Africa

May 22, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government announced the implementation of the second phase of the direct cash transfer programme in 10 states as of next June.

The Sudan Family Support Program aims to provide direct financial support to 80% of Sudanese people to soften the impact of hard economic reforms after the cancellation of commodity subsidies and the rise of bread, fuel and power prices.

"Preparations have been completed for the launch of the programme in 10 states in the first week of next June," reads a statement released by the Ministry of Finance on Saturday.

The ministry added that the 10 states are: the Blue Nile, White Nile, North, East, West and Central Darfur, Sennar and North, South and West Kordofan.

Each family of six members will receive 30 dollars a month, approximately 13000 Sudanese Pounds.

This family support programme enjoys the support of over US$900 million from the international community. The Friends of Sudan pledged to give US$500 million, said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Managing Director Operations during the Paris Conference on 17 May.

The Sudanese government said it transferred money to 182,248 families, in the states of Khartoum, Kassala and the Red Sea.

The remittance process would reach 414,000 families that completed their data.

Household registration is done through the national number document.

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Ladi Ladebo, who has died aged 78, was a passionate campaigner against looted artefacts.

May 21, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Al-Hadi Idris, a member of the Transitional Sovereign Council will begin Saturday a visit to Riyadh to discuss relief and rehabilitation projects with Saudi officials.

Idris told Sudan Tribune that he will discuss humanitarian assistance and development projects in the war-affected area in Darfur and the Two Area.

"Also, the discussions with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre will cover rehabilitation projects," he added.

The senior officials will be accompanied by Hafez Ibrahim Abdel Nabi, Minister of Livestock
Abdallah Yahya, Minister of Urban Development, Roads and Bridges.

On 21 April, Saudi Ambassador to Khartoum Ali bin Hassan Jaafar met Idris to hand him an official invitation to discuss the visit.

Jaafar told reporters that the senior Sudanese officials will also discuss economic and investment issues, determine the humanitarian assistance in the conflict-affected areas in Sudan.

The Centre has already implemented $16.5millions projects in Sudan including food, WASH and health.

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May 21, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Egyptian infantry forces arrived in Sudan to participate in bilateral military exercises involving ground, naval and air armies of the two countries, the Sudanese army said on Friday.

The Military Media stated that preparations have been completed for the launch of the Sudanese-Egyptian drills dubbed "Nile Protectors" from 26-31 May.

Besides the ground forces, the drills involve the air forces and the air defence forces from the two armies.

Armoured vehicles and weapons arrived in Port Sudan while the troops were transported by plane.

The drills will take place in Umm Sayala and El Obeid of North Kordofan and Merowe in northern Sudan.

It will be followed by a naval exercise in the Jebeit area on the Red Sea.

Altahir Abu Haja, the Media Adviser of the Sudanese army commander in chief and head of the Sovereign Council said the Nile Protectors drills are the continuation of the previous exercises in Merowe and Alexandria between the two armies.

The Nile Protectors exercises express the firm conviction of the two countries about the need for joint strategic action to address potential threats and the need for tight coordination to defend vital strategic interests of the two countries," further stressed Abu Haja.

Sudan and Egypt previously denied that these exercises are directed against the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which is perceived as a threat to the two countries interests if Addis Ababa continues to refuse to sign a legally binding agreement on its filling and operation.

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The Chairperson of the African Union is expected to file new proposals to the three countries over the outstanding issues in the near future.

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May 21, 2021 (GADAREF) - Ethiopia has deployed troops in the Qatarand settlement inside the Al-Fashaqa border area of Gedaref State, Sudanese military sources said on Friday.

Sudanese army two weeks ago retook control of the Shai Bait settlement in the Al-Fashaqa after expelling Ethiopia Amhara militiamen. During a visit to the Sudanese forces deployed in the area, a week ago, a member of the Sovereignty Council, Lt Gen Shams Eldin Kabashi stated that over 95% of Al-Fashaqa is now under Sudanese control.

Sudanese military sources in Gadaref told the Sudan Tribune that, the Ethiopian army had been amassing a large contingent of troops and militiamen along the Al Fashaqa area, coming from Bahir Dar the capital of the Amhara Region and Gondar, another city in the same region.

"The Ethiopian army forces, supported by the Amhara militia, have been deployed in the Qatrand settlement, equipped with cannons and tanks," the source who is not authorized to speak with the media added.

The Ethiopian government denies deploying its national army in the border area saying the Sudanese army is hunting Ethiopian farmers. Also, Addis Ababa says seeking a negotiated solution for the border dispute and they refuse to go in war against the Sudanese army.

In Khartoum, Sudanese officials say its army has been deployed within the internationally demarcated border. Further, they refuse talks about border dispute saying the government of Abiy Ahmed seeks to denounce the agreements of 1902,1903 and 1972 about the border demarcation.

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On the heels of recent positive developments, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Libya pointed to renewed hope for peace in the conflict-affected country, and stability across the wider region, in a briefing to the Security Council on Friday.

May 20, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) Volker Perthes voiced "great concern" about the slow pace of peace implementation in the country.

Perthes who took part in an economic conference in Paris for Sudan's debt relief and investment briefed via videoconference the Security Council on Thursday about the democratic transition process, the implementation of the peace agreement and the ongoing efforts to bring armed holdout groups.

In his remakes to the Council, he expressed " great concern with the limited progress in implementing the Juba Peace Agreement, (JPA), pointing to the security arrangements and the establishment of the Ceasefire and other Security Committees.

"Delays in establishing the Joint Protection Force and the absence of integrated and united armed forces, one army that has a direct bearing on Protection of Civilians and overall stability".

The UNITAMS head underscored the urgent need for money to fund the security arrangements and to establish the joint protection force and the enforcement of the security arrangements.

He said the armed groups identified their combatants for the joint protection force but it has not been deployed

"Some delays in deploying the joint protection force are reportedly due to a lack of resources; and material international support for these joint forces, including support for housing and equipment, would certainly be welcomed," he said.

"I fear that without the speedy establishment of these Joint Forces, and the implementation of Sudan's National Plan for the Protection of Civilians, we could see similar incidents like Geneina be repeated," he further stressed.

Over 144 people were killed and an estimated 65,000 displaced following the resumption of tribal clashes in the West Darfur State capital El-Geneina earlier.

For his part, Richard Mills, U.S. Deputy Representative to the United Nations said the Biden administration remains concerned about the "transitional government's efforts and its ability" to protect its people.

"We cannot let continued violence destroy the Juba Peace Agreement's prospects for effective peace in Darfur. Fulfilment of the agreement is needed for a successful transition to democracy and stability in Sudan," he said.

"We strongly encourage the civilian-led transitional government to commit – with conviction – to ensuring that all Sudanese feel safe and secure in their communities and their livelihoods," he further said.

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Moving from Sudan’s current fragile transition period towards stable civilian rule, requires a continued “spirt of unity, partnership and collaboration”, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday.  

On a recent visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Dr. Natalie Kanem, the head of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, bore witness to the horrific legacy of sexual violence in the country, which is undergoing one of the world’s longest-running humanitarian crises.

Women and young people must be part of Africa’s plans to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which is feeding factors driving conflict on the continent, UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Wednesday. 

Despite a deteriorating security situation and the reverberating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, regional troops deployed to combat terrorists in Africa’s Sahel region have scaled up the tempo of their operations in recent months, efforts that must be matched by a spirit of solidarity among their global partners, the senior UN peacekeeping official told the Security Council on Tuesday. 

Accountability is an important step on the road to peace in Libya, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) told the Security Council on Monday.  

Failure to address domestic violence in South Africa is a violation of women’s rights, independent UN experts said in a report published on Monday, citing low levels of prosecution and conviction as factors. 

Continued international support for Sudan is critical as the country undergoes a historic political and economic transformation, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told a major investment conference in Paris on Monday. 

The Ashanti regional security coordinator who was recently attacked in his office by members of the vigilante group Delta Force has said the group targetted him because he prevented them from undertaking illegal mining.

A notorious Appolonia land guard who had been on the police radar for some time now in connection with unleashing terror and mayhem on developers and landowners in the Appolonia Township and its environs has been arrested.

King Mohammed VI Foundation of African Oulama, Ghana branch over the weekend donated sanitary and some provisions to the Nima Polyclinic in Accra. The donation forms part of the foundation rsquo;s public health programs which is aimed at complementing government efforts at providing the deprived health centers with the needed supplies in order to beef up the health delivery system in the country.

Naa Koryoo Foundation has pledged to provide Muslims in Kasoa with at least one ultramodern Islamic Education Institute to increase literacy and reduce the intimidation of Muslim students in some schools.

A member of the National Communication Team of the opposition National Democratic Congress has expressed his disappointment in the President of the Ghana Journalists Association, GJA for his comment on the arrest of two journalists of Citi Fm and Citi Tv.

Child marriage continues to affect many young girls across Tanzania, in East Africa, but now a series of interventions supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) are allowing children to get the support they need to avoid unwanted and potentially damaging relationships.