Social media images reveal Sudan war crimes: HRW

Social media images reveal Sudan war crimes: HRW
Members of Sudan's armed forces take part in a military parade held on the occasion of Army Day in Port Sudan on August 14, 2024. (AFP/File)
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Updated 29 August 2024
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Social media images reveal Sudan war crimes: HRW

Social media images reveal Sudan war crimes: HRW

KHARTOUM: Human Rights Watch has accused both sides in Sudan’s more than 16-month conflict of committing war crimes, including summary executions, torture, and the mutilation of bodies.

Since April 2023, Sudan’s army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, has been locked in a devastating war with the Rapid Support Forces that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.

The New York-based rights group said its analysis of social media images indicated mass executions of at least 40 people, alongside the torture and ill-treatment of 18 detainees.

It said nine of the 20 videos analyzed showed the mutilation of at least eight dead bodies, mostly by people in military uniforms, though some were in plain clothes.

“In all the incidents, detainees appear to be unarmed, posing no threat to their captors, and in several, they are restrained,” Human Rights Watch said.

“Forces from Sudan’s warring parties feel so immune to punishment that they have repeatedly filmed themselves executing, torturing, and dehumanizing detainees, and mutilating bodies,” said Mohamed Osman, HRW’s Sudan researcher.

“These crimes should be investigated as war crimes, and those responsible, including commanders of these forces, should be held to account,” he added.

The rights group called on the warring parties to “privately and publicly order an immediate halt to these abuses and carry out effective investigations.”

It added that the abuses “constitute war crimes” and should be subject to international investigations, including from the UN fact-finding mission for Sudan.

The HRW report coincides with the arrival of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed in the coastal city of Port Sudan, part of continued efforts to resolve the crisis in the impoverished country.

Since the war erupted last year, it has killed tens of thousands of people, with some estimates of up to 150,000, according to US Sudan envoy Tom Perriello.


Iran says it will hit back against any Israeli strike

Billboard shows slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and the IRGC’s Abbas Nilforushan.
Billboard shows slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and the IRGC’s Abbas Nilforushan.
Updated 07 October 2024
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Iran says it will hit back against any Israeli strike

Billboard shows slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and the IRGC’s Abbas Nilforushan.
  • After US said it was discussing a joint response with Israel, Iran’s chief of staff warned that Tehran would hit Israeli infrastructure if its territory is attacked

TEHRAN: Iran said on Monday it would respond firmly to any Israeli attack on its soil, stressing that it did not want a wider war in the region.
On Tuesday Iran launched around 200 missiles in its second direct attack on Israel, in what it said was retaliation for the killing of Tehran-aligned militant leaders in the region and a general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Israel has vowed to respond to the attack.
Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said the Islamic republic was “not afraid of war and will give a firm and appropriate response to any new action by the Zionist regime.”
The foreign minister made the remarks in a telephone conversation with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty.
Israel’s army chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Iran had fired about 200 missiles at Israel last week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran had made a “big mistake” with its missile barrage, which follows Israel killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on September 27.
After the United States said it was discussing a joint response with Israel, Iran’s chief of staff warned that Tehran would hit Israeli infrastructure if its territory is attacked.


Yemeni official among 13 abducted by Houthis in Ibb over revolution celebrations

Yemeni official among 13 abducted by Houthis in Ibb over revolution celebrations
Updated 07 October 2024
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Yemeni official among 13 abducted by Houthis in Ibb over revolution celebrations

Yemeni official among 13 abducted by Houthis in Ibb over revolution celebrations
  • The militia has targeted hundreds of people who celebrate the anniversary of the Sept. 26, 1962, revolution or encourage others to do so
  • Meanwhile, relatives of detained Yemeni humanitarian workers renew appeal to the Houthis to release them or at least allow visitors

AL-MUKALLA: A local government official was among 13 Yemenis abducted by the Houthis in Ibb province over the past two days, local media reported on Monday, as the militia continues to crack down on people who commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the 1962 revolution in the country.

Al-Masdar Online said Khaled Al-Kerizi, the deputy head of the provincial office of the Ministry of Culture, was taken from his home in Al-Mashannah District.

The Houthis also reportedly snatched eight people in Yarim District and four in Al-Udayn District and the countryside, increasing the number of people abducted in province in the past week to 48.

The Houthi crackdown in areas of northern Yemen under their control has targeted hundreds of people who celebrated the anniversary of the revolution or encouraged others to do so. The revolution, which began on Sept. 26, 1962, toppled the Zaidi imamates that had controlled northern Yemen for centuries and limited the right to rule to Hashemites. Much of their ideology is shared by the Houthis.

In an attempt to suppress pro-revolution celebrations in Sanaa, the Houthis have deployed military forces and vehicles, as well as undercover operatives in civilian clothing armed with batons, who have abducted people from the streets and their homes.

Some of those taken were pictured in videos dancing to a nationalist song commemorating the revolution. Others posted messages on social media platforms praising the revolution or encouraging others to celebrate it.

HuMENA, a human rights organization based in Brussels, strongly condemned the arbitrary Houthi raids on homes and abductions. It said members of the militia have detained about 500 people since Sept. 20, including about 40 journalists and writers, as well as teachers, university professors and students, lawyers, and members of the former ruling party, the General People’s Congress.

“We call on the international community and humanitarian organizations to take a firm stance against these violations, pressuring the Houthi group to end this repressive campaign and immediately release all detainees, ensuring the protection of citizens’ rights and freedom of expression,” HuMENA said.

Meanwhile, relatives of abducted Yemeni employees of international aid and human rights organizations, and diplomatic missions, renewed their appeals to the Houthis to release the detainees or at least allow visitors.

“Today marks four months since my father Ahmed’s detention in Yemen, without hearing from him or checking on his condition; months of anxiety, fear and sadness that consumes our hearts at all times,” Khaled Al-Yemeni, the son of an aid worker abducted by the Houthis on June 6, wrote in a message posted on Facebook on Sunday.

“We appeal to Ansar Allah’s leadership and all concerned parties to take action on my father’s case and release him as soon as possible. Our family is in constant pain, and we hope for relief soon.”

Ansar Allah is the official name of the Houthis. Since May, militia members have abducted dozens of Yemenis working for UN agencies, international aid and human rights organizations, and diplomatic missions in Sanaa and other parts of Yemen under their control, accusing them of using humanitarian work as a cover to spy for the US and Israel.

The UN and other organizations have strongly condemned the Houthis for their actions. They deny the allegations against their employees and demand the militia release the detainees and stop harassing humanitarian workers.

The Houthis said they buried 126 “unidentified” bodies in Hodeidah and Saada provinces in the past few days. The Houthi Yemeni Security Media reported on Sunday that in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the militia buried 66 bodies that had been stored at Al-Thawra Hospital in Hodeidah province.

On Thursday, the same media office said the Houthi Public Prosecution buried 60 unidentified bodies, some of which were those of African migrants, that had been stored at Al-Jamhuri Hospital in Saada province.


Israeli military says it intercepts missile fired from Yemen

Israeli military says it intercepts missile fired from Yemen
Updated 07 October 2024
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Israeli military says it intercepts missile fired from Yemen

Israeli military says it intercepts missile fired from Yemen
  • The missile set off air raid sirens across large swaths of central Israel, sending residents running for shelter

JERUSALEM: A surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen at central Israel on Monday was intercepted, the Israeli military said.
The missile set off air raid sirens across large swaths of central Israel, sending residents running for shelter.
“Following the sirens that sounded in a number of areas in central Israel, the surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen was successfully intercepted” by the Israeli Air Force, the military said in a statement.
The statement did not say who fired the missile. The Iran-backed Houthi movement which controls northern Yemen has frequently attacked Israel over the past year in what it says is solidarity with the Palestinians. 


Force alone will not lead to Israel’s security, France says

An Israeli tank operates at a location given as Southern Lebanon in this image released on October 6, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli tank operates at a location given as Southern Lebanon in this image released on October 6, 2024. (Reuters)
Updated 07 October 2024
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Force alone will not lead to Israel’s security, France says

An Israeli tank operates at a location given as Southern Lebanon in this image released on October 6, 2024. (Reuters)
  • “Force alone cannot guarantee the security of Israel, your security. Military success cannot be a substitute for a political perspective,” Barrot said

JERUSALEM: Israel’s security cannot be guaranteed with military force alone and will require a diplomatic solution, France’s foreign minister said on Monday, and Paris would continue efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Speaking at the end of a four-day tour of the Middle East, Jean-Noel Barrot was in Israel on Monday to mark a year since Hamas militants crossed into Israel killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage back to Gaza.
The assault triggered an Israeli military campaign in Gaza that has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry. The war has spread conflict across the region with Israel stepping up military operations over its northern border in Lebanon against Hezbollah, a Hamas ally.
“Force alone cannot guarantee the security of Israel, your security. Military success cannot be a substitute for a political perspective,” Barrot told a news conference in Jerusalem.
“To bring the hostages home to their loved ones, to allow the displaced to return home in the north (of Israel), after a year of war, the time for diplomacy has come.”
Barrot’s arrival in Israel, where about 180,000 French citizens live, came at a tricky time in Franco-Israeli relations after President Emmanuel Macron was firmly rebuffed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the weekend.
Macron had called for a de facto arms embargo on Israel and, in a veiled attack on the US, said countries that both supplied weapons and called for a ceasefire where they were being used in conflict were being incoherent. French arms supplies to Israel are minimal.
Barrot reiterated that it was odd to call for a ceasefire while giving offensive weapons. He said that France, as a staunch defender of Israel’s security, felt it was vital to be frank about the ongoing suffering of civilians in Gaza, but also the military operation now in southern Lebanon.
France worked with the United States in trying to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon at the end of September. Diplomatic sources had at the time believed this had secured a temporary truce, a day before Israel heavily bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
“We have a responsibility to act today to avoid Lebanon finding itself in a short horizon in a dramatic situation like Syria found itself a few years ago,” Barrot said.
Ceasefire proposals put forward together with Washington remain on the table, he said.


Israel can’t confirm death of Hezbollah’s Safieddine, spokesperson says

Hezbollah source said contact with Hashem Safieddine had been lost following Israeli strikes this week. (AFP)
Hezbollah source said contact with Hashem Safieddine had been lost following Israeli strikes this week. (AFP)
Updated 07 October 2024
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Israel can’t confirm death of Hezbollah’s Safieddine, spokesperson says

Hezbollah source said contact with Hashem Safieddine had been lost following Israeli strikes this week. (AFP)
  • Asked if Israel could confirm the death of Hashem Safieddine, spokesperson David Mencer said: “We don’t have that confirmation yet”

JERUSALEM: Israel cannot confirm whether the potential successor to the slain Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been killed, a government spokesperson said on Monday, following reports that he was targeted in an Israeli air strike last week.
Asked if Israel could confirm the death of Hashem Safieddine, spokesperson David Mencer told an online briefing: “We don’t have that confirmation yet. When it is confirmed, as and when, it will be on the IDF (Israeli military) website.”
A Hezbollah official told Reuters on Sunday that Israel was obstructing search and rescue efforts in an area where Safieddine is thought to have been when Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday.
Israel has killed much of Hezbollah’s military command and senior leadership in nearly a year of fighting that began when Hezbollah opened a front in solidarity with Palestinians the day after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.