Sudan Events – Follow-ups
On Saturday, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a meeting in Port Sudan with representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited to Sudan, attended by several ambassadors, chargé d’affaires, and representatives of international organizations.
The Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Hussein Al-Amin Fadhel, during the meeting, highlighted the major victories achieved by the Sudanese Armed Forces and their supporting forces on all battlefronts, and extended congratulations to the leadership and the Sudanese people for these victories.
Regarding the U.S. sanctions imposed on the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council, the Undersecretary stated that they were issued at this time to cover up the significant losses suffered by the rebel Rapid Support Forces militia and as a continuation of the erroneous approach of Western powers in equating the legitimate armed forces with a rebel militia, stressing Sudan’s rejection of these measures.
The Undersecretary also addressed the attacks against Sudanese citizens in South Sudan, which also targeted the Sudanese embassy, considering this a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
He noted that the events in South Sudan prompted the government to arrange flights to bring back Sudanese citizens wishing to return to the country. He reiterated Sudan’s demand for South Sudanese authorities to provide protection to Sudanese nationals residing in its territory and to the Sudanese embassy and its members in compliance with international law.
The Undersecretary provided a briefing on the tour undertaken by the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council in West Africa, which included Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania. He said it achieved its goal by informing the leaders of these countries about the rebellion of the Rapid Support Forces militia, as well as discussing prospects for bilateral cooperation with these countries.
On another note, Ambassador Anas Al-Tayeb Al-Jilani, Director-General of International Cooperation, provided a briefing on the latest developments in Sudan’s relationship with South Sudan. He confirmed the Sudanese government’s commitment to maintaining good-neighborly relations with South Sudan, despite many of its citizens participating as mercenaries in the rebel militia’s ranks.
Al-Jilani explained that the Sudanese government had formed a high-level investigative committee regarding the events in the Gezira State. He also explained the unilateral decisions made by South Sudan regarding the Abyei region, which raise concerns for the Sudanese government and the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA), as these unilateral actions represent a blatant violation of the June 20, 2011 Agreement on Administrative and Security Arrangements and relevant Security Council resolutions.
