عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

8 Killed, 17 Wounded During Protests in Sudan's Kassala

Internally displaced Sudanese children gesture to the photographer as they play outside their makeshift shelter within the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur, Sudan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
Internally displaced Sudanese children gesture to the photographer as they play outside their makeshift shelter within the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur, Sudan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
TT
20
TT

8 Killed, 17 Wounded During Protests in Sudan's Kassala

Internally displaced Sudanese children gesture to the photographer as they play outside their makeshift shelter within the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur, Sudan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
Internally displaced Sudanese children gesture to the photographer as they play outside their makeshift shelter within the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur, Sudan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

The Sudanese government announced Thursday that eight people were killed during violent protests in eastern Sudan's Kassala State on Thursday.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, medical sources in the city confirmed the number of causalities and said that seven out of those wounded are in a critical condition.

Protests broke out in Kassala against the recent decision by Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to sack the state's civilian governor Saleh Ammar.

However, Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said that governors of all states will be sacked to form a new government as agreed in the deal signed between the transitional government and the armed forces.

For his part, Ammar held the police and the transitional authority responsible for the violence, accusing them of suppressing the right to freedom of expression.

"The government remained silent despite the chaos and racist attacks that happened throughout the past months – the government stood idle," he noted.

In this context, local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the authorities permitted the protest in the Freedom Square but the protesters headed towards the government’s headquarters.

Eyewitnesses said that the police shot live bullets at protesters.

Also, State news agency (SUNA) said security forces had used tear gas then bullets against a breakaway group of protesters, some of them armed, who had ignored warnings not to approach a government building.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council Urges Hamas to Hand Over Suspects in Rocket Attacks

Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
TT
20
TT

Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council Urges Hamas to Hand Over Suspects in Rocket Attacks

Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).

A senior Lebanese source has revealed that authorities will demand Hamas to hand over remaining individuals implicated in recent rocket attacks launched from Kfartebnit and Qaqaiyat al-Jisr—two towns located north of the Litani River, overlooking southern Lebanon—toward the Israeli settlements of Metula and Kiryat Shmona. The suspects are also believed to have stored rockets and launchers in a warehouse raided by the Lebanese Army, which seized several of the weapons, some prepared for imminent use.
The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that this demand will top the agenda of the first meeting of the Supreme Defense Council, scheduled for Friday and to be chaired by President Joseph Aoun.
The Council is also expected to discuss the security situation in southern Lebanon amid Beirut’s unilateral commitment to the ceasefire agreement, contrasted by what it views as Israel’s noncompliance. The session will further address recent incidents in which local residents blocked UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) from entering certain villages, citing the lack of coordination with the Lebanese Army. Additional topics include logistical, administrative, and security preparations by the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities ahead of the first round of municipal elections in Mount Lebanon this coming Sunday.
According to the source, the Lebanese Army’s intelligence directorate has, under judicial supervision, compiled a list of wanted Hamas members based on interrogations with detained suspects involved in the rocket attacks.
The source did not rule out the possibility that the suspects may have sought refuge in Palestinian refugee camps, particularly Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon, where Hamas may be protecting them in neighborhoods controlled by extremist factions.
The source argued that Palestinian weapons have lost their original purpose of defending against Israeli attacks and are now largely used for internal conflict and endangering nearby communities.
Disarming Palestinian groups inside the camps, the source said, aligns with the insistence of both Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government that all arms remain under the state’s authority. The matter is also expected to feature prominently in upcoming talks between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Lebanese officials during his mid-month visit to Beirut.
On broader security concerns, the source noted that Lebanon is stepping up containment measures around the camps to prevent the militarization of nearby towns, especially those close to the Litani River.
Regarding Sunday’s Israeli airstrike on a warehouse in Beirut’s southern suburb, the source confirmed that the Lebanese Army had received no prior warning through the United States. Instead, Lebanese officials learned of the strike via media reports. This prompted Aoun to make urgent calls to several countries, including the US and France, which are considered guarantors of the ceasefire agreement. Subsequent information reportedly disproved Israel’s stated justification for the attack.