Darfur rebels slam UNAMID for medevacking government soldiers
(Sudan Tribune) The faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement rebel group led by Mini Minawwi (SLM-MM) has strongly criticized the UN-AU Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) for airlifting government soldiers who were wounded in a battle last week, a charge peacekeepers admitted but contended that it falls under their mandate. In a press release extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday, SLM-MM’s official spokesperson Abdulla Mursal strongly condemned UNAMID for medevacking Sudanese government soldiers who were injured in a battle his group claims to have won near Shangil Tobaya area in North Darfur on 9 November.
Further Reading: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?iframe&page=imprimable
Reform unlikely at Sudan Islamist meeting
(AFP) Calls for change by Arab Spring-inspired reformers in Sudan will likely be ignored when thousands of government-linked Islamists begin meeting on Thursday, analysts say. The Islamic Movement, a social group at the heart of Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP), is holding its first national conference since uprisings and civil war began driving out authoritarian leaders around the region in 2011. While Islamists gained power through democratic elections in Egypt and Tunisia, a coup 23 years ago installed Sudan’s Islamist regime — and it is still there. Reformers say corruption and other problems have left the vast African nation’s government Islamic in name only, and question how much longer President Omar al-Bashir should remain in power. But those calling for change lack the power to impose their views, and their hopes will be dashed, said Khalid Tigani, an analyst and chief editor of the weekly economic newspaper Elaff. “So this may lead to a new split” in the Movement, he said. Potential candidates to replace Bashir are jostling for influence within the Islamic Movement, he added. Mahjoub Mohamed Salih, publisher of the independent Al-Ayaam newspaper, said the conference would highlight divisions between grassroots Islamists and NCP loyalists, though he does not see the movement fracturing.
Further Reading: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/AL
Darfuris: Yellow Fever Kills Five Every Day
(Radio Dabanga) Residents from different areas from Central Darfur, the state most affected by the yellow fever epidemic, asserted that five people die every day as a result of the disease, they told Radio Dabanga on Tuesday, 13 November. A native from Jebel Ahmer said that the statistics published by the government and health authorities from Sudan, indicating the decrease of deaths caused by yellow fever, do not reflect the reality. The only thing the government did so far, the source continued, was to once spray Jebel Ahmer and Tulolo by plane. Radio Dabanga spoke with residents from Jebel Ahmer, Tulolo, Abu Shalaya, Nertiti and Wadi Azem, Central Darfur.
Further Reading: http://allafrica.com/stories/201211140046.html