SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – Sudanese army expels more Ethiopian forces from border areas

27/12/2020: Multiple sources – Sudanese army expels more Ethiopian forces from border areas

• Sudan Tribune

• Radio Dabanga

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) have reclaimed territory from Ethiopian army soldiers and militiamen in eastern Sudan’s al-Gedaref, regaining over six Ethiopian camp sites in al-Fashaga and 11 other sites near the al-Gedaref-Ethiopian border.

Military sources told the Sudan Tribune that the Sudanese army expelled forces from Ethopia’s ethnic Amhara group, where over a thousand Ethiopian farmers reside in  settlements protected by militias “that have worked to expel the Sudanese by force of arm.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP – Sudanese man’s death draws attention to paramilitary force

27/12/2020: AP – Sudanese man’s death draws attention to paramilitary force, by Samy Magdy

 AP report that the killing of Bahaa el-Din Nouri has sparked controversy around the scope of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.

 Brig. Gen. Gamal Goma, the RSF spokesman, said the head of the RSF’s intelligence unit as well as officers involved in Nouri’s detention and interrogation have been suspended or detained, pending an investigation into his death.

 The Sudanese Professionals’ Association called for the closure of all detention centres run by the RSF. The association also called for the release of the RSF’s detainees or for detainees to be turned over to the police.

 Activist Shamael el-Noor called for those responsible for Nouri’s death to be held accountable, and for an end to impunity when the suspects are members of the security forces. She said what happened with Nouri could happen to anyone, adding “this is a serious indication of the state institutions’ inaction towards security issues.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga – Peace talks between Sudan govt, SPLM-N El Hilu suspended

27/12/2019: Radio Dabanga – Peace talks between Sudan govt, SPLM-N El Hilu suspended

Radio Dabanga reports that negotiations between the government and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-North El Hilu have been postponed for two weeks at the request of the movement.

The SPLM-N El Hilu wishes to consult its leadership and grassroots on a number of negotiation issues. The SPLM-N El Hilu’s negotiating stance is that it will strive for self-determination in the areas it controls unless Sudan becomes a secular state.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga – Sudanese Ministry of Energy to improve conditions at oil fields

27/12/2019: Radio Dabanga – Sudanese Ministry of Energy to improve conditions at oil fields

Radio Dabanga reports that Hamid Suliman, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mining, plans to improve health and safety, services and roads, and employment opportunities near oil production fields in West Kordofan and East Darfur.

Environmental experts have attributed decreasing fertility and diseases among pregnant women and children in West Kordofan to industrial chemicals and petrol residues.

West Kordofan and East Darfur residents also complain that they have not received compensation for farmlands confiscated by the government on the behalf of oil companies, which have also failed to contribute to development or employment opportunities in oil rich areas.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters – Sudan to lift fuel subsidies gradually in 2020: minister

27/12/2019: Reuters – Sudan to lift fuel subsidies gradually in 2020: minister

Reuters reports that Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi plans to remove fuel subsidies gradually in 2020.

Elbadawi did not say how the budget for next year would be funded or what the government forecast was for revenue and expenditure, nor what Sudan expected in donor support -  (In November he said Sudan needs $5 million).

Subsidies for petrol and gasoline would be gradually lifted next year, while subsides for wheat and cooking gas would be kept in place.

Elbadawi said the 2020 budget would increase spending for education and social spending, and there would be also aid for needy families. Provinces hit by conflict would be allocated an extra 9.3 billion pounds, and the government hopes to double civil service pay and raise the minimum wage to 1,000 Sudanese pounds ($22), up from 425 pounds.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: AP - Sudan’s Christians enjoy holiday amid hope for new freedoms

27/12/2019: AP - Sudan’s Christians enjoy holiday amid hope for new freedoms, by Mariam Fam

In a feature peace, AP spoke to Sudanese Christians from the Bahri Evangelical church, who held a symbolic march to mark the Christian holiday season.

Church elder Noah Manzul said the march was treated as if it were a “crime,” under al-Bashir’s regime, but its return is “an expression of religious freedom.”

Ezekiel Kondo, archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, said he was encouraged by government religious reform efforts but questioned whether complete religious freedom is present. He called for the legalisation of some churches, attributing the legal cases that churches are embroiled in to the inability to get permits and the required paperwork, which proved “virtually impossible” under al-Bashir.

Anurima Bhargava, a member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, said that religious reforms will “take some time to be felt,” but meetings with Hamdok on the matter were “promising.”