A man and a teenager died after security forces fired live rounds, tear gas and stun grenades at tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets of Sudan’s capital on Sunday to demand an end to military rule, a medical group has said.
The man, Ali HobEldeen, 26, died on Sunday after a tear gas canister hit his neck. A 17-year-old boy, Alaaeldeen Adel, died in hospital on the same day after sustaining a gunshot wound to the neck during protests on Thursday.
In anticipation of the protests, soldiers fanned out across Khartoum before dawn on Sunday, sealing off several Nile bridges that connect the centre of the city with outlying districts and closing roads leading to the military headquarters.
Witnesses said troops were also stationed near the city’s international airport, conducting searches of cars and passengers.
By late afternoon, security forces had fired live rounds, tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowds in Khartoum and its twin cities of Bahri and Umm Dorman across the Blue Nile, the witnesses said.
The use of force was heaviest on streets leading to the Nile-side Republican Palace in central Khartoum, they said.
Videos shared online showed the protesters singing, beating drums, clapping and waving Sudan’s national flag as the sound of gunfire rang out and heavy black smoke from burning tyres hung in the air above. Ambulance sirens wailed in the background and medics treated the wounded on pavements.
Women ululated and volunteers ferried the wounded out of harm’s way on scooters.
At least 62 protesters have been killed and thousands injured in protests since the military seized power on October 25, leading western powers to decry the use of excessive force by security forces.
On Saturday, the UN announced it was sponsoring talks between Sudan’s political stakeholders to find a way out of the political crisis that followed the coup.
Led by army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, the military takeover upended the country’s democratic transition nearly three years after a popular uprising forced the army to remove dictator Omar Al Bashir from power in April 2019.
“It is time to end the violence and enter into a constructive process,” said Volker Perthes, the UN special envoy on Sudan.
“The [democratic] transition has faced major setbacks that have deeply affected the country since the military coup,” he said. “The subsequent and repeated violence against largely peaceful demonstrators has only served to deepen the mistrust among all political parties in Sudan.”
A major pro-democracy group, the Sudanese Professionals Association, rejected the UN initiative in a statement on Sunday. It said it was standing by the motto of the anti-coup protests: “No to negotiations! No to partnership! No to legitimacy!”
“We declare our total rejection of the invitation [to talks], which pushes toward normalisation with the criminals of the coup’s military council and their fascist rule,” the association said.
“Our steadfast people have clearly declared that the way out of the Sudanese crisis begins with bringing down the coup’s military council and bringing its members to account before special courts to answer for the massacres they perpetrated against the peaceful people of Sudan.”
Another major pro-democracy group, the Forces for Freedom and Change, said it has yet to receive details of the UN initiative. It emphasised that “peaceful mass action to defeat the October 25 coup and establish full civilian authority” would continue.
The FFC, an alliance of political parties and trade and professional unions, was the political patron and power base of the civilian-led government that took office after Al Bashir’s removal.
But on October 25, prime minister Abdalla Hamdok and his government were dismissed by Gen Al Burhan.
Mr Hamdok was reinstated on November 21 but stepped down on January 2, citing widening differences between the military and civilian politicians. He said in his televised resignation address that Sudan was heading for disaster unless something is done quickly to end its political crisis.
His reinstatement was criticised as lending legitimacy to the coup and his departure created a political void, leaving the military in sole control.
The SPA, FFC and the powerful Resistance Committees, also a pro-democracy group, have repeatedly said they will accept nothing less than the military’s complete withdrawal from politics and the installation of a civilian government.
Gen Al Burhan has said the military is the ultimate guardian of the country’s democratic transition and promised elections in July 2023.
The deadly violence against protesters, which activists claim could not have happened without Gen Al Burhan’s approval, has deepened distrust between the pro-democracy movement and the military.
Mr Perthes announced the talks after a telephone conversation between Gen Al Burhan and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday.
The news was welcomed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, US and UK.
“We urge all Sudanese political actors to seize this opportunity to restore the country’s transition to civilian democracy,” they said in a joint statement.
“We strongly support this UN-facilitated, Sudanese-led dialogue initiative. We urge all Sudanese political actors to seize this opportunity to restore the country’s transition to civilian democracy, in line with the 2019 Constitutional Declaration.
“We look forward to this being a result-oriented process that will guide the country towards democratic elections, in line with the Sudanese people’s manifest aspirations for freedom, democracy, peace, justice and prosperity.”
The Arab League also welcomed the proposed talks, and the UN Security Council is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments in Sudan.
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
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Lexus LX700h specs
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- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
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What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
