Gunfire heard in Khartoum despite start of US-brokered Sudan ceasefire

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Evacuation efforts have intensified in Sudan after a US and Saudi-brokered 72-hour ceasefire came into effect at midnight on Monday.

Local media reported a “cautious calm” in parts of Khartoum — but many residents in the city said they woke up to shelling on the first day of the three-day truce.

“Waking up to heavy gunfire, despite the announced US-sponsored ceasefire,” Hamid Khalafallah wrote on Twitter.

“Literally under shots and heavy artillery from morning in Kafouri, no ceasefire has been honoured ever since this war started,” Zeinab Mubarak said.

Reports of sporadic gunfire continued into Tuesday afternoon.

Videos posted on social media appeared to show civilians walking down a street in Khartoum North, where almost every building was destroyed and smoke rose from the ruins.

Some witnesses said warplanes were flying overhead.

More than 420 people have been killed since fighting broke out between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group and Sudan's army 10 days ago.

Egypt said a member of its diplomatic mission, Mohammad Al Gharawi, was killed on his way to the embassy in Khartoum.

Three previous ceasefires have failed, so the outlook is uncertain, but some local groups assisting in evacuations are reporting that humanitarian corridors have been created.

The Refugees in Egypt platform, helping people leave Sudan into Egypt, said the corridors are also helping the wounded get the medical help they need.

Meanwhile, fears are mounting that civilians will be in even bigger danger when foreigners leave the country.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned about the consequences of Sudan's conflict extending beyond its borders, adding that the violence “could engulf the whole region and beyond”.

A UN convoy made the 850km journey from Khartoum, where clashes are most intense, to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast — one of several destinations for people trying to escape the violence.

“Thirty-five hours in a not so comfortable convoy is certainly better than three hours of bombing and sitting under the shells,” UN head of mission to Sudan Volker Perthes said on Monday, after arriving in Port Sudan. Using a megaphone to speak to those with him, he assured the Sudanese people that the UN would not leave the country.

Others had a longer journey to make.

Nearly 200 people from 20 countries arrived in Jeddah on Monday night after crossing the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia.

“We travelled a long way from Khartoum to Port Sudan. It took us around 10 or 11 hours,” said Lebanese citizen Suhaib Aicha, who has operated a plastics factory in Sudan for more than a decade.

Sudan's doctors' union reported that morgues were full and that “corpses litter the streets”. Unverified videos seen by The National showed dead bodies, purportedly of fighters in uniform, from both sides. They were wrapped in blankets as they lay near what appeared to be pools of blood.

The videos were shot by civilians who had managed to leave their homes briefly to get basic necessities such as food, water and fuel, which are running dangerously short.

One Sudanese-British citizen in the UK told The National that her mother, father and sister, who are Dutch, had made it safely to an evacuation point for Dutch citizens.

“I feel so helpless,” she said, adding that her sister-in-law remained trapped in Khartoum with very little to eat.

Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to evacuate civilians from Sudan on Saturday, with 150 people landing in Jeddah.

On Monday, a C-130 Hercules military plane flew more people, including children and a nun, to Jeddah's King Abdullah Air base.

So far, 356 people have been taken from Sudan to Saudi Arabia, state news outlet SPA reported.

Saudi Arabia has been calling for calm since the fighting broke out on April 15 between the RSF's Gen Mohamed Dagalo and his former boss, Sudanese army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan.

— With reporting from news agencies

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.

- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law

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