UN investigators decry patterns of grave violations in Sudan

A team of UN investigators said Tuesday they had met in Chad with victims of violence in Sudan's brutal civil war and had documented "disturbing patterns" of grave abuses. (AFP/File)

Short Url

https://arab.news/2fg3t

Updated 23 July 2024

AFP

July 23, 2024 18:48

Follow

UN investigators decry patterns of grave violations in Sudan

The people they spoke to had detailed firsthand accounts of “horrific acts of killings, sexual violence, including gang rape,” the team said
The investigators said that many of the violations appeared to be particularly targeted against professionals

Updated 23 July 2024

AFP

July 23, 2024 18:48

Follow

GENEVA: A team of UN investigators said Tuesday they had met in Chad with victims of violence in Sudan’s brutal civil war and had documented “disturbing patterns” of grave abuses.
The recently established UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the situation in Sudan said it had spent three weeks in Chad meeting with survivors of the conflict in Sudan, members of Sudanese civil society and other observers.
The people they spoke to had detailed firsthand accounts of “horrific acts of killings, sexual violence, including gang rape,” the team said in a statement.
“These brutal acts must stop and the perpetrators must be brought to justice,” mission member Mona Rishmawi said.
The fact-finding mission, which was created by the UN Human Rights Council late last year to investigate alleged abuses in the conflict, also described “arbitrary detention, torture (and) enforced disappearances.”
It had also heard of “looting, the burning of houses, and the use of child soldiers,” it said.
The investigators said that many of the violations appeared to be particularly targeted against professionals like lawyers, rights defenders, teachers and doctors.
“Forced displacement was a common feature.”
War has raged in the northeast African country for more than a year between the regular military under army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes including deliberately targeting civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and blocking humanitarian aid, as famine threatens.
The war, which began in April 2023, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and uprooted more than 10 million people inside the country while two million more have fled across borders, according to the UN.
More than 600,000 of those have made their way to Chad.
The independent experts, who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, called on the international community to urgently step up efforts to end the conflict.
“This crisis requires the support of the international community as a whole,” said mission chair Mohamed Chande Othman.

Follow

Syria’s new rulers call for victory celebrations in streets

Updated 4 sec ago

AFP

December 13, 2024 13:00

Follow

Syria’s new rulers call for victory celebrations in streets

Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed Al-Golani is now using his real name Ahmed Al-Sharaa
His call comes ahead of the first Friday prayers since Syria’s new leadership took control

Updated 4 sec ago

AFP

December 13, 2024 13:00

DAMASCUS: Syria’s militant chief called on people across the country to celebrate “the victory of the revolution” on Friday, as G7 leaders looked to forge a common approach to the new government.

More than half a century of brutal rule by the Assad clan came to a sudden end on Sunday, after a lightning militant offensive led by Abu Mohammed Al-Golani’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) swept across the country and took the capital.

Ousted president Bashar Assad fled Syria, closing an era in which suspected dissidents were jailed or killed, and capping nearly 14 years of war that killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.

“I would like to congratulate the great Syrian people on the victory of the blessed revolution and I call on them to go to the streets to express their joy,” Golani said on Telegram.

Golani, who is now using his real name Ahmed Al-Sharaa, is set to attend Friday prayers at Damascus’s landmark Umayyad Mosque.

During the early days of Syria’s uprising in 2011, protesters would often gather after noon prayers on Fridays, the Muslim day of prayer and rest.

Assad’s overthrow has allowed Syrians to flood to prisons, hospitals and morgues in search of long-disappeared loved ones, hoping for a miracle, or at least closure.

“I turned the world upside down looking,” Abu Mohammed said as he searched for news of three missing relatives at the Mazzeh air base in Damascus.

“But I didn’t find anything at all. We just want a hint of where they were, one percent.”

Sunni Muslim HTS is rooted in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda and designated a terrorist organization by many Western governments, who now face the challenge of how to approach the country’s new transitional leadership.

The group has sought to moderate its rhetoric, and the interim government insists the rights of all Syrians will be protected.

The spokesman for the newly installed government, Obaida Arnaout, said that the country’s constitution and parliament would be suspended during a three-month transition.

“A judicial and human rights committee will be established to examine the constitution and then introduce amendments,” he said, pledging that the “rule of law” would be instituted.

Leaders of the Group of Seven countries, who will meet virtually at 1430 GMT on Friday, said they were ready to support the transition to an “inclusive and non-sectarian” government in Syria.

They called for the protection of human rights, including those of women and minorities, while emphasizing “the importance of holding the Assad regime accountable for its crimes.”

Inside much of Syria, the focus for now is on unraveling the secrets of Assad’s rule, and particularly the network of detention centers and suspected torture sites scattered across areas previously under government control.

Syria’s leadership said it is willing to cooperate with Washington in the search for US citizens who disappeared under Assad’s rule, including US journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in 2012.

Another American, Travis Timmerman, has already been located alive and Blinken said Washington was working to bring him home.

The search for other missing detainees has ended more painfully, with hundreds of Syrians gathering Thursday to bury outspoken activist Mazen Al-Hamada.

In exile in the Netherlands, he publicly testified on the torture he was subjected to in Syrian prison.

He later returned to Syria and was detained. His body was among more than 30 found in a Damascus hospital morgue this week.

Assad was propped up by Russia — where a senior Russian official told US media he has fled — as well as Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.

The militants launched their offensive on November 27, the same day a ceasefire took effect in the Israel-Hezbollah war, which saw Israel inflict staggering losses on Assad’s Lebanese ally.

Both Israel and Turkiye, which backs some of the militants who ousted Assad, have since carried out strikes inside Syria.

The fall of Assad has prompted some of the millions of Syrians who fled abroad to return home.

On Friday morning, around 60 people were waiting at Turkiye’s Oncupinar border crossing, anxious to reach Syria.

In the southern city of Sweida, the heartland of Syria’s Druze minority where anti-government demonstrations have been held for more than a year, hundreds took to the streets on Friday, singing and clapping in jubiliation.

“Our joy is indescribable,” said Haitham Hudeifa, 54. “Every province is celebrating this great victory.”

Follow

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria Abu Mohammed Al-Golani

Freed Syrian prisoners return to their ‘death dormitory’

Updated 24 min 29 sec ago

Reuters

December 13, 2024 09:50

Follow

Freed Syrian prisoners return to their ‘death dormitory’

“Every day in this room, which used to be called ‘Steel 1 — the death dormitory,’ one to three people would die inside every day,” Hanania, 35, told Reuters

Updated 24 min 29 sec ago

Reuters

December 13, 2024 09:50

DAMASCUS:Basim Faiz Mawat stood in the Damascus cell that his fellow prisoners used to call the “death dormitory,” struggling to believe that the system that abused him for so long had been overthrown and his suffering had ended.
“I came here today only to see that truly nothing lasts forever,” the 48-year-old said as he and another freed prisoner, Mohammed Hanania, visited the detention center where their guards never showed mercy.
They were among thousands who spilled out of Syria’s prison system on Sunday after a lightning militia advance overthrew President Bashar Assad and ended five decades of his family’s rule. Many detainees were met by tearful relatives who thought they had been executed years earlier.
“Every day in this room, which used to be called ‘Steel 1 — the death dormitory,’ one to three people would die inside every day,” Hanania, 35, told Reuters.
“The sergeant was — when he didn’t lose someone, when someone didn’t die from weakness, he would kill him. He took them to the toilets and hit them with the heel of his shoe on their heads.”
Hanania walked on past long rows of empty cells. Names of prisoners — Mohammed Al-Masry, Ahmed and others — were scratched on walls with dates.
The floors were littered with rubble and discarded clothes. A row of blankets was still set out in one cell where prisoners had slept.
Both men looked up at an image on a wall of Assad, who is accused of torturing and killing thousands, abuses that were also rampant during his father Hafez’s reign of terror.
“No one could have believed this would happen,” said Mawat.

MASS EXECUTIONS
In another room, he stood beside a rusty blue ladder and described how he was blindfolded and forced to climb up the steps. Then his torturer would kick away the ladder and he would be suspended by his arms from the ceiling in agony.
“My shoulders were torn, and I couldn’t say a single word. No one could bear more than five or 10 minutes,” he said.
Rights groups have reported mass executions in Syria’s prisons. In 2017, the United States said it had identified a new crematorium at the Sednaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus to dispose of hanged prisoners.
Syrians have flocked to the prisons looking for their loved ones. Some have been released alive, others have been identified among the dead and thousands more have not yet been found.
Syrian militia leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa — better known as Abu Mohammed Al-Golani — the main commander of the militants who toppled Assad, has said he will close the prisons and hunt down anyone involved in the torture or killing of detainees.
Assad fled to his ally Russia where he was granted asylum.
“At this stage, if everyone thinks about taking revenge, we have no solution other than to forgive,” Hanania said.
“But the criminal who has blood (on their hands) should be held accountable. I will leave my rights to be granted by God.”

Follow

Topics: Fall of Assad

Syria Kurds warm up to new leaders but fear for hard-won gains

Updated 32 min 33 sec ago

AFP

December 13, 2024 09:43

Follow

Syria Kurds warm up to new leaders but fear for hard-won gains

Kurdish authorities have made overtures to Islamist-led militants who seized power in Syria last week

Updated 32 min 33 sec ago

AFP

December 13, 2024 09:43

QAMISHLI: Kurdish authorities have made overtures to Islamist-led militants who seized power in Syria last week, but the long-oppressed community fears it could lose hard-won gains it made during the war, including limited self-rule.
The Kurds faced discrimination during more than 50 years of Assad family rule. They were barred, for example, from offering education in their own language.
As militants led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) seized power, ousting president Bashar Assad, the Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria have multiplied overtures to the new leaders, like adopting the three-starred flag used by the opposition.
Mutlu Civiroglu, a Washington-based analyst and expert on the Kurds, said that the fate of Syria’s Kurdish authorities “remains uncertain,” noting “the rapidly shifting dynamics on the ground.”
Syria’s Kurds face “mounting pressure from the Turkish government and factions under its control,” he said, as Ankara-backed fighters seized two Kurdish-held areas in the north during the militant offensive.
Last week, Mazloum Abdi who heads the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) welcomed “an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantees the rights of all Syrians.”
But many in the northeast are concerned about the future of their autonomous region.
“The factions in Damascus... don’t recognize the Kurds, and now they want to whitewash their image in front of the international community,” Ali Darwish, a Kurdish resident of the northeastern city of Qamishli told AFP.
“But we hope that we, as Kurds, will be able to preserve our areas and improve the economic situation,” the 58-year-old said.
“We hope for positive solutions in the future.”

Minority groups suffered during the civil war that broke out in 2011, particularly after the Islamic State (IS) group overran large parts of the country three years later.
HTS, the Islamist group that led the offensive that toppled Assad, is rooted in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda and is proscribed as a terrorist organization by many Western governments, though it has sought to moderate its rhetoric.
The SDF spearheaded the fight that defeated IS jihadists in Syria in 2019 with US backing — putting Washington at odds with NATO ally Ankara, which has operated militarily against the Kurds.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the SDF was “critical” to preventing a resurgence of IS jihadists in Syria following Assad’s ouster.
On the same day, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin visited Damascus and Ankara named a new chief of mission for its long-closed embassy in Damascus, which it has pledged to reopen.
Civiroglu said that “Syrian Kurds face several significant challenges, the most pressing of which is Turkiye’s ongoing hostility toward them.”
Since 2016, Turkiye has staged multiple operations against the SDF.
Ankara views the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a key part of the SDF, as an extension of the banned Kurdish militants who have fought a decades-long insurgency inside Turkiye.
“All Turkish attacks and threats against the Kurds are seen as directly or indirectly aimed at undermining Kurdish autonomy and expanding Turkish control in northern Syria,” Civiroglu said.
On the ground, fighters of Syria’s new government have taken over the eastern city of Deir Ezzor from Kurdish-led forces, who had briefly moved in as government troops and their Iran-backed allies withdrew.
Syria’s new leaders have said repeatedly that religious minorities will not be harmed under their rule, but they have not mentioned ethnic minorities like the Kurds.
In Qamishli, residents told AFP they were glad Assad was ousted, but had mounting concerns.
Kurds, who represent the largest ethnic minority in Syria, want a “democratic state that respects everyone’s rights and religion,” said Khorshed Abo Rasho, 68.
“We want a federal state, not a dictatorship,” he added.
Fahd Dawoud, a 40-year-old lawyer, was hopeful that an inclusive government can be formed.
“We hope that the new government will represent all Syrians and won’t exclude any party,” he said.

Follow

Topics: Fall of Assad

Reassured ‘for now’, Aleppo’s Christians prepare for Christmas

Updated 57 min 44 sec ago

AFP

December 13, 2024 09:20

Follow

Reassured ‘for now’, Aleppo’s Christians prepare for Christmas

The country’s new rulers have sought to reassure Syria’s religious minorities
In multi-confessional Syria, Catholic and Orthodox Christmas and Easter holidays have always been marked

Updated 57 min 44 sec ago

AFP

December 13, 2024 09:20

ALEPPO, Syria: For the Catholic Marist Brothers of Aleppo, one of nearly a dozen Christian communities in Syria’s second city, today’s most pressing question is how to decorate the Christmas tree.
In the days since a lightning offensive spearheaded by Islamist militants overthrew former president Bashar Assad, the country’s new rulers have sought to reassure Syria’s religious minorities.
The efforts have been successful, at least “for now,” said Brother Georges Sabe, who took part earlier this week in a meeting between militants and local Christian representatives.
It was the second since the December 8 capture of the capital Damascus.
“They were very reassuring,” he said.
“’Continue to live normally, you’re coming up to your Christmas holiday, nothing will change for you,’” he said he was told.
“So far, nothing has changed,” he added.
Assad, a member of Syria’s Alawite minority, sought to present his government as a protector of secularism and the country’s many confessions though government intolerance for dissent extended to all groups.
During the civil war, militants routinely repressed minority groups.
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the Islamist group that led Assad’s overthrow, has its roots in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda, though it has sought to moderate its rhetoric.
Sabe noted that the representatives of the new government he met — “three fighters and two politicians” — were all from Aleppo.
“One of them was finishing his doctorate in mechanical engineering before the war. He told us that he’d had a Christian neighbor.”
So, the community has resumed “normal life, with morning and evening masses,” and Christmas decorations are going up, he added.
“During 13 years of war, I learned to live day by day. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
In multi-confessional Syria, Catholic and Orthodox Christmas and Easter holidays have always been marked, along with the new year.
The community has been hard hit by emigration during the civil war. Of the approximately 200,000 Christians who lived in Aleppo before 2011, just 30,000 remain in the city, according to community leaders.
But it remains fully integrated and considers itself Syrian before anything else.
“We don’t want to go, we want to stay on good terms with the Muslims. We speak the same language,” insisted Sabe.
So far, a promise to allow churches to continue ringing their bells has been kept, and they sound at dusk to mark mass at the Church of Saint Francis, also known as the Latin Cathedral.
“People here have a deep spiritual sense,” explained Father Bahjat as several dozen parishioners arrived for the service.
“During all the years of war, they never stopped coming to church.”
He said he could understand why some have expressed concern, especially abroad.
“On the ground, we didn’t see any acts of discrimination, so we are full of hope that our people will coexist in peace,” he said.
Marina Ayoub was arriving for mass as usual. She said she never misses a service, as they give her “hope.”
“The bishop has told us that he is not worried and that we can continue to come as usual, and celebrate our masses and holidays.”
Opposite the church sits a property that had been occupied by the ruling Baath party and has now been reclaimed by the community.
The Vatican flag hangs outside, and the new government has told Christians that church property will not be touched.
The decision by the head of the transitional government to appear before an Islamist flag earlier this week sparked some fears.
“But the next day, during an interview with Al Jazeera, it had disappeared,” Sabe noted.
“That shows that they are ready for dialogue.”
Still, among some in the community there are concerns.
“They say that they will respect all faiths... but I’m waiting to see,” said one worshipper, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject.
“I’ll judge them by their actions.”
He said he was watching for “little signs.” noting that restaurants in Aleppo were no longer openly serving alcohol.
“They hide it,” he said.
For now, the Marist Brothers charitable association is focusing on preparations for a concert it will put on for 120 Muslim children it helps.
“They are poor and displaced by the war,” said Mariam Arab as she debated how best to decorate the Christmas tree.
“The most important thing is to find a way to cheer them up.”

Follow

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria

Blinken sees ‘encouraging signs’ on reaching Gaza ceasefire

Updated 13 December 2024

AFP

December 13, 2024 08:27

Follow

Blinken sees ‘encouraging signs’ on reaching Gaza ceasefire

Blinken called on Turkiye to influence Hamas to achieve the exchange deal and ceasefire in Gaza

Updated 13 December 2024

AFP

December 13, 2024 08:27

ANKARA: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that he saw “encouraging signs” of progress toward a ceasefire in the war-torn Gaza Strip on a visit to Ankara.

“We discussed Gaza, and we discussed I think the opportunity... to get a ceasefire in place. And what we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks are more encouraging signs that that is possible,” Blinken said after meeting Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Blinken called on Turkiye to influence Hamas to achieve the exchange deal and ceasefire in Gaza and said US wants to see Syria in a completely different direction than it was.

“In my discussions with President Erdogan and with Minister Fidan we talked about the imperative of Hamas saying yes to the (Gaza) agreement that's possible to finally help bring this to an end,” Blinken said.

“We appreciate very much the role that Turkiye can play in using its voice with Hamas, to try to bring this to conclusion.”

Blinken also discussed efforts toward a Gaza ceasefire when he arrived in Jordan on Thursday on what was his 12th visit to the Middle East since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

Follow

Topics: War on Gaza Antony Blinken Turkiye Gaza Hamas Hakan Fidan

UN investigators decry patterns of grave violations in Sudan

UN investigators decry patterns of grave violations in Sudan

Civilians pay the price for Sudan’s civil war

Egypt keen to work with partners to find swift solution to Sudan crisis, foreign minister says

Syria’s new rulers call for victory celebrations in streets

Syria’s new rulers call for victory celebrations in streets

From Al-Qaeda militant to Syrian statesman: The changing faces of Abu Mohammed Al-Golani

Freed Syrian prisoners return to their ‘death dormitory’

Freed Syrian prisoners return to their ‘death dormitory’

Syria Kurds warm up to new leaders but fear for hard-won gains

Syria’s new rulers call for victory celebrations in streets

Syria Kurds warm up to new leaders but fear for hard-won gains

Syria Kurds warm up to new leaders but fear for hard-won gains

Syria’s new rulers call for victory celebrations in streets

Syria’s new rulers call for victory celebrations in streets

Reassured ‘for now’, Aleppo’s Christians prepare for Christmas

Reassured ‘for now’, Aleppo’s Christians prepare for Christmas

Report: Over 120 Syrian churches damaged by war since 2011

New bishop brings hope to some of Syria’s Christians

Blinken sees ‘encouraging signs’ on reaching Gaza ceasefire

Blinken sees ‘encouraging signs’ on reaching Gaza ceasefire

Kingdom’s ambassador to UN appeals to General Assembly members to join Saudi-French conference to resolve Palestinian issue

Saudi Arabia’s successful World Cup bid receives congratulations from around the world

Latest updates

Saudi e-commerce sales using Mada cards hits $5bn milestone

‘Lives at risk’: Women’s medical training ban threatens Afghan health sector

Harry Kane set to return for Bayern Munich next week after injury

Syria’s new rulers call for victory celebrations in streets

Freed Syrian prisoners return to their ‘death dormitory’

Recommended

How Sednaya’s liberation exposed decades of systematic torture under Syria’s Assad regime

What does Assad’s downfall mean for the millions of Syrians displaced by war?

From Al-Qaeda militant to Syrian statesman: The changing faces of Abu Mohammed Al-Golani

Search form

Print Edition

Search form

Search form

You are here

UN investigators decry patterns of grave violations in Sudan

UN investigators decry patterns of grave violations in Sudan

Related

Syria’s new rulers call for victory celebrations in streets

Related

Freed Syrian prisoners return to their ‘death dormitory’

Related

Syria Kurds warm up to new leaders but fear for hard-won gains

Related

Reassured ‘for now’, Aleppo’s Christians prepare for Christmas

Related

Blinken sees ‘encouraging signs’ on reaching Gaza ceasefire

Related

Latest updates

Recommended

Search form

Print Edition