CAIRO: The Sudanese army said on Saturday it had taken control of a major market in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman, which had previously been used by their Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rivals to launch attacks during a devastating two-year-old war.
The statement comes days after the Sudanese army declared victory over the RSF in Khartoum, claiming control of most parts of the capital.
The conflict between the army and the RSF has unleashed waves of ethnic violence, created what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and plunged several areas into famine.
The army said in a statement that its forces were now in control of the market in western Omdurman, Souq Libya, having seized weapons and equipment left behind by the RSF when they fled.
Souq Libya is one of the largest and most important commercial hubs in Sudan.
The army already controlled most of Omdurman, home to two big military bases. It appears intent on securing control over the entire capital area, which is made up of the three cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, divided by branches of the River Nile.
The RSF has not commented on the army’s advance in Omdurman, where the paramilitary forces still hold some territory.
The war erupted amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule. It ruined much of Khartoum, uprooted more than 12 million Sudanese from their homes, and left about half of the 50 million population suffering acute hunger.
Overall deaths are hard to estimate, but a study published last year said the toll may have reached 61,000 in Khartoum state alone in the first 14 months of the conflict.
The war has added to instability in the region, with Sudan’s neighbors Libya, Chad, Central African Republic and South Sudan each weathering internal bouts of conflict over recent years.
Sudan’s army takes major market as it extends control over capital
https://arab.news/bvysa
Sudan’s army takes major market as it extends control over capital
- The statement comes days after the Sudanese army declared victory over the RSF in Khartoum
- The army said in a statement that its forces were now in control of the market in western Omdurman, Souq Libya, having seized weapons and equipment left behind by the RSF
Israeli FM urges Jews to move to Israel a week after Sydney attack
- “Today I call on Jews in England, Jews in France, Jews in Australia, Jews in Canada, Jews in Belgium: come to the Land of Israel! Come home!” Saar said
JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called on Sunday for Jews in Western countries to move to Israel to escape rising antisemitism, one week after 15 were shot dead at a Jewish event in Sydney.
“Jews have the right to live in safety everywhere. But we see and fully understand what is happening, and we have a certain historical experience. Today, Jews are being hunted across the world,” Saar said at a public candle lighting marking the last day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
“Today I call on Jews in England, Jews in France, Jews in Australia, Jews in Canada, Jews in Belgium: come to the Land of Israel! Come home!” Saar said at the ceremony, held with leaders of Jewish communities and organizations worldwide.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israeli leaders have repeatedly denounced a surge in antisemitism in Western countries and accused their governments of failing to curb it.
Australian authorities have said the December 14 attack on a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach was inspired by the ideology of the Islamic State jihadist group.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Western governments to better protect their Jewish citizens.
“I demand that Western governments do what is necessary to fight antisemitism and provide the required safety and security for Jewish communities worldwide,” Netanyahu said in a video address.
In October, Saar accused British authorities of failing to take action to curb a “toxic wave of antisemitism” following an attack outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, in which two people were killed and four wounded.
According to Israel’s 1950 “Law of Return,” any Jewish person in the world is entitled to settle in Israel (a process known in Hebrew as aliyah, or “ascent“) and acquire Israeli citizenship. The law also applies to individuals who have at least one Jewish grandparent.zz
