U.S. and European media

April 2, 2023

Reuters: Main Sudan opposition withdraw from presidential polls. Sudan's main opposition parties have withdrawn from presidential elections, a senior member of one of the groups said on Thursday, a move that could wreck the looming vote and damage a faltering peace process. At least five political parties, including the powerful opposition Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) also decided they would fully boycott all levels of elections, including gubernatorial and parliamentary polls, in protest at widespread fraud, three sources in the parties told Reuters.

Reuters: Sudan opposition wavers on boycotting elections. A day after pulling out of Sudan's presidential election, two leading opposition parties were split on Friday on whether to boycott voting on the same day for parliament and regional governorships. The Umma and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) appeared divided on Friday on whether to boycott the other votes as well, adding to uncertainty that has blighted the elections. U.S. Sudan envoy Scott Gration was in Khartoum to try to salvage the polls. He has so far been unable to reconcile the opposition and Bashir's ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

Al Jazeera: Boycott clouds Sudan poll prospects. (VIDEO) With less than two weeks to go before Sudan's presidential election, Yasir Arman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the main opposition challenger to President Omar al-Bashir, has removed himself from the race. SPLM says it is boycotting the planned vote on April 11 because of what it calls "electoral irregularities" and the continuing conflict in Darfur. Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow reports from Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.

BBC: Is this the hungriest place on earth? Aid agencies are warning of an impending food emergency in South Sudan, where "unexpected and alarming" malnutrition rates in one region, devastated by drought and tribal conflict, have prompted an appeal for urgent extra funding. Akobo, in the eastern region of Jonglei, is now the "hungriest place on earth," according to aid officials, after a new survey showed that 46% of children under five are malnourished - 15% severely so. 

The following op-ed by Michael Gerson was featured in The Washington Post: Putting a face on Sudan's legacy of slavery. For those used to seeing the faces of slaves in Civil War-era tintypes -- staring at the camera in posed, formal judgment -- it is a shock to see the face of slavery in a shy, adolescent boy. Majok Majok Dhal, 14 or 15 years old (many former slaves have no idea of their exact age), dimly remembers his capture in the village of Mareng at about age 5. "I ran a little and was taken. I was carried on horseback." He recalls seeing other captives shot and killed after refusing to march north with the raiders into Sudan proper. His master, Atheib, was "not a good person." He forced the boy to tend goats and live with them in a stable. Majok was beaten regularly with a bamboo stick, "if I was not quick and fast." He recalls once being feverish and unable to work. The master "stabbed my leg with a knife. He said, 'I will cut your throat.' " Majok shows me his poorly healed wound. He was forced to address Atheib as "father." 

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