Syrian forces accused of 'executions' in Druze area as Israel launches strikes
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Syria: Clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin clans kill more than 30 people
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France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Sudan PM vows to rebuild Khartoum on first visit to war-torn capital
Touring the city's destroyed airport, bridges and water stations, the new premier outlined mass repair projects in anticipation of the return of at least some of the millions who have fled the violence. "Khartoum will return as a proud national capital," Idris said, according to Sudan's state news agency. The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in the heart of the capital in April 2023, quickly tearing the city apart. Tens of thousands are estimated to have been killed in the once-bustling capital which 3.5 million people have fled, according to the United Nations. According to Khartoum state's media office, Idris on Saturday visited the army headquarters and the city's airport, two national symbols whose recapture along with the presidential palace earlier this year cemented the army's victory in the capital. But reconstruction is expected to be a herculean feat, with the government putting the cost at $700 billion nationwide, around half of which in Khartoum alone. The army-aligned government, which moved to Port Sudan on the Red Sea early in the war and still operates from there, has begun to plan the return of ministries to Khartoum even as fighting rages on in other parts of the country. Authorities have begun operations in the capital to properly bury corpses, clear thousands of unexploded ordnances and resume bureaucratic services. On a visit to Sudan's largest oil refinery, the Al-Jaili plant just north of Khartoum, Idris promised that "national institutions will come back even better than they were before". The refinery -- now a blackened husk -- was recaptured in January, but the facility which once processed 100,000 barrels a day will take years and at least $1.3 billion to rebuild, officials told AFP. Idris is a career diplomat and former UN official who was appointed in May by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan's de facto leader, to form an administration dubbed a "government of hope". The war has created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises, with nearly 25 million people suffering dire food insecurity and over 10 million internally displaced across the country. A further four million people have fled across borders. In Sudan's southern Kordofan and western Darfur regions, the fighting shows no signs of abating, with the paramilitaries accused of killing hundreds in recent days in attempts to capture territory.
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Syrians protest Sweida killings in London, Paris
In central London, around 80 protesters chanted "God protect Druze" and "Stop supporting Jolani", referring to Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa's nom de guerre, which he had abandoned after his Islamist group seized Damascus late last year. Demonstrators in the British capital held up placards calling for an end to the deadly violence in Sweida and for a humanitarian corridor to be opened up via the Jordanian border. More than 900 people have been killed in the Druze-majority province since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. The sectarian clashes between the Druze and Bedouin tribes, who are Sunni Muslim, have drawn in the Islamist-led government as well as Israel and armed tribes from other parts of Syria. In London, protest organiser Emad al Eismy told AFP atrocities were still going on in Sweida. "Shootings, beheadings, raping, killing children, (torching) shops, homes. It's a barbarian movement going on in Sweida," he said at the protest outside BBC headquarters. -'Like ethnic cleansing' - AFP correspondents in Sweida reported clashes on Saturday, despite a ceasefire ordered by the government following a US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention. The Observatory, a Britain-based war monitor, said armed volunteers had been deployed with the support of the Islamist-led government. Druze fighters said those who had arrived to support the Bedouin were mostly Islamists. Protester Maan Radwan, who has family in Sweida, fought back tears as he said some of his relatives had died in a massacre at their guesthouse. He reproached British Foreign Secretary David Lammy for his visit to Syria earlier this month, when he met al-Sharaa. The United Nations has called for an end to the bloodshed and demanded an independent investigation of the violence. William Salha, like most of the protesters, also has family members still living in Sweida. He said they were "helpless", shut in their homes, attempting to keep themselves safe. "It's like ethnic cleansing. They want the city without its people," he said, accusing the Syrian government of complicity. A teenager from south London at the protest with his mother said multiple members of his father's family had been gunned down and killed, with the news filtering out through an aunt. "The armed groups came to them, they tried to resist and they shot them," he said. 'Where is France?' At the Paris protest, Aida Haladi wore black and clutched a picture of her 52-year-old brother whom she said was killed in front of his home Thursday morning in Sweida city. She said he had stepped out to grab some blood pressure medication he had forgotten. "He was an honest man. He never tried to hurt a soul," she said. "Where is France?" Haladi said, accusing Syria's interim president of complicity and angry at France's leader Emmanuel Macron for having hosted him in Paris in May. Hours later, France urged all sides to "strictly adhere" to the ceasefire. Eva Radwan, a 41-year-old PhD student, held up a picture of her 34-year-old cousin and his two nephews, aged 13 and 16, who she said had been shot dead inside their home. She said her parents had been forced to move houses after their neighbourhood was bombarded earlier this week. "Jolani get out, Syria is not yours," she shouted into a megaphone in front of the Eiffel Tower, leading around 20 other protesters. She also called for Jordan to open its border to let in aid. The Observatory said at least 940 people had been killed since Sunday, including 326 Druze fighters and 262 Druze civilians, 165 of whom were summarily executed.
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
Clashes, homes torched in south Syria's Sweida despite ceasefire
Just hours earlier, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had announced an immediate ceasefire, but Bedouins and tribal fighters who are allied with the Syrian authorities pushed on in the west of the Druze-majority city. "Go forward, tribes!" said fighter Abu Jassem, addressing fellow combatants in the area, where the streets were largely deserted. "We will slaughter them in their homes," he said, referring to the Druze. The tribal fighters have converged on Sweida from other parts of Syria to support the Bedouins who have been clashing with Druze fighters since July 13. The violence has killed at least 940 people, according to a monitor. An AFP correspondent on Saturday saw dozens of torched homes and vehicles and armed men setting fire to shops after looting them. Some fighters, their faces covered, opened fire in the streets with automatic weapons while others moved around on vehicles and motorbikes. One fighter wore a black band around his head that bore the Islamic profession of faith. Another was carrying scissors, after footage in recent days showed fighters cutting the moustaches of Druze elderly and clergy, a grave insult to members of the minority community. The Druze, followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam, are regarded at best with suspicion by more hard-line Sunni Islamists who count among the ranks of Syria's new authorities. 'Nothing left' In Sweida city, where around 150,000 people live, residents have been holed up in their homes without electricity and water. Food supplies are scarce despite repeated appeals for humanitarian assistance, and communications have largely been cut off. Near the city's main hospital, an AFP photographer said bloated bodies were being taken for burial in a nearby pit as the morgue was overflowing. A doctor had told AFP that the facility had received more than 400 bodies. Security forces on Saturday were deploying in the province with the stated aim of protecting civilians and ending the chaos. Near a village north of Sweida, an AFP correspondent saw government forces deploying at a checkpoint and seeking in vain to prevent armed tribal fighters from advancing. Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba told AFP in the province's north that security forces were deploying "to protect public and private property and guarantee the security of civilians". Government forces were to "supervise the withdrawal of the tribes that were in battle with outlaw groups," he added, referring to Druze fighters. An AFP correspondent said some tribal fighters withdrew from the city on Saturday afternoon, and also reported armed men dragging bodies from a street. According to the United Nations, the fighting has displaced at least 87,000 people. One resident of the city who fled days earlier told AFP that "We have nothing left." "Most of the people we know -- our relatives and friends -- are dead," said the resident, requesting anonymity due to the security situation. "Sweida has been destroyed, and we are trying to keep our families away until this madness ends." strs-lar/lg/ami © 2025 AFP
