First VP, Ali Osman Taha of Sudan Khartoum – Abedalgoum Ashmeag Sudanese media and legal experts launched a scathing attack against the Al Arabiya News Channel saying it "provoked Sudan’s hostility and amplified its issues." The channel broadcast on Wednesday , a news story about the First Vice-President, Ali Osman Taha, in which they said he was being allegedly harassed by citizens of  the White Nile state which led, according to the channel, to security police  intervening to protect him.
Immediately after the channel broadcast the news, the office of the First Vice-President denied that he had visited the White Nile state. Sudanese Minister of Information and former media expert, Ali Mohamed Chemo, said:  “this news is not true and violates legal, professional and ethical laws. International conventions related to information make it imperative for the channel which reported the news to carry out procedures to apologise.” He pointed out that the channel has neither corrected  the news piece  or apologised for broadcasting it. He described what was done by the channel as "a severe insult" and demanded that action should be take against the channel.
Former spokesperson of the African Unity Organisation, Ibrahim Daksh said : "The story lacks credibility, and indicates that the channel is far from professional" and questioned how a channel such as Al-Arabiya could "make up a story and then remain silent as if nothing had happened? "
Legal expert Dr Ismail Haji Mousa believed that it is not necessary to legally pursue the channel. He added: "It is enough that the channel after broadcasting such news without apologising for the mistake, and has proved to us that it is subjective when dealing with Sudanese issues.”