President of Sudan Sovereign Council Orders Army Restructure

Members of Sudan's Sovereign Council are sworn in at the presidential palace in Khartoum, August 21, 2019. (Reuters)
Members of Sudan's Sovereign Council are sworn in at the presidential palace in Khartoum, August 21, 2019. (Reuters)
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President of Sudan Sovereign Council Orders Army Restructure

Members of Sudan's Sovereign Council are sworn in at the presidential palace in Khartoum, August 21, 2019. (Reuters)
Members of Sudan's Sovereign Council are sworn in at the presidential palace in Khartoum, August 21, 2019. (Reuters)

President of the Sudanese Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ordered a major army restructure, appointing General Mohamed Osman al-Hussein as Chief of Staff. He also promoted a number of officers to the rank of colonel and referred others to retirement.

His orders were consistent with the provisions of the constitutional document governing the transitional phase, which granted military and security services the authority to restructure the army and other security forces.

Burhan also appointed Majdi Ibrahim as deputy chief of staff, Lieutenant General Munawar Othman as deputy chief of staff in management, Lieutenant General Abdullah al-Bashir as deputy chief of staff of training, Lieutenant General Khaled al-Shami as deputy chief of staff of operations, and Lieutenant General Jamal Abdul Majid to the General Intelligence Agency.

Spokesperson of the armed forces, Brigadier General Amer Mohammed al-Hassan, issued a press statement announcing Burhan’s decisions to promote a number of officers, whereby Lieutenant General Essam Karar was appointed as commander of ground forces and General Essam Koko as commander of the air force.

In addition, Major General Bahri Mahgoub Bushra Ahmed Rahma was assigned as navy commander and Lieutenant General Abdullah al-Matari as inspector general.

Air Marshal Mohammad Ali Mahmoud, Lieutenant General Abdul Rahman Yousif Ali al-Faki and Vice Admiral Majdi Omar Sayed Marzouq were retired from their duties.

Based on the provisions of the constitutional document, the Sovereignty Council formed this month a Security and Defense Council under the chairmanship of Burhan.

Separately, Minister of Justice Nasruddin Abdul Bari also appointed a number of officials and legal advisers to new positions.

The new assignments are in line with the constitutional document, which calls for purging the influence of the dissolved Islamic regime and all of its symbols.



Israel Demolishes Seven Palestinian Homes in East Jerusalem

A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Israel Demolishes Seven Palestinian Homes in East Jerusalem

A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)

Municipal workers began demolishing seven homes in occupied east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood on Tuesday, Palestinian residents and the municipality said, after an Israeli court called their construction illegal.

"This morning the Jerusalem Municipality, with a security escort from the Israel police, began its enforcement against illegal buildings in the Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan," Jerusalem's Israeli-controlled city hall said in a statement.

Activist Fakhri Abu Diab, one of those affected by the demolition, confirmed that "at least seven homes have been demolished, and the operation is ongoing".

He said that both houses and apartments were affected.

"They demolished my home, which I had renovated after it was previously demolished earlier this year, as well as my son's house, Haitham Ayed's family home, and four homes belonging to the Al-Ruwaidi family," Abu Diab told AFP.

He said around "40 people, including children, were affected by the demolitions in the neighborhood, leaving them homeless".

An AFP photographer saw at least four bulldozers operating on Tuesday at demolition sites in the neighborhood under tight Israeli police supervision.

In a statement, Jerusalem city hall pointed to court orders that call for the demolition of the buildings due to zoning laws that make them illegal.

However, Palestinian residents and activists accuse the municipality of concealing its true intentions.

"The buildings, like most of the buildings in the neighborhood, are located on an area that is a green designation, that is, an open public area and where there is no possibility for zoning," the municipality said, adding that the area would become a green zone instead.

Abu Diab said the true aim of the demolitions was "to reduce the percentage of Arabs and alter the demographic composition of Jerusalem in favor of (Israeli) settlers", connecting them to west Jerusalem.

Israel "is above international law, has escaped accountability, and is exploiting global focus on the wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the US elections", he said.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.

Some 230,000 Israeli settlers live in east Jerusalem, according to the United Nations. Another 3,000 live in Palestinian neighborhoods within east Jerusalem's boundaries, according to Israeli rights organization Peace Now.