U.S. and European media

October 13, 2023

Al Jazeera: (Video) US seeks to mend Sudan ties. Relations between the US and Sudan appear to be improving, with the White House expected to review its policy towards Sudan, and plans to build a US embassy in the capital, Khartoum, already under way.  However, with the US having accused Khartoum of committing genocide in Darfur, keeping it under sanctions and on its list of "state sponsors of terrorism", mending ties might prove difficult.  Mohamed Vall reports from Khartoum on the mixed response to the prospect of closer ties.

Reuters: Four Sudanese to hang for murder of US official.  A Sudanese court upheld a death sentence yesterday against four men convicted of murdering a US diplomat and his driver in Khartoum last year in a New Year's killing that shocked the city.  The four, described by the prosecution and witnesses as "religious extremists", were condemned to hang for shooting and killing John Granville, 33, who worked for the US Agency for International Development, and his driver, Abdelrahman Abbas Rahama. "The sentence is hanging until death," Judge Sidahmed al-Badri told the court.

Xinhua: Mediator urges parties to participate effectively in Darfur talks.  A joint mediator of the United Nations and African Union for Darfur here on Monday called for all the parties concerned to participate effectively in the Darfur peace talks, the Qatar News Agency reported. It is urgent to step up the pace of peace in the Sudanese region, Dijbrill Bassole said after a closed session of the Technical Workshop on Darfur Peace that opened Monday. The next round of peace talks on Darfur would be preceded by a forum for the region's civil society organizations slated for October 28 in Doha, he disclosed.

Legalbrief Africa: ICC trial of Darfur rebel chief next week.   The International Criminal Court (ICC) will next week start the hearings for a Darfur rebel chief accused of masterminding a raid on AU peacekeepers in 2007, notes a Sudan Tribune report. The hearings were originally set to start this week, but were delayed in order to afford the prosecution additional time to provide Arabic translations of the witnesses' testimonies. The ICC says the 'confirmation hearing is held to ensure that no case goes to trial unless there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed the crime with which he has been charged'. Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, leader of the Darfur United Resistance Front (URF), appeared voluntarily before an ICC judge last May in a procedural hearing. According to the report, Abu Garda said he was confident of his innocence and called on other suspects, including Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir, to clear their names.

Earth Times: China praises Sudan's government on Darfur.  China on Tuesday praised the Sudanese government for its efforts to restore peace in the troubled Darfur region and offered support on "any issues helpful for the country's peace, stability and development."  "We are delighted to see the progress made by Sudan to properly solve the Darfur issue and to promote the peace process between the north and the south of the country," Zhou Yongkang, a senior leader of China's ruling Communist Party, told Sudan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ali Ahmed Karti.  "We applaud Sudan's firm support in issues concerning our core concern," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Zhou as saying.

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].