SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters – Sudan security forces kill 100th person in anti-coup protests

7/6/2022: Reuters – Sudan security forces kill 100th person in anti-coup protests

Reuters report that a protester was shot and killed in Omdurman by security forces, medics say, making them the 100th protester killed in anti-coup demonstrations since October. The protester, the second death after the lifting of a state of emergency on May 29, was most likely killed by buckshot, said the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Crisis Group - Sudan: Stopping a Spiral into Civil War

7/6/19: Crisis Group – Sudan: Stopping a Spiral into Civil War

 The Crisis Group call for western and Gulf powers to “take urgent steps to compel Sudan’s [military junta] to accept a civilian-led transitional administration.”

 CG note that the Sudanese military junta “offers no clear foundation for a political regime,” citing its lack of cohesion, as former president Omar Al Bashir bolstered the RSF paramilitary group to counterbalance other elements of the security apparatus. CG state that RSF leader Himedti is distrusted by many Sudanese army officers.

Thus, to avert a civil war, the US is requested to to pressure the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to urge the RSF to retreat, and “allow a civilian-led transitional authority that can restore stability.”

The US is called on to condition normalization of ties to Sudan on civilian government, with CG also calling for the military to face targeted sanctions from the African Union, EU and US if they fail to cooperate.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Foreign Policy - Document of the Week: Sudan’s Paramilitaries Are Seizing Abandoned U.N. Outposts in Darfur,

7/6/19: Foreign Policy – Document of the Week: Sudan’s Paramilitaries Are Seizing Abandoned U.N. Outposts in Darfur, by Colum Lynch

 Foreign Policy reports that the UN is halting its withdrawal of peacekeepers amid fear that the Rapid Support Forces are filling the security vacuum.

 A document seen by Foreign Policy showed that the TMC issued a decree on May 13, demanding the United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur, or UNAMID, which deployed thousands of peacekeepers in Darfur more than a decade ago to protect civilians, hand over its peacekeeping facilities to the paramilitary force.

 UNAMID had intended to withdraw from Darfur by next summer, after facing criticism for falling short in its mission to protect civilians, and pressure from the US to cut peacekeeping costs.

 The RSF has already occupied 9 of the 10 peacekeeping sites that UNAMID has evacuated.

SUDAN POLITICAL ALERT: Human Rights Watch - Investigations and Monitoring Needed in Response to Sudan Violence

7/6/19: Human Rights Watch - Investigations and Monitoring Needed in Response to Sudan Violence

 HRW’s Africa Associate Director Jehanne Henry calls for the African Union and the UN to “step up” to protect Sudanese human rights.

Henry calls for the African Union to set up a commission of inquiry, and for the UN Human Rights Council to investigate abuses committed in Sudan since December 2018.

 She argues that these actions are not mutually exclusive, and “both are needed in a country with such an extensive legacy of government-led atrocities and so little actual accountability for them.”

SUDAN POLITICAL ALERT: Statement on Sudan by the World Health Organisation

7/6/19: Statement on Sudan by the World Health Organisation

 The World Health Organisation, the UN’s health agency, has called for an immediate cessation of all activities that “put the lives of health staff and patients at risk and disrupt the delivery of essential health services.”

 The WHO says it is “gravely concerned” over security forces making “incursions into Khartoum hospitals,” setting mobile health tent clinics on fire, looting medical equipment, assaulting health care workers, and reportedly raping female health workers.

 “These actions represent a total and unacceptable violation of international human rights law and must stop,” the statement said.

SUDAN POLITICAL ALERT: UN human rights office statement on Sudan

7/6/19: UN human rights office statement on Sudan

The UN human rights office has called for a monitoring team to be deployed to Sudan to examine alleged violations during this week’s military crackdown.

 The office is urging authorities to investigate the use of “excessive force” against protest camps, including the alleged involvement of the Rapid Support Forces and members linked to atrocities in Darfur.

 Spokesman Rupert Colville said the UN was seeking the military junta’s cooperation to deploy the monitoring mission.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - UAE foreign minister Anwar Gargash supports investigation of “massacre” in Sudan

7/6/19: Reuters – UAE foreign minister Anwar Gargash supports investigation of “massacre” in Sudan

 Reuters reports that The United Arab Emirates is concerned about the “massacre” in Sudan and supports calls for an investigation, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Friday.

 Speaking at the Globsec security and policy conference, Gargash said “we think [the massacre] has complicated issues. We recognize that after 30 years of Bashir’s rule you won’t have a unified opposition, the only way forward is really a dialogue.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed meets Sudanese opposition and military leaders

7/6/19: Multiple sources – Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed meets Sudanese opposition and military leaders

• Reuters

• AP

• AFP

 Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed met with Sudan’s ruling generals and protest leaders on Friday in a bid to revive negotiations amid a crackdown on demonstrations that has killed more than 100 people since Monday.

 Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a young reformist who assumed office a year ago, has been at the center of high-profile diplomatic efforts in the Horn of Africa region.

 In a phone interview with Saudi-owned satellite channel al-Arabiya, protest leader Gaafar Hassan declined to discuss the meeting in detail, saying a news conference would be held later, but ruled out any “direct” or “indirect” talks with the military.

 “The (military) council has lost its political as well as its ethical legitimacy and we cannot deal with it, but we call for its ouster,” he said.

 There was no immediate comment from the military council or the Ethiopian prime minister.