Middle East round-up: Sudan descends into chaos
Fighting rages in Sudan, Tunisia’s crackdown on the opposition intensifies and hundreds are released in a Yemeni prisoner exchange. Here is your overview of our coverage, written by Abubakr Al-Shamahi, Middle East and North Africa Editor of Al Jazeera Digital.
The generals in Sudan turned their guns on each other this week, and in far too many cases it was the civilians who were killed. Warfare is not new to Sudan – the conflict in Darfur has attracted much attention over the past 20 years – but fighting on this scale in the capital Khartoum is unprecedented. At the time of writing, more than 300 people had been killed, many of them civilians, the healthcare system had been decimated and fighting on residential streets in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country had led some fighters to take people’s homes. It’s been a madhouse.
Nor should it have been. The Sudanese military and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces had been negotiating the idea that the RSF should be incorporated into the country’s standing army. The eventual dissolution of the RSF was seen as one of the final steps in a supposed transition to civilian rule, a move that had been called for by popular demand following the overthrow of former leader Omar al-Bashir following protests in 2019. removal had led to an initial transition to civilian government which was in turn overthrown by a military coup, led by the army and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, who together acquisition in October 2021.
[READ: The soft-power campaign of Sudan’s RSF leader ‘Hemedti’]
Since then, the Sudanese protest movement has fought hard to restore civilian rule. But there was always the feeling that the soldiers would never give up power easily. Now al-Burhan and Hemedti, former allies of ease, are at each other’s throats and are shelling Sudan to take control of what remains.
Tunisia arrests opposition leader Ghannouchi
In 2011, the sight of Rached Ghannouchi arriving in Tunis was a sign of the profound change the revolution had brought about in Tunisia. Ghannouchi’s Ennahda party, which he had led in exile for more than 20 years, quickly became the largest party and ruled as part of a coalition, even though critics were still wary of its roots in political Islam. Ghannouchi himself became Speaker of Parliament and politics settled into the kind of jockey common in many countries with vibrant and democratic electoral systems. Here was the success story of the Arab Spring.
But for many Tunisians, political gains have not turned into economic gains. Anyway, it got worse. Enter Kais Saied, a populist academic who ran for president in 2019 and won to the surprise. Initially supported by Ennahda, he soon revealed his authoritarian tendencies, suspending parliament in 2021 and pushing through a new constitution that strengthened his own position as president.
And now, after months of arresting opposition members, Saied has finally taken action against Ghannouchi. The leader of Ennahda was detained on Monday as part of an investigation into “provocative remarks”. Party officials told Al Jazeera they were ordered to close their offices after being raided. On Thursday, Ghannouchi had been sent to prison and ordered to stand trial on charges of conspiracy against state security. It seems that Saied will now turn against other opposition forces – and Tunisia seems very, very far from that victory for democracy in 2011.
Yemen Prisoner Exchange
The headline reads that nearly 900 prisoners have been released by sides in the war in Yemen, a further sign that confidence-building measures are continuing and that the end of the conflict may finally be near (although still a long way off in my opinion). When I covered this event, my eyes immediately fell on the images of the prisoners disembarking from planes, with smiles on their faces, but with pain in their eyes, hugging their loved ones.
[READ: Dozens killed in crush at Ramadan charity event in Yemen]
Each of those hundreds of prisoners has a story to tell, spent many years away from home, in what are likely to be terrible conditions, unsure if they would ever see freedom again. Some of them were high-ranking figures, including Yemen’s former defense minister, as well as relatives of former Yemeni presidents. Others were journalists, sentenced to death. They all emerged happy, but many were clearly shadows of their former selves.
And now for something else
The players (and the fans) may be fasting, but that doesn’t stop football. This is Gaza’s Ramadan League, an annual tradition where amateur footballers compete against each other to win a coveted trophy. This year’s final was between Rail Stars and Tadamon. On a field that was not even the official size, the game was watched by hundreds of spectators and with a commentator keeping track of the game from the sidelines. It was intense. And thankfully offered a sense of normalcy.
Short
Refugees claim link between cancer and gas flaring in Iraq | Egypt agreed to supply arms to Ukraine after talks with US: report | Qatar and the UAE take action to restore diplomatic relations | Saudi Foreign Minister Meets Syrian al-Assad in Damascus | US military says it killed senior ISIL leader in Syria | Kuwaiti Crown Prince Calls New Elections | Ethiopia recruits 500,000 women for domestic work in Saudi Arabia | IMF wants Egypt to implement reforms ahead of bailout: report | Iran imposes prison sentences for downing Ukrainian plane in 2020 | Fire in Dubai apartment block kills 16 | Thousands of Israelis protest judiciary reforms | Congressmen urge investigation into Israel’s use of US weapons | Palestinians pass checkpoints for Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa | Arab League discusses Syria’s return to organization | Algerian parliament passes law tightening control over media |
Quote of the week
“You try to be a role model for your children, and then strangers come and arrest your children or beat them in front of you. How do you react? … Do your children think: ‘Our father and mother cannot protect us’? This is occupation, we cannot protect our children from it.” | Laila Issawi, from occupied East Jerusalem, describes how six of her seven children have been detained in the past by Israel. A son, who was 14 at the time, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers during a protest in 1994.