Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact joel@insightonconflict.org or complete the form below.
News Roundup
- North Sudan is to adopt a constitution based solely on Islamic law according to President Omar al-Bashir.
- On Tuesday hundreds protested in Khartoum against food price rises.
- North Sudan has arrested a prominent opposition politician without reason.
- Three UN peacekeepers were killed in Darfur.
- In South Sudan, 20 people were killed when an anti-tank mine blew up a civilian bus.
- 18 South Sudanese opposition parties are considering forming a single party to challenge the ruling SPLM. The South Sudanese government is to tighten control over government spending in an effort to increase transparency and accountability.
- President Omar al-Bashir travelled to Malawi for a regional trade summit. Malawi drew criticisms for failing to arrest al-Bashir under the ICC war crimes arrest warrant.
- President Obama is to send 100 combat equipped soldiers to Uganda to help battle the Lord's Resistance Army.
News in detail
North Sudan
Reuters: Bashir says Sudan will adopt entirely Islamic constitution 13 Oct: Sudan will go ahead with plans to adopt an entirely Islamic constitution and strengthen Islamic law, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Wednesday, three months after its former civil war enemy South Sudan became independent. Read more
Reuters: Hundreds protest in Sudanese capital 12 Oct: Hundreds of Sudanese took to the streets of central Khartoum on Tuesday to demonstrate against high food prices and to demand better public transport, witnesses said. Read more
AFP: Bashir eyes Western help in filling Sudan oil gap 11 Oct: President Omar al-Bashir on Monday outlined measures to bolster Sudan's ailing economy, saying the government would seek the help of Western countries to help offset the loss of southern oil revenues. Read more
Sudan Tribune: Sudan accuses Uganda’s Museveni of plotting to topple its government 13 Oct: Sudan’s vice-president Ali Osman Mohamed Taha has accused the Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni of seeking to change the regime in Khartoum as part of his broader agendas to halt Arab advances in Africa. Read more
Reuters: Sudan detains prominent opposition politician 13 Oct: Sudanese security forces on Thursday arrested prominent opposition politician Farouk Abu Issa at his flat in Khartoum and took him to an unknown location, his daughter said. Read more
Reuters: Sudan plans to cut security budget-state media 16 Oct: Sudan, struggling with a severe economic crisis, will cut its security and secret services budget from next year as part of efforts to save money, a state-linked news website said. Read more
International
AFP: Sudan's Bashir lands in Malawi, defying war crimes warrant 13 Oct: Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir arrived in Malawi on Thursday for a regional trade summit, in defiance of the international war crimes warrant against him. Read more
Reuters: Malawi must keep obligations on Bashir - UN 15 Oct: The top U.N. human rights official called on Saturday for Malawi to meet its international obligations after it refused to arrest visiting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir under an International Criminal Court warrant. Read more
Darfur
BBC: Darfur peacekeepers killed in Sudan attack 11 Oct: Three peacekeepers have been attacked and killed in the North Darfur area of Sudan, the UN and African Union (AU) have said in a statement. Read more
Sudan Tribune: Sudan will not participate in Washington workshop on Darfur - official 12 Oct: The Sudanese government will not participate in a workshop on peace in Darfur to be held in Washington in two weeks, the foreign ministry announced Wednesday in Khartoum. Read more
Sudan Tribune: Former Darfur rebel chief participates at meeting of Sudan and Qatar leaders 13 Oct: The leader of the former rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) Tijani al-Sissi participated in a meeting on Darfur held in Doha on Monday between the visiting Sudanese president and Emir of Qatar. Read more
South Sudan
AFP: UN says bus 'mine blast' in South Sudan killed 20 13 Oct: An anti-tank mine reportedly blew up a civilian bus in South Sudan and killed 20 people, including four children, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Read more
AFP: US panel approves South Sudan, Bahrain envoys 13 Oct: The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Wednesday President Barack Obama's nominees to serve as ambassadors to South Sudan and Bahrain. Read more
Sudan Tribune: South Sudan: 18 opposition parties consider forming single political party 13 Oct: Leaders from at least 18 opposition parties in newly independent South Sudan are considering forming a single opposition political party capable of challenging the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), an opposition leader said Thursday. Read more
AFP: South Sudan to tighten control over govt spending 16 Oct: South Sudan will tighten control over government spending with a series of reforms that limit monthly cash expenditure and increase transparency of payments, an official statement said on Sunday. Read more
Lord's Resistanace Army
BBC: US to send troops to Uganda to help fight LRA rebels 15 Oct: US President Barack Obama has said he is sending about 100 US soldiers to Uganda to help regional forces battle the notorious Lord's Resistance Army. Read more
