Sudan

NOVANEWS by crescent-online.net One of the leading Islamic political thinkers and activists, Dr Hasan al-Turabi passed away today in Khartoum. He was 84. A specialist in Islamic Law (he had a PhD in Islamic Law), he had contributed many books on the subject as well as served in various capacities in political office. Close to many Sudanese leaders, he eventually fell out with them ending in prison on numerous occasions. Khartoum, crescent-online.net Saturday March 05, 2016, 20:09 EST One of the leading Islamic intellectuals and political activists in Sudan, Dr Hasan Abdullah al Turabi passed away today. He was 84. After suffering a heart attack at his office in the morning, he was rushed to the Royal Care International Hospital in Khartoum. He slipped into a coma and did not recover and w...

NOVANEWS al-Bashir war crimes A high court in South Africa issued an interim order Sunday preventing Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir from leaving the country. Al-Bashir is currently in South Africa attending the 25th African Union Summit that is underway in Johannesburg. The South African court will decide later on Sunday whether or not to hand the Sudanese leader over to the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant against al-Bashir in 2009. He is accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s Darfur region. Pretoria High Court Judge Hans Fabricus issued the order on Sunday after the Southern Africa Litigation Centre submitted an application calling for the Sudanese leader’s arrest. Amnesty International also appealed to South Africa to arre...

NOVANEWS Al-Bashir blocks 10 newspapers from running a story about the rape and sexual abuse of children on school buses ' Widely known as the ‘butcher of Sudan,’ Omar Hassan al-Bashir, has all but eliminated freedom of the press and political dissent. RELATED STORIES/VIDEOS: will-arab-summit-condemn-the-butcher-of-sudan-for-crimes-against-humanity worst-human-rights-abusers-and-liberals-support-the-butcher-of-sudan islamic-north-sudan-declares-war-on-christian-black-south-sudan-israel-arming-south sudan-if-this-wasnt-genocide-by-arab-muslims-what-is sudan-for-5-days-arab-muslims-forced-to-carry-the-sawed-off-head-of-a-child-while-it-rotted-in-my-hands sudanese-genocide-how-come-the-media-never-mention-that-muslims-are-the-slaughterers

NOVANEWS Some 12,000 children are still in active combat both on the side of the rebels and militias allied to government, Unicef says, making the removal of child fighters from the conflict a difficult task. By Lisa Vives A Sudanese family takes shelter at the Kalma refugee camp for internally displaced people, south of the Darfur town of Nyala, Sudan.  (AP/UNAMID) NEW YORK, Mar 24 2015 - South Sudan’s Democratic Army Cobra Faction announced its third release of child soldiers as agreed in a pact with the government signed last May. Over the weekend, 654 children registered with the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) were released – bringing the total freed by the militia group since January to 1,314. The children exchanged their weapons and uniforms for civilian clothes at a ceremony in L...

NOVANEWS I’ve just returned from South Sudan (very briefly) to speak at Adelaide Writer’s Week. What a culture shock coming from Africa. Everything here is so shiny. Anyway, I’ll be speaking about Israel/Palestine, my investigative work over the years, interviewing British writer John Lancaster on financial shenanigans and running a masterclass with the South Australian Writer’s Centre. Here’s the Adelaide literary festival director Laura Kroetsch introducing my work:  

NOVANEWS Thousands of children are being used as soldiers in the U.S.-caused war in South Sudan. | Photo: Child Rights Awareness Creation Organization Unidentified gunmen abduct 89 boys while in school, possibly to use as armed soldiers. Unidentified gunmen in war-torn South Sudan, kidnapped about 90 boys, some as young as 13, from their school in oil-rich Upper Nile State, the United Nations reported on Saturday. The schoolboys were taken while doing their exams, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said, adding that the total number of kidnapped children could be "much higher." No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abductions and the gunmen's intentions were not clear, though in the past armed groups have forcibly recruited children before major offensives. ...

NOVANEWS Some 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Darfur, and the region is home to more than two million internally displaced persons, according to the UN. By Al Akhbar A Sudanese family takes shelter under their donkey cart at the Kalma refugee camp for internally displaced people, south of the Darfur town of Nyala, Sudan.  (AP/UNAMID) Fighting between Sudanese government forces and rebels in parts of Darfur has displaced more than 41,000 people from their homes since late December, the UN said on Thursday. “Aid organizations have assessed and verified the needs of 41,304 people displaced” by violence in North Darfur state and the Jebel Marra areas in the war-torn region, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its weekly bulletin. Th...

NOVANEWS The country's military has enlisted boys as young as 13, often by force, in Upper Nile state, the rights watchdog said. By AP   A Sudanese family takes shelter under their donkey cart at the Kalma refugee camp for internally displaced people, south of the Darfur town of Nyala, Sudan. Photo: UNAMID/AP KAMPALA, Uganda — South Sudan’s military and rebel forces are recruiting children despite assurances to the contrary, Human Rights Watch said Monday, citing children and parents interviewed last month. The country’s military has enlisted boys as young as 13, often by force, in Upper Nile state, the rights watchdog said. The allegations were strongly denied by two senior South Sudanese officials who said standing orders forbid the army from recruiting children. “We issued orders to...