UN warns of conflict in South Sudan amid reports of VP Riek Machar's arrest
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has called on all parties to exercise restraint amid reports of the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar – the longtime rival of the country's President Salva Kiir.
UMISS chief Nicholas Haysom said the country risked losing the 'hard-won gains of the past seven years' if the world's newest nation returned to 'a state of war', following reports that Machar was arrested at his residence in the capital, Juba.
'Tonight, the country's leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict or taking the country forward towards peace, recovery and democracy in the spirit of the consensus that was reached in 2018 when they signed and committed to implementing a Revitalized Peace Agreement,' Haysom said in a statement released early Thursday.
A return to fighting 'will not only devastate South Sudan but also affect the entire region', Haysom added.
According to Machar's Sudan People's Liberation Army In Opposition (SPLM/IO) party, a convoy of 20 heavily armed vehicles 'forcefully entered' the first vice president's residence in Juba and disarmed his bodyguards on Wednesday.
The country's defence minister and chief of national security were in the convoy that delivered an arrest warrant to the vice president, the SPLM/IO said,
'An arrest warrant was delivered to him under unclear charges,' according to a statement, which was shared on Facebook by Reath Muoch Tang, chairman of Machar's foreign relations committee.
'This act is a blatant violation of the Constitution and the Revitalized Peace Agreement, as no legal procedures such as lifting his immunity have been followed,' Tang said.
'The arrest of the First Vice President without due process undermines the rule of law and threatens the stability of the nation,' he said.
A government spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.
Earlier on Wednesday, the UN reported clashes over the past 24 hours between forces loyal to President Kiir and Vice President Machar outside the capital Juba.
A power-sharing deal between Kiir and Machar has been unravelling over recent weeks amid tension as government troops loyal to the president have battled fighters of the so-called White Army, which has close ties to Machar.
In response to fighting since late February in the northeastern Upper Nile State, Kiir's government has detained several officials from Machar's party, including the petroleum minister and the deputy head of the army.
Machar's party also said a military base and two military training centres around Juba had been attacked by government forces since Monday.
The training centres were established to prepare Kiir's opposition forces for integration into the unified army, a key provision of the 2018 peace agreement aimed at uniting government and opposition troops.
None of the incidents have been confirmed by the Kiir-aligned army, the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), though it accused Machar's forces of aggressive manoeuvres from one of the bases on Monday.
Analysts say that an ageing Kiir, 73, has been seeking to ensure his succession and sideline Machar politically for months through cabinet reshuffles.
South Sudan, the world's youngest country, fell into a bloody civil war soon after gaining independence in 2011, as forces aligned with Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, fought those loyal to Machar, an ethnic Nuer.
The conflict killed more than 40,000 people before a 2018 peace deal saw the pair form a government of national unity.
The clashes and latest political tensions between Kiir and Machar have unsettled many in Juba.
The Norwegian and German embassies have closed while the the British and United States embassies said they were reducing to minimal staffing and have urged citizens to leave the country.
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Qatar Tribune
12-05-2025
- Qatar Tribune
Shura Council reviews summer training programme for high school students
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In the context of discussing the report, Al Ghanim affirmed the State of Qatar's keenness to care for its children, pointing out that Article 22 of the country's Constitution stipulates that the State cares for the young, protects them from the causes of corruption, safeguards them from exploitation, protects them from the evil of physical, mental and spiritual neglect, and provides them with the appropriate conditions to develop their talents in various fields, guided by sound education. In this context, he highlighted the importance of balancing summer vacation between rest and entertainment, and making the most of students' free time, particularly high school students'. He noted that summer practical training programmes for students are an important means of developing human capabilities, harnessing the energies of young people, and determining their future directions. He commended the initiatives launched by various government and private institutions to train and employ students during the summer break, calling for the need to coordinate and integrate efforts between these institutions to enable them to provide training opportunities to students through a single platform. For his part, Chairman of the Social Affairs, Labour and Housing Committee HEAbdulrahman bin Yousef Al Khulaifi stated during his presentation of the proposal, "With the school year drawing to a close, it is important to fill our secondary school children's free time during the summer vacation in a useful and productive manner, enhancing their practical skills and directing them toward promising fields, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 and its first pillar, which is human development.' He stressed the need for effective summer training programmes for students, enabling them to learn essential skills for practical life, and for an electronic platform to link the training programs offered to them at various government and private institutions. For their part, the council members, during their discussion of the report, noted that utilizing the summer vacation to train and guide secondary school students achieves numerous benefits, in addition to filling this age group's free time with useful activities. Summer training programmes contribute to building their personalities, enhancing their abilities and potential, and equipping them with the skills necessary for their practical lives. After extensive discussion of the report's findings and an exchange of views and opinions, the council decided to submit a proposal to the esteemed government. The proposal includes a set of recommendations aimed at harnessing the energies of young people in community development and equipping them with the tools and knowledge necessary for success in their future professional lives. This is achieved by providing an intensive summer practical training program for high school students. The proposal included a desire to develop a comprehensive national plan between the public and private sectors for this program, which targets Qatari students, to help inform young people of the needs of the labor market in accordance with the country's future directions. It also includes the development of a unified electronic platform to facilitate students' search for and registration for available training opportunities in both the public and private sectors. It also provides awareness and guidance to students and organizes training workshops to equip them with basic skills and prepare them for practical training. The proposal also included a desire to grant student trainees an appropriate financial reward and called for encouraging companies and institutions, particularly in the private sector, to launch initiatives to train high school students during the summer vacation as part of their social responsibility. The session continued, with the council also reviewing the government's statement regarding the Shura Council's proposals to regulate the production and dissemination of media content on digital platforms. The Council decided to refer the proposal to the Education, Culture, Sports and Media Affairs Committee for study and to report back on its findings. The Shura Council had discussed the aforementioned topic in previous sessions, and concluded by submitting a proposal to the esteemed government, which included the council's views on the aforementioned topic. The council also reviewed the report of the Health, Public Services and Environment Affairs Committee on the esteemed government's statement regarding the proposals expressed by the Shura Council regarding developing the appointment system in government health institutions, and took the appropriate decision in this regard. On the other hand, the council reviewed the report on its delegation's participation in the third meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, the meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Fifteenth Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament, and the parliamentary hearing at the United Nations, held in New York, USA, from February 12 to 14. The council also reviewed the report on its delegation's participation in the ninth meeting of the Gulf-European Committee, and the meeting of the Arabian Peninsula delegation to the European Parliament, which was also held in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, on February 25 and 26. The session was attended by students from the College of Graduate Studies at the Police Academy, and members of the Student Council at Ali bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani Secondary School for Boys.
Al Jazeera
11-05-2025
- Al Jazeera
Is due process different for undocumented immigrants as Trump claims?
In a recent TV interview, United States President Donald Trump said he did not know whether he needed to uphold the US Constitution. Trump was answering a question on NBC News last week about whether undocumented immigrants in the US are entitled to due process. 'They talk about due process, but do you get due process when you're here illegally,' Trump asked the interviewer, Kristen Welker, NBC's Meet the Press moderator. 'The Constitution says every person, citizens and noncitizens, deserves due process,' Welker responded. She then asked Trump whether he agreed with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said noncitizens are entitled to due process. Trump: 'I don't know. I'm not a lawyer. I don't know.' Welker: 'Well, the Fifth Amendment says as much.' Trump: 'I don't know. It might say that, but if you're talking about that, then we'd have to have a million or two million or three million trials.' Welker: 'But even given those numbers that you're talking about, don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?' Trump: 'I don't know. I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said. What you said is not what I heard the Supreme Court said. They have a different interpretation.' That was not the first time Trump had brushed aside immigrants' due process rights. In an ABC News interview marking Trump's first 100 days in office, correspondent Terry Moran asked Trump, 'But in our country, even bad guys get due process, right?' Trump answered, 'If people come into our country illegally, there's a different standard.' During a May 1 speech at the University of Alabama's commencement ceremony, Trump said, 'Judges are interfering supposedly based on due process, but how can you give due process to people who came into our country illegally? They want to give them due process. I don't know.' Days later, while announcing that the 2027 NFL (National Football League) draft will be in Washington, DC, Trump said, 'The courts have, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, they said, maybe you have to have trials. Trials. We're gonna have five million trials? Doesn't work … Past presidents took out hundreds of thousands of people when needed … They didn't go through any of this.' Despite Trump's dismissal of and questions about due process for immigrants, the US Constitution, legal experts and decades of court decisions agree: immigrants, regardless of how they entered the US, legally or illegally, have due process rights. What those rights look like varies depending on how long a person has been in the US and what their legal status is. Due process generally refers to the government's requirement to follow fair procedures and laws. The Constitution's Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments protect 'any person' against being deprived by the US government of 'life, liberty, or property, without due process of law'. 'People have a right to be heard, and there are certain steps that need to be taken before someone can, say, be jailed,' Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a lawyer and policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, said. Several court rulings have determined that due process rights are extended to all people in the US, not just US citizens or immigrants in the country legally. The US Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act dictate the process the government must use to afford immigrants due process rights. In immigration, due process generally refers to 'appropriate notice [of government action], the opportunity to have a hearing or some sort of screening interview to figure out, are you actually a person who falls within the law that says that you can be deported', Katherine Yon Ebright, a lawyer at the Brennan Centre for Justice's Liberty and National Security programme, said. For example, if the government seeks to deport people who are undocumented, the government generally must give them a charging document known as a 'notice to appear'. Eventually, immigrants go before an immigration judge to present evidence and make a case that they qualify for some form of relief against deportation, such as asylum. Without due process, legal experts say, US citizens could also be deported. 'The whole point of due process is to determine whether you're the kind of person who can be subject to deportation,' Ilya Somin, a George Mason University constitutional law professor, said. 'If there is no due process, then the government can simply deport people or punish them at will … Because how can you show that you're actually a US citizen if you're not getting any due process?' Even though all people in the US have due process rights, for noncitizens, the specifics of the process and the extent of protections vary. The term noncitizen applies to people with legal documents as well as those without any documents, including people here on visas, with lawful permanent status or without a legal immigration status. There is a 'sliding scale of different protections that people can have depending on what their [immigration] status is', Yon Ebright said. Noncitizens are not entitled to government-appointed lawyers during immigration proceedings, for example. And some immigrants who recently entered the US without a legal document do not have to appear before a judge before being deported; these cases are subject to what is called the expedited removal process. Under expedited removal, certain people can be quickly deported without a court case. However, people who express fear of persecution if they return to their home countries are referred to immigration officers, who determine whether the immigrant is eligible for asylum or other deportation protections. Immigrants who pass the 'credible fear' screening are referred to an immigration court where they can present their case. In the past, people were placed in expedited removal if they were within 100 miles (about 161km) of the border and within two weeks of their entry. In January, Trump expanded expedited removal for anyone who cannot prove they have been in the US for more than two years. The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime power that Trump invoked in March, allows the government to deport 'alien enemies'. He has used that law to deport people his administration says are members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, without immigration court hearings. The Trump administration has deported hundreds of people under the law. However, the US Supreme Court ruled against the administration on April 7, saying it must give immigrants notice that they will be deported under the Alien Enemies Act, and give them 'reasonable time' to challenge the deportation in court. Although expedited removal and the Alien Enemies Act limit people's due process protections, they do not eliminate them. 'There are no exceptions to due process,' Bush-Joseph said. Additionally, noncitizens who are charged with crimes receive the same due process protections as US citizens in criminal court, Somin said. 'All of the protections of the Bill of Rights apply [in criminal court],' Somin said. 'There has to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt. He or she is entitled to a jury trial, rights against self-incrimination, right to counsel and so on.' The Trump administration faces several court cases dealing with deportations and immigrants' due process rights. They include challenges over Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act and the government's mistaken deportation of a Salvadoran man. Administration officials have criticised judges and rejected immigrants' due process protections. 'Due process guarantees the rights of a criminal defendant facing prosecution, not an illegal alien facing deportation,' White House adviser Stephen Miller posted on X on May 5. The Trump administration's comments about due process are centred on his promise to carry out the largest deportation operation in US history. The administration's current deportation pace is below its goal of one million people each year, the Migration Policy Institute said in an April 24 analysis. Nayna Gupta, policy director of the immigrant rights advocacy group American Immigration Council, said the Trump administration is attempting to 'get around those obstacles and those requirements' of due process 'just to meet some target [deportation] number'. To reach Trump's goal of one million deportations annually, the administration would need to deport people who have lived in the US for years and have no criminal convictions (whom past administrations have not prioritised for deportation). Past presidents were also required to uphold noncitizens' due process rights, but deportation processes moved more quickly under administrations that focused on people who had recently crossed the border illegally, Bush-Joseph said. That option is more limited for the Trump administration because undocumented immigration has reached historic lows under Trump. Trump is correct that deporting millions of people living in the US without legal documents would require millions of court cases, Tara Watson, director of the Centre for Economic Security and Opportunity at the Brookings Institution, said. That has long been the case. Millions of immigration court cases are backlogged. And the Trump administration has fired several immigration judges who would hear these cases. The administration's goal for mass deportation does not change due process rules and standards. 'It is true that due process slows down the machinery of deportation, but due process is also what separates democracies from dictatorships,' Watson said. Trump said, 'If people come into our country without documents, there's a different standard [for due process].' All people in the US, regardless of their immigration status, have due process rights, based on the US Constitution and decades of court decisions. That applies whether they entered the US legally or without any documents. For noncitizens, people's due process protections vary based on their legal status or how long they have been in the US. Legal experts say, despite due process variations, there are no exceptions to due process requirements for immigrants. We rate Trump's statement False.
Qatar Tribune
07-05-2025
- Qatar Tribune
Houthis vow to retaliate after Israel hits Sanaa airport
dpa Tel Aviv/Cairo The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have threatened Israel with retaliation following Israel's strike on the airport in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Tuesday, which the rebel group said killed three and wounded at least 35. The attacks 'will not go unanswered,' said the Houthi's political bureau in a statement. The Houthi-aligned TV channel described the attacks as 'Israeli-American,' though the United States has not commented on the strikes. The casualty figures were provided by the Houthi health ministry. Israel said its attacks on the Houthis, which in addition to Tuesday's airport strike included several attacks on Monday, were in response to Houthi attacks on Israel including a missile launched on Sunday that landed near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. On Monday, the Israeli military attacked the port in Hudaydah and a cement factory Israel said its strike on the airport disabled the facility and 'dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure' on the site, according to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Telegram. It said runways and aircraft had also been hit. 'The airport served as a central hub for the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons and operatives,' the IDF said. In addition, the IDF said it had struck several power plants in the area, as well as a concrete plant north of Sanaa, which serves as a 'significant resource for the Houthi terrorist regime.' The Houthis said the two days of attacks on the airport and other infrastructure show that Israel's aim is to impose a siege on the Yemeni people. Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war for 10 years, leaving the country effectively divided.
