Sudan: Kassala receives official apology from UNDP

The state government of Kassala has received an official apology from UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the report that was published about Kassala saying (The east is "a volcano waiting to erupt”). The Sudanese UN ambassador in Kassala, Osman Dafalla said that OCHA sent a hand written apology to Kassala authorities (Security and Intelligence), which said this report was an individual's act and does not represent the organization, denying the existence of any deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Kassala, and he confirmed that the organization will launch an investigation for those who are involved in spreading these OCHA Also assured the ongoing processes of development projects in Kassala through East Sudan Reconstruction Fund, the state government and all humanitarian organizations that work there. Dafalla also confirmed that the UNDP visits the region on a regular basis and assured the state of stability and security in those areas, especially after the recent visit of President Al-Bashir with the Eritrean President, in which he stressed the facilitating of traffic and trade with Eritrea. For its part, the Sudanese ruling party in Kassala denounced the report, as it is not based on facts and is highly politicised which is not consistent with the neutrality of the organization. In addition, the vice president of the Sudanese ruling party in Kassala, Mlassa Ohaj Mlassa suggested that this apology is not enough and the state may rethink about dealing with these organizations, stressing at the same time on the stability of the situation in the east and Kassala in particular. In  the same context, The Beja Congress denounced the report, explaining that since the signing of the cease-fire agreement with the government, it did fire one shot and had no forces in the border with Eritrea. For his part, Jaafar Mohamed Adam, a member of the Political Bureau of the Beja Congress said that the Beja Congress is committed to all provisions of the treaty of east peace with the ruling party, and it seeks for political participation. He also pointed out that the east generally and Kassala in particular have major development projects, noting that the security arrangements were fully functioning in Kesala.