Sudan announces state of emergency in Kassala, North Kordofan

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has announced a 6-month state of emergency in the states of Kassala and North Kordofan, government news agency SUNA said on Saturday.

The move is part of ongoing disarmament campaigns which started near Darfur and Blue Nile in October. The campaign, which would be implemented across the country, began by disarming tribes and civilians in Kordofan and Darfur.

The state presidential minister Al-Rashid Haroun on Saturday handed over the presidential decree to the speaker of the parliament Ibrahim Ahmed Omer in preparation to deliberate on it Sunday.

He told reporters the declaration of the state of emergency in North Kordofan was meant to support the disarmament campaign and the need to eradicate the outlaws.

On the other hand, Omer said the state of emergency in the eastern state of Kassala was prompted by security reasons pertaining to the collection of illicit arms as well as combating drugs and human trafficking.

Last week, the Sudanese parliament spokesperson Abdel-Maged Haroun said the council of ministers will lodge a temporary presidential decree to impose the state of emergency in some states to back up the collection of illicit weapons.