On Monday, October 20, US President Donald Trump announced in a tweet that Sudan was finally to be removed from the US state sponsor of terrorism list. The long-awaited decision came only after the Sudanese government agreed to pay a sum of $335 million to victims and families of two 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and an attack on an American Navy destroyer in Yemen in 2000.

Trump: Sudan’s New Government is ‘Making Great Progress’

“New Government of Sudan, which is making great progress, agreed to pay $335 MILLION to U.S. terror victims and families,” Trump said in the tweet. “Once deposited, I will lift Sudan from State Sponsor of Terrorism list.”

Al Qaeda claimed all the attacks to which Sudan’s former regime, led by the fallen dictator Omar al-Bashir, was accused of providing support.

However, the country was added to the list in 1993, prior to the bombings, joining Syria, Iran and North Korea. It was accused of providing support to militant groups, including Al Qaeda, as well as hosting Osama Bin Laden, who stayed in the country from 1991 to 1996 before being expelled.

In August, a former defense minister of Sudan during the time of Bin Laden’s stay, said the United States had refused an offer from Sudan to hand over Bin Laden.

Economic Consequences of Being on the List

Sudan’s inclusion in the list had been disputed since last year, at least, when the former president al-Bashir was toppled in a coup. Many Sudanese have argued that Al-Bashir and his regime, which had ruled the country for 30 years, are the ones to be held accountable, not the new government.

Having its name included in the four-country list, Sudan saw its economy deteriorate over the years, as its designation as terrorism sponsor led to a number of restrictions in foreign assistance, exports and sales, as well as in financial transactions, pushing away foreign investments and commercial banks.

The United States resumed talks of removal from the list as soon as the new government was appointed in Sudan.

“The Sudanese reminded me that they would love to get off that list and we always measure twice and cut once before we remove someone from a list like that,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in February 2020.

The United States even offered $80 million in humanitarian aid earlier this year, to help the country fight against the pandemic. Yet Sudan had turned down the offer, mainly because the Trump Administration highlighted the prerequisite of normalizing ties with Israel.

Further pressure was then exerted on Sudan last summer and the country’s interim government grew more lenient.

Why Now?

This year’s pandemic has made it even worse for the African country’s economy, as nearly half of the Sudanese population live in poverty. Last month alone, Sudan’s annual inflation rose to 212%.

Some even dispute Sudan’s ability to pay such a big sum of money, but the reopening of the country and its normalization of relations with other countries proved urgent. Moreover, the timing of such a move falls perfectly in line with President Trump’s “peace” efforts in the Middle East, engaging Arab countries with Israel, as he campaigns for his re-election in the upcoming US presidential vote next month.

Until last month, Egypt and Jordan were the only Arab countries with formal diplomatic relations with Israel. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain then followed, after signing diplomatic deals with Israel in September.

Now, Sudan is unquestionably seen as the next country to normalize its ties with Israel, while it aspires to be removed from the state sponsors of terrorism list.

The Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other officials had long objected to the idea, even as recently as last month. But Israel have already worked with Sudan — although quietly, like it did with the United Arab Emirates — over the past year.

In February, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu met with Sudan’s de facto leader, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Uganda in talks arranged by the Emiratis. Days later, Sudan allowed Israeli commercial flights in its airspace.

L'articolo Why is Sudan Being Removed from the US Terrorist List? proviene da InsideOver.

Sudan is struggling to contain heavy rains and floods that have left a trail of unprecedented devastation.

Sudan State of Emergency: Over 100 Dead

The floods, which have disrupted almost all services and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless, have so far killed over 100 Sudanese nationals and injured hundreds of others, according to the Sudanese Ministry of the Interior which manages the police force.

They have come to compound the challenges Sudanese authorities face because of the coronavirus and the tough economic conditions of their country.

Sudan’s Security and Defense Council has declared a state of emergency throughout the country because of the floods which have hit 17 out of the nation’s 18 states.

The state of emergency will last for three months, designating Sudan as a country with a national disaster.

Untold Loss

In addition to the human toll from the heavy rains, the flooding has caused economic losses between $3 and $4 billion, according to preliminary estimates.

This adds to the economic woes of Sudan which declared a state of economic emergency earlier this month due to a sharp fall in the exchange rate of its national currency, the Sudanese pound.

The Sudanese economy has been suffering for years now, with deteriorating economic conditions standing behind the political upheavals hitting the country. The same upheavals opened the door for the downfall of the regime of longstanding president Omar Hassan al-Bashir in April last year.

Bashir’s removal from power could not improve Sudan’s economic conditions, causing his political opponents to quickly realize that fixing the economy would require more than just the ouster of a corrupt president.

Devastation Everywhere

The enormity of the devastation caused by the flooding is manifest in the failure of Sudanese authorities to keep up with the needs of those affected.

Photos coming out of Sudan show a country swamped with water wherever one goes. Ordinary people are seen building sandbag walls and pumping water out of homes and important sites, including ancient sites.

Over 100 schools and higher education facilities were either partially or totally destroyed by the flooding. This threw Sudan’s preparations for the new academic year in disarray, especially with most of the schools turning into shelters for those turned homeless.

Apart from the schools, the floods also inundated over 100,000 houses.

Need for Action

Over half a million Sudanese citizens are now in need of humanitarian assistance.

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok described on August 30 the losses to lives and properties caused by the floods as both “catastrophic” and “painful”.

“The water levels of the Nile and its tributaries this year, according to the Irrigation and Water Resources Ministry, are unprecedented since 1912,” he wrote on Twitter.

Hamdok asked his country’s institutions to keep coordinating with each other. He also called for mobilizing all possible material and human resources to reduce the effects of the flooding on citizens.

Apart from the rainfall in Sudan, the floods were also caused by days of heavy rains in neighboring Ethiopia. They caused the level of the Blue Nile to reach a record high of 17.58 meters. Ethiopia accounts for about 80% of the water of the Blue Nile.

The Sudanese capital Khartoum was the hardest hit by the floods. It is the point where the Blue and White Nile rivers meet.

The Blue Nile and River Nile states were equally affected by the floods. The states of Gezira, Gadarif, West Kordofan, and South Darfur also reported damage.

International Response

Arab states Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar sent shipments of humanitarian aid to Sudan. The aid included foodstuffs and medicines needed in the national response to the flooding.

The United States said it would continue to support the Sudanese people. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Hamdok on September 12 to express his condolences for those who died in the flooding.

Pompeo and Hamdok also discussed needed assistance for Sudan’s response to the disaster.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the flooding had hindered access to clean water in Sudan.

OCHA Spokesman Jens Laerke said the United Nations and its humanitarian partners had the needs of 250,000 people, re-positioned in Sudan, even before the rains started. OCHA called, however, for wider support from the international community, especially with stocks being depleted rapidly.

It said a $1.6 billion humanitarian plan for Sudan is less than 44% funded.

L'articolo Floods Cause Massive Devastation In Sudan proviene da InsideOver.

Sudan’s interim Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok narrowly escaped death on March 9, when his motorcade emerged unscathed from a blast that took place in the northeastern part of Sudanese capital of Khartoum.

Hamdok was on the road to the cabinet building in central Khartoum from his home in the morning on Monday to attend a cabinet meeting when a booby-trapped vehicle went off. Seconds after the blast, militants opened fire on the car of the interim prime minister, according to Sudanese Information Minister Mohamed Saleh.

Hamdok: Unharmed and Defiant

Photos taken by ordinary Sudanese citizens and posted to social media showed smoke bellowing from the site of the bombing. News of the attempt on the life of the Sudanese premier caused dozens of Sudanese citizens to go out to the streets and chant in support of Hamdok.

The Sudanese premier accused those standing behind the attempt on his life of planning to foil Sudan’s political transition.

“What happened will not stop our march towards change,” Hamdok wrote on Twitter. “On the contrary, it will encourage us to keep moving on the road of the revolution for which the Sudanese people paid with their blood to create a better future and reach sustainable peace.”

Investigation Underway to Catch Culprits

There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing and the gunfire on the motorcade of the Sudanese interim prime minister. Saleh said Sudanese authorities have started investigating the attack in order to determine those behind it. He added that the Sudanese government would deal decisively with the attempt on the life of the prime minister.

“We are aware that some people want to foil the revolution,” Saleh said. “This revolution will never derail.”

Sudan’s National Security Council convened soon after the attack to discuss the measures that would be taken in the coming period and the ramifications of this attack for Sudan’s security.

Sudan’s Islamists Suspected in Attack

Sudan’s Islamists are the focus of suspicion, including the Islamic Group, a the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan. Sudanese political analyst, al-Jameel al-Fadel, said his country’s Islamists are gritting their teeth in anger as Sudan takes steps to join the international fold yet again.

“The Islamists do not want Sudan to reintegrate into the international community,” al-Fadel said. “It just wants to send a message that Sudan is not secure or stable.”

The Downfall of Omar al-Bashir

The downfall of the Omar al-Bashir regime in Sudan in April of last year brought Islamist rule of the poor but resource-rich African country to an end.

Bashir ruled Sudan for three decades before his downfall. An Islamist himself, the septuagenarian former leader was allied to Islamist forces in his country. He applied Islamic law and worked to impose a strict version of the Islamic religion to all aspects of the life of Sudanese citizens.

Sudan’s Islamists have been trying to return to the political stage, including by inciting ordinary people against the transitional government and Sovereign Council, sometimes using Sudan’s tough economic conditions, and other times using political developments, including a recent meeting between Sovereign Council Head Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Ugandan capital of Entebbe.

Sudan’s Nationwide Crackdown on Islamic Extremists

Sudan’s transitional authorities have launched an all-out crackdown on the Islamists and the loyalists of Bashir’s regime by disbanding Bashir’s formerly ruling National Congress Party and sacking hundreds of civil servants affiliated to the party.

In November last year, the Transitional Sovereign Council and the interim government approved a law that ends the presence of the remnants of the Bashir’s regime on Sudan’s political stage and inside state institutions. The council and the government also purged Sudan’s security establishment, including the intelligence, of the loyalists of the ousted president. They now prepare a plan for restructuring the Sudanese armed forces. Nevertheless, the Islamists will most likely keep trying to return to the political stage, including via violent tactics, analysts said.

“These Islamists always resort to violence when they lose,” al-Fadel said. “They will not easily accept defeat.”

L'articolo Sudanese PM Hamdok Unharmed In Assassination Attempt, But Danger Remains proviene da InsideOver.

There are fears of a spillover into violence from a mutiny by some units of the Sudanese intelligence in some parts of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, including an area near Khartoum International Airport.

The mutiny erupted on January 14 when several armed units of the intelligence agency took to the streets, blocked them and started shooting into the air. This show of force came against the background of refusal by the members of the units involved in the mutiny of the ongoing reform of the intelligence agency, the Sudanese cabinet said.

Sudan’s cabinet has decided to reform the intelligence agency as part of ongoing efforts in Sudan to end the presence of the loyalists of ousted President Omar al-Bashir in Sudanese institutions, including inside the security and military establishments.

Sudanese Information Minister, Faisal Mohamed Saleh, said the reform would include ending the service of some of the workers of the intelligence agency, including the members of the units staging the mutiny.

Nonetheless, these members are rejecting the end of service gratuity offered them by the government, Saleh said. Nevertheless, those following the new development in Sudan point to more than just a refusal of an end of service gratuity, amid reports of Sudan’s transition staggering because of Bashir’s loyalists and the Sudanese deep state, which is controlled by members of the ousted president’s party as well as the nation’s Islamists.

Over 30 years of rule, Bashir succeeded in making the members of his Islamist National Congress Party in control inside all Sudan’s institutions, especially inside important state agencies, including the intelligence agency.

These people – some of them are not known to be backers of Bashir’s regime – will prove a hard nut to crack for the new administration in Sudan and as the poor African state tries to chart a new future.

The same post-revolution transition difficulties were manifest in Arab Spring states Tunisia and Egypt where the followers of the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the Hosni Mubarak regimes tried to hamper progress in the two states after the downfall of the two regimes in 2011.

The ongoing mutiny by the members of the intelligence agency threatens to morph into a wider confrontation, especially after the deployment of Sudanese army troops around the areas where the mutiny is taking place.

Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, tried to assure Sudanese citizens that his government can bring the situation under control.

“They will not stop us and our mission nor will they be a reason for us to retreat from the goals of this revolution,” Hamdok said.

“This situation stresses the need for the current partnership and the need to push it forward to achieve our higher goals,” Hamdok wrote on Twitter.

Sudan has already taken several precautionary measures, including the closure of its airspace and Khartoum International Airport. Sudanese citizens have started descending on the streets and some public shows of anger are in the making.

A Sudanese citizen has been injured by gunfire and other human casualties are expected to happen in the coming hours, especially if the members of the units staging the mutiny refuse to surrender to the Sudanese army or lay down their arms as the Sudanese government asks them to do.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, the umbrella coalition of Sudanese political forces during the uprising against Bashir, has called on Sudanese citizens to stay at home or at least away from the areas where the mutiny is taking place.

It said it rejects attempts to terrorize Sudanese citizens. The association also called on Sudanese state authorities to intervene. The situation is still unfolding, and this opens the door for all possibilities in the coming hours. The Sudanese army will be trying to contain the mutiny and prevent it from developing.

A member of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, a body made up of Sudan’s political forces and the military, did not rule out political motivations behind the mutiny.

“Some security officials are not happy with the reform of the intelligence agency,” Shams Eddine al-Kabashi said. “Nevertheless, the army will take the whole matter into its own hands if this group refuses to surrender.”

L'articolo Violence Erupts In Sudan Amid Fears of Nationwide Confrontations proviene da InsideOver.

At long last freedom has come for the women of Sudan after the country’s transitional government repealed draconian laws that oppressed them and violated their rights.

“The council of ministers agreed in an extraordinary meeting today to cancel the public order law across all provinces,” reported SUNA the state news agency. The move gives women freedom to wear trousers, uncover their hair, dance in public and mingle freely with men.

Omar al-Bashir, the ousted Sudanese leader, took power in a bloodless coup in 1989, after which he greatly restricted the role of women for 30 years.

During his rule, the government implemented a strict moral code that human rights activists said mainly targeted women, through harsh interpretations of Islamic sharia law. Thousands of women were flogged, fined and jailed under the oppressive public order law.

According to one women’s rights organisation called SIHA, the rampant arrests, detention, trial and punishment of women under Sudan’s public order, were key features of the government’s criminal justice system.

“The public order laws incorporate strict moral codes designed to exclude and intimidate women from actively participating in public life, for instance by restricting their presence in the public sphere and controlling what they wear.” These laws were enforced by the public order police and public order courts.

Under the law, men were given the power to arrest women for inappropriate dressing or indecent behaviour and take them to a nearby police station. A serious health issue such as miscarriage could land a woman in jail since it could be suspected as abortion which was a criminal act under Section 135 of the Criminal Act.

Abortion could also be interpreted as a sign of adultery, which was also a criminal offence. “Section 135 violates reproductive health rights as a woman who suffers a miscarriage and requires medical assistance, is presumed guilty of abortion and immediately arrested and detained,” read a report by SIHA titled Criminalisation of Women in Sudan.

The public order laws could be traced back to 1983 when the government formerly ruled by Gaafar Nimeiry, introduced Sharia laws. Those who broke the laws were stoned, amputated, cross amputated, crucified, and flogged.

Following the introduction of the laws, Nimeiry declared a state of emergency and ordered security officers to raid homes and clubs and arrest suspects. Many were brought before kangaroo courts and tried for alcohol consumption, gambling, mixing of the sexes without family bonds and/or for holding unlawful gatherings.

When Bashir came to power through a coup in June 1989, he extended and developed the public order law, effectively criminalising and controlling an array of private relations in the public sphere.

Through the public order law, the government sought to impose a particular set of values designed to control gender relations within society and the necessity of state engagement in the regulation of personal morality.

Women who tried to raise their voices and fight for their rights were silenced through intimidation, sexual violence and other forms of abuses. The women targeted were those who provided social services and legal aid, as well as journalists.

According to a Human Rights Watch report released in 2016, women who engaged in these activities were targeted with a range of abuses that ranged “from rape and rape threats to deliberate efforts to tar their reputations .”

“Sudanese women who defend human rights experience political repression like their male colleagues but are also vulnerable to sexual assault and intimidation because they are women,” said Daniel Bekele, the former African Director at Human Rights Watch. “ Sudanese security officials often take advantage of discriminatory laws and social conventions to silence them.”

During the period, the organisation documented several cases in which security forces abused women.

In one case, one woman activist who was urging people to boycott elections in 2015, was told by male security members that “you women activists and party members you are all sharmuta (whores).” The activist was arrested and assaulted when she defiantly stated that she was just doing what she believed in.

“They started kicking me and one of them took his trousers off and started raping me,” she said.  After her release, she was rearrested and warned not to talk about the rape.

In October 2014, security officials beat and sexually assaulted a university student from the discriminated Darfuris after she protested her eviction from Khartoum University. Another student who also took part in the protests was taken to jail where she was raped several times and warned not to talk about it.

It was, therefore, a big win for women two weeks ago when the current government, which they helped bring to power, scrapped the oppressive laws that violated their rights.

Women were the face of the revolution that led to the ouster of Omar Al Bashir. Almost two-thirds of those who turned out on the streets to put pressure on the government were women. This is because they were the one ones had suffered most under Bashir’s autocratic rule which treated them as second class citizens.

Every morning, they would gather under the scorching sun in Khartoum’s main square chanting anti-government slogans despite the brutality of the police and the military.

Apart from scrapping the Public Order Act the new government also ordered the dissolution of Omar Al Bashir’s party, Islamist National Congress Party (NCP). This is among the many steps that are being taken to rid the country of remnants of Bashir’s oppressive regime. The new government under Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok took the step under a decree titled “Dismantling of the regime of 30th June 1989”.

The decree stated, “The National Congress Party is dissolved and its registration is cancelled from the list of political parties in Sudan. None of the symbols of the regime or party would be allowed to engage in any political activity for 10 years”.

The Prime Minister, however, denied that the dissolution of the party was a revenge against Al Bashir. Instead, the aim is to preserve the dignity of Sudanese people “which was crushed by dishonest people and to recover the plundered wealth of the people.” Thousands poured on the streets of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, shouting “Sudan without Islamists. Sudan for all People” as soon the transitional government made the announcement.

L'articolo Under Bashir, a Miscarriage Could Land a Woman in Jail proviene da InsideOver.

Egypt is working to woo the new administration in Sudan, amid national calls for beginning a new chapter with the neighbouring state, after decades of tension under ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.

New Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok arrived in Cairo on September 18 for his first visit to Egypt after his August 21 takeover as the head of the first post-Bashir government.

In Cairo, he met a host of top officials, including President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Hamdok said he wanted to take a leaf from Egypt, especially in how Sudan’s northern neighbour overcame its post-2011 revolution difficulties and started state rebuilding.

“We look with admiration at Egypt as a model,” the Sudanese premier said. “We especially want to learn from its success in addressing its economic problems.”

With Bashir and most of his regime officials now behind bars, Sudan seems to be opening a new chapter. Nonetheless, as it does this, Sudan’s conditions are much like those of Egypt, following the two popular uprisings it went through in 2011 and 2013. The uprisings and the political turmoil associated with them caused massive economic devastation, the flight of foreign investments and the closure of thousands of factories.

The inflation rate rose dramatically, the tourism sector was in tatters and the export movement came to a screeching halt. Egypt’s foreign currency reserves were depleted and its relations with most of the world were never worse. These are almost the same conditions in Sudan. The inflation rate rose to 53.13% in August, from 52.59% in July.

Foreign currency reserves at the Central Bank of Sudan are reportedly less than $1 billion and the country, according to Hamdok, needs about $10 billion in the coming two years to cover its import bill and rebuild its ravaged economy.

The Sudanese pound is also continually losing value against almost all foreign currencies, including the US dollar, the main import currency in this country. Sudan is heavily dependent on imports, but the lack of enough money in the state’s offers threatens its ability to pay for the imports.

While more and more countries pledge support, including so far, France, Germany, and the US, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Sudan is now almost totally isolated, as they are still on an international list of state sponsors of terrorism. The African Union has also suspended Sudan’s membership.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli said his country would help Sudan, referring to similarities between Sudan’s current conditions and Egypt’s conditions following its two revolutions.

“This is why Egypt is keen on helping Sudan,” Madbouli said. “We have strong confidence in the ability of the current government in Sudan in leading its country in a way that fulfils the aspirations of the Sudanese people.”

To get out of the economic morass it found itself in, following years of political and security unrest, Egypt had to take the painful road of economic reform.

It borrowed $12 billion from the International Monetary Fund, in a deal that entailed a series of painful measures, including the slashing of fuel, electricity, and water subsidies. In November 2016, the Egyptian government took the revolutionary move of ending a decades-old controlled exchange rate regime and floated the Egyptian pound.

The pound exchange rate liberalisation eradicated a then-thriving parallel foreign currency market. More importantly, it rendered the market more stable and boosted investors’ confidence in the Egyptian business environment.

The same measures opened the door for unprecedented increases in commodity prices, and consequently suffering for millions of Egyptians. The government tried to cushion the effects of the commodity price hikes by launching several social protection programs, including a cash aid program for thousands of needy families.

Nevertheless, the same measures are blowing new life into the economy as well as Egypt’s hopes for economic stability and prosperity. The Egyptian pound is regaining strength against the US dollar, the exports are rising, and the imports are going down.

The tourism sector is picking up; the inflation rate is coming down; the unemployment rate is dropping, and more foreign direct investments are flowing into the country. Egypt was the top investment destination in the African continent in 2019 and will continue to be so in 2020.

However, this was not an easy mission for either the people of Egypt or the government, which shuddered at the prospect of a political backlash from the economic reform. Sudan can opt for a similar route. Will the poor state and its people be ready to foot the bill?

L'articolo Sudan Hopes To Take A Leaf Out Of Egypt’s Book proviene da InsideOver.