Sudan expels Norwegian diplomat in tit-for-tat spy row
(Reuters) KHARTOUM(Reuters)(Sudan on Wednesday expelled a Norwegian diplomat, the foreign ministry said, after Oslo told a Sudanese diplomat to leave the previous day over suspicions he was spying on refugees from the African country. The diplomatic spat risks damaging the two countries’ ties – Norway is one of the few Western countries to enjoy normal relations with Sudan, advising Khartoum on how to improve the performance of its oil industry. Sudan’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the Norwegian ambassador in Khartoum to inform him of the expulsion. It did not name the diplomat. On Tuesday, Norway expelled a Sudanese diplomat it said had received information from a 38-year old Sudanese man it had arrested earlier for spying on refugees. The Sudanese ambassador in Norway, Onoor Ahmed, denied his country was involved in such spying, national broadcaster NRK reported. Sudan’s relations with Germany were strained last month after the German embassy in Khartoum was stormed and torched in protests against a film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.
Sudan rebels say they shelled oil state capital again
(Reuters Canada) Insurgents said they had shelled the main city in Sudan’s oil-producing South Kordofan state on Wednesday, the second attack on the city this week. Sudan’s army has been battling SPLM-North insurgents in South Kordofan since June last year, shortly before South Sudan, which adjoins the state, seceded. But the capital Kadugli has largely been spared so far. A local witness told Reuters that four shells had landed in an eastern suburb of Kadugli on Wednesday morning after some shelling of the district the previous night. No casualties were reported. Sudanese army spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khalid denied the army had bombed any rebel positions and said he could not confirm any new shelling. “The armed forces did not register any shelling or attack on Kadugli last night or today,” he said. Sudanese state media said five people had been killed by SPLM-North artillery on Monday.
Tripartite Partners say waiting rebels’ views to launch humanitarian operation
(Sudan Tribune) The partners of a tripartite humanitarian initiative to reach the affected civilians in south Kordofan and Blue Nile announced their readiness to start the operating in the government controlled areas but said they are still waiting for rebels’ observations before to work in their zones. Since one month, delegates from U.N. agencies, African Union and Arab League are discussing with the Sudanese Humanitarian Commission ways to implement a deal reached earlier last August in Addis Ababa allowing them to deliver aid to the needy population the Two Areas including SPLM-N held positions. The humanitarian operation had to start in August, but the process was delayed by the lack of data pertaining to the number of civilians and their sites, the two regional organizations also had to provide the lists of monitors. The absence of some representatives of the tripartite initiative from the meetings, on the other hand, contributed to the delay.
Kadugli Consultative Forum Adheres to Peace as Strategic Option
(Sudan Vision) Kadugli Consultative Forum on Peace Issues affirmed its support for government’s negotiating delegation in South Kordofan and Blue Nile state in Addis Ababa as a strategic option for realizing peace. They also condemned the heinous aggression that has been launched by remnants of the peoples’ movement against innocent people. The forum stressed the state’s sovereignty and the territories’ unity and called on those holding arms to join the peace process and implement the popular consultancy as a democratic right to represent the state in the federal organs due to the 2012 population census, reaching a peaceful solution to the Abyei problem. The forum recommended supporting the development projects and acknowledging the cultural, social and religious diversity and resolving disputes through customs and reactivating the role of civil administration in the state.
Security forces storm El-Fasher university and arrest dozens
(Radio Dabanga) Security forces reportedly stormed El-Fasher university on Wednesday morning October 10, where students are continuing their sit-in for the third consecutive day. The security forces stormed the university using teargas and beating students with batons, sticks and fire hoses. A student told Radio Dabanga that the security forces arrested dozens of students, most of them women. After the arrests, the security forces locked the university compound’s gates and guarded the premises. The male dorms (Alrasheed) were also stormed by the security forces and students were trapped inside until Wednesday evening. In parallel, more than 90 students reportedly resigned from Dongola university, on Wednesday. The students submitted their resignations as a protest against the university administration’s decision about the payment of tuition fees. Despite what is stipulated in both the Doha and Abuja agreements, the Darfuri students are now obliged to pay the fees.