SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Foreign Policy – The World Food Program’s Freelance Diplomacy

16/11/2021: Foreign Policy – The World Food Program’s Freelance Diplomacy, by Colum Lynch and Robbie Gramer

 

Foreign Policy report that US and UN diplomats are irritated by the mediation efforts of David Beasley, the executive director of the UN’s World Food Program (WFP).

 

Beasley’s “diplomatic freelancing” was blocked by Volker Perthes, the UN’s special representative in Sudan, as his mediation attempts were not sanctioned by the UN

nor coordinated with key diplomatic capitals. A diplomatic source said: “introducing a new mediator and creating doubt as to what the US position is… has been net negatives for US diplomacy”.

 

In addition, Beasley’s negotiation efforts counter the Sudanese protest movement’s demands that civilian rule is restored before any negotiation.

 

Although others suggest that Beasley is “filling a diplomatic vacuum” as “the international response to Sudan’s latest political crisis was muddled and weak, diluted by multiple overlapping efforts from various parties, including the US, UN and African Union, to find a way to negotiate themselves out of the crisis”.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: International Institute for Strategic Studies – The Gulf states and the Sudan coup – all is not what it seems

16/11/2021: International Institute for Strategic Studies – The Gulf states and the Sudan coup – all is not what it seems, by Camille Lons

 

IISS-Middle East Research Associate Camille Lons argues that the Sudanese military coup is not in the interests of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the UAE and Egypt.

 

Given Sudan’s divided security apparatus, Lons suggests that the Gulf states are aware that the coup opens the door to “unpredictability and instability that could precipitate a civil war,” culminating in spill-over effects including: economic repercussions, refugee flows, terrorism threats and arms smuggling. If Sudan is “absorbed by internal issues,” Egypt also loses a partner in its Ethiopian dam dispute.

 

The Gulf states are also “highly sensitive to the reputational risks of being associated with the coup,” as they are keen to appear as “constructive and reliable partners” US regional partners.

 

Lons then challenges speculation that Sudanese military leaders received financial reassurance pre-coup, noting that Gulf states “face their own financial constraints and uncertain economic futures,” leaving them “restrained in their delivery of financial aid.”

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: African Arguments – “This Is Not a Coup”: The Fractures in al-Burhan’s Regime

16/11/2021: African Arguments – “This Is Not a Coup”: The Fractures in al-Burhan’s Regime, by an anonymous author

 

African Arguments anonymous author argues that army commander-in-chief Abdulfattah al-Burhan’s coup is a “malfunctioning political project,” citing his inability to name government representatives, that the coup was initially rejected by rebel leaders, and that ones who supported it – Minni Minnawi and Jibril Ibrahim – face the risk of mutiny amid internal opposition to the coup.

 

Furthermore, al-Burhan’s political coalition consists of Islamists and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia commander Himedti, two sides who “openly insult one another”.

In addition, al-Burhan’s “suffocation” of protests through arrests rather than massacre, unveils two weaknesses within his regime.

 

Firstly, his fears that mass violence will lead to abandonment from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who “partially care about their image vis-à-vis Western nations”. Secondly, al-Burhan fears that mass violence will turn his own soldiers against him, as in 2019 when generals around ex-president Omar al-Bashir declined orders to carry out a massacre against civilians.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Sudan army officers intimidate complainant in Blue Nile state

16/11/19: Radio Dabanga - Sudan army officers intimidate complainant in Blue Nile state

Radio Dabanga reports that, according to Sudanese human rights watchdog Human Rights and Development Organisation (HUDO), two members of the Sudanese armed forces held a young man on his way to a court session in al-Damazin.

 The man, Muntasir Ali, was to testify against an army soldier. HUDO also said that in the previous month, army officers

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - Sudanese court sets verdict in al-Bashir trial for December

16/11/19: AP - Sudanese court sets verdict in al-Bashir trial for December

 AP reports that a Sudanese court said it will deliver its verdict in the trial of former President Omar al-Bashir on corruption and money laundering charges on December 14, following testimonies from defence witnesses.

 Al-Bashir is accused of money laundering following the seizure of millions of U.S. dollars, euros and Sudanese pounds from his home.