Khartoum Democracy Activists Lift Half of Sit-Ins

Sudanese protesters stand behind road blocks as they take part in an anti-military sit in, on the Eid al-Adha holiday, in the capital Khartoum, on July 9, 2022. (AFP)
Sudanese protesters stand behind road blocks as they take part in an anti-military sit in, on the Eid al-Adha holiday, in the capital Khartoum, on July 9, 2022. (AFP)
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Khartoum Democracy Activists Lift Half of Sit-Ins

Sudanese protesters stand behind road blocks as they take part in an anti-military sit in, on the Eid al-Adha holiday, in the capital Khartoum, on July 9, 2022. (AFP)
Sudanese protesters stand behind road blocks as they take part in an anti-military sit in, on the Eid al-Adha holiday, in the capital Khartoum, on July 9, 2022. (AFP)

Organizers of Khartoum's sit-ins, begun 10 days ago to force Sudan's army to return power to civilians, announced Monday that they had dismantled two of their four camps.

The protests began after security force killed nine demonstrators in anti-coup rallies by tens of thousands on June 30, according to pro-democracy medics, in the deadliest violence so far this year.

In response, protesters called for "unlimited" sit-ins the following day, in an attempt to end military rule.

They set up four camps -- two in the center of Khartoum on streets they barricaded with bricks, and one each in the capital's sister cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North.

But on Monday, while Sudan celebrated the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha for a third day, "resistance committees" announced they were breaking up the Omdurman camp.

The committees are influential neighborhood groups that have been organizing demonstrations since the October 25 coup.

A sit-in outside Khartoum's al-Jawda hospital was lifted on Friday, according to activists. It ended on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a major holiday for which many residents of Khartoum return to their provincial homes for several days.

The other two sit-ins continue even if the number of demonstrators participating has fallen because of the holiday.

Rallies on June 30 and the subsequent sit-ins marked a resurgence of the protest movement for civilian rule. Although the movement had continued to hold near-weekly anti-coup rallies they appeared to decline in intensity.

Medics say a total of 114 people have been killed in the crackdown by security forces against protesters since the October coup, which disrupted a transition to civilian rule forged after the 2019 overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.

The coup drew international condemnation and cuts in vital aid.

Four days into the sit-ins the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, last week vowed to make way for a civilian government but activists are deeply skeptical of his pledge.

On Thursday pro-democracy groups, including political parties and resistance committees, announced their plans to establish a revolutionary council in opposition to Burhan.



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.