SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Holdout group calls for new political agreement before to join Sudan peace process

28/11/19: Sudan Tribune - Holdout group calls for new political agreement before to join Sudan peace process

 Sudan Tribune reports The Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) rejected the transitional authority in Sudan and called for a new political agreement in Sudan.

 The SLM-AW says it will not participate in the peace talks unless there is an internationally monitored plebiscite on the transitional constitution.

 The SLM-AW Spokesman Mohamed al-Nayer said that the bilateral agreement between the Forces for Freedom and Change and the Transitional Military Council “does not lead to consensus and cannot serve as a basis for addressing the root causes of the crisis, because of its nature of hegemony and exclusion of the components of the real revolution.”

 Al-Nayer further warned that Sudanese political, economic and security situation will worsen, unless there is a “real agreement between all components of the revolution, followed by an agreement on a constitutional declaration and a new transitional government.”

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Reuters - Sudan's midwives told to stop genital mutilation on mothers after birth

28/11/19: Reuters - Sudan's midwives told to stop genital mutilation on mothers after birth, by Emma Batha

 Reuters reports that Sudanese health experts have called for Sudanese midwives to stop performing female genital mutilation (FGM) on new mothers – a practice known as reinfibulation.

 Nafisa Bedri, professor in reproductive health at Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman, said reinfibulation “puts the woman at risk if she delivers again and makes sexual relations difficult.” Bedri said they are working with religious leaders to explain that FGM is not an Islamic requirement.

 Sami Momin, secretary general of Sudan’s Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society, highlighted complications including “cysts as big as lemons, infections, bleeding, injury to the urethra, painful sex and inability to orgasm.”

 Community midwives are said to convince women that reinfibulation would make them look “neat and beautiful” again for their husbands, leading Momin to say the practice is fuelled by polygamy and that community midwives rely on reinfibulation as additional income as they do not receive a salary.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Sudan Religious Affairs Minister: New civil state to promote a sense of justice between Muslims and Christians

28/11/19: Radio Dabanga - Sudan Religious Affairs Minister: New civil state to promote a sense of justice between Muslims and Christians

Radio Dabanga reports that Sudan’s Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments, Nasreldin Mofreh says that his ministry aims to “promote a sense of justice between Muslims and Christians,” and stressed the need to fight extremist rhetoric.

 Addressing a workshop on The Role of the Council of Churches in Peace and Development, Mofreh said that his Ministry’s programme aims to train Muslim and Christian preachers to exercise real power among their communities and keep pace with the requirements of the age.

 He also said that Omar al-Bashir’s regime “used to practice verbal and physical violence against Christians and succeeded in distributing injustice equally”.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Call to restructure Sudan’s Forces for Freedom and Change

28/11/19: Radio Dabanga - Call to restructure Sudan’s Forces for Freedom and Change

 Radio Dabanga reports that Darfur Sudan Liberation Movement faction under of the leadership of Minni Minawi (SLM-MM), the Sudan Liberation Forces Alliance (SLFA), and the eastern Sudanese United Popular Front for Liberation and Justice, have demanded the restructuring the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) in an institutional manner, to allow active participation of the signatory forces to the Declaration of Freedom and Change.

 In their joint statement, they also called for the development of the Declaration of Freedom and Change into a national charter setting out issues of democracy, peace, justice, and development.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Economist – Sudan’s revolution could end the conflict in Darfur

28/11/19: Economist – Sudan’s revolution could end the conflict in Darfur

 In an analysis of the prospects of resolving conflict in Sudan, the Economist call for Sudan to address its marginalisation of the peripheral regions, even if the ongoing peace talks are successful.

 The Economist note that the prospect of peace needs the support of Abdel Wahid al-Nur’s faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army.

 Meanwhile, Himedti is said to be unlikely to benefit from a peace agreement that might reduce the influence of the Rapid Support Forces, “which he has recently been expanding,” and could lead to scrutiny of his business interests—such as gold mines, “an industry that has fuelled the conflict.”