U.S. and European media

October 23, 2022

AlertNet: Sudan's census impasse risks return to war--Minister. Disagreements over final figures of the recent census in Sudan are likely to disrupt the countries first democratic polls in 20 years and risk a return to war, a top minister has said. The north and south fought a two-decade civil war that ended with a 2005 peace deal. But relations remain tense and the agreement faces important tests soon -- national elections next year then a referendum on southern independence in 2011. Nyal Deng Nyal, a minister for Sudan People Liberation Movement Affairs (SPLM) in the south told AlertNet that contested census results, which give South Sudanese 21 percent of the country's total population, remain a sticking point. "These doctored census results pause a serious impediment to the holding of the elections if the NCP (the ruling Naction Congress Party in the north) does not retract those results," said Nyal, who led the peace negotiations the ended the war in 2005.

AFP: AU invites al-Beshir for Darfur talks in Nigeria: source.  The African Union has invited Sudanese leader Omar al-Beshir, who faces a global arrest warrant for war crimes, for next week's talks on the Darfur crisis in Abuja, a Nigerian government source said Thursday.  Eighteen heads of state are expected for a summit of the peace and security organ of AU slated for next Thursday in the Nigerian capital.  Al-Beshir, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, is "still considering the invitation, afraid we may turn him in, which will not happen," the source told AFP.

ISRIA: Russian envoy, JEM leader discuss Darfur peace process.  The Russian envoy to Sudan held talks today with the leader of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the Chadian capital where the two parties discussed Darfur peace process and democratic transition in Sudan.  In his first ever meeting with a rebel group, Mikhail Margelov, held talks on Wednesday with JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim in Ndjamena. The meeting took place two weeks after an international workshop in Moscow where Sudan's special envoys renewed their support to the Doha peace process.  During the meeting, Margelov stressed on the need to resume negotiations with the Sudanese government in the Qatari capital in order to reach a negotiated settlement to the six-year conflict.  However, Ibrahim who renewed his commitment to the peace process said they want a "serious peace process where the stakeholders commit themselves to enforce what they agree" said Ahmed Hussein Adam, the spokesperson of the rebel movement.

UN News Center: Blue helmets bring deadly tribal violence under control in Darfur.  Peacekeepers serving with the joint United Nations-African Union mission in Sudan's war-wracked Darfur region have intervened in deadly tribal clashes, bringing the situation under control, it was announced today.  The fighting between the Zaghawa and Birgid tribes near Shangil Tobaya in North Darfur state killed two people, with six people from both sides sustaining injuries. Four people who were critically wounded were taken by helicopter to El Fasher by the mission, known as UNAMID, for treatment at a Government hospital. UNAMID attributes the fighting to disputes over access to water, and as a temporary solution, the mission has made arrangements to supply water to the communities.

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].