KHARTOUM: Sudan on Tuesday released nine medics from Doctors Without Borders, the aid group said, a day after they were arrested during a broadening crackdown on anti-coup protests.
“During the evening of 24 January, nine MSF staff members were detained by the Sudanese authorities in the capital Khartoum,” the group said in a statement, using its French acronym.
They were detained as they were making their way back to their office from a hospital, said the organization.
“MSF’s emergency medical teams are working in Khartoum to support the health authorities with their response to injuries from ongoing protests and Covid-19,” the statement said.
The team was released on Tuesday morning, it added.
Among those arrested were staff members from both Sudan and other countries, according to the pro-democracy Central Committee of Sudan Doctors.
Sudan has been rocked by protests calling for civilian rule since an October 25 military coup led by general Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
The military takeover derailed a power-sharing transition between the military and civilians that had been painstakingly negotiated after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Omar Al-Bashir.
The crackdown on anti-coup demonstrations has left at least 76 people dead and hundreds wounded, according to the doctors’ committee.
Hundreds of people have also been rounded up in the crackdown, including pro-democracy activists.
On Saturday, a leading women’s rights campaigner, Amira Othman, was arrested following a raid on her home in Khartoum, according to a statement by the “No to Women’s Oppression” initiative which she leads.
Other activists from the “resistance committees,” informal groups which have been instrumental in organizing the anti-coup protests, were also detained late Sunday, according to members who requested anonymity because they feared reprisals.
The United States has slammed the protest crackdown.
On Tuesday, the US Bureau of African Affairs said Sudan’s military leaders had committed to dialogue to resolve the crisis in the country during a visit last week by senior US diplomats to Khartoum.
“Yet their actions — more violence against protesters, detention of civil society activists — tell a different story, and will have consequences,” the bureau said on Twitter.
Sudan is one of the world’s poorest countries and has seen vital foreign aid cut as part of the international community’s condemnation of the coup.
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Sudan frees medics held in crackdown on anti-coup protests
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Sudan frees medics held in crackdown on anti-coup protests
- During the evening of 24 January, 9 MSF staff members were detained by the Sudanese authorities in Khartoum
- The team was released on Tuesday morning
UN force says Israel fired near peacekeepers in south Lebanon
- UNIFIL reports two incidents of gunfire hitting 50 meters away from its patrols
- The force has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah
BEIRUT: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said gunfire from an Israeli position hit close to its peacekeepers twice on Friday, reporting no casualties but decrying a “concerning trend.”
UNIFIL has repeatedly reported Israeli fire near or toward its personnel in recent months, and last week said an Israeli attack near one of its positions lightly wounded a peacekeeper.
Personnel patrolling in south Lebanon on Friday “reported 15 rounds of small arms fire that struck no more than 50 meters away from them,” a UNIFIL statement said.
Shortly afterwards, “peacekeepers in a second patrol in the same area reported approximately 100 rounds of machine-gun fire struck approximately 50 meters from them,” it added, reporting no damage or injuries.
“Peacekeepers assessed that the fire came from an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) position south of the Blue Line in both cases,” the statement said, referring to the de facto border, and “sent a ‘stop fire’ request through its liaison channels.”
It said UNIFIL had informed the Israeli army about the peacekeepers’ activities in advance.
“Incidents like these are happening on a too-regular basis, and becoming a concerning trend,” the statement said.
“We reiterate our call to the IDF to cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line.”
UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon for decades, and recently has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a year-old ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
The force on Friday noted that “attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations” of a 2006 UN Security Council resolution that formed the basis of the current ceasefire.
Under the November 2024 truce, Israel was to withdraw its forces from south Lebanon, but it has kept them at five areas it deems strategic and carries out regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives.
Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah, starting in the south near the frontier.
Last August, the UN Security Council voted for the peacekeepers to leave Lebanon in 2027.
UNIFIL has repeatedly reported Israeli fire near or toward its personnel in recent months, and last week said an Israeli attack near one of its positions lightly wounded a peacekeeper.
Personnel patrolling in south Lebanon on Friday “reported 15 rounds of small arms fire that struck no more than 50 meters away from them,” a UNIFIL statement said.
Shortly afterwards, “peacekeepers in a second patrol in the same area reported approximately 100 rounds of machine-gun fire struck approximately 50 meters from them,” it added, reporting no damage or injuries.
“Peacekeepers assessed that the fire came from an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) position south of the Blue Line in both cases,” the statement said, referring to the de facto border, and “sent a ‘stop fire’ request through its liaison channels.”
It said UNIFIL had informed the Israeli army about the peacekeepers’ activities in advance.
“Incidents like these are happening on a too-regular basis, and becoming a concerning trend,” the statement said.
“We reiterate our call to the IDF to cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line.”
UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon for decades, and recently has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a year-old ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
The force on Friday noted that “attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations” of a 2006 UN Security Council resolution that formed the basis of the current ceasefire.
Under the November 2024 truce, Israel was to withdraw its forces from south Lebanon, but it has kept them at five areas it deems strategic and carries out regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives.
Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah, starting in the south near the frontier.
Last August, the UN Security Council voted for the peacekeepers to leave Lebanon in 2027.
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