Protesters Block Port Sudan Container Terminal In Rejection of Peace Deal

A man stands opposite the modern port at the harbour in Port Sudan at Red Sea State February 24, 2014. (REUTERS)
A man stands opposite the modern port at the harbour in Port Sudan at Red Sea State February 24, 2014. (REUTERS)
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Protesters Block Port Sudan Container Terminal In Rejection of Peace Deal

A man stands opposite the modern port at the harbour in Port Sudan at Red Sea State February 24, 2014. (REUTERS)
A man stands opposite the modern port at the harbour in Port Sudan at Red Sea State February 24, 2014. (REUTERS)

Protesters blocked Port Sudan’s container terminal and a road between the eastern city and the capital Khartoum on Sunday to protest against a peace deal signed by the government and groups from across the country, a union official and residents said.

The deal, ratified on Saturday in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, was focused on resolving conflicts in the western Darfur region and southern states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

Groups from other regions also signed, but some in the east said the two factions that participated in the “eastern track” of the peace process do not represent political forces on the ground, Reuters reported.

The deal is aimed at ending decades of conflict in Sudan and uniting the country behind a political transition following the ouster of former leader Omar Bashir in April 2019.

However, the two most active groups in the west and the south did not sign, and analysts said that during negotiations, local communities were not widely consulted by military and civilian authorities now sharing power.

Workers at the southern port, Sudan’s main sea terminal for containers, and at Suakin port to the south, were on strike over the peace deal, said Aboud El-Sherbiny, head of the Port Sudan Workers Union.

“We demand the cancellation of the ‘eastern track’ and the agreement that was signed yesterday in Juba because this track expresses an external agenda,” he said.

“We will take escalatory steps if this demand is not met.”

South Sudan President Salva Kiir warned that implementing the deal would not be an easy task and urged the international community to lend its support.

“We have no illusion that the implementation of the peace agreement we are celebrating today will be an easy business especially with the economic realities facing Sudan presently,” he said.

“Sudan needs financial resources to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed by the war and floods.”

Economic hardship triggered the anti-Bashir protests and remain a pressing concern — food prices have tripled in the past year and the Sudanese pound has depreciated dramatically.

Recent flooding, which has affected nearly 830,000 people, has worsened the situation.



PMF Sparks Dispute between Washington and Baghdad 

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) and PMF leader Falih Al-Fayyadh (L). (Iraqi government file photo)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) and PMF leader Falih Al-Fayyadh (L). (Iraqi government file photo)
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PMF Sparks Dispute between Washington and Baghdad 

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) and PMF leader Falih Al-Fayyadh (L). (Iraqi government file photo)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) and PMF leader Falih Al-Fayyadh (L). (Iraqi government file photo)

The United State has rejected the law on the legalization of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which is aligned with Iran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held telephone talks on Wednesday with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on the latest developments in Iraq.

A State Department statement said Rubio “reiterated serious US concerns with the Popular Mobilization Commission (PMC) bill currently pending in the Council of Representatives (COR), emphasizing that any such legislation would institutionalize Iranian influence and armed terrorist groups undermining Iraq’s sovereignty.”

Rubio later posted on X: “We support a prosperous Iraq, free of Iran’s pernicious influence.”

Rubio also spoke to Sudani about the recent attacks on energy infrastructure, including those operated by US companies. He stressed the importance of the Iraqi government holding the perpetrators accountable and preventing future attacks, added the State Department.

The Iraqi government has been investigating the recent attacks in northern Iraq with reports widely suspecting Shiite factions of perpetrating them.

Meanwhile, Sudani’s press office said Iraq supports efforts to consolidate stability in the region and the sustainability of ceasefire agreements.

The PM added that the recent attacks on oil companies “target Iraq’s national economy.”

On the PMF, Sudani informed Rubio that legislation is part of “security reform” efforts adopted by his government.

“The PMF is an official Iraqi military institution that works under the authority of the commander of the armed forces,” read the statement from Sudani’s office.

The main factions of the pro-Iran Coordination Framework have been pushing for legislations that would enshrine new laws related to the recruitment of PMF fighters.

Head of the Center for Political Thinking in Iraq, Dr. Ihssan Shmary told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US has started to focus more on Iraq in recent months in wake of the American strikes on Iran.

The telephone call between Rubio and Sudani revealed American reservations over the PMF and armed groups in Iraq, he added.

Washington has started to sense that Iran was beginning to consolidate its influence in Iraq through the PMF laws, which led it intervene directly through diplomatic channels, he remarked.