Air strike on North Darfur market kills more than 100: Sudan lawyers’ group

Air strike on North Darfur market kills more than 100: Sudan lawyers’ group
The air strike hit the town of Kabkabiya, about 180 kilometres west of state capital El-Fasher, which has been under RSF siege since May (AFP)
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Updated 10 December 2024
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Air strike on North Darfur market kills more than 100: Sudan lawyers’ group

Air strike on North Darfur market kills more than 100: Sudan lawyers’ group
  • The air strike hit the town of Kabkabiya, about 180 kilometers west of state capital El-Fasher, which has been under RSF siege since May

Port Sudan: A Sudanese military air strike on a market in a town in North Darfur killed more than 100 people and wounded hundreds on Monday, a pro-democracy lawyers’ group said Tuesday.
“The air strike took place on the town’s weekly market day, where residents from various nearby villages had gathered to shop, resulting in the death of more than 100 people and injury of hundreds, including women and children,” said the Emergency Lawyers, who have been documenting human rights abuses during the 20-month war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The air strike hit the town of Kabkabiya, about 180 kilometers west of state capital El-Fasher, which has been under RSF siege since May.
The lawyers said they “condemn in the strongest terms the horrendous massacres committed by army air strikes” in Kabkabiya.
In a separate incident, a drone that had crashed in central Sudan’s North Kordofan on November 26 exploded on Monday evening, killing six people, including children, and leaving three others seriously injured, the lawyers said.
In Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, a series of “indiscriminate airstrikes” also targeted three neighborhoods with barrel bombs, they added.
The attacks are part of “an ongoing escalation campaign, contradicting claims that the air strikes target only military objectives as the raids are deliberately concentrated on densely populated residential areas,” the lawyers said in a statement.
Both the army and the RSF have been accused of targeting civilians and deliberately bombing residential areas.
Tens of thousands have been killed in the war and over 11 million displaced, creating what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest displacement crisis.


Hezbollah must focus on Lebanon not wider region, senior politician Bassil says

Hezbollah must focus on Lebanon not wider region, senior politician Bassil says
Updated 14 min 53 sec ago
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Hezbollah must focus on Lebanon not wider region, senior politician Bassil says

Hezbollah must focus on Lebanon not wider region, senior politician Bassil says
  • Parliament meets on Jan. 9 to decide on president
  • Hezbollah weakened after war with Israel

PARIS: Iran-backed Hezbollah needs to focus on domestic issues in Lebanon and not the wider region, senior Lebanese Maronite politician Gebran Bassil said on Tuesday, adding that he was against the head of the army running for the presidency.
A year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, which culminated in a tentative ceasefire brokered by the United States and France in November, saw more than 4,000 killed, thousands displaced and the powerful Shiite group considerably weakened militarily with many of its leaders dead.
“It’s a process whereby Hezbollah accepts that they are part of the Lebanese state and are not parallel to the state,” Bassil, a Maronite Christian, who is one of Lebanon’s most influential politicians, told Reuters in an interview in Paris.
“We don’t want their end. We want them to be partners in the Lebanese nation, equal to us in abiding by the rules and preserving the sovereignty of Lebanon. We agree with them on defending Lebanon and supporting the Palestinian cause, but politically and diplomatically, not militarily.”
Bassil, who said the group should distance itself from the Iran-aligned “Axis of Resistance,” is head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), a Christian party founded by former President Michel Aoun, his father-in-law, that has been aligned with Hezbollah.
He was sanctioned by the United States in 2020 for alleged corruption and material support to Hezbollah. He denies the accusations.
He was in Paris meeting French officials. He declined to say whether he met Donald Trump’s regional envoy and fellow Maronite Massad Boulos, who accompanied the US president-elect to France last weekend.
Since the truce, Paris has increased efforts to discuss with the myriad key actors in Lebanon over how to break a political impasse after two years without a president or permanent government.
The presidential post is reserved for Christians, but part of the standoff reflects rivalries among the community as well as crucial political and religious balances in the country.
Authorities finally announced that the parliament would meet on Jan. 9 to elect a new president.
Bassil, who has enough lawmakers to block a Maronite candidate, said he was against the candidacy of Joseph Aoun, the head of the army, who diplomats say both the United States and France consider as a serious candidate.
He said Aoun’s appointment would be against the constitution and that he did not have consensus among all the Lebanese factions.
“We are against him because we don’t see him as being fit for the presidency,” Bassil said. “We need candidates who can bring the Lebanese together,” he said declining to name one.


South Sudan president fires army and police chiefs, central bank governor

South Sudan president fires army and police chiefs, central bank governor
Updated 10 December 2024
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South Sudan president fires army and police chiefs, central bank governor

South Sudan president fires army and police chiefs, central bank governor
  • Security sources with knowledge of the goings-on in the military said the changes could have stemmed from disquiet within the army ranks

NAIROBI: South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has fired the head of the country's military, the police chief and the central bank governor, an announcement made on the state-owned broadcaster SSBC said.
Kiir's announcement late on Monday gave no reasons for the dismissals. It said Kiir had appointed Paul Nang Majok as the army's chief of defence forces, replacing General Santino Wol.
Security sources with knowledge of the goings-on in the military said the changes could have stemmed from disquiet within the army ranks, adding that some soldiers had not been paid wages for about a year.
Army spokesperson Major General Lul Ruai Koang did not immediately respond when contacted for comment.
Michael Makuei, the information minister and government spokesperson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reasons for the changes.
In late November, an attempt to arrest the former head of the intelligence service led to an eruption of heavy gunfire in the capital Juba.
In early October, Kiir had dismissed Akol Koor Kuc, who had led the National Security Service since the country's independence from Sudan in 2011, and appointed a close ally to replace him.
In the latest shake-up, Kiir also replaced James Alic Garang as the central bank governor, returning Johnny Ohisa Damian to the post after firing him in October 2023.
He named Abraham Peter Manyuat as the new Inspector General of Police, replacing Atem Marol Biar.
Abrupt changes to government leadership, especially in the finance ministry and the central bank, have been frequent in recent years and in 2020 alone the central bank governor was replaced twice.
South Sudan's economy has been depressed since a civil war that erupted in 2013, forcing about a quarter of its population to flee to neighbouring countries.
South Sudan has been formally at peace since a 2018 deal ended the five-year conflict responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, but violence between rival communities flares frequently.
It postponed a long-delayed national election until December 2026, reflecting the challenges facing the country's fragile peace process.


Israeli forces kill at least 19 people in Gaza, rescue workers say

Israeli forces kill at least 19 people in Gaza, rescue workers say
Updated 10 December 2024
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Israeli forces kill at least 19 people in Gaza, rescue workers say

Israeli forces kill at least 19 people in Gaza, rescue workers say

CAIRO: Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 19 Palestinians overnight and on Tuesday, medics said, as Israeli tanks pushed into areas in central and southern parts of the enclave.
Overnight, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces have operated since October, and injured dozens of others in a multi-floored building, medics said.
Another airstrike on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip killed at least seven people. It wounded several others, medics and the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said, while another killed two people in Rafah south of the enclave.
In Deir Al-Balah city in central Gaza, Israeli naval forces detained six Palestinian fishermen who tried to sail into the Mediterranean Sea earlier on Tuesday, according to residents.
More than 44,700 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive on Gaza that followed, Gaza health authorities say.


Netanyahu to take the stand in his corruption trial for the first time

Netanyahu to take the stand in his corruption trial for the first time
Updated 10 December 2024
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Netanyahu to take the stand in his corruption trial for the first time

Netanyahu to take the stand in his corruption trial for the first time
  • Bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges date to 2019
  • He remains PM unless convicted and appeals fail

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes the stand on Tuesday for the first time in his long-running corruption trial. Here is what you need to know about the charges that have divided the Israeli public at a time of Middle East turmoil.

What are the charges?
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust — all of which Netanyahu denies. The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases. He denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty.

Case 4000
Prosecutors allege Netanyahu granted regulatory favors worth around 1.8 billion shekels (about $500 million) to Bezeq Telecom Israel (BEZQ.TA). In return, prosecutors say, he sought positive coverage of himself and his wife Sara on a news website controlled by the company’s former chairman, Shaul Elovitch. In this case, Netanyahu has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Case 1000
Netanyahu has been charged with fraud and breach of trust over allegations that he and his wife wrongfully received almost 700,000 shekels ($210,000) in gifts from Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood producer and an Israeli citizen, and Australian billionaire businessman James Packer. Prosecutors said gifts included champagne and cigars and that Netanyahu helped Milchan with his business interests. Packer and Milchan face no charges.

Case 2000
Netanyahu allegedly negotiated a deal with Arnon Mozes, owner of Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, for better coverage in return for legislation to slow the growth of a rival newspaper. Netanyahu has been charged with fraud and breach of trust.

Will a verdict come soon?
Unlikely. Unless Netanyahu seeks a plea deal, it could be many more months before the judges rule.

How can he be on trial and remian Prime Minister?
Under Israeli law, a prime minister is under no obligation to stand down unless convicted. If he or she appeals their conviction, they can keep their office throughout the appeals process.

Could he go to jail?
Bribery charges carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years and/or a fine. Fraud and breach of trust are punishable by up to three years in jail.

What has the impact been?
The shock attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing Gaza war, swept Netanyahu’s trial off the agenda, as Israelis came together in grief and trauma. Before the war, Netanyahu’s legal troubles bitterly divided Israelis and shook Israeli politics through five rounds of elections.
After Netanyahu’s decisive 2022 victory at the ballot box, his far-right government launched a judicial campaign to curb the powers of the court. It sparked mass protests in Israel and fears among Western allies for the country’s democratic health. Netanyahu denied any link between the judicial overhaul and his trial. He largely abandoned the plan after war broke out, but has revived some anti-judiciary rhetoric in recent weeks.


HTS leader vows to pursue former Syria officials for torture, war crimes

HTS leader vows to pursue former Syria officials for torture, war crimes
Updated 11 min 11 sec ago
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HTS leader vows to pursue former Syria officials for torture, war crimes

HTS leader vows to pursue former Syria officials for torture, war crimes
  • Sharaa held talks on Monday with outgoing prime minister Mohammed Al-Jalali
  • Israel continued to carry out air strikes aimed at destroying the former government’s military capabilities
  • Thousands of Syrians gathered Monday outside a jail synonymous with the worst atrocities of Assad’s rule to search for relatives

DAMASCUS: Syria’s Islamist militant leader on Tuesday vowed to pursue former senior government officials responsible for torture and war crimes, a day after he began talks on the transfer of power following president Bashar Assad’s ouster.
Assad fled Syria as the Islamist-led opposition alliance swept into the capital Damascus, bringing a spectacular end on Sunday to five decades of brutal rule by his clan.
He oversaw a crackdown on a democracy movement that erupted in 2011, sparking a war that killed 500,000 people and forced half the country to flee their homes, millions of them finding refuge abroad.
“We will not hesitate to hold accountable the criminals, murderers, security and army officers involved in torturing the Syrian people,” rebel leader Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, now using his real name Ahmed Al-Sharaa, said Tuesday in a statement on Telegram.
“We will offer rewards to anyone who provides information about senior army and security officers involved in war crimes,” he said, adding the incoming authorities would seek the return of officials who have fled abroad.
Sharaa held talks on Monday with outgoing prime minister Mohammed Al-Jalali “to coordinate a transfer of power that guarantees the provision of services” to Syria’s people, according to an earlier statement on Telegram.
While Syria had been at war for over 13 years, the government’s collapse came in a matter of days in a lightning offensive led by Sharaa’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).
Even as some Syrians rejoiced and others rushed to search for loved ones in Assad’s notorious jails, Israel continued to carry out air strikes aimed at destroying the former government’s military capabilities, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Early Tuesday, AFP journalists heard more loud explosions in Damascus.

Access to Syria ‘crime scene’ a ‘game-changer’

UN investigators who for years have been gathering evidence of horrific crimes committed in Syria hope Bashar Assad’s downfall will finally mean they can access “the crime scene” and “massive evidence.”
“There is a sea change,” said Robert Petit, a Canadian prosecutor and legal scholar who heads the United Nations investigative body known as the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) on Syria.
“The evidence in Syria is finally becoming available,” he told AFP in an interview, a day after Assad fled Syria as Islamist-led rebels swept into the capital, bringing to a spectacular end five decades of brutal rule by his clan over a country ravaged by one of the deadliest wars of the century.
“It’s already quite clear that there’s massive evidence,” he said, pointing to the videos emerging from Syria’s emptying prisons showing “rooms full of reams and reams of paper.”
“There will be massive amount of information available.”

Israeli strikes
The Syrian Observatory said Tuesday that Israel had “destroyed the most important military sites in Syria” with a flurry of air strikes since the fall of Assad.
It said Israel has carried out “about 250 air strikes on Syrian territory” over the last 48 hours.
They targeted weapons depots, boats from the Assad government’s navy, and a research center that Western countries suspected of having links to chemical weapons production, it said.
Near the port city of Latakia, Israel targeted an air defense facility and damaged Syrian naval ships as well as military warehouses.
In and around the capital Damascus, strikes targeted military installations, research centers, and the electronic warfare administration.
Israel, which borders Syria, also sent troops into a buffer zone east of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights after Assad’s fall, in what Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described as a “limited and temporary step” for “security reasons.”
Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which had been allied to Assad, condemned the strikes late Monday and lambasted Israel for “occupying more land in the Golan Heights.”

Prison nightmare
At the core of the system of rule that Assad inherited from his father Hafez was a brutal complex of prisons and detention centers used to eliminate dissent by those suspected of stepping out of the ruling Baath party’s line.
Thousands of Syrians gathered Monday outside a jail synonymous with the worst atrocities of Assad’s rule to search for relatives, many of whom had spent years in the Saydnaya facility outside Damascus, AFP correspondents said.
Rescuers from the Syrian White Helmets group had earlier said they were looking for potential secret doors or basements in Saydnaya.
“I ran like crazy” to get to the prison, said Aida Taha, 65, searching for her brother who was arrested in 2012.
“But I found out that some of the prisoners were still in the basements. There are three or four floors underground.”
Crowds of freed prisoners wandered the streets of Damascus distinguishable by the marks of their ordeal: maimed by torture, weakened by illness and emaciated by hunger.

'We are reborn'
In central Damascus on Monday, despite all the uncertainty over the future, the joy was palpable.
“It’s indescribable. We never thought this nightmare would end. We are reborn,” Rim Ramadan, 49, a civil servant at the finance ministry, told AFP.
“We were afraid for 55 years of speaking, even at home. We used to say the walls had ears,” Ramadan said, as people honked car horns and rebels fired their guns into the air.
Syria’s parliament, formerly pro-Assad like the prime minister, said it supports “the will of the people to build a new Syria toward a better future governed by law and justice.”
The Baath party said it will support “a transitional phase in Syria aimed at defending the unity of the country.”
Syrian state television’s logo on the Telegram messaging app now displays the rebel flag.
During the offensive launched on November 27, rebels met little resistance as they wrested city after city from Assad’s control, opening the gates of prisons along the way and freeing thousands, many of them held on political charges.
Some, like Fadwa Mahmoud, whose husband and son are missing, posted calls for help on social media.
“Where are you, Maher and Abdel Aziz? It’s time for me to hear your news. Oh God, please come back,” wrote Mahmoud, herself a former detainee.
Rooted in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda, HTS is proscribed by Western governments as a terrorist group but has sought to soften its image in recent years.
Germany and France said in a statement they were ready to cooperate with Syria’s new leadership “on the basis of fundamental human rights and the protection of ethnic and religious minorities.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in Saudi Arabia on Monday, said HTS must reject “terrorism and violence” before Britain can engage with the group designated “terrorist” by London.
Washington’s top diplomat, Antony Blinken, said the United States — with hundreds of troops in Syria as part of a coalition against Daesh group jihadists — is determined to prevent IS from re-establishing safe havens.
“We have a clear interest in doing what we can to avoid the fragmentation of Syria, mass migrations from Syria and, of course, the export of terrorism and extremism,” Blinken said.

Assad in Moscow?
The United Nations said that whoever ends up in power in Syria must hold the Assad regime to account. But how the ousted leader might face justice remains unclear, especially after the Kremlin refused on Monday to confirm reports by Russian news agencies that he had fled to Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, said that if Russia granted asylum to Assad and his family, it would be a decision taken by President Vladimir Putin.
The Syrian embassy in Moscow raised the opposition’s flag, and the Kremlin said it would discuss the status of its bases in Syria with the new authorities.
Russia played an instrumental role in keeping Assad in power, directly intervening in the war starting in 2015 and providing air cover to the army during the rebellion.