Sudan suspends oil tankers from docking to avert 'debt' as protesters block port routes

Sudan on October 24 announced that it had temporarily barred oil tankers from entering the African nation in view of the civil unrest as protesters blocked the Eastern ports creating hurdles for oil vessels from docking and unloading. This comes as only last month the Sudanese protesters had blocked at least two key oil pipelines in Port Sudan, the main port on the Red Sea, leaving the country with just 10 days of oil supplies. Energy Minister Gadein Ali Obeid told the Middle-Eastern broadcaster, Asharq, on Sunday that the oil tankers that arrived in Sudan earlier could not be discharged. 

“Sudan decided to suspend the flow of ships carrying oil into the territorial waters to avert fines,” the minister said in an official statement accessed by the country’s broadcaster Asharq. It also went on to add that the country was now facing a crisis with respect to the strategic oil supplies as the civil upheaval has disrupted port operation, plunging the country further into debts. 

Sudanese citizens demand amendment to Juba Agreement for Peace

The people of Sudan demanded that the government amend The Juba Agreement for Peace signed on October 3 last year by Sudan’s transitional government and the rebel groups. The treaty covers a vast range of issues including governance, security and transitional justice, as well as entails any future constitutional negotiation process. Sudanese citizens claimed that the civilians’ interests were not respected by the ruling government at the time when the treaty was brokered. 

As they blocked the country’s largest port, Port Sudan, as well as an airport and a railway station, protesters threatened to break away Sudan’s East if their demand wasn’t met. The protests erupted last September after the high council of the Beja tribes blocked the road connecting the capital of Khartoum and Port-Sudan. Angry demonstrators also disrupted the oil pipelines connecting Khartoum and the town of Haiya, prompting the suspension of the operations. Oil Minister Gadein Ali Obeid had earlier warned while addressing the state’s press that the civil unrest was "an extremely grave situation”. "Entrances and exits at the port's export terminal have been completely shuttered,” he told agencies as the protesters first hampered the port services. 

Image: Twitter/@eliarwilliam, AP, Unsplash