Sudanese Public Prosecution Detains Two Senior Forensic Specialists https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2718686/sudanese-public-prosecution-detains-two-senior-forensic-specialists
Sudanese Public Prosecution Detains Two Senior Forensic Specialists
Part of the popular demonstrations that took place in Khartoum in December 2020 in commemoration of the revolution that toppled Omar al-Bashir’s regime (AP)
Sudanese Public Prosecution Detains Two Senior Forensic Specialists
Part of the popular demonstrations that took place in Khartoum in December 2020 in commemoration of the revolution that toppled Omar al-Bashir’s regime (AP)
The Sudanese Public Prosecution has arrested two senior forensic specialists on charges related to medical reports according to which victims of the violent dispersal of the sit-in were buried in front of the army headquarters in Khartoum in 2019.
In November 2020, the public prosecutor found mass graves near the al-Markhiyat Mountains northwest of Omdurman for the remains of civilians who were killed during the bloody attack by security forces and militiamen outside the army headquarters.
Former director of the forensic medicine authority and the suspended director of the Omdurman morgue were arrested for the illegal burial of the victims, Sudan Tribune quoted judicial officials on Saturday.
Army forces and members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) perpetrated unconscionable acts of violence to disperse the peaceful sit-in in front of the army headquarters on June 3, 2019.
Over 200 people were killed during the brutal attack and 1,000 were injured.
Those acts included “extrajudicial killings and torture, excessive use of force, sexual and gender-based violence, and the forced disappearance of detained protesters,” the newspaper reported.
Health authorities, however, said that the number of the victims reached 85 persons, it added.
The Director of the Omdurman morgue was accused of releasing an autopsy report on the circumstances of the killing of a Sudanese youth under torture inside an RSF prison.
He claimed that the death was not a result of a criminal act but rather a pathological cause, pointing out that there were no visible signs of violence on the body.
Following a request by the deceased’s relatives, the Public Prosecutor ordered a re-autopsy. The probe report found that there were bruises under the scalp and on both sides of the chest, which were not proven in the doctor’s report.
It concluded that the death was due to a hemorrhage in the brain resulting from a head injury, contrary to what was stated by the arrested doctor's report.
A peaceful sit-in in front of the army headquarters on April 6, 2019 led to the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir’s Islamist 30-year rule in Sudan.
Protesters remained on the streets, mainly outside army headquarters, after Bashir's fall, to pressure the military into sharing power with civilians.
They demanded that ousted regime figures be held accountable and its political and economic structure be dismantled.
During negotiations between the military and the rebel leaders on June 3, the military forces dispersed the sit-in.
Head of the Transitional Military Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan then announced the halt of talks, telecommunications companies cut off internet service, and protesters in Khartoum and other cities were chased for more than a day after the sit-in ended.
Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will travel on Monday to the United States to meet President Donald Trump in his first international visit since taking office, his government spokesperson said.
Zaidi, who came to power this year with Trump's blessing, assumed office amid growing US pressure on Baghdad to disarm pro-Iran armed groups that have frequently targeted US facilities in Iraq.
In Washington, Zaidi hopes to attract US investments to the country, which urgently needs to boost its economy, especially after significant revenue losses caused by the halt in oil exports during the Middle East war, AFP reported.
Zaidi is "heading to Washington on Monday, leading a high-level delegation, at the invitation of the US president", government spokesperson Haidar al-Aboudi said.
The talks will focus on "strengthening economic relations and investments", especially in the oil and power sectors, he added.
The state's monopoly on arms is a necessary requirement to "ensure internal stability... and attract investments capable of boosting" the economy, Aboudi said.
Zaidi has vowed to ensure pro-Iran armed groups hand over their weapons, but he is facing pushback from some powerful factions.
In recent months, Iraq has signed several deals with US companies in the oil sector.
During his one-week trip to Washington, Zaidi is expected to sign several more agreements, including a deal to establish a fund into which Iraq will deposit half a million barrels of oil per day in exchange for boosting the country's electricity supply.
Iraqi Factions Pledge Allegiance to Khamenei, Reject Disarmamenthttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5295006-iraqi-factions-pledge-allegiance-khamenei-reject-disarmament
Members of Iraq's Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah) gather in a mourning procession for one of their comrades who was killed the previous day in a strike in Basra, during the funeral in Baghdad on April 8, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Iraqi Factions Pledge Allegiance to Khamenei, Reject Disarmament
Members of Iraq's Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah) gather in a mourning procession for one of their comrades who was killed the previous day in a strike in Basra, during the funeral in Baghdad on April 8, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
About a week before Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is due to visit Washington, factions and groups linked to the so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq have rejected calls to hand over their weapons to the state.
As the US administration presses Baghdad to disarm the factions and sever their ties with Iran, the latest positions of these factions confront al-Zaidi with complex political and security challenges.
The government had previously set the end of September as the final deadline for weapons to be surrendered and dismantled, coinciding with the end of the international coalition’s military presence under an agreement with the Iraqi government.
Al-Zaidi said last week that the government had entered into talks with the factions, whose activities would “later shift to the political and social arenas.”
Once the deadline for disarmament and the transfer of weapons to government security institutions expires, “arms will be held exclusively and entirely by the official institutions of the state and its specialized armed and security forces,” al-Zaidi said.
Kataib Hezbollah warning
In a strongly worded statement, Kataib Hezbollah official Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi demanded that the Iraqi government “submit” to the resistance.
In April, the US State Department offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the capture or conviction of al-Hamidawi, who is regarded as one of the faction leaders closest to Iran.
Al-Hamidawi said Kataib Hezbollah was founded by the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and on his orders, adding that its members “were and remain loyal to this path.”
“At this historic juncture, we draw the attention of political leaders and government officials to the need to submit to the will of the people of resistance and jihad, and to exercise extreme caution against being drawn into arrogant projects or aligning themselves with their malicious agendas,” al-Hamidawi said, referring to the disarmament plan.
“We warn them that our people will make their position and decision known if the compass deviates,” he added.
A funeral procession in Baghdad for members of Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah killed in a raid targeting a Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters in March 2025 (Reuters)
The so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq also rejected calls to surrender its weapons. The armed coalition comprises a range of undeclared factions whose agendas align with the activities of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. They are also widely viewed as covert wings of known Iran-backed factions.
The group said in a statement on Saturday that it remained “committed to the path of resistance.”
“Let the enemies know that the forces of the axis of truth are one body, operating according to the jihadist framework laid down for us by our leader, Khamenei,” it said.
“Hardships will not deter us, but will only strengthen our determination to continue on our path of supporting the oppressed and expelling the occupiers from Iraq and the region.”
“Our weapons have never been open to bargaining. They are a doctrine and a pledge for which we are responsible, and with them we will move forward to break the chains of domination and restrain the arrogant powers,” the group added.
“We therefore affirm to those near and far that we will not stop at what we have achieved. Rather, we will work to develop our military and security capabilities, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and raise our readiness in proportion to the scale of the growing challenges and threats.”
So far, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Sadrist movement, has responded to calls to bring all weapons under state control. Last month, he ordered his armed faction, Saraya al-Salam, to hand over its weapons and official headquarters to the state.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali have also complied with the demand. However, some factions’ continued rejection of the move is likely to increase the challenges and complications the government faces on the issue, according to observers.
A member of Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah waving the faction's banner on a missile launch platform (Faction media)
Expected judicial action
Observers are divided over the prospect of disarming the factions. Some consider it impossible without flexibility or clear approval from Iran, while others believe the government can achieve it amid rapidly changing regional circumstances.
Political analyst Nizar Haidar told Asharq Al-Awsat that it was necessary to distinguish between what the militias publicly declared and what they concealed.
That included “secret understandings that will ultimately lead to the complete surrender of their weapons and the dismantling of their military formations,” he said.
Haidar said he expected the Iraqi judiciary to take a deterrent position against groups that violated the law by retaining weapons outside state control. He added that the judiciary was preparing, for the first time since 2003, to announce a legal code.
“Any military formation or military activity outside the state is expected to be classified as a terrorist act, punishable under existing Iraqi laws by up to the death penalty,” Haidar said.
He said the legal code, if issued, would “contribute significantly to helping the government implement its plans to place all weapons under state control.”
Efforts to disarm and dismantle the factions would also be reinforced by “government plans to purge the security and military institutions of militia members who refuse to sever their ties with their leaders and place their security and military decisions under the authority of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, following the example of the factions that have announced such steps in recent months,” Haidar added.
Jordan Army: 3 Iranian Missiles Fell Inside Countryhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5295003-jordan-army-3-iranian-missiles-fell-inside-country
Jordan Army: 3 Iranian Missiles Fell Inside Country
The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
Jordan's army said Sunday that three Iranian missiles fell on the kingdom's territory at dawn amid renewed hostilities between Iran and the United States.
"Three missiles fired from Iranian territory fell at dawn in several locations across the kingdom, without causing any casualties. The damage is limited to minor material losses," said a military source quoted in an army statement.
The US attacked Iran early Sunday morning over an Iranian attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, setting the container ship ablaze and forcing its crew to abandon it.
In retaliation, Iran fired missiles on several Gulf countries and Jordan.
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