Background to the conflict in Sudan and who is behind it
Yesterday I did a backgrounder on the serious situation in Sudan
BIOHAZARD RISK IN SUDAN AS WARRING FACTION SEIZES LAB – WHO
Now, I wish to take this a bit further
This is the situation 4 days ago
Sudan fighting: Diplomats and foreign nationals evacuated
A growing list of countries have evacuated diplomats and citizens from Sudan’s capital as fierce fighting continues to rage in Khartoum.
The US and UK announced on Sunday they had flown diplomats out of the country.
France, Germany, Italy and Spain have also been evacuating diplomats and other nationals.
A vicious power struggle between the regular army and a powerful paramilitary force has led to violence across Sudan for more than a week.
US authorities said they had airlifted fewer than 100 people with three Chinook helicopters on Sunday morning in a “fast and clean” operation.
The US embassy in Khartoum is now closed, and a tweet on its official feed says it is not safe enough for the government to evacuate private US citizens
In a kind of Afghanistan 2.0 situation it appears the Americans closed their embassy but left Americans behind scrambling to find a way out of the country
Americans stuck in Sudan to make ‘life or death decisions’ express anger at US government
As the crisis in Sudan continues to unfold, there is mounting anger among Americans who feel abandoned by the US government and left to navigate the complicated and dangerous situation on their own.
“I am incredibly shocked and disgusted by the American lackluster response to the health and safety of their citizens,” said Muna Daoud, whose parents were traveling to get out of Sudan via Port Sudan to Saudi Arabia.
Despite a number of nations evacuating their citizens, the US government has continued to say that the conditions are not conducive to a civilian evacuation. All US government personnel were evacuated in a military operation this weekend. US officials have said they are in “close communication” with US citizens and “actively facilitating” their departure from Sudan.
However, CNN spoke with multiple people whose family members are among the “dozens” of Americans who want to leave Sudan, and they said the State Department has provided “barely any assistance” since the deadly violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out more than a week ago.
That fighting between the rival military groups has left hundreds dead, including two Americans, and thousands wounded, and has left the country at risk of humanitarian disaster, as those still trapped in their homes face shortages of food, water, medicine and electricity.
Those who spoke to CNN said they and their family members have had to make “life or death decisions” about when and how to leave the country with very little guidance.
This is a more recent description from the NY Times behind a paywall
A bus convoy carrying about 300 people was the first U.S.-organized evacuation effort of Americans other than diplomats since fighting broke out nearly two weeks ago in the northeast African nation
Here is a description of the situation 3 days ago from RT
WESTERN MEDIA NARRATIVE
The Western view – from Forbes
It always comes down to “democracy” and civil rights.
From the WSJ.
In Sudan, Another ‘Democracy’ Push Fails
The U.S. tried to impose a ‘transition.’ The local players were a lot more practical.
THE TRUE BACKGROUND
Here are two backgrounders – one from InfoWars
The Sudan-Ukraine Connection : Victoria Nuland
The other from Jackson Hinkle
The true background comes from this African (Kenyan?) commentator.
American involvement goes back to the 1990’s when the US under Bill Clinton bombed Sudan’s only pharmaceutical factory.
Bill Clinton’s Act of Terrorism
In 1998, Bill Clinton ordered the bombing of a medicine factory in Sudan. The country has yet to recover.
It only reestablished their embassy when it suited them in 2004
Here is a recent timeline that puts things into perspective:
This is from May 25 last year.
Of course American strategic goals are wrapped up in “returning democracy” – favouring one dictator over another.
US threatens sanctions on Sudanese blocking democracy return
The United States on Tuesday urged rapid progress from military to civilian rule in Sudan and threatened sanctions on anyone impeding or blocking the transition to democracy.
Richard Mills, deputy U.S. ambassador at the United Nations, said Washington supports a joint effort by the U.N. political mission in Sudan, the African Union and the eight-nation regional group IGAD to facilitate a Sudanese-led shift to democracy.
Speaking before the Security Council, he strongly encouraged Sudanese civilians and military to use this process to move quickly “on the framework for a civilian-led transitional government.”
Sudan has been in turmoil since an October military coup upended its short-lived transition to democracy after three decades of repressive rule by strongman Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir and his Islamist-backed government were removed in a popular uprising in April 2019.
The military takeover sparked protests demanding a return to civilian rule and a crackdown on protesters by security forces. The coup also sent Sudan’s already fragile economy into free fall, with living conditions rapidly deteriorating.
The two main protest groups, the Sudanese Professionals Association and the Resistance Committees, have long demanded the removal of the military from power and the establishment of a fully civilian government.
The generals say they will hand over power only to an elected administration. They say elections will take place in July 2023 as planned in a constitutional document governing the transitional period.
Mills expressed hope that the dialogue facilitated by the U.N., AU and the east African IGAD regional group “will succeed and soon.”
“The transfer of power to a civilian-led government will enable the resumption of international financial support and development assistance — support that is desperately needed,” the U.S. envoy said. “To make sure that progress happens, and that the people of Sudan are well-served, we are prepared to levy consequences on those who impede or otherwise spoil Sudan’s transition to democracy.”
In U.N. diplomatic language, “consequences” mean sanctions.
This is from Africa News on 3 March, 2022
Sudan welcomes military base agreement with Russia in the Red Sea
Deputy Chairman of Sudan Sovereignty Council, General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalu Hmidti, reported that he discussed cooperation with Russian officials on national security and political issues.
Hmidti held a press conference at Khartoum Airport after his 8-day visit to the Russian capital, Moscow.
Hmidti said that meetings were held with many officials in Russia, and that they discussed all issues between the two countries, especially politics and economy, during the visit, and that the meetings were productive.
Hmidti stated that they discussed the issues of economy and cooperation between the two countries with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
Mentioning that he also met with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, Hmidti said that they discussed the issue of national security in Russia and Sudan in the field of experience sharing, joint cooperation, fight against terrorism and education.
Hmidti also said the following about the naval base that Russia wants to establish in the city of Port Sudan in the Red Sea:
“The issue of the Russian military base is the issue of the Sudanese Defense Minister. There is a lot of talk about this base. There are Russian bases in different countries in Africa. I cannot understand the interest behind the establishment of this base. If the establishment of a military base in Sudan is in the country’s interest and does not threaten its national security, Russia There’s nothing wrong with getting along with him or anyone else.”
Noting that he and his delegation also visited Egypt and met with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamil, Hmidti stated that the political situation in Sudan was discussed during the meeting and that the Egyptian side called for the crisis in Sudan to be resolved through dialogue.
Sudan’s Sovereignty Council Vice President called on the parties to reach political consensus to overcome difficulties and engage in dialogue in the country.
During the visit of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown in 2019 by a military coup, to Moscow in November 2017, the two countries signed cooperation agreements on military training, exchange of experience and the entry of warships into the ports of the two- countries.
According to Russia Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the establishment of a Russian base in Sudan on November 16, 2020, capable of accommodating ships with nuclear power units.
Sudan Chief of Staff Mohammed Osman al-Huseyin said in a statement on 19 November 2020, “So far, there is no full agreement with Russia on the establishment of a naval base in the Red Sea, but our military cooperation has been extended.” had used the phrase.
On 9 December 2020, the official Russian newspaper published the text of the agreement between Russia and Sudan on the establishment of a supply and maintenance base for the Russian Navy in the Red Sea “to support peace and security in the region.
This is from 2 months ago – from WION
Gravitas: Russia to set up a naval base in Sudan
What the following article makes clear is that the US has military bases everywhere, including in Djibouti ,but is against similar actions by China or Russia
Sudanese Military Gov Reaffirms ‘No Problem’ With Opening Russian Naval Base in Red Sea Port
Whether in Ukraine or Sudan, Death Follows Victoria Nuland Wherever She Goes
Death seems to follow Victoria Nuland wherever she goes. Whether it’s in Ukraine or in Sudan, people die.
Victoria Nuland was known as the midwife of Maidan – the Obama-Biden point person reportedly running the overthrow of the Ukrainian Presidency in 2013-14.
Ukraine 2014 Coup d’état
After violent events associated with the Maidan revolution protests, Ukraine’s parliament ousted President Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014 and replaced him with Petro Poroshenko. Disposed Yanukovich was an existential threat because his amicable relations with Russia impeded Ukraine from becoming a European member and NATO from expanding to Russia’s border. Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, the midwife of Maidan, threatened sanctions against Ukraine’s government if President Viktor Yanukovych remained in office. (Over 100 people were killed in the protests.)
Assistant US Assistant Secretary of State for Victoria Nuland handing out cakes to Yanukovych protesters on the Independence Square in Kiev on December 10, 2013.
The Obama-Biden Administration helped create instability in Ukraine, leading to a Mafia-like climate where potential Russian aggression leads to Ukraine demanding protection. Protection money is easily extorted, benefiting Hunter Biden and indirectly Joe Biden.
After the coup, the US installed leaders and the Biden’s began moving money from Ukraine to the family coffers.
That was just the beginning for Nuland. She was involved in the Steele dossier and worked with Eric Ciaramello who was suspected of being the person behind the first bogus impeachment of President Trump.
Recently Nuland admitted that the US had biolabs in Ukraine. This was months after Russia released information that this was the case.
We now know that Nuland visited Sudan recently to encourage the country not to align with Russia.
Timeline of events in Sudan
Someone should have told Sudan about Victoria Nuland. Death follows her. After Nuland’s reported visit, Sudan broke out in a conflict and people died.
Biden came in and got the people out of the US embassy after the conflict started but like with Afghanistan, Americans in Sudan were left to fend for themselves. Today it’s been reported that two Americans have died in the country so far.
This is Victoria Nuland and what follows her.
THE BIOLAB IN SUDAN
This is what the western media has been saying:
WHO warns of ‘huge biological risk’ as Sudan fighters storm national laboratory holding samples of polio, cholera and measles
- Fighters occupied a central public laboratory in the capital Khartoum
- WHO representative said technicians unable to access it to secure the materials
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that there is ‘a huge biological risk’ associated with the occupation of a central public health lab as fighters stormed the building.
The World Health Organization said that fighters in conflict-ravaged Sudan had occupied a central public laboratory in the capital Khartoum, holding samples of diseases including polio and measles and creating an ‘extremely, extremely dangerous’ situation.
‘There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab… by one of the fighting parties,’ Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO’s representative in Sudan, told reporters in Geneva via video-link.
An Indian view from Palki Sharma
Hang on! ☣️ Biolabs under attack in Sudan? What is going on?
This is an indication of US involvement. This article is no longer on the web.
We can suspect this is the case but apart from the above do we actually KNOW it?
Dr Fauci Caught Funding MORE Biolabs. Sudanese Lab Could Lead to Next Major Outbreak – And the U.S. Paid for It
Earlier this week the World Health Organization warned that there is a “huge biological risk” after rebel fighters took over a Sudanese biolab containing dangerous virus samples – but a look at exactly who funded the lab makes things even MORE CONCERNING!
As it turns out, the lab was funded by none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci and the NIH, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and even the Department of Defense. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation were also listed as a financial contributor!
This means that all the same people who were responsible for funding the Wuhan lab which “suddenly leaked” COVID-19 to the world, have been doing something very similar over in Sudan and now the WHO is warning we can expect another major global event.
Fighting between rebel forces and the Sudanese military has been taking place since April 15 and with the rebels taking forces of the lab, the WHO warns the situation “extremely serious” and that there is a “huge biological risk.”
The WHO is warning that there’s a risk of spoilage and potential for leaks of deadly pathogens, given “it is not possible to properly manage the biological materials that are stored in the laboratory for medical purposes.”
The larger concern is that any armed confrontation in the lab would turn it into a massive “germ bomb.”
Sudan’s WHO representative Nima Saeed Abid told the press, “This is the main concern: no accessibility to the lab technicians to go to the lab and safely contain the biological material and substances available.”
But the real concern for the public should be the fact that these Sudanese rebels could be used as the scapegoats for the release of the newest virus which the world uses as an excuse to lockdown the masses!
Fauci funded biolabs have been the center of controversy in recent years, even beyond the most well-known Wuhan lab. In Ukraine, several biolabs reportedly existed nearby the Russian border which Putin pointed to as one of the reasons they chose to invade the nation and shut them down.
Prior to his retirement, Fauci’s powerful position in the government granted him the ability to funnel American taxpayer dollars into the hands of dangerous foreign biolabs which, as we all saw with COVID-19, can EASILY come back to haunt us!
The discovery of these U.S. funded Sudanese labs has forced people to question: WHY THE HECK HAVE WE BEEN BUILDING BIOLABS IN SUDAN?!
Much like Ukraine, Sudan has a complicated history of corruption and violence which – you would think – would make it one of the WORST choices for a deadly lab of this sort but for some reason places like that seem to be Fauci’s top choice for these labs!
New Pandemic? WHO Warns “Biological Risk” After Sudanese Fighters Seize Public Health Lab
The World Health Organization issued a “huge biological risk” warning on Tuesday after Sudanese fighters seized the National Public Health Laboratory in Khartoum, as foreign nations raced to mount quick evacuation efforts from the country and violence shattered a fragile US-brokered ceasefire.
A high-ranking medical source informed CNN that Rapid Support Forces (RSF)–a Sudanese paramilitary group–had taken over the lab, which included illness samples and other biological material. The WHO did not assign blame for the lab seizure, but stated that medical technicians could no longer enter the facility.
Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO representative in Sudan, described the development as “extremely dangerous because we have polio isolates in the lab, we have measles isolates in the lab, we have cholera isolates in the lab.”
“There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab in Khartoum by one of the fighting parties,” he added.
In a statement to CNN, the WHO stated that “trained laboratory technicians no longer have access to the laboratory” and that the facility had suffered power outages, implying that “it is not possible to properly manage the biological materials that are stored in the laboratory for medical purposes.”
“The danger lies in the outbreak of any armed confrontation in the laboratory because that will turn the laboratory into a germ bomb,” the source added. “An urgent and rapid international intervention is required to restore electricity and secure the laboratory from any armed confrontation because we are facing a real biological danger.”
On Tuesday, gunfire and the roar of fighter jets could be heard in Khartoum, half a day after the announcement of a 72-hour truce boosted hopes of opening up escape routes for civilians fleeing the conflict. Heavy fighting erupted in the northern section of Khartoum state between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group opposing the army for control of the country.
The disputing parties accused each other of breaking the agreement.
The number of persons killed in Sudan since violence erupted eleven days ago has risen to at least 459, according to the World Health Organization, with at least 4,072 injured.
Medical crisis
Earlier, Dr. Ahmed Al Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said that “movement in Khartoum is restricted due to the insecurity, creating challenges for doctors, nurses, patients, and ambulances to reach health facilities, and putting the lives of those who need urgent medical care at risk.”
“As of today [April 20], according to the Ministry of Health, 20 hospitals have been forced to close due to attacks or lack of resources, and an additional eight health facilities are at risk of closing due to staff fatigue or lack of medical doctors and supplies,” the regional director said in remarks given at a press briefing.
The Federal Ministry of Health also reported 20 hospitals as no longer functional and 12 others at risk due to lack of medical supplies and health care workers.
Sudan is one of seven nations in the greater Horn of Africa that are already suffering from food insecurity, with more than a quarter of the population fearing famine. Multiple disease outbreaks are now spreading throughout the country, including measles, poliovirus, Khartoum’s first-ever Dengue outbreak, and rising malaria cases throughout the country.
“As more hospitals become nonfunctional due to lack of health supplies, a dedicated group (including WHO, MOH, and mass casualty management teams) are coordinating with pharmacies and drug stores on the availability of supplies and ensuring that medicines and supplies are directed to where they are needed most,” Mandhari said.
While there were efforts and presence by the global health organization in Sudan, WHO said that training in mass casualty management could have saved a fifth of the lives lost in the country to date if health care workers had access to injured civilians.
Over 30 frontline doctors were trained in mass casualty principles and prepared to become national teachers; the training was then cascaded to over 150 frontline health workers in 2022 and 60 more in 2023, with mentorship and ongoing assistance from the Regional Trauma Initiative.
However, the WHO is now unable to send more trauma and critical surgical supplies to Sudan because the airports are still closed and the roads are dangerous.
“There is an immediate need to upscale the trauma care pathway in Sudan… The hospitals also require basic operational supplies, such as fuel, water and electricity,” the WHO said. “However, none of the above can take place without the sanctity of respected health care and safe access for health care workers.”
Refugee race
The United Kingdom, France, South Korea, and a number of other countries declared on Tuesday that they were withdrawing their citizens after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken proposed a three-day ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the White House is considering sending US soldiers to Port-Sudan to assist with the evacuation of American citizens, a US official familiar with the operations told CNN on Monday.
Three US warships are also stationed off the Sudanese coast. The USNS Brunswick is being sent to Sudan, according to a Navy official, just one day after the Pentagon said that the USS Truxton is already off the coast of the country and the USS Lewis B. Puller is on its way.
A spokesman for the French Chief of Defense Staff informed CNN that up to 500 persons escaping the conflict had began boarding the French frigate “Lorraine” near Port-Sudan on Tuesday afternoon.
Nigerian students at El-Razi University in Sudan waiting for evacuation. Two buses are on the ground at this pickup spot. pic.twitter.com/uuQdADIYVC
— Channels Television (@channelstv) April 26, 2023
As the conflict enters its second week, water supplies are running low and food is “running out” in Khartoum state.
Shops are completely out of food and numerous food plants in the state had been robbed, a witness told CNN.
“As for the water supplies, we don’t have water for the eleventh day continuously. We only get water from a well nearby. So you have to go all the way to the well with barrels or stuff if you have a car or stuff. If not you have to take something small to get enough water for you,” the witness added.
Residents are also in financial difficulty because state employees have not been paid since before the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of last week, and the bank’s ATMs have stopped working.
Sudan has been ravaged by violence since a brutal power struggle between two competing generals spilled into the streets, with forces loyal to each man fighting on Khartoum’s streets and in communities surrounding the capital.
Throughout the conflict, the RSF and Sudanese military have released statements disparaging one another, with unverified claims of control over critical capital posts and charges that each side is targeting civilians.
