PORT SUDAN, April 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan’s government announced on Tuesday the suspension of Al Arabiya News channel, Al Hadath TV, and Sky News Arabia’s operations within the country, citing a lack of “professional standards and transparency” in their media coverage.
Acting Information Minister Graham Abdel-Qadir issued a directive to halt these broadcasters’ activities immediately. He emphasized that the decision was made to safeguard “the interests and values of Sudanese citizens.”
On March 29, UAE-owned Sky News Arabia aired a video report alleging the involvement of Islamic State elements in combat alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The report was refuted by the Sudanese government, with the foreign ministry calling it “unprofessional and biased.”
Sudan has been engulfed in violent clashes between the SAF and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 15, 2023.
The conflict has led to the displacement of approximately 8.1 million people, with around 6.3 million internally displaced, as per the latest UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project has recorded approximately 13,900 fatalities since the onset of hostilities.
Reacting to the suspension of the three major news channels, the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate condemned the decision by the information ministry, saying it was a clear violation of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
“Closing satellite channels and restricting those working in the profession would silence the voice of the professional media, and would also open the door to the spread of rumors and hate speech,” the syndicate said on Tuesday in a statement.
It added that the decision comes as a continuation of intimidation tactics imposed on journalists who have been working under extreme conditions since war broke out last April.
The army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began battling each other in mid-April last year as tensions over plans for a new political transition.
The conflict has driven nearly 8.5 million people from their homes, creating the world’s biggest displacement crisis, pushed parts of the 49-million population close to famine, and triggered waves of ethnically driven killings and sexual violence in the western region of Darfur.
About 13,900 people have been killed since the fighting broke out, according to data recorded by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. — NNN-AGENCIES
