by Dame Rosalind Marsden Sudan is in the international spotlight on 17 May at a high-level conference in Paris hosted by President Macron in support of its fledgling democratic transition. This important moment is intended to signal Sudan's reintegration into the international community, following its removal from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) in 2020. It is also an opportunity for Sudan to rebrand itself and tell the world that it is open for business. Yet the (...) - Comment & Analysis / Democratic Transition in Sudan

May 15, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Attorney General Saturday announced the arrest of seven Sudanese military personnel accused of being involved in the murder of peaceful demonstrators last week. The Chairman of the Sovereign Council Abd al-Fattah al-Burhan, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces, handed over the report of the Military Investigation Committee to the Attorney General Taj Elsir El-Hiber at a meeting at the army headquarters. The handover was attended by (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

May 13, 2021 (TORIT) - The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Alain Noudéhou, has condemned the killing of an aid worker in Budi, Eastern Equatoria State, calling on authorities and communities to ensure humanitarian personnel move safely along roads and deliver assistance to the most vulnerable people. On 12 May, an aid worker was killed when criminals fired at a clearly marked humanitarian vehicle. The vehicle was reportedly part of a team of international (...) - News / South Sudan, Banditry / Robbery, Humanitarian

May 12, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's attorney general on Wednesday urged the army to quickly hand over those who killed two protesters and wounded 37 others, the official news agency SUNA said on Tuesday. The victims participated in a peaceful rally on Tuesday to commemorate the bloody attack on a sit-in outside the army headquarters where over two hundreds civilians had been killed in June 2019. Al-Hebir Taj Elsir confirmed that the Public Prosecution Office had opened two lawsuits against (...) - News / Democratic Transition in Sudan, FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

May 12, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced today that the process to clear Sudan's arrears has been officially completed. "The clearance of Sudan's arrears was made possible with the support of the United Kingdom government through bridge financing of GBP148 million to clear Sudan's arrears to the African Development Fund. Sweden provided grant financing of about $4.2 million to meet Sudan's burden-share for the operation. The Republic of Ireland has also (...) - News / United Kingdom (UK) / Great Britain (GB), Sweden, Ireland, France, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

May 12, 2021 (JUBA) - Turkish companies have earmarked a $105-million investment in an agro-industrial project in South Sudan. Turkey's Ambassador to South Sudan, Erdem Mutaf said the investment in the agro-industrial complex will cover different production lines and create job opportunities for South Sudanese. He further assured that the Turkish government will ensure more Turkish companies come and start businesses in South Sudan. South Sudan's Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Onyoti (...) - News / South Sudan, Turkey, Business & Industry

May 11-12, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Two people were killed and 37 others were wounded by bullets during the commemoration of over 200 civilians killed during a bloody attack on a peaceful sit-in outside the army headquarters two years ago. Despite the army attempts to prevent holding the rally in front of the headquarters, thousands of Sudanese gathered at the site on Tuesday evening, calling for justice for the martyrs of the 2019 revolution that toppled the regime of Omer al-Bashir. A (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

May 11, 2021 (JUBA) - The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Alain Noudéhou has condemned Monday's attack on humanitarian workers in Renk, Upper Nile. The attacks followed similar incidents barely two weeks ago in Torit, Eastern Equatoria and Jamjang in Ruweng Administrative Area. The humanitarian coordinator, in a statement issued Monday, said a continuation of such violent incidents will make it impossible for humanitarians to carry out their work for vulnerable (...) - News / South Sudan, Humanitarian, UN - United Nations

May 11, 2021 (NEW YORK) - The United Nations Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) for six months and requested a viable exit strategy. In a resolution endorsed on Tuesday, the Security Council extended until 15 November 2021 the mandate of UNISFA as set out in paragraph 2 of resolution 1990 (2011). Besides the protection of civilians, the resolution extended the UNISFA' mandate to provide support to the Joint Border Verification and (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, Abyei

May 10, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has issued a reconstituting the country's Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA). The decree, announced on the state-owned television, comes days after the South Sudanese leader dissolved both the TNLA and the Council of States. Kiir appointed representatives of parties to the September 2018 peace agreement and the former transitional government, which includes representatives from the National Agenda and the Democratic (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, Politics

May 10, 2021 (WASHINGTON) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced today that it has approved a financing package for Sudan which would enable it to clear IMF arrears. “Today, the IMF Executive Board approved a financing plan that will help mobilize the resources needed for the IMF to cover its share of debt relief to Sudan. This financing plan relies on a broad effort of IMF member countries, including cash grants and contributions derived from IMF internal resources" said the IMF (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, International Monetary Fund (IMF)

May 10, 2021 (EL FASHER) - The Commission for Refugees (COR) in North Darfur State transferred to refugee camps Ethiopian soldiers have defected seeking political asylum after working in the UN-AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur, UNAMID. The defectors who are from the Tigray region say fear for their life after the eruption of the war between the federal government and the TPLF in northern Ethiopia. "The first batch of asylum seekers left El Fasher airport via a UN plane to Kassala airport (...) - News / Ethiopia, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

May 10, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan has officially informed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of its adherence to placing border markers with Ethiopia before entering into investment projects in the disputed Fashaqa area. The head of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, returned to Khartoum after talks with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed on Sunday. The meeting took place after a written response Khartoum sent to Abu Dhabi last April and a phone call by the Emirati crown (...) - News

May 10, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union condemned the presence of a Darfur holdout rebel group in the displacement camps in westerns Sudan. On Monday 10 May, the PSC made public a communiqué adopted on 13 April after discussions of the findings of a report by a field mission that visited Sudan from 30 March to 1 April 2021. The Council "Expresses deep concern over the non-signing of the Peace Agreement by the Abdul Wahid Nur movement and condemns (...) - News / Darfur Rebel Groups, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

May 9, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed discussed the Emirati initiatives on the border dispute between Sudan and Ethiopia and the stalled Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Al-Burhan arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday accompanied by the Sudanese Cabinet Minister Khaled Omer Youssef. He and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince held a meeting to discuss the two issues after his arrival to the United Arab (...) - News / Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

May 9, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has dissolved the country's parliament as part of the September 2018 peace agreement. Kiir's decision was announced on the state-owned television on Saturday. The new Parliament will, in accordance with the 2018 peace deal, have up to 550 lawmakers, majority of them from the governing party (SPLM). On the other hand, 100 members will form the Council of States, up from 50. The lawmakers will, however, not be elected, but nominated by (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, Politics

May 9, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The reason for Sudanese failure to make or receive international banking transfers up to now that the east African country has not yet joined the SWIFT messaging network. Sudan has been removed from the U.S. list of countries sponsoring terrorism in December 2020, but up to now the Sudanese banks cannot receive or send financial transfers. The failure has affected the government ability to fight the black market as only some Gulf countries took specific measures (...) - News / Remittances, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

May 8, 2021 (HARARE) – A total of 17 Zimbabwean Police officers will soon be deployed for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). 10 of the 17 officers heading to the world's youngest nation are female. According to The Herald, the Commissioner of the Zimbabwean Police, Godwin Matanga urged the officers leaving for the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan to prioritise their duty of fostering and sustaining peace. “Just like what I have always done, let me also say to the (...) - News / South Sudan, Zimbabwe, UNMISS - United Nations Mission in South Sudan

May 8, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The National Umma Party (NUP) Saturday criticized the appointment of a governor for the Darfur region stressing the need to have a law determining his powers before. In a decision dated 29 April but released on 2 May, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok appointed Minni Minnawi as the Governor of the Darfur region. Hamdok said the decision was in line with the Juba Peace Agreement. In statements to the Alttahrer, a news website close the party of the late Sadiq (...) - News / Democratic Transition in Sudan, FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

May 8, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government is considering a new initiative put forward by the chairperson of the African Union to resolve the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam; Khartoum said on Saturday. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi arrived in Khartoum on Saturday, starting a regional tour that includes Egypt and Ethiopia to discuss fresh proposals to end the deadlock over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Tshisekedi held (...) - News / Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

May 8, 2021(WASHINGTON) – The United States Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Ambassador Donald Booth is scheduled to visit South Sudan from May 9-13, 2021. A statement from the U.S. State Department said Booth will hold meetings with government officials, political stakeholders, and civil society as well as international partners during his visit. “The Special Envoy's travel underscores the United States' commitment to work with IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] and (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, United States (US), South Sudan, Diplomacy - International Relations

May 7, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government and an IMF team reached a staff-level agreement on the completion of the second review under the current Staff-Monitored Program (SMP). On 8 March, the IMF approved the first review of a 12-month SMP, which supports reforms by the Sudanese government to stabilize the economy, enhance social protection, boost the private sector, and strengthening governance. Endorsed by the IMF in September 2020, Sudan's SMP, which will establish a strong (...) - News / International Debt, FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

May 7, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Khartoum on Friday for talks with Sudanese officials over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Feltman before arriving in the Sudanese capital was in Cairo where discussed the GERD with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty. His regional tour from May 4 to May 13 includes Ethiopia and Eritrea as he intends to discuss the situation (...) - News

May 7, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The former hybrid peacekeeping operation in western Sudan handed over its headquarters in the capital of Central Darfur state. The United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) completed its mandate on 31 December 2020. Initially, the closure of the UNAMID team sites was planned to end by 16 June, but it was decided to accelerate the drawdown before the start of the wet season to avoid further complications. On 6 May, the UNAMID handed over its former (...) - News

May 6, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese political forces Thursday announced their support for Sudan's position on the talks on the Renaissance Dam and called on their bases to support the government. The ruling coalition of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) and Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) signatories held a meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Irrigation to brief them about the recent development in the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). After the (...) - News

May 6, 2021 (JUBA) – South Sudan's Presidential Affairs minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin and the Ethiopian ambassador to South Sudan, Nebil Mandi on Thursday discussed developments regarding the Ethiopia-Sudan border dispute, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiation and the upcoming elections in Ethiopia. A statement extended to Sudan Tribune said Marial expounded Ethiopia's longstanding support to his country, stressing how Ethiopians stood with the South Sudanese when they (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, South Sudan, Eritrea

May 6, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Volker Perthes Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan, and Abdel Wahid al-Nur head of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) discussed peace in Sudan in a meeting held on Thursday. Perthes is in the South Sudanese capital Juba as he would brief the UN Security Council about the ongoing efforts to achieve peace in Sudan and the democratic transition on 14 May. He is expected to discuss the peace process with the South Sudanese officials ahead of the (...) - News

May 6, 2021 (JUBA) – Officials from South Sudan and Turkey have agreed to bring together business communities and development agencies from the two countries. The agreement was reached during a meeting between Juba city mayor, Kalisto Lado Faustino and Turkey's ambassador to South Sudan, Erdem Mutaf in South Sudan's capital, Juba on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in Juba, Kalisto said he has developed a very good working relationship aimed a enhancing development and service delivery to (...) - News / South Sudan, Turkey, Economy

May 6, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Abdallah Hamdok, Sudan Prime Minister sought to impress his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, to participate in an international economic conference for Sudan in Paris on 17 May. Kuwait is Sudan's first biggest bilateral creditor. Sudan owes Kuwait over US$ 11 billion. The transitional government, which seeks relief on $50 billion in external debt, hopes for the participation of major creditors in the Paris economic conference on Sudan. (...) - News / Kuwait, FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

May 5, 2021 (JUBA) – Members of the Troika have urged South Sudan government to urgently start graduation and deployment the unified force, in accordance to the deployment plan provided by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on January 21, 2021. The call is contained in a letter, which was addressed to South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and the country's five Vice Presidents. They called for agreement on a credible disarmament, demobilization and reintegration plan that is (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, South Sudan

May 5, 2021 (JUBA) – Members of the Troika have urged South Sudan government to urgently start graduation and deployment the unified force, in accordance to the deployment plan provided by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on January 21, 2021. The call is contained in a letter, which was addressed to South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and the country's five Vice Presidents. They called for agreement on a credible disarmament, demobilization and reintegration plan that is (...) - News / FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY, South Sudan

May 5, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan is seeking a legally binding agreement over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) because the downstream country does not want to be at the mercy of Ethiopia, said Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Speaking to CNN in a videoconference interview on Wednesday, Hamdok said that the GERD, which is built near the Sudanese border, would bring a lot of benefits to the three riparian countries. He said that there is a need for (...) - News / Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), FRONT_PAGE_DISPLAY

May 5, 2021 (KIGALI) – Military officials from South Sudan and Rwanda have agreed to strengthen military and bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The agreement was reached during a meeting between Rwanda's Defence Minister, Maj. General Albert Murasira and South Sudan's Defence and Veteran Affairs minister, Angelina Teny in Kigali, Rwanda on Tuesday. Teny said the closed-door meeting between the two parties mainly focused on the implementation of the revitalized peace deal in (...) - News / Rwanda, South Sudan, Military

May 5, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - U.S. Senators called to unify all the militias and armed groups in Sudan under the control of the civilian government. Senators Christopher Coons and Chris Van Hollen concluded a visit to Khartoum on Wednesday where they held a press conference before leaving the country. The two lawmakers voiced their support for the democratic transition in Sudan and vowed to support the ongoing efforts to bring Sudan Ethiopia and Egypt to stick a deal over the GERD filling and (...) - News / United States (US), FRONT_PAGE_SECONDARY

Ahmed Elzobier A series of blunders have contributed to the tragic situation in Sudan's West Darfur region and continue to expose civilians to violence, notably among them the premature withdrawal in December 2020 of the African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) and the Sudanese security forces' continued failure to protect civilians. Unless a holistic approach is adopted to address the underlying causes of the insecurity and human rights violations in the region, (...) - Comment & Analysis