Sudan bans publication of newspaper edition: editor

Sudanese security forces have banned an independent newspaper from publishing its entire Thursday edition, its editor said.

Sudan's constitution guarantees press freedom but journalists often complain of pressure or censorship. In July, two female journalists were jailed for writing about an alleged rape case.

Security forces arrived at al-Sahafa newspaper late on Wednesday and banned the daily from distributing its Thursday edition, editor Annur Ahmed Annur said.

We don't know why security forces did not allow the distribution, he said.

He added that security forces had told him to wait with the Thursday publication until an officer came to approve the edition but nobody arrived until midnight.

The newspaper had earlier this week published a column demanding a peaceful solution in the Blue Nile state where the Sudanese army has been fighting armed opposition groups.

Sudan's security forces were not immediately available to comment.

One day before the independence of South Sudan in July, Khartoum also suspended six newspapers because southerners were among their publishers or owners.

The jailing of the two female journalists for writing about the alleged rape of an activist by security forces has sparked condemnation by the U.N. Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallstroem.