The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Sudan

  • Sudan detains opposition leader

    Sudan’s security forces have detained one of the country’s leading opposition figures along with two other members of the country’s main opposition coalition.

    A spokesman for the coalition said that Sadiq Youssef, 85, leader of the National Consensus Forces, which opposes Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, was arrested at his home on Wednesday.

    Two other members of the opposition coalition were also detained.

    “This afternoon, elements from the security services arrested three leaders from the opposition coalition, among them Sadiq Youssef,” the spokesman said.

    “We are very worried about his health because he suffers from several diseases.”

    The spokesman said that Youssef’s whereabouts were unknown and no immediate reason was given for his arrest.

    Bashir, 72, who took power in a 1989 coup, is accused of masterminding genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during Sudan’s Darfur conflict.

    He is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 2009, but he denied any wrongdoing.

  • ICC urges India to arrest al-Bashir

    ICC urges India to arrest al-Bashir

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) has urged India to arrest and hand over Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, who is wanted on genocide charges and expected to participate in the ongoing Africa-India Summit.

    Bashir is accused of masterminding war crimes in his campaign to crush a revolt in Sudan’s western Darfur region, a move that led the ICC to issue warrants for his arrest in 2009 and 2010.

    Along with at least 40 other African leaders, the 71-year-old president is expected to arrive in New Delhi on Wednesday to attend the Summit aimed at boosting trade and investment between the two regions.

    ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told newsmen that even though India is not an ICC signatory, it should act as a UN Security Council resolution had lifted Bashir’s immunity under international law and urged all states to fully cooperate with the ICC.

    “As states ponder over such matters, it is fundamentally important not to forget the victims who deserve justice for the unimaginable atrocities they have suffered,” Bensouda’s said late Monday.

    “By arresting and surrendering ICC suspects, India can contribute to the important goal of ending impunity for the world’s worst crimes.” She added.

    Indian officials were not immediately available for comment, but Foreign Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup, when asked the country’s position, told newsmen that “India is fully compliant with its international legal obligations.”

    This is not the first time the ICC has asked a foreign government to arrest and hand over Bashir.

    South Africa, which is a signatory to the ICC and obliged to implement warrants from the court, was criticised in June for allowing Bashir to leave an AU summit, defying a ruling by its own court ordering his detention.

    Sudan has previously accused the ICC of being a political tool to target African leaders.

    As the body had indicted Laurent Gbagbo, former president of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, and Muammar Gaddafi, the late leader of Libya on war crime.

    But Amnesty International India said the two warrants against Bashir charged him with criminal responsibility on 10 counts, including murder, torture and rape, and appealed to India to detain the Sudanese president.

    “As a country which aspires to a more prominent global position, India must not turn a blind eye to these charges,”

    “The Indian government must show true leadership by helping bring Omar al-Bashir to trial.”

    India is the second largest exporter to Sudan after China, selling everything from chemicals, pharmaceuticals and machinery to iron and steel- Several Indian oil, gas and construction firms operate in Sudan.

    According to data from India’s foreign ministry total bilateral trade between India and Sudan surged to 1.4 billion dollars in 2014 from 327 million dollars in 2005/06.

  • Aid workers killed in Darfur

    Aid workers killed in Darfur

    Marta Ruedas, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, said on Thursday in Kigali that two men were killed in an ambush by unidentified gunmen on aid workers’ vehicle in Sudan’s West Darfur State.

    Ruedas said the attack on the vehicle which was carrying representatives of the State’s Ministry of Health and World Health Organization (WHO) took place on Tuesday in Kerinik locality, near the border with Chad.

    Ruedas said the aid workers were returning from a mission to ascertain whether guinea-worm disease is still present in Sudan.

    She said the men, a driver and a security official were killed instantly, while the two Ministry of Health staffers and a WHO doctor in the vehicle were unharmed.

    Ruedas, who strongly condemned the fatal attack, added that the assailants also stole the car.

    “Insecurity continues to hamper the operations of the courageous humanitarian workers in Darfur, where over 2.3 million vulnerable people need some form of humanitarian assistance.

    “Yet humanitarian workers are confronted by danger on a daily basis,” she said

  • AU to consult Sudan’s armed groups

    AU to consult Sudan’s armed groups

    Thabo Mbeki, Head of AU High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP) has said the body would meet to consult with representatives of armed groups on their positions regarding a national dialogue.

    He said on Wednesday that he would also convey Khartoum’s stance on the subject to them.

    Sudan’s First Vice-President, Bakri Saleh, had earlier told a news conference that dialogue abroad was not allowed,” urging the armed groups to take part in the dialogue in Khartoum.

    He pledged that the Sudanese government would provide all required guarantees for the leaders of the armed movements to enable them participate in the process.

    In January 2014, Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, declared an initiative calling on the opposition parties and the armed groups to join a national dialogue to end the country’s crises.

    Al-Bashir’s invitation found a relative acceptance from political forces but the process faced difficulties that slowed it down.

    The armed movements in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions refused to join the dialogue, insisting that a parallel forum should be established under the supervision of the AUHIP

  • Sudanese vote in presidential, legislative polls

    Sudanese vote in presidential, legislative polls

    Voters in Sudan started casting their votes on Monday to elect a president and members for the national and state parliaments amid boycott by most of the opposition parties.

    No fewer than 13.6 million registered voters in the country would cast their ballots at 7,000 polling stations.

    The polling process is to last till Wednesday while counting of votes is set to begin the next day.

    However, the final results of the elections are scheduled to be announced on April 27.

    Forty-five political parties, most of them small ones, are taking part in the race at its three levels, while 16 candidates, including incumbent President Omar al-Bashir, were running for the post of president.

    A total of 1,072 candidates are running for seats at the national parliament and 2,235 others for the state legislative seats.

    Report says regional organisations such as the African Union, the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development in Africa (IGAD) and the Arab League are monitoring the elections.

    On Friday, EU Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini, said in a statement that EU announced that it would not take part in monitoring Sudan’s general elections.

    “The failure to initiate a genuine national dialogue one year after it was announced by the government of Sudan is a setback; a real setback for the welfare of the people of Sudan.

    “When dialogue is bypassed, some groups are excluded and civil and political rights are infringed.

    “The upcoming elections cannot produce a credible result with legitimacy throughout the country,’’ the statement added.

  • Amokachi plans to stun Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire

    Amokachi plans to stun Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire

    Super Eagles’ assistant coach, Daniel Amokachi has told SL10.ng that he would be expecting good outings when the Super Eagles tackle Sudan and Cote d’ Ivoire in two international friendlies later this month.

    ‘The Bull’, as the former Everton of England striker is popular known, says in as much as the games are mere friendlies, he expects his wards to put out good performances when they face the Sudanese and the Ivoiriens.

    “As with every game, we are expecting to get good results against Sudan and Ivory Coast. You don’t go into games hoping to lose, you always want to win and it is no different with us. They are not games that we must win, but it will be good for our confidence if we can win these games. It will be good for the players, and for the country,” Amokachi told SL10.ng.

    The 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner also spoke about the players, and says they have all shown good discipline and are all good enough to make the final squad of 19 to travel for the games.

    “The players have shown great discipline and understanding to what we expect, which I must say is a good thing. They are all very players and are all good enough to make the final squad, but unfortunately only 19 will be taken and we must pick only the best amongst them.”

  • NIGERIA 3-1 SUDAN: Police stop fans from lynching Eagles’ coaches

    NIGERIA 3-1 SUDAN: Police stop fans from lynching Eagles’ coaches

    • Big Boss, others run into dressing room
    • Placards asking for Keshi’s, others’ sack fill the stands

    Nigeria’s senior team coach Stephen Keshi and his colleagues ran for dear lives as fans charged towards them with bottles and cudgels in spite of the fact that the Super Eagles beat Sudan 3-1 at the Abuja National Stadium on Wednesday night.

    Rather than show appreciation towards the coaches for diging deep into their technical bags to bring out the tatics that wrecked the Sudanese, the fans who certainly had lost confidence in Keshi continued to boo him with many of them carrying placards, charging and calling for his immediate sack regardless of the result of the match.

    The fans invaded the pitch chanting and shouting to the roof top that Keshi and his assistants must go. Indeed, bottles and missiles were hauled onto the pitch with some asking what would have become of the players and coaches had Nigeria not beaten the Sudanese 3-1.

    Kudos must go the the security operatives at the stadium who worked tirelessly to ward of the irate fans who wanted to vent their spleen on the coaches, despite securing the first win for nigeria in one of the Morocco 2015 Africa Cup of Nations’ matches in Abuja.

  • AFCON: Sudan beat Nigeria 1-0

    AFCON: Sudan beat Nigeria 1-0

    Nigeria Super  Eagles lost 1-0 to the Sudanese national team in the qualifying round for the African Cup of Nations march played in Khartoum on Saturday.

  • Eagles must fight to finish in Sudan, urges Aiyenugba

    Eagles must fight to finish in Sudan, urges Aiyenugba

    Dele Aiyenugba has said the Super Eagles have all it takes to beat Sudan when they clash on Saturday, but they must be ready to fight.

    However, the former Enyimba goalkeeper said the players must be at their best and approach the game with all seriousness.

    “I see Eagles winning both games against Sudan. We have the quality to beat them,” he said.

    “But the players who will be called to duty  must be ready to fight to finish because any team playing the Super Eagles will bring 150% to the pitch, so we need to approach the game with everything.”

    The Bnei Yehuda shot stopper has 17 caps for Nigeria since his debut in 2005.

  • No excuse against Sudan — Oboabona

    No excuse against Sudan — Oboabona

    Super Eagles defender, Godfrey Oboabona has thrown to the dustbin the excuse of weather and altitude as impediment to Nigeria beating Sudan today in 2015 Africa Nations Cup qualifier.

    “There is no hiding place for us now because anything beside a total victory and winning the three points at stake won’t do us any good. So the issue of weather or altitude is out of the question this time.

    “We need to beat Sudan in Khartoum or wherever the match will be played. I can assure all Eagles’ fans that we will win the match and come Back home to finish the job in the return leg so that we can bounce back in our quest to win the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations’ ticket”, Oboabona assured.

    The Çaykur Rizespor of Turkey defender also reflected the mood in camp for today’s match. “Everybody in camp is singing beat Sudan at all cost. So there is no excuse for failure and by the special grace of God we will deliver”, he prayed.