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TUNIS: Tunisian authorities on Tuesday banned meetings at all offices of the opposition Ennahda Islamist party and police closed the headquarters of the Salvation Front opposition coalition, party and official sources told Reuters.
Police on Monday detained Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi, the most prominent critic of President Kais Saied, the party said.
LONDON: With at least 185 people killed during clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in recent days, the dreams of shift from military rule to civilian-led democracy have turned to dust, revealing that the transition plan was likely doomed from the start.
It is a far cry from the events of 2019, when the very forces now fighting one another worked together to oust the country’s autocratic ruler, Omar Al-Bashir. Analysts at that time described Sudan’s nascent transition to civilian-led democracy as a “glimmer of hope.”
“Most people are ignoring the ways in which the constitutional declaration of August 2019 set in place an unsustainable tension between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, both of which were recognized as official armed forces of Sudan,” Eric Reeves, an academic with more than 25 years of experience researching the country, told Arab News.
Now at loggerheads, Gen. Fattah Al-Burhan, head of the Armed Forces, leads the country’s transitional governing Sovereign Council, while his former deputy, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, leads the RSF.
“The problem with this is you can’t have two armies and two competing generals in one desperate country and expect this (peaceful transition), especially with so many unhappy civilians who experienced catastrophic decline in the economy, who are suffering from a great deal of malnutrition and unemployment, and the list goes on,” said Reeves.
April 11, 2019 Military coup ousts dictator Omar Al-Bashir following lengthy popular uprising.
Aug. 17, 2019 Ruling military council and civilian opposition alliance sign constitutional deal.
Oct. 3, 2020 Juba Peace Agreement signed between transitional government and alliance of armed groups.
Feb. 8, 2021 Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announces new cabinet, including seven former rebel chiefs.
Oct. 25, 2021 Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan dissolves government, arrests Hamdok and seizes power.
Nov. 21, 2021 After months of pro-democracy mass rallies, Hamdok is reinstated but resigns within two months.
Oct. 25, 2022; Thousands take to the streets demanding civilian government.
Dec. 5, 2022 Political framework agreement signed by civilian leaders and military to launch two-year political transition.
April 15, 2023 Fighting breaks out between Al-Burhan’s forces and Rapid Support Forces led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
“You have as the head of state the heads of the two military operating organizations sanctioned by the Constitutional Declaration. Sooner or later, this was going to happen.”
The fighting in Sudan has aggravated an already dire humanitarian situation in the country. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, about 15.8 million Sudanese are in need of humanitarian aid — 10 million more than in 2017.
However, aid distribution has been disrupted in recent days after three World Food Programme employees were killed during the fighting, which caused the UN-backed body to halt operations, further exacerbating the effects of the severe malnutrition wreaking havoc on the country.
“We’re not talking about good and evil here, we’re talking about bad and worse,” said Reeves. “As long as there is rivalry between the two men, that rivalry will be at the expense of any chance of the Sudanese moving toward civilian governance or recovery from catastrophic economic collapse.”
After Al-Bashir was toppled in 2019, an October 2021 military coup dismantled all civilian institutions and overturned a power-sharing agreement that had been put in place. After a massive public outcry, military and civilian actors signed a framework agreement in December 2022 with a view to returning to the path toward civilian-led democracy.
However, a power struggle between the two main military actors in Sudan continued despite the framework agreement, which had stipulated that the RSF would be integrated into the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Al-Burhan’s Armed Forces had called for the integration to be completed over a period of two years, while Hemedti’s RSF was adamant it should take place over 10 years.
“The transitional process had been moving slowly (even) before the outbreak of the clashes,” Zouhir Shimale, head of research at Valent Projects, a media tech startup that specializes in addressing online manipulation, told Arab News.
“Many people thought that agreement was going to be signed and end in a political struggle after the October 2021 coup, especially because both military actors showed relative collaboration.”
Besides the military merger, civilians involved in the transition process also demanded the transfer of several key, and profitable, military holdings in agriculture and commerce to civilian control. These holdings represent a significant source of power and profit for the army. Reeves is therefore skeptical that any such transfer will take place.
“There will be no civilian governance as long as Al-Burhan and Hemedti are fighting it out,” he said. “And there will be no transition to civilian governance if either were to prevail, unless they were so weakened that civilians were in position to exert more power than they are now. But they’re helpless. There’s nothing civilians can do at present.”
Tensions intensified on Monday when the US embassy in Khartoum said the RSF had targeted one of its diplomatic convoys. This prompted Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, to call both Hemedti and Al-Burhan and appeal for a ceasefire — to which both agreed.
Experts are confident the fighting will not escalate into a full-blown civil war, given that the Sudanese Armed Forces enjoy air superiority — a crucial and strategic advantage over the RSF.
“I have watched how the RSF has developed as a military force. It does not have an air force. It does not have any significant supply of heavy armor,” said Reeves. It is “not a militia force that is highly motivated, except by greed. They have no interest in civilian governance.”
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Shimale agrees with Reeves’ view that the RSF is unlikely to have the drive or resources to mount a lasting campaign in an attempt to seize power.
“The Sudanese Armed Forces have the upper hand in this struggle and will successfully trump the RSF forces, although it might take some time,” said Shimale.
“I think that while the fighting will probably end in the capital it will move geographically to the south, where protracted fighting will continue for a while, namely in Darfur, where Hemidti’s main support base and his paramilitary HQ are located.”
The international community has been keeping a close watch on the situation, with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan speaking to both generals and calling for an end to hostilities.
JERUSALEM: Seven Palestinians were injured in an Israeli army operation in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said Tuesday, hours after two Israeli men were injured by gunfire near a Jewish site in annexed east Jerusalem.
The shooting comes amid a period of deadly attacks and military raids across the West Bank, along with killings in Israel.
The Palestinian ministry reported six people with “minor injuries from live fire” had gone to Jenin governmental hospital, while another person shot had been admitted to a nearby hospital following the raid in the northern West Bank city.
A statement from the Israeli military confirmed that an operation was underway in the Jenin refugee camp, without giving further details.
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli authorities said a suspected Palestinian gunman had wounded two Israeli men in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem after firing at their car.
“Police officers are at the scene conducting searches for the suspect who fled,” the police said in a statement.
Israeli security forces closed off streets in the neighborhood, where an AFP journalist saw officers entering a Palestinian home, with a drone and helicopter as well as police dogs aiding the search.
Officers enforcing the shutdown prevented cars and people from moving in the center of the neighborhood, as heavily armed forces combed the area.
Police announced they had found the perpetrator’s gun near the scene of the attack, which took place near the tomb of Simeon the Just — Shimon Hatzadik in Hebrew — a site frequented by religious Jews.
The weapon was identified as a Carlo makeshift submachine gun, which Palestinians manufacture in the West Bank.
Hadassah hospital said they received a 48-year-old gunshot victim lightly wounded, and Shaare Zedek medical center said it was treating a man in his 50s in moderate condition.
The search was punctuated by the 10:00 am (0700 GMT) two-minute siren marking Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, honoring more than six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II.
Jerusalem mayor Moshe Lion, speaking at a city hall ceremony, said one of the Holocaust’s main lessons was “to never be helpless in the face of those seeking to harm us.”
Later in the morning, most of the security forces had left Sheikh Jarrah, with roads reopened and traffic flowing as normal, the AFP journalist said.
Sheikh Jarrah was the focal point of protests against the eviction of Palestinian residents by Israeli settler organizations in the build up to and during the May 2021 war between Israel and Gaza militants.
It is also the site of a weekly Israeli demonstration against the occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The attack took place a day after a Palestinian woman stabbed and moderately wounded an Israeli man at the Gush Etzion junction in the southern West Bank.
The woman was shot by security forces and taken to hospital in moderate condition.
The conflict has this year claimed the lives of at least 96 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP count based on Israeli and Palestinian official sources.
These figures include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians, including minors, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, including minors, and three members of the Arab minority.
GAZA CITY: The hours before iftar have seen a noticeable increase in Gazans walking along the Corniche of Gaza City.
Men, women, teens and some children walk in groups and individually before the call to Maghrib prayer, some of them on a daily basis, to spend Ramadan in a useful and healthy way.
“I have been practicing walking for years, almost daily, on normal days in the early morning hours, but in Ramadan two hours before iftar,” Midhat Jabali, 44, told Arab News.
“Walking is a sport for body health and heart. I practice it individually and sometimes with my wife and children. During Ramadan, I make sure to be here every day on the Corniche to walk for at least an hour before returning home to eat the meal,” Jabali said.
Jabali notes a significant increase in the number of Gazans of all ages practicing walking and jogging during Ramadan on Al-Rashid Street in Gaza City.
Sana’a Luzon, 48, a housewife, said that she goes out walking daily to the Corniche of the Gaza Sea, accompanied by her husband.
Luzon began the habit a couple of years ago after the outbreak of COVID-19 and continued to practice it after that.
“Staying at home is a cause of great distress for people, and has doubled our pressures in life. Our walking exercise relieves us a little,” she told Arab News.
Muhammad Abu Diab started walking many months ago because it helps him to overcome the daily pressure he is exposed to.
He lives in a neighborhood that is far from the seaside but he is keen not to leave this beautiful habit on the seashore.
Abu Diab bought a bike a few weeks ago to help him reach the seaside more quickly.
The habit of walking in Ramadan has become an opportunity for many fasting people to spend a healthy time in an open place where they practice sports, helping them to overcome health problems and daily pressures, and spend time until the moment of breaking the fast.
“The doctors advised me to practice walking, but I did not have time in the morning hours for this sport. I took advantage of the month of Ramadan to practice daily. Often we prepare our food and sit near the beach after walking and eat it here,” Rami Saidi, 55, told Arab News.
“I feel happy when I walk, and I also feel happy when I see others of all ages walking on the Corniche of Gaza. I feel that there is life and there is hope for a better and healthy future in light of the conditions we live in in Gaza,” he said.
Mahmoud Sheikh Ali, a nutritionist, told Arab News that walking has many health benefits for all — men, women and children.
Sheikh Ali added that this sport helps to activate all organs of the body, especially the respiratory system, and reduces the risk of disease and promotes bone health.
Ghada Al-Sousi, 23, said that she took up walking during Ramadan after her friends urged her to participate with them.
“Since last year, I have been coming on foot to the Corniche with my friends twice a week after the Asr prayer in order to walk and then return home, which helps us to overcome the stresses of the day as well as revitalize the body’s organs and lose some unnecessary fat in the body,” she told Arab News.
Psychologist Fadel Abu Hein said that exercising during Ramadan contributes to solving many problems, and it is a good habit that provides a person with positive energy.
“Walking, seeing landscapes, and breathing fresh air resist aging and viruses, because it enhances human immunity,” Abu Hein said.
IRBIL: Iraq on Tuesday shut down a camp housing internally displaced Iraqis with alleged ties to the Daesh group, the migration and displacement ministry announced.
The statement said the camp’s closure came as part of a government program aiming to “end the displacement file” in the country, where 1.2 million Iraqis remain internally displaced after years of conflict.
Aid workers criticized the closure as hasty and chaotic.
On Monday, residents and aid workers at the Jadah 5 camp in northern Iraq’s Qayyarah — which housed some 300 families — were informed by government and security officials that they had to leave the camp by Wednesday, a day before the beginning of the Muslim celebration of Eid Al-Fitr.
Iraq has long sought to close down the displacement camp, one of the last remaining in federally controlled areas, but faced pushback from aid groups concerned over the integration of vulnerable families, including many women and children, stigmatized for their perceived or real affiliation with IS.
Aid workers Tuesday said they had been locked out of the camp by security forces and residents were being evicted after being given two days’ notice to leave. An Associated Press correspondent who attempted to reach the camp found it surrounded by a heavy security deployment and was not allowed to access the premises.
Several official notices of closure had been sent to the camp over the past year and a half but were later delayed. This time, however, the closure came sooner than expected.
On March 23, Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement sent a letter to the International Organization for Migration, which coordinates humanitarian aid in the camp, informing it that the camp would be shut down in 60 days. The letter did not cite a reason for the closure.
A spokesperson for the IOM said the organization is aware that residents have received notice that the camp will be closed but declined to comment further.
“They all must leave — they don’t have another option,” said Ali Abbas, a spokesperson for the ministry. He said each family had been given 1,500,000 Iraqi dinar (about $1030) to find new housing.
Abbas did not give a reason for the closure decision, and it was not clear why the ministry had moved up the May deadline cited in the letter.
The ministry statement, reported by state media, said that “all the displaced have returned to their original areas of residence on a voluntary basis.”
The order to vacate the camp on Monday, “was sudden, with no notice,” said a worker with an aid organization operating in the camp, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear that the government would retaliate against the non-governmental organization. “So (residents) were confused about how to leave the camp.”
Another aid worker, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the residents were told that if they did not leave, “the army will enter and kick out all those who remain,” adding that ministry employees and security forces “started to confiscate the (identification) documents of the people to make sure that they leave.”
UN and NGO workers on Tuesday were prevented from entering the premises by security forces, the aid workers said, and as of the afternoon all but around 15 to 20 families had left the camp.
Camp residents often fear violence from militias and tribes if they return to their areas of origin.
Authorities began a rapid push in late 2020 to close down displacement camps across the country in an effort to push forward with recovery efforts that have lagged years after the defeat of IS. Most camps were shut, aside from those in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and one where returnees from the Al-Hol camp in Syria are housed.
International organizations have cited pervasive violence, exploitation and lawlessness in the Al-Hol camp and called for countries with citizens housed there to repatriate them.
ANKARA: US President Joe Biden’s administration was expected to give the green light for the long-awaited sale of defense modernization kits to Turkiye ahead of key Turkish elections on May 14.
The package, which Turkiye had requested in October 2021 for its existing F-16 aircraft fleet, will include radars and avionics software upgrades, Reuters reported.
The process had remained in limbo as a result of several breakdowns in relations between Washington and Ankara.
America’s move is believed to be related to Turkiye’s recent approval of Finland’s NATO membership bid and ongoing de-escalation of tensions with its neighbor Greece.
However, a planned $20 billion sale of new Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to Turkiye will not be included in the package. That deal has yet to be approved by the US Congress.
The US State Department was now expected to send formal notification to Congress for the sale of $259 million worth of modernization kits after congressional committee leaders recently gave informal approval for the sale.
Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish research program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Arab News: “(The US move) tells the Turkish government that if it wins the elections in a fair way, more may come in at the following stage.
“It also tells the opposition that if it wins, it should favor a reset in Turkish-US relations and develop strong ties with Washington by setting the S-400 (Russian missile system) issue.
“Therefore, the US signals that this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what it can do together with the opposition if it wins. So, this is a sort of carrot simultaneously,” Cagaptay added.
If Congress gives formal approval to the process, the modernization package will be the first major military deal with Turkiye that it has agreed in years, with Lockheed Martin Corp. being the main contractor.
Cagaptay noted that the US government wanted continuity in its defense ties with Turkiye. The upgrade of the F-16 fleet would boost interoperability between Turkish and NATO military systems through the adoption of updated communications technology and new safety measures such as a ground collision avoidance system.
But experts have pointed out that Congress will first want to see Ankara approving Sweden’s bid to join NATO and give assurances over its close military and political ties with Russia.
Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara office director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said the US Congress would have 15 days to adopt a joint resolution of disapproval against the sale.
“However, this is unlikely as the transaction is relatively small compared to Turkiye’s request of 40 F-16s in addition to these modernization kits and more significantly to the F35s Greece is on its way to acquiring by 2028,” he added.
Unluhisarcikli noted that Turkiye’s upgrading of its airforce would be in the interests of the US and NATO given Ankara’s role in the military alliance’s southern flank.
On the timing of the decision one month before important elections in Turkiye, he said: “If the opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu wins the upcoming elections and becomes Turkiye’s 13th president, one can expect the Turkiye-US relationship to be set on a more positive trajectory which means the F-16 deal would be easier to achieve.
“However, even if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan retains his office, the relationship can at least normalize and it would still be possible to proceed with the F-16 sale, particularly after Turkiye ratifies Sweden’s NATO accession.”
However, tensions still remain in relations between America and Turkiye.
Erdogan recently criticized US Ambassador to Turkiye Jeff Flake for meeting the country’s opposition leader and candidate for the presidential elections, Kilicdaroglu, ahead of elections, and said that doors were now closed on the envoy.
“Shame on you, use your head. You are an ambassador. Your interlocutor here is the president. We have to teach America a lesson,” Erdogan added.