(Reuters) Sudan arrested its former spy chief and other senior military and security officers on Thursday after foiling what officials said was a plot to incite chaos and target leaders in this oil-producing African state. Witnesses told Reuters they saw army tanks and armored vehicles moving down a main street in the centre of Khartoum around midnight, but life in the city was normal during the day with shops in the centre bustling with customers. “A lot of evidence was gathered showing there is a movement aiming to incite chaos, target some leaders and undermine the country’s stability,” the minister, Ahmed Belal Osman, said. “The situation is now totally stable,” he added, naming Gosh, and another arrested officer, Wad Ibrahim, a prominent Islamist in the army. Some Islamists inside the army and the ruling National Congress Party have said that Bashir and other senior leaders have abandoned the religious values of the 1989 coup and have concentrated decision-making in the hands of a few people. Some also feel Bashir has been too soft on South Sudan, which temporarily wrong-footed the Sudanese army by seizing a major oilfield during border fighting in April – a shock to many officers. Harry Verhoeven, an OxfordUniversity researcher who has studied Sudan extensively, said the arrests’ timing suggested the incident was connected to a conference of Sudan’s Islamic Movement last weekend that illustrated these tensions.
Further Reading: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/22/us-sudan-sabotage-spy-
SLM-AN Claims Killing 83 Sudanese Soldiers
(Radio Dabanga) The Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid al-Nur (SLM-AN) announced killing 83 Sudanese soldiers in the area of Ed el-Nabq, in Kabkabiya locality, North Darfur. Mustafa Tambour, the movement’s spokesman, also said the attack left four Sudanese soldiers mildly injured. The spokesman told Radio Dabanga that the movement attacked an army camp at about 6am on Friday, adding the rebels have now ‘full control’ of the region. Besides, the SLM-AN claims to have seized ‘heavy and light weapons, various types of ammunition and five Land Cruiser vehicles’.
Further Reading: http://allafrica.com/stories/201211240506.html
Sudan hosts OIC Conference Early 2013
(Sudanese Radio) The higher preparatory committee for the 8th session of the Union of Assemblies of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; which will be hosted by Sud an during January 17 -22 next year, discussed preparations for hosting the conference. The meeting, which was chaired by the Speaker of the National Legislature Ahmed Ibrahim Attahir, was brief by the Chairman of the preparatory committee on convocation of the conference and the strategic and positive goals that Sudan could gain from hosting the Conference. Mr. Attahir said the conference would last for six days during which important issues of concern to the Islamic World would be discussed.
Further Reading: http://www.sudanradio.info/english/modules/news/index.php?storytopic=1
South Sudan accuses Sudan of bombing its territory
JUBA(Reuters) South Sudan said on Wednesday that Sudanese warplanes had bombed its territory, killing one civilian and wounding four others, a fresh setback to plans to resume cross-border oil flows. Sudan and South Sudan agreed in September to end hostilities and restart vital southern oil exports through Sudan after coming close to war in April, the worst violence since the south became independent in July 2011. South Sudan’s army said Sudanese warplanes had bombed its side of the border, the first such accusation since the September deal.
Further Reading: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/21/us-southsudan-sudan-
Sudan Currency at record black-market low
(Al Arabyia) Sudan’s currency fell to a record low on the black market on Monday as concerns grew over delays in implementing oil and security deals intended to ease tensions with South Sudan. Traders said the pound dropped to 6.3 to the US dollar, down from around four to the dollar in September. The country has been struggling with an economic crisis sparked by the loss of most of its oil production when South Sudan separated in July last year. In early August the pound gained eight percent on the black market, to 5.7 pounds per dollar, after Sudan and South Sudan reached an oil deal which included a financial package worth about $3 billion. But the African Union, which mediated the deals, said on November 10 that the two countries had been unable to agree on practical steps to implement the security arrangements.
Further Reading: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/11/20/250771.html
Armed Forces Continue Bombing of South,
(All Africa) The South Sudanese military has accused the army of neighbouring Sudan on Thursday of amassing troops along their disputed border, moving closer to their positions, and bombing the southern state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal for three consecutive days. South Sudan’s army (SPLA) says that five people died and many others were injured in the Kiir Adem area of Northern Bahr el Ghazal when the bombing campaign began on Tuesday. But this figure has been revised up to seven by local officials. However, on Wednesday the spokesperson of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), Al-Sawarmi Khaled Sa’ad, denied bombing South Sudan but said that its air force had bombed rebel groups recently based north to the contested Mile 14 area, which he maintained were being backed by Juba.
