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Sudan’s Military Arrests Protest Leaders

  Sudanese security forces have arrested two prominent rebels and an opposition leader, a day after they met the Ethiopian premier during his reconciliation mission … Continue reading Sudan’s Military Arrests Protest Leaders


Members of Sudan’s security forces patrol on June 6, 2019 in Khartoum. Sudan’s health ministry has said “no more than 46” people died in a crackdown on Khartoum protesters, far fewer than the 108 dead reported by doctors close to the demonstrators. The Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors, which is close to the protesters, said Wednesday that at least 108 people had been killed since paramilitaries moved in on a long-running sit-in outside army headquarters the previous day. AFP
Members of Sudan’s security forces patrol on June 6, 2019 in Khartoum. AFP photo.

 

Sudanese security forces have arrested two prominent rebels and an opposition leader, a day after they met the Ethiopian premier during his reconciliation mission to Khartoum, their aides said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has emerged as a key regional leader, met representatives of both sides on Friday in a bid to revive talks betweenSudan’s ruling generals and protest leaders after a deadly crackdown left dozens of people dead in the capitalthis week.

Among the protest movement delegates he met were opposition politician Mohamed Esmat and a leader ofthe rebelSudanPeople’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Ismail Jalab.

Sudanese security forces later arrested both men without giving any reason, their aides told AFP on Saturday.

Esmat was arrested on Friday soon after his meeting with Abiy.

Jalab was arrested from his residence early on Saturday.

“A group of armed men came in vehicles at 3:00 am (1:00 GMT) and took away Ismail Jalab .. without giving any reason,” Jalab aide Rashid Anwar told AFP, adding that SPLM-N spokesman Mubarak Ardol was also detained.

“We don’t know where they are being held,” he added.

Esmat and Jalab are both leading members of the Alliance for Freedom and Change, which brings together opposition parties and rebel groups with the organisers of the mass protests which have grippedSudansince December last year.

The arrest of Jalab comes just days after the SPLM-N’s deputy leader, Yasir Arman, was seized from his home in Khartoum.

The rebel number two had only returned to Khartoum from exile late last month.

The SPLM-N has led uprisings among non-Arab ethnic minorities in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states since 2011, thatSudan’s military rulers had vowed to end peacefully after their overthrow of longtime president Omar al-Bashir in April.

AFP