Arabic Media

October 15, 2023

Source: Al Ahram (government-friendly, Egyptian daily with over 1 million in circulation)
Headline: Darfur Crisis Discussed During International Conference on Genocide

• An international conference held in Montreal in Canada discussed genocide crimes concluded with experts unable to agree on what to call the violence in Darfur and how to put an end to it.  Some called it “genocide” while others shied away from using that term to describe what’s happening in Western Sudan region
• Former advisor to Kofi Annan Juan Mendes said “certainly there were serious human rights violations in Darfur that were ethnic in nature, but unfortunately the way ‘genocide’ was defined internationally it requires the element of ‘intent’ which is hard to prove in what happened in Darfur”
• Gerard Prunier, French expert on Eastern African Affairs, while agreeing that President Omar Al Bashir might not have the intent to kill all the blacks in Darfur, he believes Al Bashir wants to limit their numbers so that they would not represent a political threat, and their land could be given to Arabs to change the demographic make up of the region
• Prunier added that in 2003 and 2004, there was genocide in Darfur, but the situation there these days is hard to classify

Source: Al Khaleej (UAE daily, with over 80,000 in circulation)
Headline: European Team in Chad to Prepare for Arrival of EUfOR Troops

• 40 European officers concluded a visit to Chad to prepare for the arrival of European force, which will be deployed in Chad and the Republic of Central Africa
• A smaller group remained in Chad to prepare the logistical, financial, and practical issues related to force deployment in the two countries
• The force will be tasked with providing protection and safety for Chadian displaced people and Darfur refugees who fled the violence and fighting in Sudan
• France will provide the larger share of EUFOR force, but Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, and Poland will also send troops
• According to the United Nations, there are 236,000 Darfur refugees in Chad and 173,000 Chadian displaced people who were forced out of their homes because of fighting in eastern Chad

Source: Al Hayat (Saudi-owned Pan-Arab daily with wide circulation)
Headline: Darfur Rebels Coordinate with South Sudan Leaders to Prepare for Peace Talks in Libya
By: Annour Ahmed Annour

• Darfur rebel leaders met with leaders of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Juba, capital of the South, to coordinate Darfur rebels’ positions ahead of peace talks in Libya on October 27
• Sudan Liberation Movement – Unity faction accused government forces of trying to assassinate its field leaders who were on their way to Juba
• The movement explained that an African Union plane carrying the leaders was forced to make an emergency landing by Sudanese army and was allowed to take off only when South Sudan leaders and international pressure forced the military to let the plane resume its trip
• South Sudan leaders said they were expecting the arrival of Abdul Wahid Nour.  Nour refuses to participate in peace talks in Libya

Source: Okaz (Saudi-owned daily with strong circulation)
Headline: Washington Says Sudanese Government Crisis to Be a Blow to Darfur Peace
By: Mohamed Al Maddah

• US expressed concern over withdrawal of Southern Sudan ministers from coalition government
• It feared the action would threaten peace chances in Darfur and all of Sudan
• Sudan People’s Liberation Movement withdrew its ministers and accused its partner National Congress Party of acting as the only party in the coalition government and of sabotaging peace agreement implementation between the South and the North
• State Department spokesperson Tom Casey said “we are worried about the SPLM’s withdrawal of its troops from the government”
• Casey also condemned “recent violence in Darfur and attacks on humanitarian aid workers”
• UN secretary general and French minister of foreign affairs expressed concern over latest developments in Sudan

Read the above in Arabic.