SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Al-Rakoba – Do Taqadum realise the danger of their actions?

8/6/2024: Al-Rakoba – Do Taqadum realise the danger of their actions?, by Ahmed Mahmoud Kanem

For Taqadum to gain respect from Sudanese people and the international community, writer Ahmed Mahmoud Kanem argues that the coalition “must be freed from [its] dangerous dependency” on the Rapid Support militia (RSF) militia.

Kanem argues that the main reason behind the international community’s failure of to stop the war in Sudan is that while the danger of the RSF is understood, supporting the army risks reviving the Sudanese Islamic movement, leaving no other option but Taqadum.

However, since the war began, Kanem argues that Taqadum “threw themselves into the arms” of the RSF, upon the assumption of their shared enemy in the Islamists. Nonetheless, Kanem warns that Taqadum’s alliance with the RSF is dangerous on the basis that the latter’s rebellion is not revolutionary, seeks to maintain and expand the RSF’s financial and political power, and has ethnic goals that contradict Taqadum’s slogans on Sudan’s unity.  

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Al-Rakoba – The US interest in restraining the Rapid Support militia and the UAE

8/6/2024: Al-Rakoba – The US interest in restraining the Rapid Support militia and the UAE, by Nidal Abdulwahab

Suggesting that Russian and Iranian influence in Sudan was paved by the US “falling in line” with Arab countries that “do not support democracy in Sudan,” writer Nidal Abdulwahab argues that it is in the US’ regional interest to restrain the UAE and prevent it from supporting the Rapid Support militia (RSF).

To ensure that Russian and Iranian influence in Sudan does not expand, Abdulwahab also calls for both the Sudanese Islamic Movement and the RSF to be considered terrorist movements, especially in the event of their failure to fully comply with the cessation of the war.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - SPLM-N cautions un agencies against Sudan’s unilateral aid delivery plans

8/6/2024: Sudan Tribune - SPLM-N cautions un agencies against Sudan’s unilateral aid delivery plans

Sudan Tribune report that the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu urged United Nations agencies to refrain from cooperating with Sudan’s plans to deliver aid without a comprehensive agreement with all warring factions.

Negotiations between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N regarding aid delivery to South and West Kordofan and Blue Nile have reached an impasse. The SPLM-N insists on a nationwide aid distribution plan, while the army claims that the talks have stalled due to the SPLM-N’s insistence on involving the Rapid Support Forces in humanitarian arrangements.

With the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently announcing that it dropped 20 tons of essential medicines and medical supplies in Al-Fasher, Gatiga Amouja Dalman, head of the media committee of the SPLM-N Liberation Council said “the army’s claims of dropping medicine are a ruse by the Port Sudan government to seize humanitarian aid and divert it for military use.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Over a million denied aid in Sudan last May, UN reports

8/6/2024: Sudan Tribune - Over a million denied aid in Sudan last May, UN reports

Sudan Tribune report that, according to a recent report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), close to 1.1 million people were denied crucial humanitarian assistance in Sudan during May 2024.

The affected areas include Kordofan, Darfur, Khartoum, and Al-Jazira states, with the main reasons cited as denial of travel permits, border crossing restrictions, insecurity, and obstructions by parties involved in the conflict.

OCHA further reveals that the situation has been deteriorating since April 2024, with an estimated 1.7 million people denied aid across the same regions. These figures underscore the alarming impact of the ongoing conflict on humanitarian access and the urgent need for unimpeded aid delivery.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - UN aid for Sudan severely underfunded, as famine looms

8/6/2024: Sudan Tribune - UN aid for Sudan severely underfunded, as famine looms

Sudan Tribune report that William Spindler, spokesperson for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that the UN’s efforts in Sudan have been severely hampered by the lack of funding.

Funding for humanitarian aid in Sudan is severely lacking, with only 16 per cent ($432 million) raised out of the $2.7 billion needed to reach 14 million people.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: DW – Sudan: Critics slam fresh dialogue as disingenuous

8/6/2022: DW – Sudan: Critics slam fresh dialogue as disingenuous, by Jennifer Holleis and Kersten Knipp

 DW report on criticisms from Sudanese civil society of the tripartite UN-AU-IGAD mechanism to resolve the political stalemate.

"Most people, especially activists, are quite suspicious of these [dialogue] claims, particularly because there is a perception that the international community seems to be insisting on some kind of negotiated settlement with those who conducted the coup," Mohammed Elnaiem, a Sudanese activist based in London, told DW.

Mohamed Yousif Almustafa, a Sudanese activist in Khartoum, said he does not regard a tripartite dialogue as a realistic option.

"We cannot consider any talks with Burhan under the current circumstances because he is trying to ensure he remains in the driving seat of the government," he told DW. Almustafa believes that the "ultimate objective of any dialogue with the military is to reproduce the partnership with them, to guarantee their immunity from being accountable for the crimes they have committed."

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Sudan ends subsidies for gasoline and diesel, raises prices

8/6/2021: Reuters - Sudan ends subsidies for gasoline and diesel, raises prices

Reuters report that Sudan, which “has been implementing aggressive IMF-monitored reforms” - fully liberalised gasoline and diesel prices. The finance ministry said that prices would be determined by the costs of import as well as transportation, taxes, and profit margins.

The price of gasoline will rise from 150 Sudanese pounds ($0.35) per litre to 290 pounds, while the price of diesel will rise to 285 pounds per litre from 125 pounds, the finance ministry said, adding that fuel subsidies cost Sudan $1 billion a year and benefited the middle and upper classes rather than those with lower incomes.

“After the liberalization of prices, Sudan’s remain the 6th cheapest out of 42 African countries,” as many countries impose high fuel taxes, the ministry said.

Opponents of the reforms say their effects fall disproportionately on the poor.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Telegraph – From camel-trader to the next ruler of Sudan? Meet ‘Hemedti’, the brutal militia commander aiming to crush a revolution,

8/6/19: Telegraph – From camel-trader to the next ruler of Sudan? Meet ‘Hemedti’, the brutal militia commander aiming to crush a revolution, by Roland Oliphant

 Roland Oliphant’s feature argues that the brutality of Himedti, the “suspected architect and main beneficiary of the [June 3 massacre],” combines “ruthless” mercenary opportunism…and an “uncanny ability to sense where political and military winds are blowing.”

 An anonymous former NISS (Sudanese intelligence service) agent told Oliphant that Himedti’s primary motivation in crushing the Darfur rebellion for Omar Al Bashir’s government was “to get rich, fighting and trading…sides as convenient.” The “fearless” Himedti allegedly swore at NISS interrogators beating him after he raided government convoys.

 He was appointed leader of the Rapid Support Forces (rebranded Janjaweed) in 2013, but Himedti “won the grudging respect of some oppositionists” after turning on his “patron” Al Bashir.

 However, the June 3 massacre is said to reflect his own power ambitions, although Oliphant notes that he will face competition from the Sudanese army, NISS, and “shadow militias” attached to Islamist parties.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - Sudan protesters call for civil disobedience to push army

8/6/19: AP – Sudan protesters call for civil disobedience to push army, by Bassam Hatoum and Samy Magdy

 AP reports that Sudanese pro-democracy protest leaders called on Sudanese to take part in acts of civil disobedience in a bid to pressure the military to hand over power after the deadly break-up of their main sit-in in the capital of Khartoum earlier this week.

 The Sudanese Professionals Association said the civil disobedience will begin Sunday (9 June) and last until the military council hands over power to civilians.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Sudanese rebel leaders arrested after meeting Ethiopia PM

8/6/19: Multiple sources: Sudanese rebel leaders arrested after meeting Ethiopia PM

 Sudan's security forces have reportedly arrested three prominent opposition figures after they met the Ethiopian prime minister who was in Khartoum to try to restart peace talks.

Opposition politician Mohamed Esmat was arrested on Friday soon after his meeting with PM Abiy Ahmed, aides said.

 Ismail Jalab, a leader of the rebel SPLM-N group, and his spokesman Mubarak Ardol were detained early on Saturday.