The Sudanese and South Sudanese governments have decided to track and repatriate all looted cars within their borders, Major General Khalil Pasha Sairin, Sudanese Interior Minister, has revealed.
Minister Khalil said the bilateral agreement targets cars looted from Sudanese cities since the outbreak of the war in Sudan on 15 April last year. He disclosed that the South Sudan government had seized 356 cars stolen from Khartoum and other cities.
Speaking at a press conference held on Sunday in Port Sudan, the Sudanese minister stated, “The government of Niger has also agreed to track and return vehicles looted from Sudan and driven into its territory. We are requesting lists and data of stolen cars to be entered into the Interpol system.”
He clarified that there is intensive police activity to recover looted property during the war in Sudan, revealing that several seizures were made at checkpoints, including cities’ entrances and multiple cities.
Minister Khalil said that during his visit to El-Gedaref City, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) managed to seize a warehouse of car tyres stolen from Khartoum.
The minister further said records of escaped prisoners from the main prison facility in Khartoum are all available at the Ministry of Interior, adding that the ministry was currently filing escape reports against the fugitives.
He said several prisoners surrendered themselves to the police and that fugitives would be pursued through national authorities or Interpol in various countries worldwide.
“Any prisoner who escaped from prison cannot obtain identity documents because we have placed them on the blacklist.”
The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been engaged in a war since last April that has resulted in 15,000 deaths and more than 8 million displaced and refugees, according to the UN.
Since the start of the civil war, thousands of homes, schools, hospitals, and other vital civilian structures have been destroyed, plunging the country into a severe humanitarian crisis, and creating the world’s largest displacement crisis.