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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: SUDAN RUSSIA NAVAL BASE (TV/R)
HEADLINE: Russia Could Face Local Resistance Against Promised Naval Base in Sudan
TEASER: Local tribal leaders tell VOA they do not want any foreign military bases in Port Sudan
PUBLISHED: Tuesday, 03/14/2023 at 06:37 EDT
BYLINE: Henry Wilkins
DATELINE: PORT SUDAN, SUDAN
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins
VIDEO EDITOR: Henry Wilkins,
PRODUCER: Jason Godman
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ sv SR
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, Zoom
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO_X_
TRT: 2:50
VID APPROVED BY: pcd
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Sudan has said it will host Russia’s first navy base in Africa, despite opposition from the West, as soon as the country completes a transition from military to civilian rule. But while some Sudanese support the business that a base would bring, local tribal leaders are opposed to a foreign military presence. Henry Wilkins reports from Port Sudan, Sudan.]]
((NARRATOR))
Port Sudan is Sudan’s vital link to the Red Sea, a body of water strategically important for global powers and the countries that surround it, not least for its access to the Suez Canal.
Port Sudan made headlines in February after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Sudan. During the visit, the Sudanese junta, which took power in a military coup in 2021, promised Russia a new naval base in the city.
But local tribal leaders, who carry a big influence on the Red Sea coast, have other ideas. Muhamad Karar Kurbaa says he and other local leaders are against the Russian base.
((Muhamad Karar Kurbaa, Local Tribal Leader (in English, 20 secs)))
“[We] refuse because they just want to get their hands on and stop our port, I think. There’s no investment. They have tried. We have refused any military in our port.”
((NARRATOR))
In February, Middle East Eye, a news website based in London, reported that Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, a powerful Sudanese militia leader attempted to open military bases along the Red Sea coast, but was prevented by local tribal leaders, after they demanded money for development.
A small Russian logistics base is reported to have been set up in Port Sudan in the past, but according to local media and residents, it ceased operating in 2021.
In the vicinity of the old base in the Flamingo district of the city, one local declined to give his name when VOA asked if he supported the Russian Naval base…
((Local resident (in Arabic, ?? secs)))
“If this is in our best interests, we would automatically accept it. I don’t care who’s involved whether they are British, Russians, or Americans.”
((For radio: He says if a Russian naval base is in Sudanese interests, he wouldn’t have a problem with it. “I don’t care who is involved, whether they are British, Russians or Americans,” he added.))
((NARRATOR))
One analyst said there has been talk of a full-fledged Russian naval base in Port Sudan for years, yet it has never materialized.
((For radio: Cameron Hudson is with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington based think tank.))
((Cameron Hudson, Center for Strategic and International Studies (in English, 12 secs))) ((mandatory cg: Zoom))
“The case of the missing naval base has been around for many years. This base has been promised to have been built, I don’t know how many times, five or six times.”
((NARRATOR))
Another analyst thinks the base could go ahead if Sudan’s ruling junta is determined to make it happen.
((For radio: Hala Al-Karib is with the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa))
((Hala Al-Karib, Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (in English, ?? secs))) ((mandatory cg: Zoom))
“I don't know. I think it very much depends on the naval base. It very much depends on the direction the political process is going to take, if the regime is actually moving towards consolidating a 100% military power in Sudan.”
((NARRATOR))
Sudan already has well-established links with Russia and the Russian paramilitary group Wagner. Sudan’s junta is reported to be trading the country’s gold in exchange for Russian weapons.
((Henry Wilkins for VOA News, Port Sudan, Sudan))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)PORT SUDAN, SUDAN
BylineHenry Wilkins
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
