(29 September 2011)  On 27 September 2011, officials from the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) raided the Aljareeda newspaper offices in Khartoum.  After ordering all employees to leave the premises, NISS officers posted guards at the main gates and locked the doors.  Chief Editor Mr. Saad Aldeen Ibrahim and …

(13 September 2011)  On 2 September, well-known Sudanese intellectual and activist Abdelmoniem Raham was arrested in Damazein, the capital city of Blue Nile state.  His whereabouts are currently unknown.  An active member of the Sudanese Writers Union during the 1980s and head of the Arabic section of the Sudan Radio …

(6 September 2011) The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies has documented hundreds of incidents of arbitrary arrest on the basis of perceived political affiliation and membership to particular ethnic groups since conflict reignited in Northern Sudan’s contested South Kordofan state in early June. Similar incidents have occurred in …

(August-September 2011) The conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, two of Sudan’s “three areas” that received special provisions under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), continue with no sign of resolution. There has been no visible progress made on establishing a forum for negotiations between the ruling Northern …

(June-July 2011) On 9 July, Sudan’s Southern region officially seceded from the rest of the nation, becoming the Republic of South Sudan (RoSS). The secession follows the overwhelming January 2011 vote in favor of separation in the referendum for self-determination prescribed by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The birth …

(May 2011) Since the successful youth protests in Tunisia and Egypt and demonstrations throughout Sudan organised by the Youth for Change in late January till present, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and police have increasingly targeted students, likely over fears of their potential organising power. Demonstrations organised by …

(April 2011) Throughout Sudan’s interim period, a marginal amount of space for freedom of expression and association was allowed by the National Congress Party (NCP) in conformance with the democratic transformation platform set forth by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).  Significant measures were taken in the drafting of the …

(April-May 2011) Despite the CPA agreement on a referendum for Abyei to be held simultaneously to the Southern vote on 9 January to determine its administrative status as part of the North or South, the vote never took place due to disputes over voter eligibility. Several clashes took place in …

Concurrent to the Southern Sudan referendum for self-determination and negotiations between the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) on implementation of outstanding Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) elements, intense fighting occurred in Darfur amidst a deteriorating environment for humanitarian aid. Throughout December alone, over 32,000 were displaced from the Khor Abeche region, which extends from South of El Fashir in North Darfur to outside Nyala in South Darfur. The devastation has largely been rendered invisible: despite the magnitude of devastation and suffering in Darfur, international attention has largely shifted to North/South issues, with the crisis in Darfur “de-coupled” by the international community to encourage the referendum process. Indeed, the referendum has, in many ways, exacerbated the situation in Darfur as it offered a cover for Khartoum to withdraw from Doha while simultaneously urgently pressing for a solution and refusing the mediations’ proposal, resume fighting with their Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) partner the Sudan Liberation Army/Mini Minawi (SLA/MM), and continue implementation of the “peace from within” strategy.