The Sudanese police forces resorted to firing tear gas to disperse protesters who closed a bridge linking the capital Khartoum and Bahry Town…rpeorts Asian Lite News
Ayman Khalid, Khartoum State governor, said in a statement that a group belonging to the dissolved National Congress Party closed El Mek Nimir Bridge and the Nile Avenue to disrupt traffic in central Khartoum, reports Xinhua news agency.
“We directed the police, in the presence of the Public Prosecution, to open the roads and take the decisive and necessary legal measures to deal with this violation by the supporters of the dissolved party, and ensure the flow of traffic in the capital,” he added.
Sudan police fire tear gas to disperse protesters
Since October 16, a group defecting from the Forces of Freedom and Change Alliance (FFC) has staged an open sit-in in front of the presidential palace, demanding the dissolution of the government.
The FFC, which represents the civilian component in the ruling coalition, rejects the dissolution of the government and accuses the defectors of attempting to jeopardise the democratic transition and support the military to turn against the revolution.
Since the announcement of foiling a coup attempt on September 21, the differences between the military and civilian partners in Sudan’s transitional government have continued to escalate.
Sudan is ruled by a 39-month transitional period under a transitional government of military and civilian elements, established after the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.
The transitional period is set to be followed by elections to form a new government.
Sudan’s Sovereign Council is currently chaired by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the constitutional document stipulates that the presidency of the council will be transferred to civilians by November.
Sudan Prime Minister has voiced the transitional government’s commitment to not allow any coup against what has been achieved in the 2018-19 ‘December Revolution’…reports Asian Lite News
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has voiced the transitional government’s commitment to not allow any coup against what has been achieved in the 2018-19 ‘December Revolution’ during which former President Omar al-Bashir was ousted after 30 years in power amid popular protests against deteriorating economic conditions and hike in prices of basic commodities.
Hamdok made the remarks in a speech broadcast by Sudan’s official TV, reports Xinhua news agency.
Sudan PM vows not to allow coup against revolution achievements
Following the ouster, the army then established a transitional military council that had ruled the country until August 2019, when the military and the opposition Freedom and Change Alliance established a transitional government for a 39-month rule.
The transitional period is set to be followed by elections to form a new government.
Hamdok described the current division between the components of the transitional government as “the worst and most serious crisis threatening the transition”.
“If we cannot achieve the slogans of the revolution of freedom, peace and justice and reach the desired ends of the transition, we will not forgive ourselves and neither will history forgive us,” he said.
However, Hamdok denied any dispute between the civilian and military components, saying “it is a dispute between the civil democratic transition camp and the camp of coup against the revolution”.
“It is a conflict in which I am neither neutral nor a mediator. My clear and strict position is the full bias for the civil democratic transition, completion of the tasks of the glorious December Revolution, and realization of its slogans of freedom, peace and justice,” the Prime Minister noted.
He further proposed a road map out of the current crisis, calling for immediate cessation of all forms of escalation between all parties and return to working with all institutions of the transition.
He also stressed the importance of commitment to the constitutional document as the reference for the components of the transitional authority.
Since the announcement of foiling a coup attempt on September 21, the differences between the military and civilian partners in the transitional government have continued to escalate.
Israel said that two government officials met Sudan’s Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to discuss bilateral cooperation…reports Asian Lite News
In two separate meetings in Abu Dhabi, Abdulbari met Israel’s Regional Affairs Minister Issawi Frej and Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll, respectively, in a bid to push forward the bilateral ties, according to statements issued on behalf of the two ministers.
During their meeting, Abdulbari told Frej that cultural and educational cooperation between Sudan and Israel is important even more than economic ties, reports Xinhua news agency.
Israel and Sudan discuss bilateral cooperation
“We must get to know each other and strengthen the contacts between our peoples,” said a statement.
In another meeting, Abdulbari and Roll agreed to establish cooperation in technological training, education and culture.
They “agreed on future cooperation between the two countries under the Abraham Accords”, according to a statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
The two sides agreed that there is “a mutual interest” in cooperation in the field of education and technology in order to “help young people from all countries that are part of the Abraham Accords”.
Roll also stressed the importance of signing a normalization agreement between the two countries “soon”.
The meetings were the first official high-level meetings between Israeli and Sudanese ministers since January.
Israel and Sudan agreed to normalize their ties in October 2020.
However, an official deal between the two countries has yet to be signed.
The so-called Abraham Accords are a series of US-brokered normalization deals in which the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco agreed to normalize their relations with Israel.
S. Sudan approves $10 million to the victims of flood
The government of South Sudan has approved $10 million as an emergency relief package to support people affected by floods in seven states across the country since May…reports Asian Lite News
Michael Makuei Lueth, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, said that the relief package approved by the cabinet will be used to help resettle those displaced from their homes, in addition to providing food relief to them, reports Xinhua news agency.
S. Sudan approves $10 million to the victims of flood
MICHAEL MAKUEI LUETH, MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING: “The people who are displaced are very much affected by floods, and after the floods have subsided they need to be resettled in their areas of origin because they don’t have anything at present and all that they need is to be rescued now.”
An estimated 400,000 people have been affected and displaced by heavy flooding, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
OCHA recently revealed that the worst affected populations by floods are in Jonglei, Unity, Warrap, Greater Pibor Administrative Area, Lakes, Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal and Upper Nile state.
The UN Security Council has encouraged Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resume negotiations on the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River…reports Asian Lite News
In a presidential statement, the Council encouraged the three stakeholders to resume talks at the invitation of the chairperson of the African Union (AU) to finalize expeditiously the text of mutually acceptable and binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, “within a reasonable time frame”, reports Xinhua news agency
The Security Council called on the three countries to take forward the AU-led negotiation process in a constructive and cooperative manner.
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River
It also encouraged observers that have been invited to attend the AU-led negotiations and any other observers that the three countries may consensually decide to jointly invite, to continue supporting the negotiations with a view to facilitating the resolution of outstanding technical and legal issues.
It underscored that this statement does not set out any principles or precedent in any other transboundary water disputes.
Despite countless tripartite negotiations among experts, ministers and leaders of the three African countries, they are yet to reach a trilateral agreement regarding the project.
Ethiopia reiterates that the dam will power its development aspirations, and boost its aspirations to attain the middle-income status by 2025.
Meanwhile, Egypt and Sudan frequently express their concern that the dam would affect their share of the river waters.
Rising from Lake Tana some 570-km north of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, the Blue Nile or Abay River is one of the two principal headwaters of the world’s longest river.
The UN estimated in December 2020 that 2.4 million people faced emergency levels of acute food insecurity…reports Asian Lite News
People in South Sudan currently face the highest levels of food insecurity recorded since the country’s independence from Sudan 10 years ago, said a UN official.
More than 60 per cent of the total estimated population of 12.78 million people are severely food insecure, Xinhua news agency quoted Reena Ghelani, director for operations and advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as saying.
The UN estimated in December 2020 that 2.4 million people faced emergency levels of acute food insecurity.
Food insecurity at highest levels in South Sudan
Between April and July 2021, some 108,000 people faced catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity, at the height of the lean season, she told the Security Council in a briefing on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan.
“The combined effects of conflict, climate shocks, displacement, the socio-economic impact of Covid-19, and the lack of investments in infrastructure and basic services have driven people deeper into need,” she said.
More than 8.3 million people currently need humanitarian assistance, including 1.4 million children, said Ghelani.
Aid agencies assisted some 4.4 million people across the country between January and June 2021 with food, medical and nutritional care, water and sanitation, protection support, and shelter.
Notwithstanding these gains, there has been limited change in the behaviour of non-state armed groups and certain youth groups that continue to hamper access, she said.
Since the beginning of this year, four aid workers have lost their lives in the line of duty. And over 170 aid workers had to relocate due to security threats, she said.
The destruction and looting of humanitarian facilities has continued, including the looting of over 1,000 metric tonnes of food, valued at more than $1 million.
In addition, frequent attacks on civilians and humanitarian convoys and roadside ambushes have disrupted operations and resulted in increased prices of essential goods for an already vulnerable population she said.
An alarming development this year has been the interference of aid activities by armed youth, she added.
The humanitarian needs have further been exacerbated by exceptional flooding for a third consecutive year, affecting so far nearly 420,000 people. With more heavy rains expected in the coming months, thousands of people will be forced to move from their places and their homes and will require assistance and livelihood support, said Ghelani.
As South Sudan emerges from the lean season with hopes for the harvest season, there is a risk that flooding may lessen any food security gains, which would contribute to extreme food insecurity recurring next year, she warned.
The South Sudan humanitarian response plan of $1.7 billion is the largest ever for South Sudan, but it is only 56 per cent funded, she said.
Funding challenges have forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to reduce the scale of food rations in all refugee, protection-of-civilian camps and camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from April this year, affecting 700,000 people.
In October, the WFP will be forced to stop support in some other IDP camps due to supplies being reallocated or reprioritised to counties where people are at the brink of famine. Should resources become available, the WFP would resume assistance to 106,000 affected people in these camps, she said.
South Sudan is also on alert for a resurgence of Covid-19, driven by the Delta variant. Measures adopted to mitigate and prevent the spread of the virus have had a limited impact due to the challenges and the lack of ability of the health system to carry out vaccinations and low uptake of the vaccination, she said.
To prevent famine in South Sudan next year, the UN official asked all actors with influence to work to de-escalate the violence in South Sudan.
While the peace process has had a real impact in parts of South Sudan, its implementation has progressed at a slow pace, and violence continues to interrupt the process, she said.
Humanitarians need continued support from the government of South Sudan for safe and unhindered access to reach people who desperately need help, she said.
While resources are needed now for the humanitarian response plan to sustain the response, donors are urged to give funding at scale early in 2022, so that humanitarians can get ahead of the needs which are anticipated to rise, she said.
INS Tabar is a Talwar-class stealth frigate and forms part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet which is based at Mumbai under the Western Naval Command…reports Asian Lite News
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tabar, on its ongoing deployment to Europe and Africa, conducted India’s maiden maritime partnership exercise with Sudanese Navy Ships Almazz and Nimer in the Red Sea off the Sudanese Coast on Friday.
The Indian Navy posted images of the maiden maritime partnership exercise between the navies of Sudan and India on Twitter.
“Maiden #MaritimePartnership Exercise between #IndianNavy & #SudaneseNavy. #INSTabar undertook wide range of Naval ops with Sudanese Navy ships, Almazz & Nimer on 10 Sep 21 in the Red Sea off the Sudanese coast.#Interoperability #MaritimeSecurity,” said the Twitter post by the Spokesperson of the Indian Navy on Saturday.
INS Tabar is a Talwar-class stealth frigate and forms part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet which is based at Mumbai under the Western Naval Command.
Pic credits @indiannavy
The ship is currently commanded by Captain Mahesh Mangipudi and has a complement of over 300 personnel. It is equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors and is among the earliest stealth frigates of the Indian Navy.
INS Tabar’s participation in a maritime partnership exercise with Sudanese Naval Ships is in continuation with the Indian Navy’s practice to deploy Indian warships for overseas exercises.
INS Tabar is on a four-month deployment across Africa and Europe to participate in joint exercises with friendly navies and enhance military cooperation through naval engagements.
During its deployment, the Indian Naval Ship has already called on ports in Egypt, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden and France and has conducted naval exercises with the navies of these countries.
Last week, INS Tabar had conducted a maritime partnership exercise with an Egyptian Naval Ship in the Mediterranean Sea.
The exercise was significantly beneficial in enhancing interoperability between the two navies and widened the scope for combined operations against common maritime threats in future.
Though many economists differ on the exact figure and debt estimates, the Chinese direct and indirect investment in Sudan is alleged to be nothing less than 29 billion dollars….reports Asian Lite News
China has provided numerous interest-free loans and grants to the Sudanese government for diverse projects, but the country has now begun to sense the exploitation being meted out to them by the Chinese.
Mario de Gasperi, writing in the Center of Political and Foreign Affairs (CPFA) said that media reports indicate that Sudan, the strategically located oil-rich African nation is facing one of its worst economic crises.
The country is apparently under a debt burden worth about 20 billion dollars to China. Though many economists differ on the exact figure and debt estimates, the Chinese direct and indirect investment in Sudan is alleged to be nothing less than 29 billion dollars.
Like many other African nations, unaware of the systemic form of the Chinese intrusion, Sudan too welcomed Chinese investments with open arms and allowed the Chinese state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to make massive inroads in the much-valued petroleum sector.
But now, Sudan’s Prime Minister called out the dubious role of Chinese entities in the oil sector by seeking a review of all agreements signed with China in the past.
In another significant development, much to the chagrin of the Chinese, Sudan also chose the AstraZeneca vaccine while neglecting the Chinese offer for vaccines to handle the Covid19 pandemic which is alleged to have emerged from the Chinese heartland.
China has been investing heavily in Sudan in diverse projects including the construction of oil pipelines, bridges in Hantoop, Singa, on the Nile River along with building textile mills, railway lines and a free trade zone in the Red Sea state.
CNPC even obtained significant concessions through the Sudanese oil ministry to access and utilize untapped oil reserves with almost no competition.
Taking a cue from CNPC, other Chinese companies too have heavily invested in the oil reserves of Sudan and are brazenly looting the country’s natural resources, said Gasperi.
Singularly, Sudan’s debt to CNPC with regard to exploration of oil at Block No. 6 of Muglad Basin of West Kordofan state is itself over USD 2.5 billion. One can only speculate the extent of Sudan’s debts when all the Oil blocks are taken into account.
In fact, so sordid are the state of affairs that CNPC, at present, holds 95 per cent rights in basin exploration while Sudapet, a Sudanese commercial entity has a mere 5 per cent, reported CPFA.
Not just in Oil, across multiple domains in over 200 projects in the field of agriculture, services and manufacturing including areas like farming, abattoirs, trade, mining, health, water supply etc more than 130 Chinese companies are directly involved in Sudan. Even construction and upgrading of numerous power projects is being done using Chinese money.
It is true that China has been consistent in the provision of loans and grants to African countries. However, these loans are driven by self-interests to usurp the properties they generate rather than aiding the welfare of the African nations.
This is also the reason why China provides loans through front companies and not through transparent mechanisms such as the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) meant to grant waivers for repayment of interest-free loans to help ailing African economies, said Gasperi.
In recent times, with the international community recognizing and calling out Chinese tactics of dominance in Africa, China is reportedly increasingly investing through private players who impose prior stringent agreements with the debtor parties rather than engaging with government entities on vague terms.
China has also been exercising
its influence on the Sudanese media with Chinese Ambassadors regularly interacting with media houses and contributing numerous articles praising China’s role in ‘developing’ the country’s economy.
This campaign is further accentuated by a regular feature of the Ambassador in the English newspaper ‘Sudan Voice’. It seems the Sudan News Agency (SNA) has an implicit understanding of the Chinese to spread the Chinese school of thought in Sudan. The SNA has also enhanced its exchange programmes with regular visits of Sudanese journalists to China, reported CPFA.
Of late, however, the tide has turned and many African nations including Sudan have begun to sense the exploitation being meted out to them by the Chinese. (ANI)
Samantha Power, administrator of the US Agency for International Development, is set to meet with top Sudanese officials including Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan…reports Asian Lite News
Samantha Power who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on genocide landed Saturday in Khartoum, aiming to support Sudan’s fragile transition to democracy before traveling to Ethiopia to press the government there to allow humanitarian aid to the war-torn Tigray region.
Samantha Power, administrator of the US Agency for International Development, is set to meet with top Sudanese officials including Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling sovereign council, and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, the civilian face of Sudan’s transitional government.
She will also travel to Sudan’s western region of Darfur where she said she investigated atrocities in the its civil war in the 2000s.
“I first visited Sudan in 2004— investigating a genocide in Darfur perpetrated by a regime whose grip on power seemed unshakeable. I couldn’t imagine Sudan would one day be an inspiring example to the world that no leader is ever permanently immune from the will of their people,” Power wrote on Twitter upon her arrival in Khartoum.
Power’s visit to Khartoum is meant to “strengthen the US Government’s partnership with Sudan’s transitional leaders and citizens, explore how to expand USAID’s support for Sudan’s transition to a civilian-led democracy,” USAID said.
Sudan is now on a fragile path to democracy and is ruled by a military-civilian government after a popular uprising led to the military’s ouster of longtime autocrat Omar Al-Bashir in 2019. The Khartoum government, which seeks better ties with the US and the West after nearly three decades of international isolation, faces towering economic and security challenges that threaten to derail its transition into chaos.
The US official would also meet with Ethiopian refugees in Sudan who recently fled the conflict and atrocities in the Tigray region which borders Sudan.
Since the Tigray war began in November, tens of thousands of Ethiopians have crossed into Sudan, adding to the country’s economic and security challenges.
Power’s five-day trip will also take her to Ethiopia as part of international efforts to prevent a looming famine in Tigray, a region of some 6 million people that has been devastated by the months-long war.
Power will meet with Ethiopian officials “to press for unimpeded humanitarian access to prevent famine in Tigray and meet urgent needs in other conflict-affected regions of the country,” USAID said.
The world’s worst hunger crisis in a decade is unfolding in Tigray, where the US says up to 900,000 people now face famine conditions and international food security experts say the crucial planting season “has largely been missed” because of the war.
Ethiopia’s government has blamed the aid blockade on the resurgent Tigray forces who have retaken much of the region and crossed into the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, but a senior official with the US Agency for International Development this week told the AP that is “100 percent not the case.”
The latest US move was welcomed by Sudanese Foreign Minister Maryam Al-Sadiq, who hosted Baskett on Monday….reports Asian Lite News
The relations between United States and Sudan have returned to normal, according to an embassy spokesperson in Khartoum.
Amber Baskett, the Chargé d’Affairs at the American embassy in the Sudanese capital, confirmed the decision came as a result of the achievements of the interim transitional government, the Arab News reported.
The latest US move was welcomed by Sudanese Foreign Minister Maryam Al-Sadiq, who hosted Baskett on Monday.
The minister said the normalisation of relations was deserved for the progress the country had made since the ousting of Omar Bashir in 2019, according to the Arab News report.
She added that the US decision would support Sudan’s democratic transition efforts and address its challenges.
The US relations with Sudan have been on an upward trajectory since 2019, and included the removal of the African country from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism in 2020, it was reported.
Last week, South Sudan had launched its first oil licensing auction, offering five blocks.
The Ministry of Petroleum said the Oil Licensing Round aims to attract interest from a diverse group of foreign investors.
The ministry said it has identified new exploration blocks with potential hydrocarbons and has compiled crucial data to provide to interested investors, operators and counterparties.
The oil companies operating in South Sudan include China National Petroleum Corporation, India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Malaysia’s PETRONAS.
According to statistics from the ministry, about 90 per cent of South Sudan’s oil and gas reserves remain unexplored, providing unprecedented opportunities to international investors.
