SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Sudan military-civilian tensions reach low point in wake of coup attempt

26/9/2021: Reuters - Sudan military-civilian tensions reach low point in wake of coup attempt, by Nafisa Eltahir and Mahmoud Mourad

Reuters report that tensions between Sudan's military and civilian politicians reached a low point after members of the Empowerment Removal Committee – “whose purpose is to dismantle the political and financial apparatus of [former dictator Omar al-Bashir’s] regime” – said the military withdrew its protection from its headquarters and 22 of its assets.  

Reuters note that the committee “has been criticised by the military generals participating in the transition, who served under al-Bashir”.

Mohamed Al-Faki Sulieman, committee leader and member of the joint military-civilian Sovereign Council, Sudan's highest authority, said his official protection had also been withdrawn, and that “if there is any threat to the democratic transition we will fill the streets”.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga – Sudan 'relationship between religion and state defined'

26/9/2020: Radio Dabanga – Sudan 'relationship between religion and state defined'

 Radio Dabanga reports that Mohammed al-Taayshi, a member of the ruling Sovereign Council, said that the Juba peace agreement separates “the institutions of religion from the institutions of the state [ensuring] that rights and duties among citizens are based on citizenship,” which will be guaranteed in the new constitution of Sudan.

 He also confirmed that all actors taking part in the peace process have approved a federal governance system, whereby Sudan will be administered in a number of regions/provinces. A governance and administration conference will be held within six months, after the Juba Peace Agreement is signed on October 3.

 Al-Taayshi said that the security arrangements have been complicated by the large number of combatants in various rebel movements, although it was agreed to integrate all fighters in "the regular forces" before building a military institution with a single military doctrine and mechanisms supervising this work.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune – Sudan’s FFC reject findings of national rights body on 3 June attack

26/9/19: Sudan Tribune – Sudan’s FFC reject findings of national rights body on 3 June attack

 Sudan Tribune reports that the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC)  brushed aside the report of Sudan’s national human rights body on the June 3 massacre, and stressed their adherence to the investigation committee recently set up by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.

 Sudan’s Human Rights Commission said that 85 people were killed and more than 400 others injured in the massacre. Its current officials were appointed by ousted president Omar Al Bashir and they are not seen as an independent authority.

 Tariq Kandik, spokesman for the Democratic Bar Association, told Sudan Tribune that the FFC are not concerned by the findings of the report because the Constitutional Document stated that an independent national committee to investigate the June 3 massacre will be formed.  

 Nonetheless, Human Rights Watch has voice concerns about the independence and impartiality of the committee, given that it will include a Ministry of Defence representative.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune – SRF to hold public debates on peace in Khartoum before negotiations

26/9/19: Sudan Tribune – SRF to hold public debates on peace in Khartoum before negotiations

 Ahead of the peace talks scheduled for next month, Sudan Tribune reports that the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) will send a high-level delegation to Khartoum “to boost confidence and to maximize opportunities for meaningful public participation and interaction with the masses in the peace-making [process] that addresses their actual interests.”

 The SRF stressed that their strategic objective is to move from war to peace and to contribute actively in the building of the new regime, before transforming the Revolutionary Front into a political group able to take part in the electoral process and elected by the people.

 The SRF also expressed readiness to work jointly with the transitional government to implement all the confidence-building measures contained in the Constitutional Document, and in the ceasefire agreement signed in South Sudan.