U.S. and European media

December 14, 2022

AFP: Sudan police detain 38 protesters: opposition.  At least 38 protesters were rounded up on Monday during a police crackdown on a planned pro-democracy rally, a spokesman for the opposition Ummah party told AFP.  There was a heavy security presence in the capital while all streets leading to the parliament building where the demonstration was planned were closed, an AFP reporter said.  Earlier, several protesters from the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement carrying their party flag were beaten as they tried to reach parliament, the correspondent said.  Some 21 opposition groups, including the SPLM and the Ummah party had called a rally to demand greater democracy, even after a deal was reached on Sunday between Sudan's two main political parties on reforms.

AP: UN: 2 UN hostages freed from Darfur.  Two civilian members of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur who were held hostage for more than 100 days have been released, the U.N. said Sunday.  The two staffers, a man and a woman, were taken at gunpoint in West Darfur on Aug. 29. The abductors have not been publicly identified.  The United Nations has been involved in delicate diplomacy to get cooperation on the issue from Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir.  But a week ago, Ban called al-Bashir "on humanitarian grounds" to seek help in freeing the two hostages, one of whom was said by the U.N. to be gravely ill.  U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky had said it was the first call between the secretary-general and al-Bashir since the arrest warrant was issued. Al-Bashir has refused to recognize the tribunal's authority.

AFP: Sudan police kill 15 accused of MP murder in Darfur.  Fifteen gunmen accused of involvement in the assassination of an MP in the western Sudanese region of Darfur were killed in clashes with security forces on Saturday, a local police chief told AFP.  Police and armed forces jointly pursued the unidentified armed men "who killed MP Hassan Tageddine Hassan al-Helw on Thursday" and caught up with them south of Nyala, capital of South Darfur state, said Fath al-Rahman Osman.  Fifteen of the gunmen were killed in the ensuing clashes, he said, without reporting any arrests or casualties among the security forces. A number of the gunmen had escaped.  Helw, an MP from Sudan's ruling National Congress Party, and two others travelling with him were killed when their car was attacked by unidentified gunmen in Nyala.

Sudan Tribune: Mbeki continues Sudan visit as Bashir voices rejection to hybrid court.  The chairman of the African Union level panel on Darfur (AUPD) Thabo Mbeki continued his discussions with political powers in Sudan on ways to efficiently implement his panel's recommendation which was endorsed by the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) last October.  The most controversial aspect of the report is the call for a "hybrid Criminal Court which shall exercise original and appellate jurisdiction over individuals who appear to bear particular responsibility for the gravest crimes committed during the conflict in Darfur, and to be constituted by judges of Sudanese and other nationalities".  Mbeki met this week with the former rebels of Sudan who expressed support to the idea of the hybrid courts.  The conflicting remarks by the officials in Khartoum towards the hybrid court idea indicates the challenge Mbeki will face in convincing skeptical Darfuris that he is not siding with the Sudanese government in enforcing the justice portion of his report.  The former South African president will head to New York later this week to brief the UNSC on his report on Monday December 21st.

Sudan Tribune: Darfur Darfur peace talks between government and rebels to start in January - mediation.  Darfur mediation is scheduled to hold a workshop for rebel groups and civil society followed by direct talks between the government and rebel groups next January, the mediation said today from Doha.  The process, according to the mediation, will start with a workshop for the rebel groups and the civil society from 19 to 21 January. The gathering intends to promote and strengthen the social cohesion on the ground.  The meeting will be followed by direct talks between the government and the rebel groups starting from January 24.  Speaking before the 15 members of the Security Council the chief mediator stressed the need for a cessation of hostilities but also said "will encourage the parties to agree and establish a coordination body with UNAMID (to) facilitate the free and safe passage of people and goods across Darfur."  The mediation will hold an International Consultative Workshop at expert level on 18 January 2010, to discuss the technical aspects of the peace process.

Sudan Tribune: Former rebels asks extension of voter registration in Darfur.  Minni Minnawi the Senior Presidential Assistant and head of Darfur authority called for additional time to conduct voter registration in the restive region of western Sudan.  The former rebel leader, who signed the Darfur Peace Agreement with Khartoum in May 2006, recently joined a large coalition for the Sudanese opposition and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).  He expressed repeatedly frustrations and criticized Khartoum for the poor implementing the peace agreement. He also accused the ruling National Congress Party of imposing emergency state there and confiscating public freedoms.  Minnawi said the voter registration operation "in some areas of Darfur was tribal and selective." He further said the way in which the electoral process is now conducted in Sudan show that it would not be free or fair.

The Darfur Daily News is a service of the Save Darfur Coalition. To subscribe to the Daily News, please email [email protected]. For media inquiries, please contact Ashley Roberts at (202) 478-6181, or [email protected].