The High Council of the People of Wadi Halfa has threatened to break away from Port Sudan junta controlled Northern State, accusing regional authorities of systematically marginalizing the historic Nubian city and deliberately cutting off its electricity supply.
In a sharply worded statement issued Thursday, the council denounced a recent decision to include Wadi Halfa in scheduled power outages, calling it “a calculated deception” that underscores the state government’s failure to address the city’s long-standing grievances.
“Our patience has run out,” the council said. “If the continued neglect of Wadi Halfa’s issues persists, we are prepared to sever ties with the Northern State—land and people.”
The statement further said that junta authorities had ordered the power cuts in retaliation for the city’s refusal to support the military’s ongoing campaign, dubbed the “Dignity Battle,” which is backed by Islamist factions aligned with General al-Burhan’s forces (SAF).
The city’s local leaders, along with the Halfa Nubian tribal community, have publicly opposed participation in any military mobilization organized by the former ruling National Congress Party and Islamic Movement figures operating in SAF-controlled areas.
The council’s statement also evoked memories of past state abandonment, referencing the forced relocations and service withdrawals during the 1960s under the rule of General Ibrahim Abboud. The community claims it has endured decades of hardship and is capable of surviving—and thriving—without the state’s support, pointing to cultural and geographic ties with Nubian communities across the Egyptian border.
“We will not remain silent while the same bitter promises are recycled by those in power,” the statement read. “Leave us be. We are not in need of your governance any longer.”
The letter was signed by Council President Engineer Sobhi Mahjoub Janblan, and concluded with a call for Wadi Halfa’s self-determination in the face of what it described as deliberate political and economic isolation.
