UNITED NATIONS, United States: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called on authorities in Sudan to investigate deaths during violent protests in Khartoum and other cities.
At least 19 people have been killed since December 19 during protests sparked by Khartoum’s decision to hike the price of bread, according to the government.
Guterres “appeals for calm and restraint and calls on the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the deaths and violence,” the UN spokesman said in a statement.
The UN chief is “following with concern” developments in Sudan and “emphasizes the need to safeguard freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”
Sudanese police fired tear gas at worshippers who staged demonstrations after Friday prayers in several cities, including Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman on the west bank of the Nile, witnesses said.
Photographs posted by activists on social media showed thick plumes of smoke rising from neighborhoods in Khartoum as protesters burned garbage and tires.
Opposition groups have called for more anti-government rallies to be held over the next few days.
Sudan is facing an acute foreign exchange crisis and soaring inflation, despite the US decision to lift an economic embargo in October 2017.
![]()
UN calls on Sudan to investigate protest deaths
UN calls on Sudan to investigate protest deaths
- Opposition groups have called for more anti-government rallies to be held over the next few days
Israeli strikes kill five in Gaza, health officials say
CAIRO: Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed five Palestinians in Gaza on Tuesday, health officials said, the latest violence to undermine a four-month-old, US-brokered truce in the enclave.
In Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, an airstrike killed two people who were riding an electric bike, medics said. Later, Israeli drone fire killed a woman in Deir Al-Balah and troops shot dead a man in Khan Younis in the south, they said.
Another man was killed by Israeli gunfire in Jabalia in north Gaza, Palestinian medics said.
The violence came a day after Israeli forces killed four militants in the southern city of Rafah after they emerged from an underground tunnel and opened fire on troops.
Without commenting directly on the four people killed on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had carried out attacks targeting what it described as Hamas militants in response to Monday’s incident in Rafah.
In Gaza City, dozens of Palestinians rallied at the funerals of three people who were killed by an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in the area on Monday night.
One body was wrapped in a Hamas green flag, while another had a green Hamas ribbon on his forehead, signaling that the two were members of the militant group.
Reuters was not able to ascertain the identities of those killed.
Trading blame
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly traded blame for violations of the ceasefire deal, a key element of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war, the deadliest and most destructive in the generations-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The next phase of Trump’s plan involves Hamas disarming, Israel withdrawing its troops from Gaza, and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force. Hamas has long rejected calls to lay down its arms and Israeli officials say they are preparing for a return to full-scale war.
At least 580 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the October ceasefire deal was struck, Gaza’s health ministry says. Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.
The Gaza war started with the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed more than 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s air and ground war in Gaza has killed more than 72,000 people since then, according to Palestinian health ministry data.
In Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, an airstrike killed two people who were riding an electric bike, medics said. Later, Israeli drone fire killed a woman in Deir Al-Balah and troops shot dead a man in Khan Younis in the south, they said.
Another man was killed by Israeli gunfire in Jabalia in north Gaza, Palestinian medics said.
The violence came a day after Israeli forces killed four militants in the southern city of Rafah after they emerged from an underground tunnel and opened fire on troops.
Without commenting directly on the four people killed on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had carried out attacks targeting what it described as Hamas militants in response to Monday’s incident in Rafah.
In Gaza City, dozens of Palestinians rallied at the funerals of three people who were killed by an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in the area on Monday night.
One body was wrapped in a Hamas green flag, while another had a green Hamas ribbon on his forehead, signaling that the two were members of the militant group.
Reuters was not able to ascertain the identities of those killed.
Trading blame
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly traded blame for violations of the ceasefire deal, a key element of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war, the deadliest and most destructive in the generations-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The next phase of Trump’s plan involves Hamas disarming, Israel withdrawing its troops from Gaza, and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force. Hamas has long rejected calls to lay down its arms and Israeli officials say they are preparing for a return to full-scale war.
At least 580 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the October ceasefire deal was struck, Gaza’s health ministry says. Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.
The Gaza war started with the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed more than 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s air and ground war in Gaza has killed more than 72,000 people since then, according to Palestinian health ministry data.
Latest updates
Recommended
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.