SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: AFP - Angry Sudanese queue for bread in city where pupils shot dead

31/7/19: AFP - Angry Sudanese queue for bread in city where pupils shot dead, by Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali

 AFP’s feature piece covers the situation in Al Obeid, following the killing of six people, including five school children, after they protested bread and fuel shortages.

 Al Obeid is under a curfew, although residents venture out at night to search for bread and “other scarce goods.”

 Various residents complained about power shortages.

 Muwawi Saad, an employee at a private company, said: “getting food has become a tough task. You have to wait for an hour or even more. Often you pass by one bakery and find that it is shut because there is no electricity.”

 Bakery owner Mohammed Al Hassan said “having your own [electricity] generator means increasing your costs and in turn exposing yourself to losses.”

 Resident Babikir Awad said “we have been suffering for months, but the situation has escalated in the past two weeks.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters – Sudan’s military rulers, opposition to hold transition talks within 48 hours – opposition

31/7/19: Reuters – Sudan’s military rulers, opposition to hold transition talks within 48 hours – opposition, by Khalid Abdelaziz

 Reuters reports that negotiators from both Sudan’s military council and the main opposition coalition, the Forces of Freedom and Change, have made progress on the sticking points in discussions on the transition from military rule and are set to hold direct talks within 48 hours.

 Khalid Omar, an FFC leader, said that their lower-level technical committees isolated the key points of contention in a constitutional declaration that will set the path from military rule to a new sovereign council.

 The main delegations will meet for further discussions within 48 hours, Omar told Reuters, without giving details on what had been ironed out.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: British Foreign Policy Group - How to respond to the protests in Sudan? The case for a responsible approach to armed intervention

31/7/19: British Foreign Policy Group - How to respond to the protests in Sudan? The case for a responsible approach to armed intervention, by Flora Holmes

 Flora Holmes calls for the UK government to “stand up for international law and protect civilians” in Sudan, with a “well-planned, strategised, and UN-sanctioned” armed intervention.

 Holmes calls for the UK to use its “privileged”position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to lobby for and seek international support for missions to protect civilians.

 She adds that care and responsibility could be taken to ensure missions are well-executed and structures are put in place for military withdrawal and transition, arguing that maintaining a focus on the transition period after military intervention will ensure that the UK can avoid repeating the mistakes of the Libyan conflict and increase chances of a successful democratic transition.

 Holmes concludes by calling for the UK to develop a long-term Middle-East strategy to mitigate against the risks of instability and international pressure caused by migration and terrorism.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters – AU mediator urges prompt trial for killers of Sudanese school children

31/7/19: Reuters – AU mediator urges prompt trial for killers of Sudanese school children, by Khalid Abdelaziz

 Reuters report that the African Union’s mediator for Sudan, Mohamed Hassan Lebatt, called for a speedy trial for those responsible for killing school children at a protest in the city of El-Obeid.

 Lebatt also called for the military council and the Forces of Freedom and Change to sign the constitutional declaration they have been wrangling over for weeks.

 The children’s deaths came at a time of heightened tension between Sudan’s military rulers and the main opposition coalition, and delayed already stalled talks over a transition deal.

 Lebatt told a news conference that a joint legal committee from both sides is due to meet later on Wednesday, when it is expected to complete its work on the document, and set a date for the signing of the constitutional declaration. Lebat said he hopes this would happen quickly.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – Sudan suspends all schools after students killed during protests

31/7/19: Multiple sources – Sudan suspends all schools after students killed during protests

 Authorities in Sudan have suspended all schools beginning on Wednesday, following the fatal dispersal of a protest in El-Obeid which killed at least six, of whom four were schoolchildren.

 "The Secretary General of the Federal Government Bureau, Siddiq Gumaa Babal-Khair, has directed the caretaker Walis (governors) of States to suspend education at all the school levels as of Wednesday," state news agency SUNA reported, citing a directive of the Sudanese Transitional Military Council (TMC).

 TMC leader Abdelfattah Al Burhan condemned the killings on Sudanese state television, calling for immediate accountability.

 Sudanese protesters have accused the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group of carrying out the shootings.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune – Sudan’s parties to resume talks on constitutional declaration

31/7/19: Sudan Tribune – Sudan’s parties to resume talks on constitutional declaration

 Sudan Tribune reports that talks on the constitutional declaration for the transitional period are expected to resume on Thursday (August 1) after the return of the negotiating delegation of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) from El-Obeid where five protesters were killed by the security forces.

 Discussions were expected to resume on Tuesday (July 30) but the killing of protesters forced the FFC opposition coalition to halt the political process to mark its condemnation for the excessive use of force and called to hold the perpetrators accountable.

 However, Sudan Tribune learned that FFC technical teams continued working on finalising the final draft of the constitutional declaration on Tuesday. Opposition sources also denied rumours about the suspension of the negotiations because of the El Obeid massacre, confirming reports that the National Consensus Forces made that proposal, but it was rejected by the other FFC components.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - Sudan activists call for mass protests in wake of violence

31/7/19: AP - Sudan activists call for mass protests in wake of violence

 AP report that the Sudanese Professionals Association are calling for mass protests across the country amid tensions with the ruling generals following the fatal dispersal of a student protest in El-Obeid.

 The SPA said the marches on Thursday will demand justice for those killed.  Ismail Al-Taj, a protest leader, called on the military council to protect protests.