Organization: Army Ordered Cutting Communications in Darfur and Kordofan

moatinoon
A Sudanese non-governmental organization stated that the Sudanese armed forces ordered the cutting of communication services in wide areas of Darfur and Kordofan since the beginning of the war in April of last year.

Earlier this month, the governments Telecommunications and Postal Regulation Authority announced in a statement that the communication disruption in western Sudan is due to "the burning of several towers, sabotage of fiber optics, power outages, and fuel shortages." A representative of one of the three telecommunications companies in Sudan attributed the disruption of internet service in Darfur and Kordofan to technical malfunctions and the absence of security, according to media reports.

The non-governmental organization "Haderin" clarified in a statement yesterday, Saturday, "After confirming to us, based on careful investigation and information received from several reliable sources, that, based on direct orders from the leadership of the Sudanese armed forces, communication services have been cut off in wide areas of Darfur and Kordofan since the beginning of the war, and not as it was widely circulated that the sole reason for the disruption was technical problems."

Communication services have been disrupted in most regions of Darfur and Kordofan since the beginning of the war, before being cut off in most parts of the country since the first week of February, causing widespread suffering for citizens who rely on the internet to receive relief aid and financial transfers.

The army and the Rapid Support Forces exchanged accusations regarding the responsibility for cutting communications, while the (MTN) and (Sudani) telecommunications companies refrained from addressing the reasons for the interruption and simply apologized to users due to circumstances beyond their control.