Headline

Sudan’s Prime Minister, Detained After Coup, Returns Home

Published

4 years ago

October 27, 2021

Sudan’s deposed prime minister and his wife were allowed to return home Tuesday, a day after they were detained when the military seized power in a coup, according to a statement issued by his office.

The release of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his wife followed international condemnation of the coup and calls for the military to release all the government officials who were detained when Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan seized power on Monday.

The statement by Hamdok’s office said other government officials remained in detention, their locations unknown. The deposed prime minister and his wife were under “heavy security” at home in the upscale Kafouri neighborhood of the capital Khartoum, said a military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. The official did not say whether they were free to leave or make calls.

Earlier in the day, Burhan said Hamdok had been held for his own safety and would be released. But he warned that other members of the dissolved government could face trial as protests against the putsch continued in the streets.

The military seized power in a move that was widely denounced abroad. On Tuesday, pro-democracy demonstrators blocked roads in the capital with makeshift barricades and burning tires. Troops fired on crowds a day earlier, killing four protesters, according to doctors.

In his second public appearance since seizing power, Burhan said the military was forced to step in to resolve a growing political crisis.

“There were people who were talking about discriminating against others, and that was driving this country to reach a civil war that would lead to the fragmentation of this country, tearing apart its unity, its fabric and society. These dangers were in front of us,” Burhan told a televised news conference.

But the coup came less than a month before Burhan was supposed to hand the leadership of the Sovereign Council that runs the country to a civilian — a step that would have decreased the military’s hold on power.

“The whole country was deadlocked due to political rivalries,” Burhan said. “The experience during the past two years has proven that the participation of political forces in the transitional period is flawed and stirs up strife.”

Hamdok had been held at Burhan’s home, the general said, and was in good health. But of the many other senior government officials detained Monday, Burhan alleged that some tried to incite a rebellion within the armed forces, saying they would face trial. Others who are found “innocent” would be freed, he added.

The takeover came after weeks of mounting tensions between military and civilian leaders over the course and pace of Sudan’s transition to democracy. It threatened to derail that process, which has progressed in fits and starts since the overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising two years ago.

At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged world powers to unite to confront a recent “epidemic of coups d’état.” But the U.N.’s most powerful body took no action during the closed-door consultations about Sudan, a nation in Africa linked by language and culture to the Arab world.

Hamdok’s office had voiced concern for his safety and for the other detained officials. In a statement, the office accused military leaders of acting in concert with Islamists, who have argued for a military government, and other politicians linked to the now-dissolved National Congress Party, which dominated Sudan during al-Bashir’s Islamist-backed rule.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration announced the halt of $700 million in emergency assistance to Sudan and said Tuesday it was looking at sending stronger signals to the generals.

“They should first and foremost cease any violence against innocent civilians, and … they should release those who have been detained and they should get back on a democratic path,” said Jake Sullivan, the administration’s national security adviser.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported that he spoke with Hamdok on Tuesday, the first high-level contact the U.S. has had with Sudan since the coup and the suspension of in U.S. aid. Blinken welcomed Hamdok’s release and emphasized that the U.S. supports a civilian-led transition to democracy in Sudan, a State Department statement said.

Mariam al-Mahdi, the foreign minister in the dissolved government, declared Tuesday that she and other members of Hamdok’s administration remained the legitimate authority in Sudan.

“We are still in our positions. We reject such coup and such unconstitutional measures,” she told The Associated Press by phone from her home in Khartoum. “We will continue our peaceful disobedience and resistance.”

The Ministry of Culture and Information, still loyal to the deposed government, said in a Facebook post that Sudanese ambassadors in Belgium, Switzerland and France have defected.

Nureldin Satti, the Sudanese envoy to the U.S., said he was working with those diplomats to “resist the military coup in support of the heroic struggle of the Sudanese people” to achieve the aims of the uprising against al-Bashir. But he did not specify whether he, too, had defected.

Al-Mahdi, meanwhile, spoke to the wife of one of the officials detained, Minister of Cabinet Affairs Khalid Omar, and said he was humiliated and mistreated during his arrest.

Military forces “took Khalid barefoot, wearing only his nightclothes,” she said.

Hours after the arrests, Sudanese flooded the streets of Khartoum and other cities in protest. At least four people were killed and over 80 wounded when security forces opened fire, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Committee. Human Rights Watch said forces used live ammunition against the demonstrators.

Sudan saw a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2019, and there were fears about whether there would be another crackdown. A bigger test of how the military will respond to the resistance could come Saturday when protesters plan a mass march to demand a return to civilian rule.

The Sudanese Professionals’ Association, a group of unions that was behind the uprising against al-Bashir, also urged people to go on strike and engage in civil disobedience. Separately, the Sudan Popular Liberation Movement–North, the country’s main rebel group, denounced the coup and called for people to take to the streets.

In a sign of the divisions among the civilian leaders in Sudan, a group known as the Justice and Equality Movement blamed the deposed government for the military takeover. It said a few officials had monopolized decision-making and refused to engage in dialogue.

The group, headed by Finance Minister Gibreil Ibrahim, is the first to publicly voice support for the military but also urged it to end the state of emergency, release the detainees and appoint a civilian government to run day-to-day activities. Earlier this month, the group had taken part in a pro-military sit-in in Khartoum.

Another pro-military group that splintered from the protest movement that ousted al-Bashir also welcomed the takeover, saying it would end a sit-in it had organized outside the presidential palace to support the generals earlier this month.

The military has sent mixed signals about Sudan’s future. Burhan promised to gradually restore internet and communications services that were disrupted in the coup. But the Civil Aviation Authority said it was suspending all flights to and from Khartoum’s airport until Oct. 30.

Following the coup, Burhan now heads a military council that he said would rule Sudan until elections in July 2023.

(AP)

Headline

Trump Gives Update On Israel, Hamas Peace Deal

Published

18 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Trump Gives Update On Israel, Hamas Peace Deal

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he may go to the Middle East at the end of this week as a peace deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is “very close.”

Trump said during an event at the White House that he would “go to Egypt most likely” but that he would also consider going to war-torn Gaza.

“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually. And we’ll see, but there is a very good chance. Negotiations are going along very well,” Trump told reporters at the start of the event.

“Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas, and it seems to be going well. So we’ll let you know, if that’s the case, we’ll be leaving probably on Sunday, maybe on Saturday.”

Near the end of the meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio unexpectedly entered the room and handed Trump a note.

The US president told reporters the note said that “we’re very close to a deal” and that his presence was needed. “I have to go now to try and solve some problems in the Middle East,” he added.

Hamas and Israeli officials are having indirect talks in Egypt on a 20-point peace proposal unveiled by Trump to end the two-year-old war.

– ‘Very close’ –

Trump said as he began the event that he had come off the phone with officials in the Middle East, where his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner had just joined discussions in Egypt.

“‘Peace for the Middle East,’ that’s a beautiful phrase, and we hope it’s going to come true, but it’s very close, and they’re doing very well,” Trump added.

“We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and they’re, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also. But it’s something I think that will happen.”

Asked if he would consider going to Gaza if a deal happens, Trump replied: “I would, yeah. I would. I might do that. I may do that. We haven’t decided exactly.”

Trump said he would insist on the release of hostages held by Hamas before traveling to the region.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said earlier that he had received “encouraging” signs and hailed the support of Trump.

Hamas too expressed “optimism” over the indirect discussions with its foe Israel.

Trump’s plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
AFP

Headline

INTERPOL Arrests Nigerian In Argentina Over Multi-country Romance Scam

Published

1 day ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

A Nigerian national identified as Ikechukwu N. has been arrested in Argentina for allegedly orchestrating multiple online romance scams targeting thousands of victims across several countries, according to a statement released by INTERPOL on Tuesday.

The arrest was made under Operation Jackal, an INTERPOL-led operation focusing on West African organised criminal groups involved in cyber fraud, money laundering, and related transnational crimes.

INTERPOL announced via its official X handle that Ikechukwu’s arrest marked Argentina’s first arrest of a fugitive under a Red Notice who was simultaneously listed in the organisation’s Silver Notice database — a new project aimed at tracing and recovering criminal assets worldwide.

The statement read: “Argentine authorities have captured Nigerian national Ikechukwu N., marking the country’s first arrest of a #RedNotice fugitive who was also the subject of an INTERPOL Silver Notice. The suspect is accused of orchestrating multiple romance scams involving thousands of women, and leading an international cybercrime network.”

INTERPOL added that the arrest was jointly carried out by the Argentine Federal Police and the Airport Security Police, with assistance from the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC), the Federal Intelligence Secretariat (FIS), and INTERPOL Brazil.

The Silver Notice project, piloted in January 2025, enables member countries to share intelligence on the location and recovery of illicitly acquired assets linked to transnational crime.

Although details of the victims and total financial losses remain undisclosed, the operation is part of a broader international crackdown on cyber-enabled fraud schemes traced to West African syndicates.

Nigeria has been a focal point of similar investigations. In December 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced the arrest of 792 suspects — including foreign nationals — linked to a crypto-romance fraud ring operating from Lagos.

The syndicate reportedly targeted victims in the Americas and Europe through social media and messaging platforms, promising relationships and fake investment opportunities before defrauding them.

INTERPOL said further investigations into Ikechukwu’s activities are ongoing, with cooperation expected between Argentine authorities, Nigerian law enforcement, and other international partners involved in Operation Jackal.

Always ask who coin these words, who to benefit from such words

Headline

Eswatini Jails 10 Africans Deported From US

Published

3 days ago

October 6, 2025

Editor

The African kingdom of Eswatini said it received and jailed 10 more deportees from the United States on Monday as part of a US scheme to expel undocumented migrants.

Eswatini took in a first group of five men in July, with Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan also accepting US deportees in recent months in a programme criticised by rights groups.

The tiny southern African nation agreed in May to accept up to 160 deportees in exchange for $5.1 million to “build its border and migration management capacity”, according to a deal signed with the United States and seen by AFP.

Its correctional services department said in a statement Monday it “confirms the arrival of ten (10) third country nationals from the United States of America”.

It did not give details but said they had been “securely accommodated in one of the country’s correctional facilities” and the government would “facilitate their orderly repatriation”.

A US-based attorney representing some of the deportees said the new group included “three Vietnamese, one Filipino, one Cambodian”.

The lawyer, Tin Thanh Nguyen, represents two of the Vietnamese nationals who arrived Monday.

“One of my clients … tried to assert a reasonable fear of harm being deported to Eswatini, but ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) ignored him and put him on the plane anyways,” he told AFP.

He also represents a Vietnamese and a Laotian who were part of the first group which also included nationals from Cuba, Jamaica and Yemen.

– ‘Legal black hole’ –

The deal that Eswatini signed with the United States on May 14 says that the US deportees may include third country nationals “with criminal backgrounds and/or who are designated suspected terrorists”.

Washington said the first group of men had been convicted of crimes in the United States, including child rape and murder, but their lawyers told AFP that all five had long finished serving their sentences.

Eswatini jailed them in its maximum security Matsapha Correctional Centre which is notorious for holding political prisoners and for overcrowding.

One of them, a 62-year-old Jamaican who had reportedly completed a sentence for murder in the United States, was sent back to his country around two weeks ago.

Nguyen said Eswatini was a “legal black hole” and the deportees were denied legal counsel.

His two clients had been detained since mid-July without a charge, he said.

“I cannot call them. I cannot email them. I cannot communicate through local counsel because the Eswatini government blocks all attorney access,” he told AFP.

Lawyers and civil society groups in Eswatini have gone to court to challenge the legality of the detentions.

A local lawyer on Friday won a court ruling allowing him to visit the four men still detained, but the government immediately appealed, suspending the ruling.

US President Donald Trump has overseen a drastic expansion of the practice of deporting people to countries other than their nation of origin, notably by sending hundreds to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

But rights experts have warned the deportations risk breaking international law by sending people to nations where they face the risk of torture, abduction and other abuses.

Human Rights Watch last month urged African governments to refuse to accept US deportees and to terminate deals already in effect, saying they violated global rights law.

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland and landlocked by neighbours South Africa and Mozambique, has been led by King Mswati III since 1986 and his government has been accused of human rights violations.