SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Bloomberg - Sudan Needs Help to Successfully End Islamic Rule

8/9/2020: Bloomberg - Sudan Needs Help to Successfully End Islamic Rule, by Bobby Ghosh

 Bloomberg columnist Bobby Ghosh warns that Sudan’s economic woes may undermine the Juba peace agreement, arguing that “Sudan’s need for international assistance has never been more acute, or more urgent.”

 Ghosh notes that arrangements must be made for the return of millions displaced by the rebellions and government crackdowns, with peripheral regions requiring “massive” investments to repair the damage of war and compensate for decades of neglect.

 However, Ghosh suggests it is unclear how Sudan will fund this amid an economy “which was moribund even before the debilitating impact of the coronavirus pandemic, now facing a new crisis: devastating floods,” citing Sudan being $1.3 billion in arrears to the International Monetary Fund and external debt topping $55 billion in 2020.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Sudan Sovereign Council member Rajaa Abdelmaseeh: ‘This is not the time for reconciliation with wrongdoers’

8/9/19: Radio Dabanga - Sudan Sovereign Council member Rajaa Abdelmaseeh: ‘This is not the time for reconciliation with wrongdoers’

 Radio Dabanga reports that sovereign council member Rajaa Abdelmaseeh called for those who committed wrongdoings during Al Bashir’s regime to be sanctioned.

 Abdelmaseeh said that punishment is is what the people want”, but it must be “without revenge.”

 Abdelmaseeh also said that the sovereign council had not yet discussed banning Al Bashir’s National Congress Party.

 She also called for laws limiting freedom to be amended or withdrawn.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Sudan is expecting major UN role to achieve transition’s priorities: Hamdok

8/9/19: Sudan Tribune - Sudan is expecting major UN role to achieve transition’s priorities: Hamdok

 Sudan’s prime minister Abdalla Hamdok said he expects the UN to play a major role in supporting the political and economic priorities that his government plans to achieve during the three-year transitional period, in a speech delivered at a UN meeting in Khartoum.

 “We expect the UN to come up with a comprehensive plan addressing short, medium and long term interventions adjusted and crafted according to the transitional government’s priorities and taking into consideration home-grown initiatives and demand-driven approaches,” Hamdok further said.

 Nicholas Haysom, the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Sudan, is discussing a road map for the UN system to support the transitional government on the development, economic, human rights, humanitarian and peacebuilding tracks.

 A high-level meeting on Sudan is expected to take place in the coming days on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly ,which will be addressed by Hamdok on 27 September.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Sudanese tribes sign peace deal after deadly clashes in Port Sudan

8/9/19: Reuters - Sudanese tribes sign peace deal after deadly clashes in Port Sudan

 Reuters reports that representatives of the Beni Amer and Nuba tribes in Sudan’s Red Sea state signed a reconciliation deal, under pressure from Himedti, after clashes that triggered a state of emergency and left at least 16 dead last month.

 The deal was signed by Himedti, who threatened to expel both sides from Sudan  if they refused to commit to reconciliation.

 “We need a radical solution to the problem. Its cause is the existence of outlaws and weapons. Anybody should be accountable, no one is above law,” Himedti said, asking both sides to surrender their illegal weapons “tonight,” and vowed to work on solving the lack of water and electricity supplies in the state.

 After tribal representatives signed the deal, Himedti apologised for his earlier tough language.