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SUDAN

Spanish diplomat killed in Sudan

A Spanish diplomat was found on Monday stabbed to death at his home in Khartoum, Sudanese police said, with the foreign ministry speaking of a "crime" rather than a political killing.

Published: 29 September 2014 15:13 CEST

Police identified the victim as the head of the visa section at the Spanish embassy.

The victim was 61 and had been living in Sudan for three years, police said, adding that he was found dead at his residence at dawn in Khartoum's eastern district of Garden City.

The police and the foreign ministry said that an investigation was under way, and the foreign ministry suggested in a separate statement that he was murdered.

"The police force of Khartoum state and its teams of special criminal investigators have launched a probe in order to find the perpetrator or perpetrators as soon as possible," the foreign ministry statement said.

"The foreign ministry is confident that the perpetrators of this crime will be found," it added.

The ministry described the diplomat's death as a "regrettable incident that took place at dawn" on Monday.

"The foreign ministry expresses its condolences to the Spanish embassy, and the family of the departed, for their painful loss," it said.

A Spanish foreign ministry spokesman confirmed the man was the head of the visa section at the embassy "but did not have the status of a diplomat."

"An investigation has been opened and our embassy is in contact with Sudanese police and the Sudanese interior ministry," he added.

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SUDAN

Sudan summons Norway envoy after vote protest

Sudan summoned Norway's ambassador on Tuesday to protest the country's harsh criticism of last week's elections, which are expected to give President Omar al-Bashir another term in office, as neither "free" nor "fair".

Published: 21 April 2015 21:53 CEST
Sudan summons Norway envoy after vote protest
Norwegian ambassador Morten Aaslund meets the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. Photo: European Union.
Morton Aaslund on Monday issued a statement along with his counterparts from the UK and the US in which the three countries said they regretted Khartoum's "failure to create a free, fair and conducive elections environment."
 
In a statement summoning the ambassadors to Sudan's foreign ministry, Khartoum labelled the criticism "blatant interference in the internal affairs of the country."
 
"The elections are a purely Sudanese affair decided by the Sudanese, and no other party has the right to intervene or express an opinion," a statement said.
 
The European Union representative in Khartoum was also summoned, the ministry said, without giving details.
 
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini had said before voting began that the election could not produce a credible result, citing the ruling National Congress Party's failure to attend a meeting with the opposition to
arrange a national dialogue.
 
Bashir proposed the dialogue last January as a way to resolve the country's economic woes and the conflicts on its peripheries.
 
The foreign ministry said Sudan was committed to resuming the dialogue after the election results are announced and a new government is formed.
 
The polls for the presidency and state and national parliaments were boycotted by the mainstream opposition.
 
Thirteen little-known candidates are challenging Bashir, after two others withdrew after voting got underway, complaining of irregularities in the electoral process. Results are expected on Monday.
 
Bashir, 71, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the western region of Darfur.