KHARTOUM: Thousands of people cheered Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir in a show of support for his embattled regime in Khartoum Wednesday, as riot police fired tear gas at protesters at a rival anti-government demonstration.
Hundreds of police officers, soldiers and security agents, some carrying machine guns, were deployed around the site of the pro-Bashir rally in the Green Yard, a large open space in the capital.
Thousands of men, women and children carrying pro-Bashir banners arrived in buses from early in the morning, almost filling the site.
The rally was the first held in Khartoum in support of the president since protests erupted.
"This gathering sends a message to those who think that Sudan will become like other countries that have been destroyed," Bashir told a cheering crowd.
"We will stop anyone who destroys our properties."
In the initial protests, which erupted on December 19 in towns and villages before spreading to Khartoum, several buildings of Bashir's ruling National Congress Party were torched.
Angry demonstrators took to the streets after a government decision to triple the price of bread at a time when the country faces an acute shortage of foreign currency and 70 percent inflation.
Analysts have described the protests as the biggest threat yet to Bashir's regime.
Authorities say at least 19 people including two security personnel have been killed during the demonstrations, but Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at 40, including children.
Crowds chanted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) and "Yes, yes Bashir, we will follow you" at the rally, where the president was accompanied by his wife and a group of ministers.
As soon as Bashir arrived, mobile phone networks and the internet were shut down in and around the rally site.
"Those who tried to destroy Sudan... put conditions on us to solve our problems, I tell them that our dignity is more than the price of dollars," Bashir said in an apparent dig at Washington, which had imposed a trade embargo on Khartoum in 1997.
The embargo was lifted in October 2017, but Sudanese officials including Bashir have continued to blame Washington for the country's economic woes.
Dressed in a khaki shirt and trousers and waving his trademark cane, a smiling Bashir greeted the crowd as men and women whistled and waved flags.
"We are with our leader because our brothers want to destroy our country, but we will save it," a woman supporter told AFP.
Bashir, who has ordered the police to use "less force" on demonstrators, has blamed the violence during protests on conspirators, whom he has not named.
"Those who conspired against us and planted traitors amongst us are those who carried out arson attacks and caused damage," he told a group of soldiers on Tuesday at an army base in the town of Atbara, where the first protest erupted last month.
"Some people are saying that the army is taking power," Bashir said, slamming some political groups who previously were with the government but have now called for his resignation.
"I have no problem with that, because the army always guards the security of our homeland."
Soon after the pro-Bashir rally ended, crowds of protesters, clapping and whistling, took to the streets of Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, for yet another anti-government demonstration.
Chanting "Freedom, Peace, Justice" and "Revolution is the people's choice" they blocked a key road but were quickly confronted with tear gas by riot police, witnesses said.
Residents took many of the protesters into their homes when the police fired tear gas, according to onlookers.
Videos posted on social media showed some demonstrators pelting police officers with rocks. The footage could not be verified independently.
More than 800 protesters, opposition leaders, activists and journalists have been arrested since the unrest began, officials say, insisting that the situation has now stabilised even as protests rumble on.
On Wednesday, Sudan slammed Britain, Canada, Norway and the United States for their joint statement expressing concern at the situation in the country.
"The ministry of foreign affairs rejects and condemns this biased statement that is far from reality," the ministry said.
"Sudan is committed to freedom of expression and for peaceful demonstrations."
On Tuesday, the four countries had urged Khartoum to ensure a "transparent and independent investigation into the deaths of protesters".
They also called for the release of all those detained without charge, warning that Khartoum's actions would "have an impact" on its relations with their governments.
![]()
Crowds back Bashir at Sudan rally as police tear gas rival protest
Crowds back Bashir at Sudan rally as police tear gas rival protest
- The rally by hundreds of backers of Bashir came as rival protesters prepared to stage their own demonstration in Khartoum
- Since December angry protesters have taken to the streets after a government decision to triple the price of bread
Israel sees spike in PTSD and suicide among troops as war persists
JERUSALEM: Israel is grappling with a dramatic increase in post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among its troops after its two-year assault on Gaza, precipitated by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel.
Recent reports by the Defense Ministry and by health providers have detailed the military’s mental health crisis, which comes as fighting persists in Gaza and Lebanon and as tensions flare with Iran.
The Gaza war quickly expanded with cross-border fire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and saw hundreds of thousands of soldiers and reservists deployed across both fronts in some of the heaviest fighting in the country’s history.
Israeli forces have killed more than 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza and 4,400 in southern Lebanon, according to Gazan and Lebanese officials, and Israel says more than 1,100 service members have been killed since October 7.
The war has left much of Gaza destroyed and its 2 million people overwhelmingly lack proper shelter, food or access to medical and health services.
Palestinian mental health specialists have said Gazans are suffering “a volcano” of psychological trauma, with large numbers now seeking treatment, and children suffering symptoms such as night terrors and an inability to focus.
PTSD CASES AMONG ISRAELI SOLDIERS UP 40 percent SINCE 2023
Israeli studies show the war has taken its toll on the mental health of soldiers carrying out Israel’s stated war aims of eliminating Hamas in Gaza, retrieving hostages there and disarming Hezbollah.
Some soldiers who came under attack when their military bases were invaded by Hamas on October 7 are also struggling.
Israel’s Defense Ministry says it has recorded a nearly 40 percent increase in PTSD cases among its soldiers since September 2023, and predicts the figure will increase by 180 percent by 2028. Of the 22,300 troops or personnel being treated for war wounds, 60 percent suffer from post-trauma, the ministry says.
It has expanded the health care provided to those dealing with mental health issues, expanded the budget, and said there was an increase of about 50 percent in the use of alternative treatments.
The country’s second-largest health care provider, Maccabi, said in its 2025 annual report that 39 percent of Israeli military personnel under its treatment had sought mental health support while 26 percent had voiced concerns about depression.
Several Israeli organizations like NGO HaGal Sheli, which uses surfing as a therapy technique, have taken on hundreds of soldiers and reservists suffering from PTSD. Some former soldiers have therapy dogs.
MORAL INJURY OVER DEATHS OF INNOCENTS
Ronen Sidi, a clinical psychologist who directs combat veteran research at Emek Medical Center in northern Israel, said soldiers were generally grappling with two different sources of trauma.
One source was related to “deep experiences of fear” and “being afraid to die” while deployed in Gaza and Lebanon and even while at home in Israel. Many witnessed the Hamas assault on southern Israel — in which the militants also took around 250 hostages back into Gaza — and its aftermath firsthand.
Sidi said the second source is from moral injury, or the damage done to a person’s conscience or moral compass from something they did.
“A lot of (soldiers’) split-second decisions are good decisions,” which they take under fire, “but some of them are not, and then women and children are injured and killed by accident, and living with the feeling that you have killed innocent people... is a very difficult feeling and you can’t correct what you have done,” he said.
One reservist, Paul, a 28-year-old father of three, said he had to leave his job as a project manager with a global firm because “the whistles of the bullets” above his head lingered with him even after returning home.
Paul, who declined to give his last name over privacy concerns, said he deployed in combat roles in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Although fighting has abated in recent months, he says he lives in a constant state of alert.
“I live that way every day,” Paul said.
UNTREATED TRAUMA
A soldier seeking state support for their mental health must appear before a defense ministry assessment committee which determines the severity of their case and grants them official recognition. That process can take months and can deter soldiers from seeking help, some trauma professionals say.
Israel’s Defense Ministry says it provides some immediate help to soldiers once they start the evaluation process and has increased this effort since the war began.
An Israeli parliamentary committee found in October that 279 soldiers had attempted suicide in the period from January 2024 to July 2025, a sharp increase from previous years. The report found that combat soldiers comprised 78 percent of all suicide cases in Israel in 2024.
The risk of suicide or self-harm increases if trauma is untreated, said Sidi, the clinical psychologist.
“After October 7 and the war, the mental health institutions in Israel are overwhelmed completely, and a lot of people either can’t get therapy or don’t even understand the distress that they are feeling has to do with what they have experienced.”
For soldiers, the chance of seeing combat remains high. Israel’s military remains deployed in over half of Gaza and fighting has persisted there despite a US-backed truce in October, with more than 440 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers killed.
Its troops still occupy parts of southern Lebanon, as the Lebanese army presses on with disarming Hezbollah under a separate US-brokered deal. In Syria, Israeli troops have occupied an expanded section of the country’s south since the ouster of former leader Bashar Assad.
As tensions flare with Iran and the US threatens to intervene, Israel could also find itself in another violent confrontation with Tehran, after last June’s 12-day war.
Recent reports by the Defense Ministry and by health providers have detailed the military’s mental health crisis, which comes as fighting persists in Gaza and Lebanon and as tensions flare with Iran.
The Gaza war quickly expanded with cross-border fire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and saw hundreds of thousands of soldiers and reservists deployed across both fronts in some of the heaviest fighting in the country’s history.
Israeli forces have killed more than 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza and 4,400 in southern Lebanon, according to Gazan and Lebanese officials, and Israel says more than 1,100 service members have been killed since October 7.
The war has left much of Gaza destroyed and its 2 million people overwhelmingly lack proper shelter, food or access to medical and health services.
Palestinian mental health specialists have said Gazans are suffering “a volcano” of psychological trauma, with large numbers now seeking treatment, and children suffering symptoms such as night terrors and an inability to focus.
PTSD CASES AMONG ISRAELI SOLDIERS UP 40 percent SINCE 2023
Israeli studies show the war has taken its toll on the mental health of soldiers carrying out Israel’s stated war aims of eliminating Hamas in Gaza, retrieving hostages there and disarming Hezbollah.
Some soldiers who came under attack when their military bases were invaded by Hamas on October 7 are also struggling.
Israel’s Defense Ministry says it has recorded a nearly 40 percent increase in PTSD cases among its soldiers since September 2023, and predicts the figure will increase by 180 percent by 2028. Of the 22,300 troops or personnel being treated for war wounds, 60 percent suffer from post-trauma, the ministry says.
It has expanded the health care provided to those dealing with mental health issues, expanded the budget, and said there was an increase of about 50 percent in the use of alternative treatments.
The country’s second-largest health care provider, Maccabi, said in its 2025 annual report that 39 percent of Israeli military personnel under its treatment had sought mental health support while 26 percent had voiced concerns about depression.
Several Israeli organizations like NGO HaGal Sheli, which uses surfing as a therapy technique, have taken on hundreds of soldiers and reservists suffering from PTSD. Some former soldiers have therapy dogs.
MORAL INJURY OVER DEATHS OF INNOCENTS
Ronen Sidi, a clinical psychologist who directs combat veteran research at Emek Medical Center in northern Israel, said soldiers were generally grappling with two different sources of trauma.
One source was related to “deep experiences of fear” and “being afraid to die” while deployed in Gaza and Lebanon and even while at home in Israel. Many witnessed the Hamas assault on southern Israel — in which the militants also took around 250 hostages back into Gaza — and its aftermath firsthand.
Sidi said the second source is from moral injury, or the damage done to a person’s conscience or moral compass from something they did.
“A lot of (soldiers’) split-second decisions are good decisions,” which they take under fire, “but some of them are not, and then women and children are injured and killed by accident, and living with the feeling that you have killed innocent people... is a very difficult feeling and you can’t correct what you have done,” he said.
One reservist, Paul, a 28-year-old father of three, said he had to leave his job as a project manager with a global firm because “the whistles of the bullets” above his head lingered with him even after returning home.
Paul, who declined to give his last name over privacy concerns, said he deployed in combat roles in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Although fighting has abated in recent months, he says he lives in a constant state of alert.
“I live that way every day,” Paul said.
UNTREATED TRAUMA
A soldier seeking state support for their mental health must appear before a defense ministry assessment committee which determines the severity of their case and grants them official recognition. That process can take months and can deter soldiers from seeking help, some trauma professionals say.
Israel’s Defense Ministry says it provides some immediate help to soldiers once they start the evaluation process and has increased this effort since the war began.
An Israeli parliamentary committee found in October that 279 soldiers had attempted suicide in the period from January 2024 to July 2025, a sharp increase from previous years. The report found that combat soldiers comprised 78 percent of all suicide cases in Israel in 2024.
The risk of suicide or self-harm increases if trauma is untreated, said Sidi, the clinical psychologist.
“After October 7 and the war, the mental health institutions in Israel are overwhelmed completely, and a lot of people either can’t get therapy or don’t even understand the distress that they are feeling has to do with what they have experienced.”
For soldiers, the chance of seeing combat remains high. Israel’s military remains deployed in over half of Gaza and fighting has persisted there despite a US-backed truce in October, with more than 440 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers killed.
Its troops still occupy parts of southern Lebanon, as the Lebanese army presses on with disarming Hezbollah under a separate US-brokered deal. In Syria, Israeli troops have occupied an expanded section of the country’s south since the ouster of former leader Bashar Assad.
As tensions flare with Iran and the US threatens to intervene, Israel could also find itself in another violent confrontation with Tehran, after last June’s 12-day war.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.