Juba, South Sudan
May 25, 2022 — Three leading members of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) have been released after some days in detention in South Sudan’s capital Juba, a member of the party said.
Sidgi Kaballo, a member of the Sudanese Communist Party’s central committee, spoke to the media and confirmed that three senior members of the party were detained in Juba shortly after their return from Kauda.
Kauda, 90 kilometers east of South Kordofan state capital Kadugli, is the stronghold of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), the main group fighting the Sudanese government in the southern provinces of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
Gen. Abdul-Aziz Al-Hilu, Chairman of the faction of the SPLM-N, invited the Communist Party delegation for political talks.
“The three officials detained are Mohammed al-Khatib, who is the political secretary of the Communist party, Saleh Mahmud and Amal Al-Zain who are members of the political bureau,” Kaballo told media.
He stressed that the Communist Party delegation travelled to South Sudanese capital, Juba last week to hold talks with Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur, founder of the rebel group Sudan Liberation Movement/Army but upon their return to Juba, they got detained.
“After their talks with Abdel Wahid in Juba, the delegation proceeded to Kauda to hold talks with the SPLM-N led by Abdul-Aziz Al-Hilu. After their return to Juba from Kauda, the South Sudan External Security Bureau detained them. The reason for their interrogation is that they did not coordinate their travel to Kauda with the authorities in South Sudan,” Kaballo elaborated.
“We, in the party, we thought that the SPLM-N had done the coordination with the South Sudan government before the visit to Kauda,” he added.
According to Kaballo, the three political figures are expected to arrive in Khartoum today after being released by the authorities in Juba.
