KHARTOUM: A Sudanese protester has died from injuries suffered in clashes between security forces and demonstrators from a camp for displaced people in conflict-wracked Darfur, medics said on Sunday.
Violence erupted Saturday when crowds of protesters from camp Attash clashed with soldiers and paramilitary forces in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, the official SUNA news agency reported.
“One person died from injuries suffered in the abdomen during the dispersal of protesters in Nyala by security forces,” a doctors’ committee that is part of the protest campaign against the country’s military rulers said in a statement.
A medic from a hospital in Darfur where the protester had been treated confirmed his death.
Deadly clashes have rocked Sudan since December when protests broke out against the iron-fisted rule of veteran leader Omar Al-Bashir, who was ousted by the army on April 11.
Officials say at least 65 people have died in protest-related violence.
On Saturday, SUNA reported that four members of the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force had been “critically wounded” in clashes with protesters from camp Attash, and that there were no casualties among the demonstrators.
But the umbrella group leading the nationwide protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, gave a different version of Saturday’s events, condemning what it said was an attack by the army on protesters.
Darfur was torn by years of conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoum’s Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalization.
The United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people displaced in the western region.
Bashir himself is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide in Darfur, which he denies.
In recent years Darfur has seen an overall fall in violence, but on April 13 clashes were reported in the Kalma camp for displaced people that left 14 people dead, according to state media.
Sudan protester dies from wounds in Darfur clashes: medics
Sudan protester dies from wounds in Darfur clashes: medics
- A medic from the hospital where the demonstrator received treatment confirmed his death
- Sudanese officials reported at least 65 people died in protest-related violence
Bahrain arrests four for spying for Iran’s IRGC as Gulf attacks intensify
- Investigators said the suspects were found to have sent pictures and coordinates of vital locations in Bahrain to the IRGC via encrypted software
MANAMA: Bahrain has detained four citizens suspected of spying for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf states show no signs of letting up.
Bahrain’s General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science identified the four detainees as Murtadha Hussain Awal, 25; Ahmed Isa Al Haiki, 34; Sarah Abdulnabi Marhoon, 36; and Elias Salman Mirza, 22. A fifth suspect, Ali Mohammed Hassan Al Shaikh, 25, remains at large abroad.
Investigators said Murtadha Hussain and his cohorts, acting on IRGC instructions, used high-resolution equipment to photograph and record coordinates of vital locations in Bahrain, transmitting the data to the IRGC via encrypted software.
The arrests come as Iran escalates attacks across the Gulf. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry issued an advisory urging residents in Hidd, Arad, Qalali and Samaheej to stay indoors and seal windows against smoke from fires sparked by Iranian strikes. Fuel tanks at a facility in Muharraq Governorate, northeast of Manama, were among the targets. Oman’s Port of Salalah also battled blazes at fuel storage tanks following separate Iranian drone strikes.
Elsewhere in the region, two Iranian drones struck near Dubai International Airport, wounding four people, though flights continued uninterrupted. A fire broke out at a luxury apartment tower in Dubai Creek Harbour after another drone hit — extinguished by Thursday morning.
Iran also targeted commercial ships and struck what officials described as the world’s busiest international airport on Wednesday, as US and Israeli strikes continued to pound Tehran.
A war now 12 days old — and costly
The conflict began on February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes on Iran. Tehran has since retaliated by targeting Gulf states, US and Israeli assets, and critical energy infrastructure.
Iran has declared a blockade on energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global oil and gas flows, sending commodity prices surging and rattling international markets.
The Pentagon told Congress this week that the first week of war cost the United States $11.3 billion — including $5 billion in munitions in the conflict’s opening weekend alone.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday voted to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s attacks on its Gulf neighbors. Bahrain’s UN Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei welcomed the move.
“The international community is resolute in rejecting these Iranian attacks against sovereign countries that are threatening the stability of the peoples, especially in a region of strategic importance to global economy, energy security and global trade,” he said.
Despite the resolution, there were no immediate signs the conflict was easing.
(With AP)
