U.S. and European media

May 7, 2023

Reuters: Sudan, Darfur rebel group resume peace talks. Sudan's government and Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement resumed peace talks on Wednesday in Qatar following an agreement signed in the Gulf state in February. Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmad al-Mahmood urged both sides to resolve the conflict as soon as possible, the state-run Qatar News Agency reported. Wednesday's meeting follows reconciliation talks between Chad and Sudan that were held in Doha last week.

Reuters: Sudan Says Willing to Admit New NGOs. Sudan said Wednesday it would "not close the door" to foreign aid organizations that want to operate in the largest country in Africa but a decision to expel 13 international NGOs was non-negotiable. "For the expelled 13 NGOs, this is history. It's finished. But this decision, this decree, does not close the door for any new NGOs -- American, British, French ... with new names, with new logos," said Hassabo Mohamed Abd el-Rahman, the head of Sudan's state Humanitarian Aid Commission. Sudan has said that Sudanese groups have been filling the gaps left by the expelled groups and there is no problem with aid distribution. However, foreign aid groups dispute this and Holmes said the expulsion had left "serious capacity gaps." "Clearly there were gaps left when the NGOs were expelled... we have been trying to fill those most critical life-saving gaps but we know we've not been able to do that on a full basis," Holmes said. He said the best solution would be for the expelled NGOs to be allowed to return.

Reuters: U.S. calls for "credible" 2010 Sudan election. U.S. special envoy Scott Gration called on Sudan on Thursday to carry out credible elections, due next year, and pledged Washington's support for a referendum on southern independence set for 2011. Sudan is due to hold its first democratic presidential and parliamentary elections in two decades in Feb. 2010 ahead of the referendum on independence. Both events are at the centre a 2005 peace deal ending a north-south civil war. "We want to see elections that are carried out, elections that are credible," Gration, on his second visit to Sudan in as many months, said after meeting prominent northern and southern government officials. "It is our decision that we will support the referendum, that we'll support the CPA (2005 peace deal), and we'll push very hard that it's fully implemented," Gration said.

Reuters: Chad says targets rebels with air strikes. Chad said on Wednesday it had carried out air strikes on rebels in the east of the country and had made preparations aimed at preempting any further advances by them. Chad accused neighbouring Sudan this week of sending armed groups into the east of the country. Khartoum denied the accusation but Chad's Interior Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir repeated the assertion on Wednesday and said its forces had targeted Sudan-backed rebels in the town of Goz-beida, some 200 km (125 miles) south of Abeche in the east. The statement gave no details on how many rebels had been targeted, nor on the timing or outcome of the strikes. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Chad and Sudan on Wednesday to bridge their differences peacefully and called on all states in the region to prevent their territories and nationals from being used to help armed groups.

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