August 28, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government spokesman Friday said that the lack of confidence between civilians and the security forces led to the slowness of the police forces to stop the recent clashes between the Hadandawa and Beni Amer.

Faisal Mohamed Saleh, Minister of Information returned from Kassala after a visit with a ministerial delegation to assess the security situation following the inter-communal violence.

On 25 August, one person was killed and 18 others injured when Hadandawa tribal members intercepted a group of Beni Amer, who organized a march to support the new governor.

The security forces did not intervene to stop the violence, the burning and looting in the market of Kassala, despite the state of emergency in the town.

Faisal Mohamed Saleh said that it is imperative to hold a dialogue involving all political, social and security components to end the mistrust so that the security and military services resume maintaining security and stability.

"We want stable security conditions. Also, the security and military forces should restore security and be able to respond to challenges in a timely manner and with the appropriate force," Saleh added.

The minister revealed that the government received repeated complaints about the slow response of the security agencies to the attacks or clashes that took place in Kassala, Port Sudan and some areas in Darfur region.

The reluctance of the security services and the regular forces to intervene in all these crises because they fear accusations of violating human rights, he stressed.

After the ouster of former president Omer al-Bashir, the protesters hailed the Sudanese army and its Rapid Support Forces.

However, things have changed after the attack of 3 June 2019 on the site of the pro-democracy sit-in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum.

The Sudanese army and the security forces are still perceived as embracing elements of the former regime who work to abort the revolution.

(ST)