U.S. and European media

October 5, 2023

Reuters: Sudan's Bashir runs for president despite warrant.  Sudan's ruling party nominated President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for re-election despite an International Criminal Court warrant to arrest him for war crimes.  The Hague-based court says the government of Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 military coup with Islamist backing, committed crimes against humanity while fighting mostly non-Arab rebels in Darfur.  The multi-party elections set for April 2010 will be the first in Africa's largest country in 24 years.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Faith leaders urge White House to work toward peace in Sudan.  American Jewish World Service president Ruth Messinger was among 14 faith community leaders who met with White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships director Joshua DuBois on Friday to urge the Obama administration to continue to work hard for peace in Sudan. They presented a letter, which can be read here, which asks the White House to ask the administration to work with multilateral coalitions "to help bring a sustainable peace agreement that will restore security and allow the Darfuri people to freely return to their homes and rebuild their lives" and urges the White House to ensure that "all aspects" of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement "are fully implemented to help achieve a just and lasting peace." It also urges the administration to play a role in making sure that the 2006 agreement in Eastern Sudan is upheld.

Episcopal News Service: Interfaith clergy letter on Sudan peace delivered to White House.  Bishop Suffragan David Jones of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and Alexander Baumgarten, interim director of government relations for the Episcopal Church, joined faith leaders from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish traditions for a meeting at the White House October 2 to present a copy of a letter on comprehensive peace in the Sudan signed by more than 1,400 clergy from across the United States. The letter, organized by the Sudan Interfaith Working Group, of which the Episcopal Church is a member, urges President Barack Obama to prioritize "efforts that will bring peace to millions that live in violence and fear while lacking the basic services essential for survival."

The Observer: Kony fighting in Darfur-SPLA.  The LRA are fighting as mercenaries alongside the Janjawid militia in the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) claims. The spokesman for the SPLA/M, Brig. Kuol Deim Kuol, accused President Omar Bashir's government of harbouring the Joseph Kony-led LRA rebels in Darfur region. The Sudan Tribune of September 29 quoted Brig. Kuol Deim as saying that the LRA sneaked into Darfur from the Central African Republic after helicopter strikes by the UPDF. He said the Khartoum government was aware. But President Bashir's advisor, Salah Gosh, dismissed these claims by the SPLA as "untrue."

AFP: US NGOs concerned by Obama's Darfur envoy, policy.  US non-governmental organizations are pressing President Barack Obama to launch a new peace initiative for Darfur, as they express concern about the approach being taken by US envoy Scott Gration.  The administration began a review of US policy towards Sudan in March, but has yet to release the results, despite promising in August that they would be announced shortly.  The situation is complicated by the fact that the issue of Darfur, a region in the west of Sudan, cannot be considered in isolation from a separate conflict between the country's north and south, which is threatening to flare up again, after several years of peace.

The Darfur Daily News is a service of the Save Darfur Coalition. To subscribe to the Daily News, please email [email protected]. For media inquiries, please contact Ashley Roberts at (202) 478-6181, or [email protected].