KHARTOUM: The US, UK and Norway on Friday urged Sudanese protesters who have shut down oil pipelines and the main port in the country’s east since mid-September to end their blockade.
The appeal came as the civilian-military government in Khartoum has warned that unrest has crippled Sudanese exports and imports of basic goods.
“The Troika (Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States) strongly supports the efforts of Sudan’s government to resolve protests in eastern Sudan,” a statement said.
But a prolonged blockage of roads, docks and the airport in east Sudan threaten to have “a serious impact on the country’s economy and the well-being of its citizens,” it said.
The Troika are guarantors of the 2005 peace agreement struck between Sudan and southern rebels ahead of South Sudan’s secession six years later.
On September 17, protesters objecting to parts of an October 2020 peace deal between the Khartoum government and a coalition of rebels blocked the country’s main container and oil export terminals in Port Sudan.
It crippled Sudan’s own exports and also blocked the 154,000 barrels of oil per day pumped from neighboring South Sudan — for which Khartoum earns lucrative transit fees that are an important source of revenue for the cash-strapped government.
The protesters in the east say the 2020 deal — orchestrated by a transitional government that came into being in 2019, following the ouster of veteran autocrat Omar Al-Bashir — overlooks them.
They agreed to allow South Sudanese oil exports to resume, but continued to block other key infrastructure in Port Sudan.
On Sunday, the Khartoum government said it was running out of life-saving medicine, fuel and wheat.
“The Troika joins with the civilian-led transitional government in calling for an end to the ongoing blockades of port and transportation infrastructure in eastern Sudan,” Friday’s statement read.
The Troika said it “fully recognizes the development challenges facing the people of eastern Sudan.”
But it called on protesters to engage in a political dialogue with the government and urged authorities in Khartoum to “intensify” efforts to resolve the issues that sparked the demonstrations.
Eastern Sudan is one of the country’s poorest regions, and residents have long complained of being marginalized politically and economically by the government.
Protesters have said they will keep on blocking infrastructure until their basic needs are met.
According to the demonstrators 60 percent of Sudan’s gold is mined in the east, which is also a crucial transit point for trade.
Beset by economic and security woes, the central government remains fragile.
UK, US, Norway urge end to east Sudan protests
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UK, US, Norway urge end to east Sudan protests
- Appeal came as government warns that unrest has crippled Sudanese exports and imports of basic goods
- The protesters in the east say the 2020 deal overlooks them
Katz orders West Bank raid after deadly attack in Israel
- Friday’s stabbing and car-ramming attack in northern Israel triggered the minister’s action
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday ordered the military to launch an operation in the village of Qabatiya in the occupied West Bank after it emerged that a Palestinian who killed two people came from there.
The minister instructed the Israeli forces to “act forcefully and immediately against the village of Qabatiya, from which the murderous terrorist emerged, in order to locate and thwart every terrorist and strike the village’s terror infrastructure,” Katz’s office said in a statement.
“Anyone who aids terrorism or sponsors and backs it will pay the full price,” it added.
BACKGROUND
Friday’s attack comes just days after Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the Qabatiya area.
The military said in a separate statement that it was preparing to begin an operation in Qabatiya in the northern West Bank, which has seen repeated violent incidents.
Friday’s stabbing and car-ramming attack in northern Israel triggered the minister’s action.
The assault came a day after an Israeli military reservist dressed in civilian clothes rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man in the West Bank, where violence has surged since the war in Gaza began.
“Preliminary investigation indicates this was a rolling terror attack that began in the city of Beit Shean, where a pedestrian was run over,” Israeli police said in a statement about Friday’s attack, adding that the victim was a 68-year-old man.
“Later, a young woman was stabbed near Road 71, and the suspect was ultimately engaged with gunfire near Maonot Junction in Afula following intervention by a civilian bystander,” it said, adding that the attacker was taken to hospital.
Both victims succumbed to the injuries, Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said in a statement.
MDA also reported that a 16-year-old was slightly injured when “hit by a vehicle.
The Israeli military said the attacker had “infiltrated into Israeli territory several days ago.”
President Isaac Herzog condemned the attack.
Friday’s attack comes just days after Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the Qabatiya area.
The military has launched an investigation into the incident after footage emerged showing the teenager not posing any threat or throwing anything at soldiers who shot him.
The attack on Friday also came a day after an Israeli military reservist dressed in civilian clothes rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man in the
West Bank.
In videos on social media purporting to show that incident, the victim is seen praying by the roadside when the soldier rams him with his vehicle.
