sudan - The African Mirror

Jul

2020

Egypt and Sudan criticise Ethiopia at start of new Nile dam talks

EGYPT and Sudan criticised Ethiopia for what they called unilateral filling of its Blue Nile dam at a new round of talks that kicked off on Monday to regulate the flow of water from the huge project. Sudan and Egypt both fear the $4 billion hydroelectric dam could lead to water shortages in their own countries. The Blue Nile is a tributary of the Nile, from which Egypt's 100 million people get 90% of their freshwater. Almost a decade of tortuous negotiations have failed to yield an agreement to regulate how Ethiopia will fill the reservoir and operate the dam…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Some 120 said to be killed or wounded in attack in Sudan’s Darfur region -U.N.

NEWS

KHALID ABDELAZIZ MORE than 60 people were reported killed and nearly 60 others wounded during an armed attack in a village in Sudan's restive Darfur region, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The attack in Masteri village in the West Darfur state "was one of the latest of a series of security incidents reported over the last week that left several villages and houses burned, markets and shops looted, and infrastructure damaged," the U.N. body added in a statement. It did not cite the source of its information. There was no official word from…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Gunmen kill at least 22 villagers in South Darfur

NEWS

AT least 20 people died and 22 others were injured after gunmen from an unidentified militia attacked a village in the Sudanese state of South Darfur, witnesses and a local community leader said on Saturday. Attackers on horseback and camels opened fire on villagers in the Um Doss area, which is located around 90 kilometres (56 miles) from the state capital Nyala, said a local leader who gave his name as Nimr. "Militias attacked us and took over our land years ago... and now they want to kick us out of our homes and farms once again. Where is the…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Sudan finds mass grave believed to have bodies of officers executed by Bashir

NEWS

KHALID ABDELAZIZ SUDAN has found a mass grave that most likely contains remains of 28 army officers executed in 1990 for plotting an attempted coup against the former President Omar al-Bashir, according to the public prosecutor office. The officers were executed in mysterious circumstances after a quick military trial one year after Bashir himself took the power in a military coup in 1989. Their burial site was not disclosed for decades. "The public prosecution managed to find a mass grave that data indicates that it is most likely the graveyard where the bodies of the officers who were killed and…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to hold more talks on Renaissance dam

NEWS

ETHIOPIA, Egypt and Sudan have agreed to resume talks to break a deadlock on the Grand Renaissance Dam reservoir on the Blue Nile, the leaders of the three countries have said. The announcements made separately by Ethiopian leader Abiy Ahmed, Sudan's Abdalla Hamdok and Egypt's presidency, followed a virtual mini-African Union summit that was called after they failed to reach an agreement earlier this month. "The extraordinary meeting... concluded with all parties reaching a major common understanding which paves the way for a breakthrough agreement," Abiy's office said in a statement which was posted on Twitter. South Africa's President Cyril…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Sudan adjourns trial against Bashir and allies

NEWS

KHALED ABDELAZIZ OUSTED Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and some of his former allies went on trial on Tuesday on charges of leading a military coup that brought the autocrat to power in 1989. A Sudanese court had already handed Bashir a two-year sentence in December on corruption charges. He also faces trials and investigations over the killing of protesters. State TV broadcast the judge opening the hearing at a court in Khartoum without showing footage of Bashir, who has been jailed since he was toppled in April last year following mass protests against his 30-year rule. In December, his lawyer…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Sudan’s army launches legal action against ‘insulting’ activists

NEWS

SUDAN's army has started legal action against activists and journalists who have "insulted" the military, it said in a statement. The army ruled Sudan for a few months after removing veteran leader Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, before signing a fragile three-year power-sharing deal with civilians under pressure from protesters. In a statement, the army said that legal action would be taken against activists, journalists and others both inside and outside Sudan. No further information was given, but the army said it would release more details in due course. "The armed forces took this step after systematic insults and accusations…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

After losing jobs, many Sudanese struggle to make ends meet in Egypt

COVID-19

ULF LAESSING AFTER losing his job as house cleaner in Cairo, Sudanese refugee Abdel-Nasser Khamis has been struggling to pay his bills. It's a fate shared by tens of thousands of migrants in Egypt, where the fallout from the coronavirus has hit the economy hard, U.N. officials and aid workers say. Coronavirus lockdowns also cost many Egyptians their jobs. More than a quarter of those who had a job have not been working since the government brought in measures to fight the pandemic, while more than half have been put on shorter hours, the statistics office says. In turn Egyptians…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Great first step’ as Sudan lifts death penalty and flogging for gay sex

NEWS

BAN BARKAWI and RACHEL SAVAGE SUDAN's decision to lift the death penalty and flogging as punishment for gay sex was hailed by LGBT+ activists on Thursday as a promising sign after almost four decades of Islamist rule, with calls for prison sentences to be abolished as well. Others criticised the relaxation of the law in conservative Sudan, where a transitional government has promised to lead the country to democracy after the toppling last year of autocrat Omar al-Bashir, who had been in power since 1989. "These amendments are still not enough but they're a great first step for the transitional…