Arabic Media

August 27, 2023

Source: Al Riyadh (Government-friendly Saudi daily with wide circulation)
Headline: Amnesty International Accuses Sudan of Violating UN Arms Embargo

• Amnesty International accused Khartoum government of transporting “attack weapons” to troubled Darfur region in defiance of international community
• The organization indicated it has three pictures taken last July to prove its accusations
• The pictures show containers containing weapons being unloaded from military planes in Al Jeneina airport

Source: Al Masry Al Youm (Independent Egyptian Daily with increasing circulation)
Headline: Strong Criticism of Sudan’s expulsion of European and Canadian diplomats

• Khartoum government decision to expel European Union and Canadian diplomats for “interfering in Sudan’s internal affairs” was met with strong criticism from Canada, Europe, and United States
• European Union spokeswoman said “we are aware of the situation and are working on finding a solution”
• Canadian government demanded an explanation for the decision and expressed its support for the expelled diplomat
• White House spokesperson Gordon Jondroe worried that the Sudan’s action might signal lack of interest in working with international community to end Darfur violence

Source: Al Ahram (government-friendly, Egyptian daily with over 1 million in circulation)
Headline: Minnawi Denies Attacking Tribes in Darfur and Eliasson Left Sudan for Chad
By: Abdul Wahid Libini

• Sudan Liberation Movement Minnawi’s faction denied its forces attacked Al Maalia Tribe in South Darfur adding that the accusations are a cheap campaign to break the social fabric of Darfur
• The movement said it intervened to help a group of citizens who were attacked by about 60 Janjaweed militia fighters and lost 4 of its fighters in the clashes

Meanwhile, Jan Eliasson left Sudan after a three-day visit

• He met with refugee representatives, civil society leaders, Arab tribes representatives, and African Union leadership in Darfur
• He also had a successful meeting with Minni Arco Minnawi to discuss demands of other rebel groups
• He said Minnawi agreed to expand Abuja agreement to accommodate other rebels’ demands
• Refugee leaders in Al Fashir demanded that the government acknowledge the crisis, bring to trial all those responsible, and compensate the refugees for their losses

Source: Al Jazeera (Leading Arabic News Channel, headquartered in Qatar)
Headline: Was Sudan Lured into Expelling Western Diplomats?
By: Imad Abdul Hadi

• Sudan has long history of confrontations with international community since President Omar Al Bashir came to power in the 1990s
• The decision to expel two Western diplomats is the latest in a series of other similar incidents including the British ambassador, US Representative, Libyan diplomat, and United Nations representative Jan Pronk
• Experts believe pressure on the Sudanese government will only intensify after this new round of expulsions:
• Expert Mohamed Ali Saeed thinks the West will increase its pressure and efforts to isolate the Sudanese government
• Political Science Professor at the University of Khartoum Mokhtar Al Assam spoke of a Western conspiracy to provoke the Sudanese government into expelling Western diplomats in order to justify more sanctions and pressure
• But political expert Mohamed Musa Harika discounted any future confrontation between the government and the West because it accepted international community demands including hybrid force deployment

Source: Al Hayat (Saudi-owned Pan-Arab daily with wide circulation)
Headline: Al Khartoum Allows European Union Diplomat to Stay after Apology
By: Annour Ahmed Annour

• Sudanese government announced President Omar Al Bashir accepted an apology from Louis Michel, European Union Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid and decided to let EU representative finish his term in Sudan which ends in few weeks
• Canadian authorities were also seeking to keep their expelled diplomat in her position in Sudan for a couple of weeks till a replacement was found
• Sudanese government declared last week that the two diplomats were “no longer welcome in Sudan” but wanted to maintain the good relations it has with Canada and the European Union

Source: Al Hayat (Saudi-owned Pan-Arab daily with wide circulation)
Headline: AU Envoy Calls on Government and Rebels to respect the Ceasefire
By: Annour Ahmed Annour

• African Union envoy Salim Ahmed Salim urged all parties involved in Darfur crisis to respect the ceasefire to increase peace talks chances of success
• Salim said in order for any peace agreement to succeed it must be accepted and supported by the people of Darfur
• Salim is expected to visit Abdul Wahid Nour’s birth region. Nour is opposed to peace talks before government violence in Darfur ended
• But Salim said that negotiations are the best way to get all issues resolved and urged Nour to attend the upcoming peace talks

Source: Al Khaleej (UAE daily, with over 80,000 in circulation)
Headline: British Muslims Group Witnessed “the Painful Humanitarian Situation in Darfur”

• A group of Islamic Humanitarian organizations from Britain returned from a visit to Darfur and met with British minister in charge of African affairs to give him a report about the “humanitarian conditions in Darfur” which they described as “painful”
• The minister was encouraged by the report and expressed hope the groups’ involvement will increase awareness of Darfur crisis and efforts to resolve the conflict among the Muslim community
• The group called on Islamic countries to compete with Western countries in providing humanitarian aid, assistance, and in finding a solution to the crisis
• The group’s visit is part of British government efforts to increase Islamic humanitarian groups visibility and involvement in humanitarian work
• The government arranged for the groups to meet with Sudanese officials and to visit the Darfur region and meet with Darfur citizens
• The group pledged to hold a rally in a couple of months to raise funds and awareness about the crisis among the Muslim community in Britain

Read the above in Arabic.