This third significant port closure is even more complicated. Tribal figures spearheaded by Beja leader Mohammed Alamin Tirik, who opposed the Juba agreement, shut down the port, leading to a deep economic and political crisis that played into the military's hands. houses for citizens, health centres and schools. The second closure of the ports, in September 2021, played an altogether different political role, eventually enabling the military coup that followed in October. The closure continued for two weeks in February 2019 and played a significant part in the revolution that toppled Bashir. It forced Bashir to suspend a deal he had signed with a Philippine company to lease part of Port Sudan. The first recent closure of Port Sudan was during the protests against Bashir in 2019. Port closures have repeatedly paved the way for the political change in the centre over the past few years. "We will continue our struggle against this marginalisation," the Beja council said. The Beja group said that the framework agreement neglected their demands and those of eastern Sudan. In a statement, the leaders warned that they might extend the closure to the entire region of eastern Sudan, not just the vital Red Sea coastline. Nevertheless, resistance committees and pro-democracy protesters have accused the tribal leaders of supporting the former regime of Bashir and of paving the way for the military coup led by Burhan in October 2021.īeja leaders recently closed Port Sudan for around two days and threatened to close it for longer in order to resist the December framework agreement. 'The closure of Sudanese ports has led to a big flourishing for regional ports in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and even Eritrea and the UAE' The agreement was rejected by tribal leaders in eastern Sudan because it handed them too little power. Port threatsĬontrol over Sudan's Red Sea ports is a crucial part of the country's future direction.Įastern Sudan's Beja high council has repeatedly threatened to close the ports in order to resist the track laid out by the Juba Peace Agreement of 2020, which enabled former rebels from Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile States to participate in the transitional government. Within the military, a game of thrones is under way, with Sudan's de facto leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, increasingly at odds with his deputy, Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, aka Hemeti. On the other hand, Sudan's resistance committees, which were at the heart of the 2019 revolution that toppled longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and have been leading the opposition to the 2021 military coup, oppose the deal, which they believe leaves too much power in the hands of the military. The FFC held a meeting last Sunday, with the help of international brokers, to discuss issues in eastern Sudan. This comes at a time when bitter differences over the internationally brokered December agreement signed between the military and civilian representatives of the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition (FFC), which aims to pave the way for a transition to elections in two years, are being aired on the streets. Monitors believe that the tactic of using shipping, exports and imports to apply political pressure is threatening security in the centre of Sudan as well as harming the economy. The port closures, with the threat of more to come, have resulted in panic-induced losses for an economy already in turmoil and have benefited other ports in the region, particularly in Egypt. Sudan: All roads lead to Khartoum as Russia, Israel and West vie in game of thrones Read More »
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