile, scepticism about the implementation of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, that contains the development aid package of €155 million in order to tackle the root causes of irregular migration, has grown among Sudanese opposition parties.
♦ 1,000 flee Ethiopia for Sudan following clashes
September 2 – 2016 EL GALLABAT About 1,000 Ethiopians reportedly crossed the border into Sudan’s El Gedaref state on Wednesday and Thursday, following violence in the Ethiopian city of El Metemma.
A witness from El Gallabat told Radio Dabanga that intense clashes in Ethiopia’s Amhara Province prompted many people to cross the border into Sudan.
“Government authorities have transferred the fleeing Ethiopians to Basunda city, where a delegation from the Office of the Commissioner of Refugees went to investigate the conditions of the Ethiopians fleeing war”.
Although demonstrations started among the Oromo, Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, they later spread to the Amhara, the second most populous group. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 500 demonstrators are now estimated to have been killed by security forces in protests since November 2015.
The refugees arrive in areas that are known to be the scene of severe tension between Ethiopian armed gangs and Sudanese farmers, as the gangs occupy agricultural lands in El Gedaref state. Farmers have told Radio Dabanga that disputes and tension have affected the living conditions and the stability in the region.
Other highlights from Radio Dabanga:
North Darfur schoolgirl raped, militiaman at large
September 6 – 2016 EL TAWEISHA A 13-year-old girl was raped in El Taweisha locality in North Darfur on Monday. A witness told Radio Dabanga that a member of the Sudanese Central Reserve Forces…
South Kordofani denounce militia raids
September 6 – 2016 KHARTOUM / EL ABBASIYA Following a protest against a militia attack in El Abbasiya last Friday, a group of South Kordofani have issues a statement condeming the massacre that was…
UNHCR: New camp for Sudanese refugees in Unity
September 5 – 2016 PAMIR The United Nations Refugee Agency opened a new camp at Pamir on Thursday to provide services to Sudanese refugees relocating from the Yida settlement and the Nuba Mountains. The camp…
Eastern Africa to develop strategy for countering extremism
September 4 – 2016 KHARTOUM Representatives from the Horn and Eastern Africa met today in Khartoum, to develop a regional strategy for countering and preventing extremism. The UN Development Programme (UNDP)…
Sudanese government economists puzzle over financial malaise
September 2 – 2016 KHARTOUM Several Sudanese government economists have presented proposals aimed at addressing issues surrounding the Sudanese economy, and stemming the plunge of the Sudanese Pound…
Disease rife in North Darfur camps
September 2 – 2016 SORTONY The rainy season in North Darfur has heralded new outbreaks of malaria, typhoid, and jaundice malaria among the displaced. A coordinator of Sortony camp in Kabkabiya locality called on the…
UN rights experts condemn capital charges for human rights activists in Sudan
August 31 – 2016 GENEVA A group of United Nations human rights experts today called on the Sudanese authorities to drop charges carrying the death sentence brought against six people linked to a prominent Khartoum…
This digest is an excerpt from the weekly Darfur & Sudan News Update. Subscribe to the newsletter here
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