SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters – Sudanese farmers warn of failing harvests as hunger rises

9/6/2022: Reuters – Sudanese farmers warn of failing harvests as hunger rises, by Nafisa Eltahir

Reuters report that Sudanese farmers are unable to fund new crops after the government failed to buy wheat under promised terms, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine driving prices for inputs such as fertilizer and fuel to new highs.

Farmers that Reuters spoke to described the situation as desperate, and most said they feared bankruptcy and even prison for not paying back debts.

Farmer Nazar Abdallah, who took out loans assuming that the government would buy his wheat, fears he will go to jail due to unpaid debts as his wheat, which should have been sold in March 2022, is stored under a leaky roof and could be spoiled should it rain.  

A sorghum farmer added: “we buy the fertilizer and fuel at high prices and then when we come to sell our harvest we do not find a market. The government is impoverishing us”.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: European Council of Foreign Relations - Bad company: How dark money threatens Sudan’s transition

9/6/2020: European Council of Foreign Relations - Bad company: How dark money threatens Sudan’s transition, by Jean-Baptiste Gallopin

 Jean-Baptiste Gallopin, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, calls for Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to “become visibly involved” in confronting the civilian government’s financial dependence on the economically dominant military and security sectors.

 To raise awareness of the importance of raising government revenue and ensuring transparency in public finances, Gallopin suggests Hamdok establishes a committee comprising of civil society and independent retired military officers, while explicitly supporting civilian management of non-defence businesses.

 Gallopin also calls for European countries to “considerably increase” funding for projects that facilitate Hamdok’s increased popular legitimacy, and convincing the UAE and Saudi Arabia that their economic interests in Sudan are best served by competent civilians rather than generals.

Finally, Gallopin calls for EU members, the US, UK and Norway to support Hamdok by publicly stating their support for his efforts to mobilise revenue streams currently controlled by the military and security sector.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Guardian – The Observer view on the crisis in Sudan

9/6/19: Guardian – The Observer view on the crisis in Sudan

 The editors of the Guardian’s Sunday edition, The Observer, call for the world to pay attention to Sudan following the brutal crackdown on protesters.

 Arguing that Himedti, Al Burhan and “other relics of Bashir’s regime” are guilty of premeditated murder, the Observer’s editors call for an independent inquiry to establish their innocence or otherwise.

 The Observer’s editors also state that the Declaration of Freedom and Change’s demand for a transitional civilian-led authority “must be honoured without delay.”

 The editorial concludes with calls on the international community to pressure the military if “lawless paramilitaries roam the streets,” with the military’s “main backers and paymasters – Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt” called upon to “rein in their vicious charges…before more bodies come floating down the Nile.”

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: New York Times - Sudan Protesters, Devastated but Defiant, Regroup Underground After Crackdown

9/6/19: New York Times – Sudan Protesters, Devastated but Defiant, Regroup Underground After Crackdown, by Declan Walsh

 Declan Walsh’s feature piece reports that Sudan’s revolutionaries, now forced underground due to the Rapid Support Forces “iron grip” on Khartoum, are facing “formidable forces.”

 Walsh highlights Himedti and his RSF’s Saudi and Emirati patrons, “who have lavished him with money, weapons and advice.” Siddig Abufawaz, a former airline pilot now in the opposition, said that Saudi and Emirati cargo planes have landed at Khartoum airport in recent weeks, apparently bearing military materiel.

 Walsh also states that the internet blackout is hurting Sudanese revolutionaries “badly,” with dentist  Ahmed Babikir saying “[the regime] don’t want the truth to be shown to the world.”

 Walsh concludes by noting “cracks” among the protesters, with some criticising their leaders for failing to negotiate a power-sharing deal with the military, and others blaming themselves for not foreseeing the crackdown from Himedti and the RSF.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Financial Times – Khartoum on tenterhooks after week of brutal violence

9/6/19: Financial Times – Khartoum on tenterhooks after week of brutal violence, by Tom Wilson

 Tom Wilson’s feature piece examines the possibility of what happens next in Sudan, after “hopes of peaceful transition are crushed,” with the Rapid Support Forces presence in Khartoum said to be “as if [Khartoum] had been conquered by an occupying force.”

 Wilson highlights the possibility of a “debilitating stalemate” if the military leaders refuse to cede power and the civilian opposition sustains its resistance.

 On the other hand, former Sudanese government peace negotiator Hussein Karshoum warns that violence “far worse” than that witnessed during the June 3 massacre may occur if elements of Sudan’s armed forces, such as the RSF, began competing for power.

 Karshoum explained that the RSF is a “merciless, unpredictable force” integrated into the armed forces in 2013 as a paramilitary group, with most of their fighters “very young, battle-hardened men drawn from different militias across the country.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Pope appeals for peace, dialogue in Sudan

9/6/19: Reuters – Pope appeals for peace, dialogue in Sudan

 Reuters reports that Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for peace in Sudan following a bloody crackdown by security forces on pro-democracy protesters in Khartoum last week.

 “The news coming from Sudan is giving rise to pain and concern. We pray for these people, so that the violence ceases and the common good is sought in the dialogue,” the pope said in his weekly address to crowds in St Peter’s Square.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Civil disobedience campaign empties streets of Khartoum

9-10/6/19: Multiple sources – Civil disobedience campaign empties streets of Khartoum

Millions of people in Sudan have joined a general strike called by ​pro-reform groups, shutting down the centre of cities across the country despite a wave of arrests and intimidation​.

 The massive shutdown was called to take place on Sunday, the first day of the working week, and is aimed at relaunching an opposition movement battered by a brutal crackdown and forcing the country’s new military leaders to resign.

 Shops were closed and streets were empty throughout the capital, Khartoum, and in the neighbouring Omdurman. Four protesters were killed in sporadic violence in the two cities.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Sudan police fire tear gas as civil disobedience campaign begins

9/6/19: Multiple sources - Sudan police fire tear gas as civil disobedience campaign begins

 Sudanese security forces have fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse protesters setting up barricades in Khartoum.

 Four people have been killed on the first day of a strike, according to doctors aligned to the opposition.

 A number of Sudan's bank, airport and electricity workers were arrested ahead of the strike against the military rule, the main protest group said.

 The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) said employees were also being threatened by the authorities to scare them into going to work instead of taking part in the nationwide strike.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: CNN - Sudan opposition group calls for 'civil disobedience' following protest crackdown

9/6/19: CNN – Sudan opposition group calls for ‘civil disobedience’ following protest crackdown, by Kareem Khadder and Tara John

 CNN reports that Sudan's pro-democracy movement has called for "civil disobedience" throughout the country beginning Sunday, days after a bloody military crackdown killed more than 100 people in the capital Khartoum.

 The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), a body that led protests against former leader Omar al-Bashir, said the civil disobedience campaign will only end when the ruling generals "transfer power to a civil transitional authority in accordance with the Declaration of Freedom and Change (DFC)."

It added, in a statement released Saturday, that the campaign meant not going to work and "general civil disobedience for a civil state."