SUDAN WATCH: Islamist

Showing posts with label Islamist. Show all posts

Monday, October 09, 2023

Israel-Palestine war explodes on Sat 7 Oct. Sudan voices support for Palestinians' legitimate rights

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: "We are at war," says Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu, after a surprise Palestinian attack saw hundreds of rockets hit Israel from Gaza on Saturday, 7 October 2023. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him [Revelation 6:8 KJV]. God’s Word says Israel will not lose. Here below is a news summary from BBC News online Oct 7 and a report from China View Oct 8 'Sudan voices support for Palestinians' legitimate rights' followed by a page copied from the website of the late great American evangelist The Reverend Billy Graham entitled 'ARE WE IN THE END TIMES?'

________________________

Snapshot of BBC News LIVE Summary online

Saturday, 7 October 2023:

"We are at war," says Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu, after a surprise Palestinian attack saw hundreds of rockets hit Israel from Gaza
Dozens of Israelis are believed to have been captured by Palestinian militant group Hamas which has launched its biggest attack in years
"We are at war," says Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu - with 250 people in Israel reported killed
Israel has responded with a wave of air strikes on Gaza, killing more than 230 people, officials say
The violence continued on Saturday evening - with Tel Aviv and other central Israeli cities hit by a new barrage of rockets and Israel saying they are fighting militants in 22 places
Hamas commander Mohammed Deif says the group had "decided to say enough is enough"
US support for Israel is "rock solid", says President Joe Biden, pledging to make sure "they can continue to defend themselves"
Dozens of gunmen from the Islamist militant group Hamas appear to have infiltrated southern Israel
About 545 people have been injured in the attacks, with at least 22 Israelis dead, according to Israeli officials
A senior commander from Hamas claims thousands of rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel
Mohammed Deif says the Palestinian militant group had "decided to say enough is enough"
The Israeli military says it has begun striking targets in the Gaza strip in response "to the barrages of rockets"

Monday, 9 October 2023, 13:43 BST:

Israel's defence minister orders a "complete siege" of the Gaza Strip and the cutting off of food, fuel, electricity and water supplies
It comes two days after shock attacks in Israel by Hamas militants left hundreds of civilians dead
Nine US citizens are now confirmed dead, while more than 10 British citizens are feared dead, or missing
Rocket attacks from Gaza targeting Israel continue, with explosions heard in Jerusalem
Israel says it has regained control of its communities near Gaza - but some militants remain active
More than 700 people have been killed in Israel since Saturday, including 260 people massacred by Hamas gunmen at a music festival
Dozens of people were also kidnapped and Hamas claims four of the hostages were killed by air strikes in Gaza
More than 500 people have died in Gaza since Israel began striking the area

________________________

Report from ChinaView.cn - Xinhua
Editor: huaxia
Dated Sunday 8 October 2023, 17:30 - here is a full copy:

Sudan voices support for Palestinians' legitimate rights

KHARTOUM, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Saturday voiced support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in response to the developments in the Palestinian territories earlier on the day.

"Sudan renews its support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in their independent state and calls for commitment to the decisions of the international legitimacy and the protection of innocent civilians," the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The decline in international concern with the Palestinian issue, including the absence of progress relating to the two-state solution, has led to continued violence and tensions in the region," said the statement.

It added that today's incidents confirmed that the absence of a solution to the prolonged conflict in the area would push the region into a new era of instability.

The ministry further expressed concern about the developments in Palestine, stressing the need to resolve the Palestinian issue in accordance with decisions of international legitimacy and to enable the Palestinians to establish their independent state.

Earlier on Saturday, Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), launched a surprise attack on Israel, which included the firing of thousands of rockets and the infiltration of dozens of militants into the Israeli towns bordering Gaza.

In response, Israel launched tens of airstrikes against Hamas sites and residential buildings in Gaza. The fierce confrontation has led to hundreds of deaths on both sides.

View original:

http://www.chinaview.cn/20231008/9ec33e9411d54089a6e74457f10e5aa1/c.html

_________________________

POSTSCRIPT from Sudan Watch Editor: Here is a page from the 'PeaceWithGod - Find Your Purpose & Hope' website of the late great American evangelist The Reverend Billy Graham.

ARE WE IN THE END TIMES?

So many people are looking for signs of the end times. They’re seeking answers because they see so much suffering around them and the world seems broken. The evangelist Billy Graham once said,

“We are like people under [a] sentence of death, waiting for the date to be set. We sense that something is about to happen. We know that things cannot go on as they are. History has reached an impasse. We are now on a collision course. Something is about to give.”

Mr. Graham was also confident the Bible speaks directly to this question.

“I believe that this world, as we know it, will come to an end. … This is not fanciful imagination but the clear and repeated testimony of the Bible.”

So what does the Bible say about the end times? Are we in the last days?

“…In the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).

How much does this sound like our present world? Can you see these things around you?

Billy Graham went on to say, “We see the storm clouds gathering and events taking place that herald the second coming of Jesus Christ.” If the end times announce the return of Jesus, what did He say about the last days?

He said in Matthew 24:6-7, “And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.”

We experience more than a dozen major earthquakes every year. Millions die of hunger annually and many live under the constant threat of war. But wait, you can still find hope in this.

God will not allow evil to win and He offers you peace in this world and beyond. Billy Graham said, “The end will come with the return of Jesus Christ. … That is why a Christian can be an optimist. That is why a Christian can smile in the midst of all that is happening. … We know what the end will be: the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

God has smiled on us and Jesus’ victory is certain. God’s peace is shared with everyone who desires a relationship with Him.

Look beyond the end times and begin your life with Jesus today.

View original: https://peacewithgod.net/are-we-in-the-end-times/

[Ends]

Saturday, August 05, 2023

Sudan’s next stop: Regional proxy war? (Alex de Waal)

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This analysis by Prof Dr Alex de Waal will take me all day to read, re-read, study and digest. As it is important and time is of the essence, I am posting it here now with a view to commenting at a later date. Meanwhile, at the end I've added a post script and two cartoons.

ANALYSIS at Responsible Statecraft - responsiblestatecraft.org

Written by Alex de Waal
Dated Thursday 03 August 2023 - here is a full copy

[SW updated 06 Aug 2023, 16:07 BST: added al-Burhan photo and caption]

Sudan’s next stop: Regional proxy war?

Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan walks with troops, in an unknown location, in this picture released on May 30, 2023. Sudanese Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS

Outside powers are taking sides, supplying weapons, and hoping one general or the other will gain the battlefield advantage.

The next stage of the battle for Khartoum will, it seems, be decided in Cairo, Ankara and Abu Dhabi.

The middle powers of the Middle East are talking peace even while they are arming their favored clients.

The theory is that when one side gains a clear battlefield advantage, the other will sue for peace. It’s a high-risk approach.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart Recip Tayyip Erdogan are lining up in support of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is increasingly backed by the old-guard Islamists who held power under the long reign of President Omar al-Bashir. In doing so, they are setting aside longstanding differences over the Muslim Brothers — Turkey supports them, Egypt suppresses them.

Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nayhan, president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, has made the opposite bet. He has supported General Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo, known as Hemedti, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and, according to some reports, is still supplying him with weapons. Hemedti impressed bin Zayed with his energetic leadership, especially of the paramilitaries he provided for the Saudi-Emirati ground war in Yemen, and his opposition to the Muslim Brothers — famously, the Emirati ruler’s bête noire. Hemedti also has a mutually profitable business trading gold to UAE.

Starting a few days after the eruption of civil war in Khartoum in April, the United States and Saudi Arabia convened talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah. The immediate aims were to secure a ceasefire and access for humanitarian aid, but another goal was to prevent the emergence of a proxy conflict such as this.

After a slack period in which two other peace initiatives surfaced — one led by Kenya, the other by Egypt — American and Saudi diplomats have pushed their talks with new vigor. But the chance of a ceasefire is slipping away, and with it comes the peril of a new, even more intense phase of the war.

At the outbreak of hostilities on April 15, Hemedti’s RSF surprised its adversary, the SAF, with its tactical acumen and its ability to hold ground in Khartoum. As RSF troops occupied strategic sites throughout the city, the SAF was reduced to enclaves and to air and artillery barrages. Unable to control the capital, its claim to represent the government was in question.

But the RSF could not press home its early military gains, while it decisively lost any sympathies among the city dwellers through the appalling abuses perpetrated by its fighters—arbitrary killings, rapes and ransacking residential neighborhoods as well as occupying hospitals and terrorizing medical staff, and vandalizing universities and the national museum.

The army interprets the May 11 “Declaration of Principles for the Protection of Civilians,” signed by both parties in Jeddah, as stipulating that the RSF withdraws not just from homes and hospitals, but virtually all the positions it controls in Khartoum. The RSF rejects that.

What it gained on the battlefield, the RSF lost in the political arena. After the popular uprising that overthrew the longstanding military leader, President Omar al-Bashir, in April 2019, Hemedti was the most nimble and energetic politician in Sudan. Belying his horrific human rights record, Hemedti positioned himself as a champion of revolution and the main bulwark against the return of the old guard of the al-Bashir regime. For that reason, segments of the civilian resistance leaned towards him.

Populist politicians thrive in the limelight, but when the fighting broke out, Hemedti disappeared, fueling speculation that he had been seriously injured. Only last week did he release a short video clip. He looked stiff and pallid. Meanwhile, he has forfeited the political initiative.

In Darfur — the RSF’s home base — it and its Arab militia allies have been conducting brutal campaigns of ethnic cleansing, targeting the Masalit people of Western Darfur and the Fur of Central Darfur. There is evidence of mass graves. Militiamen burned the palace of the sultan, customary leader of the Masalit and murdered the ethnic Masalit governor, Khamis Abbakar. The violence compares with the atrocities of twenty years ago, and makes the withdrawal two years ago of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) look irresponsible.

Whatever happens in Khartoum, Darfur faces another round of turmoil and bloodshed, this time without any serious international attention.

By default, SAF’s leader, General al-Burhan, has gained the political upper hand. He’s increasingly recognized as representing the government. But he has shown neither political profile nor leadership, and it’s unclear if he can manage his cabal of quarrelsome lieutenants, including the resurgent veteran Islamists who served under al-Bashir.

The Forces for Freedom and Change, which spearheaded the 2019 uprising, are trying to regroup, but other civilian groups are disenchanted with them. Most of them refuse to entertain talks with the Islamists—a position that, during the civilian-led interlude that lasted until the October 2021 military coup, pushed the Islamists into the army’s embrace.

Meanwhile, the deposed civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, has continued his cautious pattern of seeking consensus, disappointing those who wanted to see a more energetic stand against the generals.

The Neighborhood Resistance Committees — which were the backbone of the protests—have repurposed themselves as humanitarian first responders. Depleted by the flight of many members, they have yet to generate a coordinated political strategy.

In June and July, a burst of diplomatic energy seemed to promise that the low-wattage U.S.-Saudi and African Union mediation processes might be overtaken by more vigorous efforts. It hasn’t worked out that way, as rival initiatives have cancelled each other out, turning the diplomatic arena into a field of tactical positioning.

In late June, the northeast African regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), held a summit meeting and appointed Kenyan President William Ruto to head a “quartet” including Djibouti, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Ruto made no secret of his strong views. He condemned the war as “senseless” and the violence in Darfur as, possibly, “genocide.” He said that the Sudanese people had made it perfectly clear what they wanted—a democratic government. The IGAD leaders also spoke of activating the East African Standby Brigade to intervene.

Shortly afterwards, Egypt convened a “Summit of Sudan’s Neighboring States.” Strenuous diplomacy by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ensured a strong attendance. Paragraph 3 of the communiqué stressed “the importance of preserving the Sudanese State and its institutions, and preventing the fragmentation of the country, or descent into chaos.”

Egypt has a longstanding diplomatic rivalry with IGAD. Twenty-five years ago, the IGAD peace process for southern Sudan, led by a Kenyan general, resulted in a peace agreement that gave the southern Sudanese the opportunity to vote to secede. They took that option in 2011, creating the independent state of South Sudan. A parallel Egyptian-Libyan initiative, resolutely opposed to granting self-determination, was brushed aside.

Al-Sisi’s summit met his minimal aim of blocking IGAD, thus reducing the diplomatic arena to tactical maneuvering without strategic direction.

The Egyptian plan was nurtured behind the scenes by Qatar and Turkey, both of which back Sudan’s Islamists. None are impressed with al-Burhan’s leadership, but they far prefer him to the alternative. This gave al-Burhan the green light to boycott the IGAD leaders’ follow-up meeting, and for SAF to voice strenuous objections to IGAD, on the pretext that Ruto has business dealings with Hemedti and is therefore biased. (They overlooked Ruto’s remarks about genocide, which targeted the RSF and its allies.)

After the Cairo summit, SAF generals have begun talking about how the war may be finished in a few months. Their hope is that Turkey, the region’s leading supplier of state-of-the-art drones—the Bayraktar TB2, deployed to devastating effect by Azerbaijan, Ethiopia and Libya — will provide them with this game-changing technology.

But an escalation in battlefield technology would not go unchallenged. The RSF already has some less capable drones of its own. It will be pressing the UAE to send it high-end versions — and bin Zayed is quite capable of resisting pressure from Riyadh, Cairo and Ankara, and overruling his own advisors to follow his own path. This would turn Sudan into a proxy war among Middle Eastern powers.

With Egypt canceling out IGAD, the diplomatic pass-the-buck goes back to the Americans and Saudis. After a six-week suspension, talks resumed in Jeddah in mid-July. The mediators insist they have a plan and may yet have the leverage to get the generals to agree to a ceasefire. But there’s no sign of a strategic vision for how to help Sudan escape from its crisis.

Written by Alex de Waal