Sudan Condemns European Sanctions Against ‘Army-Affiliated Companies’

Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan during an inspection of his forces at the beginning of this month. (Transitional Sovereignty Council media)
Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan during an inspection of his forces at the beginning of this month. (Transitional Sovereignty Council media)
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Sudan Condemns European Sanctions Against ‘Army-Affiliated Companies’

Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan during an inspection of his forces at the beginning of this month. (Transitional Sovereignty Council media)
Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan during an inspection of his forces at the beginning of this month. (Transitional Sovereignty Council media)

Sudan's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denounced “as unjust” the European Council (EC) decision to impose sanctions on three companies affiliated with the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF).
On Monday, the EC had imposed sanctions on six companies for their involvement in financing and arming the warring Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The EC said the six entities were responsible for “supporting activities undermining the stability and political transition of Sudan.”
Among the companies sanctioned were three controlled by the SAF and three others involved in procuring military equipment for the RSF.
In a statement, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said the European move lacked objectivity as it balances between the national army that defends the Sudanese people, their independence and dignity, and a terrorist militia (RSF), which has tens of thousands of mercenaries committing genocide, ethnic cleansing and sexual violence against the Sudanese people.
It added that the report of the United Nations experts monitoring the implementation of Security Council Resolution No. 1591 “provided sufficient information about those who threaten the stability of Sudan and the entire region, and those who commit war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide or help to commit them, including partners and allies of the European Union.”
It called on the EU to shoulder its political and moral responsibilities towards international and regional peace by pressuring those parties to stop supplying weapons, mercenaries, funding and media coverage to the terrorist militia.
“The sanctions, especially targeting (Sudan's) national institutions, will not help achieve peace,” the Ministry said.
Meanwhile, General Mohamed Hamdan“Hemedti” Daglo, commander of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Tuesday he had a telephone conversation with UN Humanitarian Chief Martin Griffiths to discuss the humanitarian situation in Sudan and ways to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population.
On X, Daglo said he also tackled with Griffiths the process of facilitating entry for humanitarian aid convoys through Gezeira State to the states of Kordofan, Darfur, White Nile, and Khartoum, and other areas in Sudan.
“I also emphasized to Griffiths the importance of humanitarian organizations maintaining a sustainable presence in Kordofan and Darfur, as there is an urgent need for humanitarian operations in these areas,” the RSF commander said.
He then affirmed the firm commitment of his forces to international humanitarian law, protecting civilians, and fostering collaboration with all humanitarian organizations to facilitate and support their work in these localities.
At the field level, eyewitnesses reported that the RSF escalated their attacks on towns in Al Jazira State, leaving several casualties.
Residents in Wad Madani told Asharq Al-Awsat they saw RSF military crowds roaming the city center despite the calm.

 

 



WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

The World Health Organization is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children being infected after the virus was detected in sewage samples, its chief said on Friday.

"While no cases of polio have been recorded yet, without immediate action, it is just a matter of time before it reaches the thousands of children who have been left unprotected," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an opinion piece in Britain's The Guardian newspaper.

He wrote that children under five were most at risk from the viral disease, and especially infants under two since normal vaccination campaigns have been disrupted by more than nine months of conflict.

Poliomyelitis, which is spread mainly through the fecal-oral route, is a highly infectious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. Cases of polio have declined by 99% worldwide since 1988 thanks to mass vaccination campaigns and efforts continue to eradicate it completely.

Israel's military said on Sunday it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the virus were found in test samples in the enclave.

Besides polio, the UN reported last week a widespread increase in cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis as sanitary conditions deteriorate in Gaza, with sewage spilling into the streets near some camps for displaced people.