Sudan declares 3-month state of emergency after record floods
Saturday, 05 September 2020 2:28 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 05 September 2020 2:28 PM ]
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/05/633389/Sudan-floods-emergency-SUNA-Sennar-Blue-Nile
Sudanese men walk amidst flood waters in Tuti island, where the Blue and White Nile merge in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, on September 3, 2020. (Photo by AFP)Sudan has declared a three-month national state of emergency after record-breaking torrential floods that cost 99 lives.
"A nationwide three-month state of emergency has been announced as Sudan is considered a natural disaster zone," the interior ministry said on social media.
Floods caused by more than a month of heavy rains have killed 99 people, injured 46 and left 100,000 damaged properties in their wake, one of the worst natural disasters in decades, according to state news agency SUNA.
North Darfur in the country's west and Sennar state in the south were among the hardest hit areas.
Heavy rains usually fall in Sudan from June to October, and the country faces severe flooding every year.
"The Blue Nile has reached an all-time high since records began more than a century ago," said the irrigation and water ministry last week.
The rates of floods and rain for this year exceeded the records set during the years 1946 and 1988, with expectations of continued rising indicators, Minister Lena el-Sheikh added.
Sudan's Security and Defense Council also announced the formation of a supreme committee headed by the ministry of labor and social development to deal with the ramifications of the floods for the fall of 2020, SUNA said.
62 killed, 100 injured in Sudan floodsAccording to Sudanese authorities, at least 62 people have been killed and 100 injured after two months of heavy rain caused severe flooding across Sudan.
The latest report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan said Thursday that over 380,000 people had already been "affected" by this year's floods.
The whole flooding season in 2019 affected 400,000 people, according to an OCHA spokesperson.
(Source: Agencies)
Wednesday, 12 August 2020 12:11 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 12 August 2020 12:11 PM ]
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/12/631639/Floods-South-Sudan
Torrential rains in Jonglei state, South Sudan have led to flooding, forcing thousands of people from their homes in the town of Bor, which had a population of around one hundred and fifty thousand.
The Secretary-General of Jonglei State explains that they have mobilized the region's youth to help out, working to build temporary dams.
South Sudan faces famine after 'catastrophic' floods: WFP
Thursday, 12 December 2019 5:11 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 12 December 2019 5:17 PM ]
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/12/12/613502/Catastrophic-Floods-Famine-in-South-Sudan-World-Food-Program
A man hangs out fish to dry next to a stream formed as a result of intense flooding in Maban, South Sudan on November 26, 2019. (Photo by AFP)Devastating flooding in South Sudan following a fierce drought could tip parts of the country into famine in the next few months, the World Food Program (WFP) warned on Thursday.
According to the UN refugee agency, nearly one million people were affected by floodwaters that submerged entire towns, compounding an already dire humanitarian situation after six years of war.
The WFP said that 5.5 million people are expected to be going hungry in early 2020 -- the time at which the population is generally benefiting from their harvest in October and November of the previous year.
An earlier harvest failed due to drought. This time crops have been washed away.
"The number of people in need is likely to increase because of the catastrophic level of destruction caused by floods since October following a drought that hammered parts of the country earlier in the year," the agency said in a statement.
The floods wiped out 73,000 metric tons of potential harvests as well as tens of thousands of cattle and goats, said the WFP.
"We know the problems that we've been having in South Sudan, but the rains and the floods have led to a national disaster and are much worse than anyone could have anticipated," said WFP Executive Director David Beasley.
"In fact, if we don't get funding in the next few weeks and months, we are literally talking about famine. We need support, we need help and we need it now."
The agency estimated its needs at $270 million (242 million euros) for the first half of 2020.
South Sudan declared a "man-made" famine affecting around 100,000 people in 2017.
The term "famine" is used according to a scientific system agreed upon by global agencies, when at least 20 percent of the population in a specific area has extremely limited access to basic food; acute malnutrition exceeds 30 percent; and the death rate exceeds two per 10,000 people per day for the entire population.
"Famine in South Sudan was defeated after four months in 2017 by a concerted large-scale humanitarian response," said the WFP.
"Experts now say the country's food security outlook has never been so dire."
Political instability is also high as President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar have again delayed their formation of a power-sharing government, this time by 100 days until February 2020.
Floods washed away homes in Bor, Jonglei state.
Aug 14, 2020
Devastating flooding across Sudan 🇸🇩 August 30 2020
Aug 30, 2020
US’ planned removal of Sudan from terrorism list is really an attempt to reduce Chinese influence and further isolate Iran
20 Oct, 2020 14:18
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/504021-us-sudan-terrorism-list/
Khartoum, Sudan: Tuti Island, where the White Nile and Blue Nile merge to form the main Nile. © Getty Images
37
3
Follow RT on
By Tom Fowdy, a British writer and analyst of politics and international relations with a primary focus on East Asia.
President Trump has confirmed that America will no longer consider Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism. While it’s the African country that will benefit, the move has been driven by US concerns over China and Iran.
On Monday, it was announced that the United States was removing the North African nation of Sudan from its list of “state sponsors of terrorism,” following the conclusion of what had been apparently years of negotiations between the two sides.
Khartoum has long held a troubled relationship with Washington, but as Donald Trump’s administration has sought to make serious advances in the region, brokering peace deals in the Middle East, it has subsequently opened the door to a state it once deemed ‘rogue’. Just a couple of months ago, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled on a symbolic ‘first flight’ from Israel to Sudan, and it was obvious what lay in store.
In the short term, Trump’s dealings with Sudan may be viewed as an attempt to cement his legacy as a Middle East peacemaker. In the longer term, the move can be seen as part of the wider strategic goal of US foreign policy to resolve conflict in the region, isolate Iran further and allow priorities to be adjusted elsewhere. That would specifically mean toward East Asia and strategic competition with China, as well as on the African continent itself, where Khartoum has found itself a patron in Beijing, owing to its alienation alongside China.
While all this cannot, of course, be achieved instantaneously, it is obvious that Washington no longer sees value in rendering Sudan an adversary.
What is the US’ ‘state sponsors of terrorism’ list? Essentially, it’s Washington’s ultimate political ‘naughty step’. It does not correspond to ‘actual’ sponsors of terrorism on an objective evidence basis, but instead is used to target and ostracize governments which the Americans do not like.
READ MORE
US to remove Sudan from its terrorism sponsors list in exchange for $335 MILLION payment to terrorist attack victims – TrumpFor example, the countries which remain on the list are Iran, Syria and North Korea. But these countries are very obviously not ‘sponsoring terrorism’ against Western civilian populations, even if we account for the fact that the definition of the term is ultimately subjective. Sudan is now off that list, even though nothing has objectively changed, which should be a telling factor as to how it is used.
Why has Sudan been removed? First of all, the Trump administration has pursued a diplomatic blitz on the Arab-Israeli issue and sought to make decisive breakthroughs in furthering recognition of Israel and establishing diplomatic ties, initially with the United Arab Emirates, and then Bahrain.
Trump has undoubtedly been one of the most pro-Israel presidents of modern times, and has demonstrated this by recognizing Jerusalem as the nation’s capital, slashing aid to the Palestinian authorities, ending President Obama’s deal with Iran, and even passively tolerating plans by Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu to potentially annex the West Bank.
Now, with an election upcoming, the president has ultimately sought to seal this legacy in stone and ensure that this foreign policy cannot be reversed by Joe Biden should he lose.
But still, out of all the countries in the Middle East and North Africa that the US could have worked with, why Sudan? Why not prioritize, say, Saudi Arabia or Iraq? The answer is strategy. Although part of the dynamic in Middle East politics, Sudan is an African nation, and Africa has in recent years featured higher on the US agenda as it seeks to compete with China on the continent.
And it just so happens that Khartoum has very strong ties with Beijing. Not even a month ago, China sent significant amounts of aid to Sudan, and it has been the largest recipient of Chinese financial assistance on the continent for several years. This relationship has been made all the easier because Sudan has been treated as a pariah state by Washington, so it has nobody else to turn to for support.
While this is not about to change anytime soon, the Trump administration hopes to break the impasse by resolving the issue which has been most divisive between the two countries: Israel. If normalization of relations can be achieved, the security tensions that currently exist will disappear.ALSO ON RT.COMPrice too big to pay? Sudan rejects tying its removal from US terrorism list to fixing relations with Israel
This plays into the broader American goals behind the pro-peace Israeli effort – to effectively recreate the security environment in the region by ending the long-standing tensions between Israel and Arab nations, and therefore reduce the resistance to US preferences from certain countries.
These goals are motivated by three key desires of the Trump administration. Firstly, it wants to unite the region more broadly against Iran and accelerate its containment. Secondly, it aims to reduce its focus on the Middle East. And thirdly, building on the previous point, it is keen to tilt its diplomatic focus toward Asia, Africa and the competition with China.
Ultimately, Trump’s bid to revive ties with Sudan is an attempt to kill multiple birds with one stone. There are many angles to consider, ranging from building his personal legacy, to pushing a pro-Israel agenda to how it fits into the bigger picture with Iran and China.
But what is clear is that it has been firmly decided ever so conveniently that the Sudanese are not considered ‘terrorists’ any more, and in the long run Washington will be looking to rebuild its ties with the country as it seeks to challenge China’s unbridled dominance over it.
US Special Envoy Feltman meets Sudanese high ranking officials
by Editor, 23 October 2021
On Saturday, US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman met with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Deputy Chairman Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, during a visit to Khartoum.
During the visit, Feltman emphasized the US’ support for a civilian democratic transition in accordance with the expressed wishes of Sudan’s people and urged all actors to recommit to working together to implement the constitutional declaration and Juba Peace Agreement, in a tweet by the US Embassy in Sudan.
The visit and the subsequent statement come amid the gathering of huge crowds of people in several parts of the Sudanese capital and other cities, in demonstrations against the prospect of military rule, as a political crisis in the country deepens.
The protests have resulted in deep political splits, with military leaders demanding a cabinet overhaul and civilian figures accusing the army of planning to seize power.
Last month, Sudan announced that it had thwarted a coup attempt which it later blamed on military officers and civilians linked to the former Omar al-Bashir regime.
Prime Minister Hamdok described the crisis as “the worst and most dangerous” the country has faced since the coup against al-Bashir.
No comments:
Post a Comment