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 by AFP Staff Writers Paris (AFP) Oct 26, 2021
From the United States to the Arab league, the world reacted with alarm after an apparent coup in Sudan where armed forces detained the prime minister. The chaos followed weeks of tensions between military and civilian figures that have ruled under an uneasy power-sharing agreement since former strongman Omar al-Bashir was ousted. - United States - The United States, a key supporter of Sudan's transition, said it "strongly condemns" the actions of the military, and announced it had suspended $700 million in aid. "We firmly reject the dissolution of the civilian-led transitional government and its associated institutions and call for their immediate restoration," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. He expressed grave concern over reports that security forces used live ammunition against protesters. State Department spokesman Ned Price said US officials had not been able to contact the detained prime minister. - United Nations - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the military's takeover and urged the immediate release of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. "I condemn the ongoing military coup in Sudan. Prime Minister Hamdok and all other officials must be released immediately," Guterres tweeted. - Germany - Germany condemned the reports, calling for an "immediate end" to the action. "The news of a new coup attempt in Sudan is troubling," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement. "I call on everyone in Sudan responsible for security and order to continue Sudan's transition to democracy and to respect the will of the people." - South Africa - South Africa said it was "deeply concerned about the apparent ongoing coup and attempts to undermine Sudan's political transition", calling for the immediate release of officials. "We reject and condemn any attempt at an unconstitutional change of government," the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement. - European Union - The EU called for the release of Sudan's civilian leaders and insisted "violence and bloodshed must be avoided". "The EU is very concerned about Sudan's military forces reportedly putting Prime Minister Hamdok under house arrest, as well as detaining other members of the civilian leadership, and we urge for their fast release," European Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali told journalists. - Arab League - The Arab League urged all sides to adhere to an August 2019 power-sharing deal. "Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed deep concern over the developments in Sudan," the pan-Arab bloc said in a statement. - African Union - African Union Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat on Monday called for dialogue. "The Chairperson calls for the immediate resumption of consultations between civilians and military within the framework of the political declaration and the constitutional decree," Faki said in a statement posted on Twitter. - IGAD - The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which Sudan is currently chairing, said it was "alarmed" by the events in the country, and was "following the situation very closely". "The executive secretary strongly condemns any attempt to undermine the transitional government and urges all parties to exercise utmost restraint," the regional African bloc said in a statement from Djibouti.
Sudan: Torn apart by decades of war - Military coups - Sudan gained independence in 1956 after a period of joint rule by Britain and Egypt. It has a mainly Muslim population of 43.8 million, according to 2020 figures from the World Bank. Arabic is the official language and Islamic sharia law was enforced in 1983 before being put on hold and then applied again under Bashir. A career soldier who swept to power in a military coup backed by Islamists, Bashir ruled Sudan from June 1989 to April 2019. He was elected president in 2010 in the country's first multi-party election since he took power, and was re-elected in 2015. The opposition boycotted both votes. Demonstrations against food price hikes erupted several times in 2018 after the cost of bread tripled. The protests continued for months before the army removed Bashir from power on April 11, 2019. Military and protest leaders signed an accord on a three-year transition to civilian rule in July. Bashir has since been convicted of graft and is now on trial over the 1989 coup that brought him to power. On Monday, in what the information ministry called a "coup", armed forces detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and senior civilian leaders in the transitional government. - South Sudan breaks away - Sudan endured a first civil war from 1955 to 1972, and a second that raged from 1983 to 2005. Millions died in the conflicts. In 2005, Khartoum signed a peace treaty with southern rebels, granting the south autonomy pending a referendum on independence in 2011. South Sudan became an independent nation in July 2011, six months after voting by 99 percent to secede. The split removed roughly a quarter of Sudan's territory. Before then it had been Africa's largest country. In early 2012, relations with South Sudan deteriorated and their armies clashed in oil-rich border zones. - Devastating Darfur - In 2003, rebels in Sudan's vast arid western region of Darfur revolted against alleged marginalisation of minority ethnic groups by the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum. Khartoum responded by unleashing the dreaded Janjaweed militia, blamed for atrocities including murder, rape, looting and burning villages. The violence resulted in one of the world's worst humanitarian catastrophes. The United Nations says about 300,000 people were killed and more than 2.5 million displaced, many still living in sprawling semi-permanent camps. The International Criminal Court in 2009 and 2010 issued arrest warrants for Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur -- accusations he denies. In August, Sudan and the ICC signed a cooperation deal, bringing Bashir one step closer to facing trial. - Battered economy - The 2011 secession of South Sudan hit the Sudanese economy badly as it lost around three-quarters of its oil reserves. The country also suffered under a US economic embargo imposed since 1993 over its alleged backing of radical Islamist groups, including Osama bin Laden, who lived in the country for years in the 1990s. The embargo was lifted in 2017, and in 2020 Sudan was removed from a US blacklist of alleged state sponsors of terror that had been deterring investors. Sudan is pursuing an austerity policy in exchange for the cancellation of its debt by the International Monetary Fund. Inflation is nearing 400 percent and the currency has plunged against the dollar. Sudan is also regularly affected by devastating floods.
'We had to flee': Somalia on the run from extreme climate Hargeisa, Somalia (AFP) Oct 26, 2021 The sheep died first, then the goats. When her only camel perished, Yurub Abdi Jama knew that her life as a herder was over, and joined the exodus from her village to the city. Her people in northern Somalia had been herding for generations, born on arid land and accustomed to drought. But they could not outlast the final, unrelenting dry spell that scorched the earth and felled their beasts. "In the past, God would always leave something for us, but now... We had to flee. You go where you can w ... read more
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