An Ode Of Determination: Displacement Of National News Agency And World Inaction

(MENAFN- Sudanow Magazine) By: Rogia al-Shafee

Khartoum (Sudanow) - The world's silence towards the atrocities committed against unarmed civilians in central Sudan, is strikingly. But, equally shocking is the silence of regional and international organizations that are supposed to protect journalists' rights and media institutions as they turned a blind eye to the plight that hit the Sudan News Agency (SUNA). established in 1971, SUNA remains the oldest and most prestigious print press institution in the country.
None has expressed, let alone condemned attacks against Sudanese media institutions and personnel. Journalists and media workers have been subjected to ruthless detention, imprisonment, and assaults and even demise.
Sudanow team is filled with anger, bewilderment, and disbelief at the failure of these organizations to uphold UN Security Council Resolution 1738, which condemns deliberate attacks against journalists and media workers during armed conflicts.
This resolution also equates journalists and reporters to civilians, who must be respected, and classifies media facilities and equipment as civilian objects that must not be targeted. In practice none of the concerned media and press and human rights organizations has said a word. They opted for silence.
Sudanow has documented the tragedy faced by Sudanese journalists, most of them now IDPs and refugees in their own country.
A key national institution: the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) has been uprooted from its historic headquarters in Khartoum. Dr. Fikriya Abayazid, the former Director General of SUNA, and journalist by profession, talked to Sudanow via a phone call from her place of refuge abroad. Dr. Fikriya fled her residence near the Central Reserve Forces with her ill husband in search for safety in Gezira State.
Dr. Fikriya explained that SUNA head office in Al-Jumhuriya Street, Khartoum, was attacked and destroyed in the early stages of the conflict. The agency's management was forced to leave behind a wealth of resources, including modern broadcasting equipment, a priceless archive, essential financial reports, and its fleet of vehicles. The whole agency was left with only three laptops and one camera, which was brought from its Gezira regional office.
For three months following the outbreak of war, SUNA continued disseminating credible news reports locally and internationally from Khartoum via the internet, countering biased coverage by foreign media outlets which were understandably serving their vested interests.
Dr. Fikriya said when the war erupted in the first day of the conflict, over 20 of its employees, were trapped in the building for three days amidst the shelling. Despite their distress, no international entity intervened to ensure their safe evacuation. SUNA was actively operational that day, with a smaller Saturday shift that included six female editors and two cafeteria workers, among others.
Dr. Fikriya expressed her deep concern for her team and maintained communication with them, particularly journalist Mahasen Al-Hussein, who played a vital role in calming her colleagues during the crisis.
Fortunately, the administration had secured sufficient food supplies during Ramadan, which was subsequently used to feed the staffers and workers trapped under the same circumstances, but with no food supplies. However, the gunfire and shelling reverberations and thundering terrorized the trapped civilian workers and journalist, some of whom were new recruits working in the end of the week shifts, the horror and the aftermath trauma for them was tremendous. The first ceasefire finally allowed their safe evacuation under the supervision of Mr. Bushra Osman, the head of transportation, who passed away in 2024, out of diabetic complications.
But the agency, braving those challenges, has remained the sole official media outlet that continued providing regular uninterrupted services, carried out by 15 journalists and engineers working remotely from their homes and areas of displacement. Dr. Fikriya affectionately referred to them as the "Loyal SUNA Team."
Dr. Fikriya explained that after the initial phase of displacement, her team tried to continue contributing to the regular services of the agency from various safe locations. This included reporters as well as administrative staffs working from remote areas not directly impacted by the war. Unfortunately, they were unable to return to their original headquarters, as it was heavily damaged and falls within active military combat zones.
She described the challenges faced as including lack of sufficient resources, equipment and services such as electricity and telecommunications infrastructure, reporters being subjected to direct threats, physical harm, and detention.
The former DG noted that the agency had lost several employees during the conflict, and many others were forced into hiding or have yet to be found. This tragic situation had required international organizations to step in and provide support for media institutions and personnel during times of crisis which never materialized in the case of SUNA.
She said she was disappointed by such a lack of meaningful support from the international community and international media organizations, stressing that their silence led to further deterioration of the agency's overall performance. She stressed that there is a need for concerted effort to protect journalists and media workers, as well as to providing resources for media institutions to be able to rebuild and continue their vital work.

'The silence of international organizations has left Sudanese media institutions to fight their battles alone. Various regional and global entities that usually advocate for the protection of journalists and media institutions have not shown the same urgency when it comes to Sudan”. Dr. Fikriya complained, emphasizing that there has been a significant lack of attention to the crisis faced by media organizations in Sudan.
She pinpointed what she described as“the hypocrisy of some organizations that claim to defend media freedom but have failed to act in Sudan. Their inaction during this time of crisis demonstrates their indifference to the plight of Sudanese journalists and media workers. This silence has not only hindered the efforts of these institutions to continue their work, but it has also contributed to the loss of lives, careers, and the ability to share important information with the Sudanese public.”
Dr. Fikriya also pointed out that the lack of support has resulted in an even greater gap in media coverage, with foreign media outlets dominating the narrative about Sudan.
Dr. Fikriya urged international organizations, governments, and media outlets to take action and show solidarity with Sudanese media institutions. She called for an end to the silence and for the immediate protection of journalists, media workers, and institutions.
“It is critical to uphold the principles of press freedom and the protection of civilians in times of conflict, as outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 1738.” She argued.
Dr. Fikriya stressed that the future of independent media in Sudan depends on the international community's ability to respond to the ongoing crisis. She expressed her hope that with greater support, media institutions like SUNA would be able to resume their vital role in informing the public and providing accurate and factual reporting during this tumultuous period.
However amid this dark situation, the newly appointed Minister for Culture and Information, Al-Ayasir, has given SUNA a huge impetus when he restored a cabinet decision that stipulates that the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) shall be the main source of government and national news. He is being assisted in his endeavors to restore SUNA to its former glory by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Information Ms. Sumaya Al-Hadi, both placing SUNA as their top priority. The agency with the assistance of the ministry is now able to overcome most of its fundamental existentialist challenges.
But it remains to be remembered that reporters, like soldiers, are aware that their jobs is full of challenges and hurdles to overcome, it is part of the profession of being journalist.
During the first days of the war, the agency was afflicted by the loss of one of its young pillars, Makawi Mohammed Ahmed, when the militia surrounded his village, Wad Al-Noura, shooting randomly at civilians. He was not the only one that the agency lost during those tragic days, some liken Abdulrahman Al-Amin were detained for a full year, other such as Dr. Al-Waleed Al-Siddiq, editor Mohammed Abdulrahim, Adel Siddiq, Ashraf Mohammed from administrative affairs, Dr. Ismail Al-Hakeem, Fahmi Al-Sayed, and Adel Siddiq were detained interrogated and humiliated for various periods for the sole reason of being journalists.
Dr. Al-Waleed Al-Siddiq, who was arrested from his home, recounted his experience, following long period in detention in horrific conditions. He told Sudanow from a refugees location in a neighbouring country that his“detention center was located on Obaid Khatim Street, east of the Forensic Evidence Headquarters, and it was run by the rebel militia's intelligence. The prison was a basement housing about 350 people, most of them civilians, young men, and soldiers, including a significant number of elderly detainees accused of fabricated charges such as being a soldier, collaborating with the army, or being affiliated with the previous regime. The treatment was terrible, with conditions that were utterly disgraceful.”
He said“the situation was so dire that detainees often succumbed in detention. Sleeping was on the bare floor; food consisted of three small pieces of sorghum porridge and five spoonful of lentils shared among the group. There was no respect for human dignity. Using the toilet involved open buckets with no privacy, meaning one would relieve themselves in full view of others. Sleeping, eating, relieving oneself, and even praying were all confined to the same space. No humanitarian organizations or journalists ever visited us. Interrogation was a humiliating process, requiring detainees to stand in line for their turn, which could take up to a month.
The interrogators were mainly non-commissioned officers from the former police and security forces, including names like Fadul Al-Sameen, Mubarak Al-Ghiteet Abu Sheiba, Abdullah the most ruthless, Mohammed Al-Tabeeh, and others whose names we could not memorize now.”

The Sudanese Journalists Union issued statements condemning these violations and held meetings with the Secretary-General of the International Federation of Journalists and its treasurer, taking note of these abuses and pledging to prioritize the support of Sudanese journalists affected by the war through cooperation with various volunteer organizations.
But it is clearly noted that militias have deliberately pursued plans to dismantle the Sudanese state, erasing its identity from historical memory, and systematically destroying the foundations of national unity. This includes targeting the National Radio and Television Corporation, a symbol of the nation's collective consciousness, history, and culture. They turned it into a military base to launch attacks on civilians and state institutions.
The aggression has as well targeted the Sudanese National Records Office, a repository of all written works about Sudan, including publications and printed newspapers, which serve as a trusted reference for researchers and writers seeking historical information about the nation and its cultural heritage. This massive heritage, along with numerous public and private libraries, university libraries in Khartoum, and the National Museum, were destroyed by the flames of hatred aimed at erasing the history and identity of the Sudanese nation, obliterating its civilization to serve the ambitions of those who support and fund the rebel militia.

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