Sudan Tribune

January 21, 2021 (KAMPALA) – The weeks leading up to Uganda's recently concluded elections were characterized by widespread violence and human rights abuses, a US-based rights body said.

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni (Photo: Carl Court/AP)

Human Rights Watch, in a statement issued Thursday, said abuses included killings by the country's security forces, arrests and beatings of opposition supporters and journalists, disruption of opposition rallies and nationwide shutdown of the internet.

The authorities should ensure thorough investigation and prosecution of those responsible for abuses, the rights body noted.

Last week, president Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of the presidential election held on January 14 with 58.64 per cent of total votes, defeating 10 other candidates who had contested.

According to Human Rights Watch, since election campaigns began in November last year, security forces clamped down on opposition members and journalists, violently arresting scores of people, including two of the opposition presidential candidates.
It cites the November 18 and 19, 2020 incident in which security forces clamped down on protesters demanding the release of then-detained Robert Kyagulanyi, resulting in at least 54 deaths.

“A democratic playing field for free and fair elections was worryingly absent during these elections,” said Oryem Nyeko, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“Instead of restricting free expression, movement, and assembly, the Ugandan government should take concrete steps to improve respect for human rights for all and remove all remaining restrictions,” he added.

Uganda's security forces are also accused of blocking people, including the US ambassador to Uganda, Natalie E. Brown, from attempting to visit Kyagulanyi.

Also cited were restrictions imposed on media covering opposition party members, where journalists were sometimes beaten or shot.

Authorities applied similar restrictions on activists and civil society groups, including blocking National Elections Watch Uganda, a coalition of local organizations, from monitoring the elections.

Meanwhile, the US-based human rights body urged Ugandan authorities to immediately end all forms of harassment and intimidation of journalists, opposition supporters and leaders, while advocating for protection of their rights, including freedom of movement and respect for the rule of law.

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January 4, 2021 (GADAREF) - The Ethiopian Federal Army deployed more troops on the border area to prevent people fleeing the war in the Tigray region to cross into Sudan.

The federal troops have retaken control of most of the territory of the Tigray region. However, the TPLF fighters continue to resist in several areas triggering new waves of refugees.

Sudanese authorities recently identified over 40 TPLF elements who arrived in Sudan among the civilians.

"The Ethiopian army began closing the borders with Sudan, deploying troops, patrolling the border and building a fence to prevent refugees from reaching Hamdayet camp," an eyewitness told the Sudan Tribune on Monday.

The witness further said that the Ethiopian army and police patrols chased the refugees in May Glitte area leading to Hamdayet Reception Centre on the Sudanese side of the border.

There more than 5,000 people in Dima, close to the Sudanese border who seek to enter the Hamdayet centre, according to eyewitnesses.

Fateh Moghaddam the director of emergency housing for refugees told the Sudan Tribune that the number of Ethiopian refugees has exceeded 63,000.

Moghaddam pointed out that 44,000 refugees from Hamdayet camp in Kassala state are waiting to be transferred to Altanideba camp in the Gadaref state.

He added that the transfer of refugees from the Hashaba Reception Centre in Gadaref began on Monday, with 250 refugees.

The UNHCR and Sudanese authorities initially decided to transfer 1000 refugees per day to the newly opened second camp in Altanideba area, but they reviewed their plans after the outbreak of the coronavirus in the Um Rakuba camp.

Moghadam said that the High Commissioner for Refugees reduced the number of passengers in a single transport bus from 35 to 15 people.

Also, 250 refugees are transported to Altanideba from the Hamdayet camp which is near the triangle border area between Eritrea Sudan and Ethiopia. The HCR and Sudanese authorities say they consider ways to accelerate refugees' evacuation from this sensitive area.

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January 4, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese pound fell on Monday against major currencies as political deadlock continued over the 2021 budget.

U.S. dollar notes (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha Photo)

Traders told Sudan Tribune that the dollar was sold at 267 pounds while the Saudi riyal was traded at 71 pounds and the Emirati dirham at 72 pounds. The Euro was sold at 225 pounds.

The dealers attributed the decline in the pound's exchange rate to an increase in demand for hard currency in addition to the lack of clarity regarding the 2021 budget.

Sharp disagreements have emerged over allocations in the 2021 budget to the security and defense sector compared to the health and education.

The Finance Ministry announced that the Sudanese council of ministers will consider the budget on Tuesday, provided that it is deposited for final approval by January 10th.

Another trader in the black market, who spoke anonymously, told Sudan Tribune: "There is an increase in the demand for hard currency for the purposes of importing goods and fuel."

He pointed out that many companies are waiting for the 2021 budget to be approved to find out what policies it will adopt pertaining to the exchange rate.

The transitional government is banking on obtaining loans that would help support the Sudanese pound's exchange rate.

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January 3, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed on Sunday to hold bilateral meetings to determine points of agreement and disagreement between them over the Renaissance Dam, ahead of another meeting next week.

The three countries held a virtual meeting on Sunday chaired by the South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor to discuss better ways to break the deadlock in the talks on the filing of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)

"The meeting concluded with the adoption of Sudan's proposal that this week be devoted to bilateral meetings between the three countries and the group of experts and observers," said the Sudanese irrigation ministry in a statement released after the meeting.

The statement further said that the South African Foreign Minister requested that "the bilateral meetings be designated for "identifying points of agreement and disagreement between the three countries, provided that the tripartite meetings will be held again on Sunday, January 10, with the hope that the negotiations will be concluded by the end of the current months."

South Africa's chairmanship of the African Union will terminate by the end of January as the 34th AU Summit will be held in Addis Ababa on 6 and 7 February 2021.

In a separate statement, the Egyptian water ministry said its delegation stressed the need to reach an agreement on the GERD filling as soon as possible, before the start of the second phase of filling the dam reservoir.

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January 3, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) called to disband the Rapid Support Forces and its integrate its elements into the national army.

The request comes after the death under torture of a Sudanese held in an illegal detention facility established by the militia in Khartoum on 20 December 2020.

“To prevent any future violations, we demand the abolition of the Rapid Support Act and the integration of these forces into the army within a determined time frame (...) and the demobilization of those who do not fulfil the conditions required by the Armed Forces Act," reads do a letter addressed to the Attorney General and Justice Minister, seen by the Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

The SPA further called on the Attorney General, in coordination with the Police Director-General, to form a committee from the Public Prosecution and the Bar Association to inspect all the RSF centres to ensure that they are free of detained civilians and to hand any detainee over to the police if they are found.

The illegal detention of civilians by the RSF militiamen was widely condemned in the country as it constitutes a clear violation of the criminal procedure law which provides that detention is carried out by the police under the control of the Public Prosecutor Office.

Following the death of the detained civilian, the RSF did not explain why they held him, but only they said that those who are involved in his torture have been delivered to the police.

The Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, on his speech on the occasion of the new year, announced that his government had approved the ratification of the international treaty against torture and it will be endorsed in the upcoming meeting of the joint meeting of the cabinet and the Sovereign Council.

According to the Juba peace agreement, the RSF and the former rebel groups will merge with the Sudanese army.

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January 3, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sovereign Council, Sunday, distanced itself from statements made by a military official supporting a businessman accused of corruption and linked to the ousted regime.

However, the statements stirred up a controversy over the presence of such military in key positions at the Sudanese presidency after the popular revolution that ousted the former regime in April 2019.

Some dozens of people supporting Fadl Mohamed Khair a businessman linked to the former regime gathered outside the Republican Palace to submit a memorandum calling to return him his assets and companies confiscated by a committee to dismantle the former regime.

The protesters 'memo was submitted to the Sovereignty Council's Secretary-General, Major General Amir Youssef who pledged to hand it over to the Chairman of the Sovereign Council before showing sympathy with Fadl and his supporters.

Your support to Fadl "Is evidence of the ethics of the Sudanese who do not forget the kindness of those who worked with them," said Youssef before to add that the memorandum will find all the "needed care and appreciation".

"God willing, victory will be your ally," he concluded.

A few hours later, the video of the general's speech circulated in the social media stirring up interrogations about the military component and its intentions.

Reacting to the controversy the Sovereign Council issued a statement saying the secretary-general was tasked to receive the memo but not address the gathering.

"Therefore, what he said in his speech represents his point of view and does not in any way represent the opinion of the Sovereign Council," further stressed the statement.

It was not clear if the secretary-general will be dismissed for serious misconduct.

For its part, the Empowerment Removal Committee, which confiscated Mohamed Khair's assets and companies, issued a statement welcoming the clarification of the Sovereign Council.

The statement also recalled the right to resort to justice to challenge its decisions which are taken after legal investigations.

Wajedi Saleh a member of the Committee issued a statement stressing the need to review senior cadres in the government structures such as " those who wear the military uniform and hold sovereign positions and do not believe in this great revolution."

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January 3, 2021 (GADAREF) - The Sudanese authorities opened a new camp for Ethiopian refugees on Sunday in Altindeba area of Gedaref state, which coincides with the confirmation of coronavirus cases among the resident of Um Rakuba camp.

The Sudanese authorities began transferring refugees to the Altindeba camp at the rate of 500 refugees per day from the Hashaba reception centre on the border with Ethiopia.

Initially, it had been planned to transfer 1000 refugees per day, but the recording of COVID-19 cases in the Um Rakuba camp pushed the authorities to reconsider their plans to avoid the spread of the respiratory disease in the new camp.

The Altindeba camp can accommodate about 30,000 refugees, while the Umm Rakuba camp has a capacity of 25,000 residents.

According to health workers, the patients who are tested positive in Um Rabuka were transferred to an isolation centre. Residents who were in contact with the patients were tested. Also, safety equipment including masks and sterilizers have distributed to refugees.

The continuing clashes between the federal army and the Tigray rebels led to an increase in the number of refugees fleeing to Sudan.

The number of refugees who crossed into eastern Sudan until Saturday was 61,816 refugees. Nowadays, the Hamdayet Center of Kassala hosts 28,172 refugees, in addition to 14,429 in Hashaba camp.

In statements to the Sudan Tribune, al-Fatih Hamdeen, director of the emergency services for refugee in Gedaref said that Altindeba camp had been prepared to receive refugees with housing, stores for food and other non-food items, in addition to a water station and toilets with the contribution of 13 international organizations.

Hamdeen referred to social distancing measures to protect refugees from the coronavirus saying that only 30 passengers allowed to board the bus from the centre to the camp, especially since the distance between Hashaba and Altindeba camp is about 500 km.

He said that the transfer of refugees will continue for a period of two months. As of 4th of January, there will be two trips per day from Hamdayet and Hashaba reception centres.

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January 2, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The irrigation ministers of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia will resume talks Sunday to discuss ways to establish a mediation team after nine years of endless direct talks over the Renaissance Dam.

On November 21, 2020, Sudan suspended its participation in the talks on the first filing of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as the other parties declined its call for a new approach after nine years of futile negotiation.

The resumption of Sudanese participation comes after an agreement reached by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his Ethiopian counterpart, Abiy Ahmed, on December 13.

"The acting Foreign Minister, Omer Gamar Eldin, and Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas will participate in the ministerial meeting on the GERD which will take place on Sunday," said the official news agency SUNA on Saturday.

"The meeting will discuss Sudan's proposal to re-energize the negotiations by giving a greater role to the African Union through its experts to reach a binding legal agreement on the Renaissance Dam," stressed the statement.

The meeting is expected to examine a draft understanding prepared by the African Union experts to reach a satisfactory agreement for the three parties.

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, will chair the ministerial virtual meeting.

The three parties differ on technical and legal issues, including the need or no for a binding agreement, the future dispute settlement mechanism, the years needed for filling the GERD reservoir and how to manage the dam during periods of reduced rainfall or drought.

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January 2, 2021 - (KHARTOUM) - The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Gibril Ibrahim has to admit its responsibility for the murder of splinter commanders in order to engage in a reconciliation process, said a JEM faction led by Abdel Karim Dabajo.

Mohamed Bashar (ST)

On December 30, 2020, the deputy head of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Daglo ''Hemetti" launched a traditional process to pardon JEM leader Gibril Ibrahim for the murder of Mohamed Bashar and Arko Dahia the leaders of the splinter group in May 2013.

"The first step (to settle the case) is the recognition of the Gabriel Ibrahim's movement that they committed this heinous crime," said Nahar Osman Nahar the political secretary of JEM-Dabajo in statements to the Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

Nahar further said that the retribution or pardon remains the (private) right of the families of the dead and affected, in line with the Sudanese traditions. However, he added that their movement has the "public right" without elaborating on its nature.

Bashar and the movement political leadership were killed after the signing of a peace agreement in Doha in an ambush when they crossed the Chadian border heading to Khartoum.

The attack had been condemned by the UN Security Council and the regional mediation.

Hemetti said his mediation aims to prevent revenge attacks and violence between the two groups.

The lawsuit had been suspended to create a suitable atmosphere for the ongoing efforts to settle the dispute led by the paramount chief of the Rizeigat tribe.

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January 2, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Public Prosecutor office has arrested the former director of the forensic medicine authority, Hisham Zain-Alabidin, and the suspended director of the Omdurman morgue, Jamal Youssef, for the illegal burial of the victims of the attack on the pro-democracy sit-in on 3 June 2019.

On 11 November 2020, the public prosecutor found mass graves near the Al-Markhiyat Mountains northwest of Omdurman containing the remains of civilians who were killed during a bloody attack by security forces and militiamen outside the army headquarters.

Ten days later, the head of the prosecutor committee on enforced disappearances, al-Tayeb Ahmed Al-Abbas, decided to "exhume all mass graves and re-autopsy the bodies."

“The Committee arrested the director of the Omdurman morgue, Jamal Youssef, and the former director of the forensic medicine board, Hisham Zain-Alabidin,” judicial officials told the Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

The arrest of Youssef and Zain-Alabidin came against the background of "investigations related to the burial of bodies related to the attack on the sit-in in violation of the legal procedures."

Over 200 people were killed during the brutal on peaceful protesters however, the health authorities said that the number of the victims reached 85 peoples.

Recently, Youssef was suspended from office and investigated for issuing a medical report clearing Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of criminal wrongdoing in the death of a civilian who died in a detention facility on 20 December 2020.

Activists on social media circulated numerous violations committed by the suspended director of the Omdurman morgue, including the sale of unidentified bodies to be used in the training of students of medical colleges.

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January 1, 2021 (GADAREF) - The number of Ethiopian refugees in eastern Sudan has increased to nearly 61,000 people as a result of the renewal of clashes in the northern region of Tigray.

The UNHCR and Sudan refugees body (COR) in their latest bulletin several days ago said they have registered over 54,411 Ethiopian refugees in Kassala's Hamdayet centre, Ludgi and Abderafi centres of Gedaref, and Wad Al-Mahi centre of the Blue Nile state.

However, more refugees have arrived in Sudan following recent clashes in the Tigray region.

"The military clashes between the federal army and the Tigray People's Liberation Front have resumed since Tuesday," Sudanese officials told the Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

The Sudanese military intelligence arrested 45 TPLF fighters in Hamdayet reception centre and they were transferred to the army's headquarters, the sources further said.

The sources which are not authorized to speak to the press said renewed military clashes led to the influx of refugees, as the number reached about 61,000. Also, thousands of refugees are expected to cross into Sudan in the coming days.

A refugee told Sudan Tribune that they had travelled on foot from their areas through the cities of Birkuta and Moya Khadra before to reach, the Hamdayet Center.

In a related development, Amhara and Tigray refugees in Um Rakoba camp clashed as some refugees urged from the absence of Sudanese police in the camp. While others said that the aid workers have to avoid placing refugees from the two ethnic groups in the same camp.

UNFPA Sudan estimates that amongst the refugees there are over 13,500 of which more than1200 are pregnant, with around 130 live births expected in the coming month.

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January 1, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Egypt slammed statements by an Ethiopian government official for stating that Cairo has been seeking to hamper the construction of a giant dam on the Blue Nile to distract its people from internal problems

Dina Mufti, the former Ethiopian Ambassador to Egypt and Foreign Ministry Spokesman recently said that the Egyptian government uses the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to divert the attention f its people from internal problems

On Wednesday 30 December, the Egyptian foreign ministry said that the Ethiopian chargé d'affaires had been summoned to explain Mufti's statements in which he touched on the Egyptian internal affairs.

Egypt "condemned these statements which are considered a blatant transgression," reads a statement released by the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ahmed Hafez on Thursday.

Hafez stressed that such an offence against his country is a continuation of the Ethiopian government's approach aiming to use a hostile tone and fuelling emotions to cover its "multiple failures domestically and externally".

He went further to speak to the ongoing internal troubles in the Tigray and Benishangul regions as well as the "constant tensions and instability in the Oromia region". Also, he referred to the ongoing border tensions with Sudan.

On 31 December, the head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reacted to statements by the Spokesman of the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry who said that Sudanese army had carried out inside Ethiopia.

The Sudanese armed forces "have not and will not cross international borders or attack neighbouring Ethiopia," said al-Burhan.

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have to resume meetings on the GERD in the upcoming days in a long process that has been continuing for nine years.

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December 23, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took part in the Sudanese army's 56th Shooting Festival on Wednesday, marking the militia's first time participating in the annual event.

The festival took place in the North Kordofan capital of El-Obeid and was attended by the likes of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Lt Gen Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Gen Mohamed Osman Al-Hussein.

The festival followed the end of the 2020 armed forces training session which was conducted electronically.

The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemetti”, are integrated into the Sudanese army in January 2017, but their command remained separate from the arm's general staff. and unified command.

The forces' participation in the shooting festival has been as an additional step towards their full integration by the end of the transitional period in the national army together with former rebel groups.

Since the December Revolution, their activities are more and more coordinated with the Sudan Armed Forces, as their first general commander is deputy chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council.

The militia which emanated from the janjaweed groups has been accused of war crimes and grave human rights violations during the counterinsurgency campaigns.

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December 23, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Minni Minnawi, the leader of a Sudan Liberation Movement group (SLM-MM) revealed on Wednesday that some armed movements have reservations about forming a joint force in Darfur to protect.

The peace agreement, signed between the Sudanese government and the Revolutionary Front organizations on October 3, provides the formation of 12,000 a joint force including the government forces and armed groups of Juba agreement to protect civilians in Darfur region after the UNAMID withdrawal.

"Some movements have reservations about establishing joint forces in the Darfur region," said Minnawi in a joint press conference with the leader of the Sudanese Congress Party Omer al-Digair in Khartoum.

He pointed out that the joint forces will be established to protect civilians and are not a substitute for any group in Darfur or any other region of Sudan, without naming a specific group.

However, he cited the SLM of Abdel Wahid al-Nur, adding they do not intend to replace it or the SPLM-N of Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, two holdout armed groups that for different reasons did not join the Juba peace process.

He also underscored that they were not for the withdrawal of the UNAMID from the Darfur region, but things went too far when they engaged the peace process and it was not possible to reverse the process.

The joint press conference was held after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the SLM-MM and SCoP for a joint action during the transitional period and to prepare for the general elections within three years.

Minnawi recalled their position on the need to hand over the ousted President Omer al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

He said that he was aware that al-Bashir would be better treated than in a Sudanese prison but they want his hand over the "symbolism of the gesture" and because he had kept defying the international justice during the past years.

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December 23, 2020 (GADAREF) - The Sudanese army came under a new attack from Ethiopian army and Amhara militias near the border strip, military sources told the Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the joint political committee between the two countries wrapped up meetings in Khartoum without tangible results on the border issue.

"A Sudanese army force in Jabal Abu Teyyour was heavily shelled by the army and militiamen, which from the other side of the border area," said the source who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

"The Sudanese forces deterred the attack," he further said.

Also, a second clash occurred in the east of the "Wad Koli" area where a Sudanese military patrol clashed with a mobile Ethiopian reconnaissance force.

For his part, the visiting Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonen returned to Addis Ababa without making any progress in the talks on the border issue.

Mekonen demanded that the Sudanese army evacuate cultivated by Ethiopian farmers inside Sudan and compensate them for any damage caused during the clashes with the Ethiopian troops.

The senior official who is from the Amhara region also refused to discuss the border demarcation before to settle the farmers' plight.

The Sudanese government spokesman on Tuesday said that his government wants Ethiopia to accept border demarcation before any further discussions.

The Ethiopian army forces from the Amhara region and Fano militiamen continue to play a significant role in the armed conflict with the TPLF fighter in Tigray as they also have land claims in their region.

A committee of Sudanese affected by the attacks of Ethiopian forces in Fashaga area called on the Sudanese government to suspend any talks with the Ethiopian side before to fully retake every parcel of the national territory.

"We are the ones who know well the policy of procrastination and unfulfilled promises pursued by the Ethiopian over the past years," said Rasheed Abdel Gadir the head of the committee.

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December 22, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Security Council decided on Tuesday to terminate the mandate of Darfur hybrid peacekeeping operation (UNAMID, on 31 December.

The Council “Decides to terminate the mandate of UNAMID as of 31 December 2020,” reads the resolution 2559 (2020) which was unanimously adopted by the 15 members in a videoconference meeting.

The resolution further provided to “Commence the drawdown of UNAMID personnel on 1 January 2021 and to complete the withdrawal of all uniformed and civilian UNAMID personnel by 30 June 2021.

The decision comes in line with the recommendations of the African Union-United Nations Joint Special Report to the Security Council.

The joint report underlined the National Plan on Civilian Protection developed by the Sudanese government and the deployment of troops in Darfur to replace the hybrid mission. The recommendations also pointed to the establishment of joint security forces involving the former rebel groups to protect civilians in Darfur.

The Resolution 2559 urged the Sudanese government to implement the National Plan for Civilian Protection and to protect civilians in Darfur and stressed the need to build local community confidence in the ability of rule-of-law institutions to deliver justice.

Some UN diplomats during the recent discussions about the UNAMID withdrawal underlined the inter-communal attacks and the infighting between the factions of a holdout rebel group in the mountainous area of Jebel Marra for the control of gold mines.

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December 22, 2020 (JUBA) - South Sudan government plans to take full control of its oil sector through establishment of a training facility and controlling data storage, a senior official said Tuesday.

South Sudanese soldiers guard an oil refining facility (AFP)

Speaking during the launch of a Petroleum report in the capital Juba, the country's Petroleum minister, Puot Kang Chol said the training facility will equip South Sudanese ahead of 2027 when the government plans to phase out foreign investors from its oil sector.

“We are working on establishing a training facility — a petroleum training center for the republic of South Sudan where we will be training young men and young women of the Republic of South Sudan, preparing them to take over from our partners when the time is ripe for us to do so,” he said.

The new facility, according to Chol, will be launched next year.

He further disclosed that the government will soon complete the construction of a data center to manage data on oil operations.

“Our data is managed from Khartoum. With support from our partners, we are now at the last stage of building a data center in the Republic of South Sudan,” stressed Chol, adding “The aim is for us to move our data from Sudan so that we manage it ourselves.”

Oil production is crucial for South Sudan to recover from years of civil war that devastated the economy. However, while the nation is estimated to have the third-biggest reserves of the commodity in sub-Saharan Africa, production of about 170,000 barrels a day is less than half the output before fighting broke out in December 2013.

Last year, South Sudan announced its first oil find after the secession, at 5.3 million barrels of recoverable crude. At the time, its oil production averaged 180,000 bpd, down from 350,000 bpd before secession from Sudan, amid plans to increase crude oil production.

About 90% of South Sudan government's revenue comes from oil resources, while the rest is collected in form of customs taxes, market taxes, road taxes, income tax, permits, among others.

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December 22, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and Ethiopia expressed the need to settle border issues and develop bilateral cooperation to fit with the strong relations between the people of the two neighbouring countries.

Sudanese and Ethiopian delegations started in Khartoum on Wednesday the meetings of the Ethiopia-Sudan High-Level Political Committee to discuss bilateral cooperation and recent border clashes.

The visiting Ethiopian delegation was chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonen while the Cabinet Affairs Minister Omer Munis chaired Sudanese side.

In his speech at the opening session of the bilateral political committee, Mekonen said the Sudanese military operations led to the death of several civilians, destroyed their belongings and farms.

The Ethiopian government is "very much concerned by this recent development in the border areas. Furthermore, it is endangering the agreements we have reached to maintain the status quo in the area north of Mount Dagelish," he said in his speech extended to Sudan Tribune.

"Therefore, it is our firm position that reactivating the existing mechanisms and finding an amicable solution on settlement and cultivation are the only way to bring a lasting solution to the issues in our common border," further said the minister who is from the Amhara region.

The minister did not raise the recent cross border attacks by the Ethiopian army of the Fano militiamen against the Sudanese army inside its territory which are seen by the Sudanese side as the main issue of discord.

Sudanese officials also were dismayed with the accusations directed by Ethiopian lawmakers accusing Sudan of backing the TPLF fighters despite the assurances made by Al-Burhan during his visit to Addis Ababa in November 2020.

Addressing the opening session of the committee's meeting, Munis indicated "the strong political will of the two parties to demarcate the borders between the two countries," said the office of the Sudanese prime minister.

The Sudanese official reaffirmed the historical and strong relations between the two countries and underscored that the meeting would determine a date for the start of the border demarcation process.

This will contribute to "Resolving the outstanding issues between the two parties regarding the issue of borders," he stressed.

The government spokesman Faisal Mohamed Saleh made things more clear about the position of his country when he told reports in Khartoum that the most important now is to demarcate the border.

"When the borders are demarcated, we can discuss anything, including the issue of Ethiopian farmers on the Sudanese territory. This is the official position of the Sudanese government," he stressed.

During a recent meeting for the IGAD countries in Djibouti, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed thanked the bloc leaders for their support for his government to quell the dissent in Tigray and to preserve Ethiopia's integrity.

In a related development, the Ethiopian Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges discussed with her Sudanese counterpart, ways to develop Ethiopian use for Port Sudan.

Moges also discussed with the Sudanese Minister of Energy and Mining, Khairy Abdel-Rahman the supply and distribution of oil products as well as possible projects that the two countries can jointly develop.

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December 22, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Three civilians have been injured during several attacks by soldiers belonging to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Bobaya village, South Kordofan last week, a local group said on Tuesday.

The attacks took place as part of government raids against those suspected to be sympathizers with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), a rebel group led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu. Two of the victims survived with injuries to their limbs while the third victim, a herder, is being treated for a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

The Human Rights and Development Organization (HUDO) has released a statement calling for the Sudanese government to investigate the incidents and hold the responsible officers accountable for violating civilians' right to life.

The statement also calls for “Sudan government at the state and central level to urgently investigate the state of insecurity in South Kordufan/Nuba Mountains and to solve it urgently.”

Despite the cases being reported to local Dilling police, the investigations have not been followed upon.

“Currently, there is a lot of insecurity in Nuba Mountains/ South Kordufan State than before… This raised fear among residents that more attacks may happen,” the organization added.

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December 21, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan shut its borders to travellers coming from Britain, South Africa and the Netherlands due to fears about a highly infectious variant of coronavirus.

“The Civil Aviation Authority notified all carrier companies operating in Sudan to implement the decision from December 23, 2020, until January 5, 2021,” reads a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday.

The ban on passengers coming from the three countries is applicable regardless of their nationalities, or whether they are arriving through direct or indirect flights, further said the statement.

The new variant of coronavirus is more able to transmit the respiratory disease than other variants.

The new variant appeared first in London last September but cases of the new strain were also detected in the Netherlands in early December.

It is worth noting that many European countries have cut transport links with the UK. However, some of them such as Italy and Germany say they identified cases of the new strain.

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