Sudan Elects First Preparatory Committee for Journalists Syndicate in Three Decades

A Sudanese man reads a newspaper on Aug. 20, 2019, covering the court appearance of Sudan's deposed military ruler Omar al-Bashir during the opening of his corruption trial the previous day. - EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP
A Sudanese man reads a newspaper on Aug. 20, 2019, covering the court appearance of Sudan's deposed military ruler Omar al-Bashir during the opening of his corruption trial the previous day. - EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP
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Sudan Elects First Preparatory Committee for Journalists Syndicate in Three Decades

A Sudanese man reads a newspaper on Aug. 20, 2019, covering the court appearance of Sudan's deposed military ruler Omar al-Bashir during the opening of his corruption trial the previous day. - EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP
A Sudanese man reads a newspaper on Aug. 20, 2019, covering the court appearance of Sudan's deposed military ruler Omar al-Bashir during the opening of his corruption trial the previous day. - EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP

Sudanese journalists elected on Saturday the first Preparatory Committee in three decades to pave the way for the establishment of the Journalists Syndicate.

The last legitimate syndicate in the country was dissolved after ousted President Omar al-Bashir seized power in a military coup in June 1989.

More than 600 journalists working in newspapers, international and local television channels and radio stations, as well as official agencies and photographers took part in the meeting held by the constituent General Assembly.

The elected committee consists of 15 members, who managed to win the majority of votes in a smooth electoral process, which was monitored by union experts and representatives from the preliminary committees of doctors, lawyers and engineers syndicates.

Following the December 2019 revolution, the media was divided into three bodies before journalists presented an initiative to unify the press entities by establishing an assembly that allows the participation of all Sudanese journalists in the country and abroad.

Male and female journalists, representing different generations and ages in all visual, audio and print media, participated in the general assembly to establish their professional union, including members of the former syndicate.

The elected member of the preparatory committee, Abdul Hamid Awad, said that convening the General Assembly of Sudanese Journalists “is a historic day for the Sudanese press, as more than 80 percent of its participants were deprived of this experience under the toppled regime.”

Awad, who has been working in the field for more than 20 years, said this was the first time he nominates himself and wins in the elections.

He expected the committee to promote good governance and defend any violations of human rights and freedom of expression.

He wished for the upcoming syndicate to be part of the battle to regain and support the democratic transition and the peaceful transfer of power in the country, and play its role as the fourth authority to oversee the executive, judicial and legislative authorities.



Israel Halts Aid, Official Says, as Gazan Clans Deny Hamas is Stealing It

Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Halts Aid, Official Says, as Gazan Clans Deny Hamas is Stealing It

Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)

Israel has halted aid supplies to Gaza for two days to prevent them being seized by Hamas, an official said on Thursday after images circulated of masked men on aid trucks whom clan leaders said were protecting aid, not diverting it to the militants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, said late on Wednesday that he had ordered the military to present a plan within two days to prevent Hamas from taking control of aid.

The decision was made after Netanyahu and Katz cited new information indicating that Hamas was seizing aid intended for civilians in northern Gaza. The statement did not disclose the information but a video circulating on Wednesday showed dozens of masked men, some armed with rifles but most carrying sticks, riding on aid trucks

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that aid deliveries had been temporarily suspended for two days to allow the military time to develop a new plan.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli prime minister's office, the defense ministry or the Israeli military.

The Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs, which represents influential clans in the territory, said that trucks had been protected as part of an aid security process managed "solely through tribal efforts". The commission said that no Palestinian faction, a reference to Hamas, had taken part in the process.

Hamas, the militant group that has ruled Gaza for more than two decades but now controls only parts of the territory after nearly two years of war with Israel, denied any involvement.

Throughout the war, numerous clans, civil society groups and factions - including Hamas' secular political rival Fatah - have stepped in to help provide security for the aid convoys.

Clans made up of extended families connected through blood and marriage have long been a fundamental part of Gazan society.

ACUTE SHORTAGE

Amjad al-Shawa, director of an umbrella body for Palestinian non-governmental organisations, said the aid protected by clans on Wednesday was being distributed to vulnerable families.

There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year military campaign by Israel that has displaced most of Gaza's two million inhabitants.

Aid trucks and warehouses storing supplies have often been looted, frequently by desperate and starving Palestinians. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies.

"The clans came ... to form a stance to prevent the aggressors and the thieves from stealing the food that belongs to our people," Abu Salman Al Moghani, a representative of Gazan clans, said, referring to Wednesday's operation.

The Wednesday video was shared on X by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who claimed that Hamas had taken control of aid allowed into Gaza by the Israeli government. Bennett is widely seen as the most viable challenger to Netanyahu at the next election.

Netanyahu has also faced pressure from within his right-wing coalition, with some hardline members threatening to quit over ceasefire negotiations and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza.

At least 103 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire over the past 24 hours, local health authorities said, including some shot near an aid distribution point, the latest in a series of such incidents. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Twenty hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, while Hamas is also holding the bodies of 30 who have died.