Sudan Security Forces Clash with Protesters in Khartoum

Protesters are seen in Khartoum on Tuesday. (AFP)
Protesters are seen in Khartoum on Tuesday. (AFP)
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Sudan Security Forces Clash with Protesters in Khartoum

Protesters are seen in Khartoum on Tuesday. (AFP)
Protesters are seen in Khartoum on Tuesday. (AFP)

Sudanese protesters tried to march onto the presidential palace in Khartoum on Tuesday but were intercepted by security forces, who fired tear gas to disperse them.

Sudan’s security forces blocked some bridges linking the three cities of the capital (Khartoum, Bahri, and Omdurman), ahead of the resistance committees’ calls for a million-strong march to protest the deteriorating economic conditions.

The police were also deployed at the main entrances leading to central Khartoum.

A large crowd of protesters in Omdurman marched on the parliament but riot police dispersed them with excessive force.

The resistance committees leading the popular movement had called for uniting efforts against the oppressive economic policies, demanding an end to military rule and the establishment of a country of freedom, peace, dignity, and justice.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking delegation of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) arrived in South Sudan's capital Juba to discuss the framework agreement reached last month and the latest developments in Sudan.

This visit is part of a trip that includes a number of Arab and African countries, and is the FCC’s first foreign tour.

The delegation will meet with South Sudan President Salva Kiir and other officials, according to a statement issued by the FFC foreign relations committee.

The FFC stressed the significance of cooperation with the government of South Sudan in order to contribute effectively to the political process.

This would accelerate the civil democratic transformation and reinforce rapprochement and integration between both fraternal states, added the statement.



Activist Aid Ship Nears Gaza After Reaching Egypt Coast

 Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)
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Activist Aid Ship Nears Gaza After Reaching Egypt Coast

 Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)

An aid ship with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, has reached the Egyptian coast and is nearing the besieged Palestinian territory, organizers said on Saturday.

The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies "to break Israel's blockade on Gaza".

"We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast," German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. "We are all good," she added.

In a statement from London on Saturday, the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza -- a member organization of the flotilla coalition -- said the ship had entered Egyptian waters.

The group said it remains in contact with international legal and human rights bodies to ensure the safety of those on board, warning that any interception would constitute "a blatant violation of international humanitarian law".

European parliament member Rima Hassan, who is on board the vessel, urged governments to "guarantee safe passage for the Freedom Flotilla."

The Palestinian territory was under Israeli naval blockade even before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that sparked the Gaza war and Israel has enforced its blockade with military action in the past.

A 2010 commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar aid flotilla trying to breach the blockade, left 10 civilians dead.

In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported coming under drone attack while en route for Gaza, prompting Cyprus and Malta to send rescue vessels in response to its distress call. There were no reports of any casualties.

Earlier in its voyage, the Madleen changed course near the Greek island of Crete after receiving a distress signal from a sinking migrant boat.

Activists rescued four Sudanese migrants who had jumped into the sea to avoid being returned to Libya. The four were later transferred to an EU Frontex vessel.

Launched in 2010, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is a coalition of groups opposed to the blockade on humanitarian aid for Gaza that Israel imposed on March 2 and has only partially eased since.

Israel has faced mounting international condemnation over the resulting humanitarian crisis in the territory, where the United Nations has warned the entire population of more than two million is at risk of famine.