Human rights groups say there have been no autopsies or identification of the 23 people killed trying to cross into Spain
Seconds after Mohamed stepped on to Spanish soil, he turned around to see how his friends had fared along the metres-high chain link fence that slices off the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco.
“It was horrible,” said the 20-year-old from Sudan. “It was a bloodbath; many of them appeared dead and many were injured.”
Continue reading...Dozens of people said to have been killed in attacks allegedly involving Wagner Group fighters
Russian mercenaries have mounted a series of bloody attacks on artisanal mines in the lawless border zones between Sudan and Central African Republic (CAR) in an effort to plunder the region’s valuable gold trade, witnesses and experts have said.
Dozens of miners are thought to have died in at least three major attacks this year allegedly involving mercenaries working for the Wagner Group, a private military company that has been linked to the Kremlin by western officials. There are also reports of further attacks on mines in at least six other places across CAR.
Continue reading...Items include armour, banners, and two skulls taken from Omdurman battlefield
Museum officials in Sudan are hoping for the return of priceless artefacts and body parts taken by British soldiers, colonial administrators and travellers, saying they could help bring peace to the unstable east African country.
The items include valuable armour, weapons and clothing, and the banners of fighters who resisted the British force that invaded and colonised Sudan 124 years ago.
Continue reading...Covid, climate, stability and violence contributing to young people feeling pessimistic about future, survey of 15 countries suggests
African youth have lost confidence in their own countries and the continent as a whole to meet their aspirations and a rising number are considering moving abroad, according to a survey of young people from 15 countries.
The pandemic, climate crisis, political instability and violence have all contributed to making young people “jittery” about their futures since the Covid pandemic began, according to the African Youth Survey published on Monday.
Continue reading...Ship Badr 1 sank in Red Sea port of Suakin early on Sunday, prompting environmental concerns
A ship crammed with thousands of sheep sank on Sunday in Sudan’s Red Sea port of Suakin, drowning most animals onboard but with all crew surviving, officials said.
The livestock vessel was exporting the animals from Sudan to Saudi Arabia when it sank. “The ship, Badr 1, sank during the early hours of Sunday morning,” a senior Sudanese port official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It was carrying 15,800 sheep.”
Continue reading...Three years after protests toppled Omar al-Bashir, activists hope to bring down another government with little more than phones, placards and motorbikes
A small house on a street in central Khartoum, lost among the dusty blocks of offices and cheap hotels but not difficult to find. On the wall outside, a slightly faded portrait of the smiling young man who once lived here: Abdulsalam Kisha.
Inside, half a dozen men and a woman are meeting, planning, eating, joking. These self-styled “revolutionaries” do not belong to a political party, or even a defined organisation. Instead, they are part of a coalition of hundreds of grassroots associations across Sudan’s towns and cities coordinated by activists who hope to bring down a powerful military regime with little more than placards, smartphones and motorbikes. The efforts of these “resistance committees” in Sudan are being watched – with hope by many, anxiety by autocratic leaders – across a swathe of the Middle East and Africa.
Continue reading...Police open fire on demonstrators as protest organisers detained in fierce crackdown by regime
Security forces in Sudan have mounted a fierce crackdown in recent days to crush remaining unrest, six months after a coup that brought a military regime to power in the unstable strategic country.
Police fired teargas and shotguns at protesters as thousands took to the streets in the capital, Khartoum, and twin city of Omdurman on Monday. The violence followed a similarly harsh response to demonstrations over the weekend. In all, 113 people have been injured and one killed in recent days, according to doctors.
Continue reading...Dressed in red and blue, ‘Spidey’ is a fixture at protests against the military regime – and the subject of a new Guardian documentary
Violence and arrests will not deter Sudan’s young activists from resisting the military who “stole our revolution”, says one man who faces down the teargas and bullets in a blue and red superhero costume.
Featured in a new Guardian documentary, “the ‘Spider-Man’ of Sudan”, who cannot be named for his safety, has become a symbol of protests that began in October. Dressed in his increasingly frayed suit and mask he and other demonstrators confront teargas canisters, water cannon and often live bullets.
Continue reading...Death toll likely to rise, say witnesses to indiscriminate attacks on Kreinik and El Geneina by Sudan’s notorious Rapid Support Forces
At least 200 people are now known to have died in West Darfur in the latest attack on civilians and local forces blamed on Janjaweed militia.
Darfur, the semi-arid western region of Sudan where a vicious civil war erupted in 2003, has seen a new outbreak of fighting over the past few months as rival groups clash over water and grazing land, shortages of which are being exacerbated by the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Fears death toll from Sunday’s clashes could rise after armed tribesmen attacked villages of non-Arab Massalit minority
Clashes between rival groups in Sudan’s Darfur killed at least 168 people on Sunday, an aid group has said, in the latest bout of deadly violence to hit the restive region.
Darfur, which was ravaged by civil war that erupted in 2003, has seen a spike in deadly conflict since October last year triggered by disputes mainly over land, livestock and access to water and grazing.
Continue reading...Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman is accused of 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity
A former militia leader in Sudan has denied committing war crimes and crimes against humanity as his landmark hearing opened at the international criminal court.
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman is accused of leading thousands of pro-government fighters on a systematic campaign of murder, rape and torture during the height of violence in the Darfur region of Sudan between 2003 and 2004.
Continue reading...UN warns up to 18 million could be in need of aid by September as food prices soar due to conflict, poor harvests and economic crisis
The number of people who are severely hungry in Sudan could double by September as a result of poor harvests, economic crisis, internal conflict and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UN has warned.
In a joint statement, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation said more than 18 million people could face extreme hunger over the coming months, up from about 9 million currently in need of aid.
Continue reading...Women fear use of sexual violence as a ‘tactic’ against those protesting the coup, after attack on 18-year-old in Khartoum
Demonstrations took place across Sudan on Tuesday in protest at the alleged gang-rape of a teenager by security forces.
The 18-year-old said she was attacked in Khartoum on Monday by up to nine men dressed in the uniforms of the security forces involved in dispersing regular protests held across Sudan since October’s military coup.
Continue reading...Janjaweed militias accused of attacking villages as violence continues to rise in a region once ravaged by civil war
At least 19 people have been killed in Sudan’s restive Darfur region in the latest violence between rival groups that has left dozens dead this week.
Fresh clashes broke out on Thursday between armed groups in the rugged Jebel Moon mountains of West Darfur state, close to the border with Chad.
Continue reading...The pair, arrested in connection with the killing of a police officer during pro-democracy protests, are reportedly being denied visits and medical help
Amnesty International has called for the release of two teenagers who have been detained and allegedly tortured in Sudan in connection with the killing of a police officer during pro-democracy protests in Khartoum.
Mohamed Adam, known as Tupac, 17, and Mohamed al-Fateh, 18, have been held without charge since 15 January.
Continue reading...Campaign by celebrities saw Noura Hussein’s death sentence quashed but, now free, promises of help have not materialised
Noura Hussein, the Sudanese woman whose conviction for killing her rapist husband four years ago caused an international outcry, said she is “disappointed” that promises of support have not materialised.
Speaking to the Guardian after her release from prison last year, Hussein, who was 19 when she was convicted, said she felt let down by the people and organisations that had campaigned for her release and who had offered her support.
Continue reading...Abdalla Hamdok quits on same day at least two protesters killed by security forces during unrest in Khartoum and other cities
Sudan’s prime minister has announced his resignation amid political deadlock and widespread pro-democracy protests following a military coup that derailed the country’s fragile transition to democratic rule.
Abdalla Hamdok, a former UN official seen as the civilian face of Sudan’s transitional government, had been reinstated as prime minister in November as part of an agreement with the military following the October coup. In that time he had failed to name a cabinet and his resignation on Sunday throws Sudan into political uncertainty.
Continue reading...Lual Mayen turned his family’s escape from civil war in South Sudan into a powerful gaming experience – that will have real-life benefits for refugees
It was while fleeing the civil war in South Sudan that Lual Mayen’s mother gave birth to him 28 years ago. She had four children in tow and was near to the border with Uganda, in a town called Aswa. The journey was difficult; Mayen’s two sisters died on the way and he became sick. No one thought he would survive.
“I can’t imagine what she had to go through. There was no food, no water, nothing,” says Mayen. “I remember she said she was not the only woman who gave birth on the way. Other women abandoned their children because they didn’t want them to suffer. But my mother thought: “He is a gift for me, I have to keep him.”’
Continue reading...Thousands mark anniversary of revolt against Bashir regime with protest over military takeover
Tens of thousands of Sudanese protesters have rallied to mark three years since the start of mass demonstrations that led to the ousting of the dictator Omar al-Bashir, as fears mount for the country’s democratic transition.
Security forces fired teargas - leaving several wounded, witnesses said – at a huge crowd of protesters near the republican palace in the capital, Khartoum, chanting slogans against the military chief, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who led a coup on 25 October.
Continue reading...Millions are still fighting for a democratic government, three years after their protests began
Amany Galal lost her right eye to a tear gas canister fired by security forces as they tried to break up a demonstration in early 2019, making her one of the first casualties of Sudan’s long and faltering revolution.
Three months later, the street movement had toppled the military dictator Omar al-Bashir but, three years later, millions of protesters are still fighting for a democratic government.
Continue reading...