Region

TEHRAN — Iran said on Monday it has formally invited Saudi King Salman to visit Tehran, following a reconciliation agreement reached last month between the two sides.

Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran in 2016, after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwestern city of Mashhad were attacked during protests over Riyadh's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr Al Nimr.

The two Middle East powerhouses had held several rounds of dialogue in Iraq and Oman before reaching the agreement to mend ties on March 10 in China.

On Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said President Ebrahim Raisi had "invited the Saudi King to visit Iran".

Kanani said the Iranian president had already received an invitation to visit the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

The spokesman also expressed hope that Iran and Saudi Arabia would reopen their respective diplomatic missions by May 9, as scheduled in the China-brokered agreement.

"We and the Saudi side insist on activating the embassies in a very timely manner so that Iranian pilgrims can attend a calm hajj pilgrimage using the services provided by the embassy," he told a weekly press conference.

The annual Hajj pilgrimage to holy sites in Saudi Arabia, one of the pillars of Islam, is expected to begin this year in late June.

In recent days, delegations from the two countries have visited the embassies in Riyadh and Tehran and consulates in Jeddah and Mashhad to launch the process of their reopening.

On April 6 the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, held talks in Beijing on the implementation of normalisation of ties.

“The foreign ministers of the two countries will meet” again before the reopening of the embassies, the spokesman said.

Before the March deal to restore ties, Shiite Muslim-majority Iran and Sunni Muslim-ruled Saudi Arabia had backed rival sides in conflict zones across the region for years, including in Yemen.

Riyadh led a military coalition that supported the internationally recognised government in the kingdom, while Tehran backed the Huthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa and large areas of the north.

KHARTOUM — Explosions rocked the Sudanese capital Khartoum Monday as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals raged for a third day with the death toll surpassing 100.

The violence erupted Saturday after weeks of power struggles between the two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup, Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The conflict, which has seen air strikes, tanks on the streets, artillery fire and heavy gunfire in crowded neighbourhoods both in Khartoum and other cities across Sudan, has triggered international demands for an immediate ceasefire.

As the fighting showed no sign of abating, Daglo took to Twitter to call for the international community to intervene against Burhan, branding him a "radical Islamist who is bombing civilians from the air".

"We will continue to pursue Al-Burhan and bring him to justice," he said, adding: "The fight that we are waging now is the price of democracy."

In his only statement since the fighting flared, Burhan told Al Jazeera on Saturday that he was "surprised by Rapid Support Forces attacking his home" and that what was happening "should prevent the formation of forces outside the army".

The conflict has claimed the lives of at least 97 civilians and "dozens" of fighters from both sides, medics said, adding about 942 people have been injured.

But the number of casualties is thought to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals due to difficulties in movement amid the fighting.

The doctors’ union warned the fighting had “heavily damaged” multiple hospitals in Khartoum and other cities, with some rendered completely “out of service”.

The World Health Organisation had already warned that several of Khartoum’s nine hospitals receiving injured civilians “have run out of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids and other vital supplies”.

UN Special Representative Volker Perthes, who is in Khartoum, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the failure of both sides to abide by an agreed humanitarian pause on Sunday to evacuate the wounded.

The violence has forced terrified people to shelter in their homes with fears of a prolonged conflict that could plunge Sudan into deeper chaos, dashing hopes for return to civilian rule.

Vital aid suspended 

The RSF was created under former autocrat Omar Al Bashir in 2013, emerging from the Janjaweed militia that his government unleashed against non-Arab ethnic minorities in Darfur a decade earlier, drawing accusations of war crimes.

The fighting broke out after bitter disagreements between Burhan and Daglo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army — a key condition for a final deal aimed at ending a crisis since the 2021 military coup they orchestrated together.

The two sides accuse the other of starting the fighting, and both claim the upper hand by declaring control of key sites, including the airport and the presidential palace — none of which could be independently verified.

On Monday, the army said it was in control of the state broadcaster in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman.

After being cut for hours, state television went on the air again, showing footage of soldiers filming themselves on military bases claiming they control them.

Three UN staff from the World Food Programme were among those killed in the western region of Darfur, forcing a “temporary halt” to all operations in a country where one-third of the population needs aid.

On Monday morning, loud gunfire and deafening explosions again shook buildings and echoed across the streets of Khartoum as street fighting continued, AFP journalists said.

Power has been off across swathes of Khartoum, and the few grocery stores remaining open warn they will only last a few days if no supplies can enter the city.

Appeals to end the fighting have come from across the region and the globe, including the African Union, Arab League and East African bloc IGAD.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned an escalation in the fighting would “further aggravate the already precarious humanitarian situation”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the warring rivals to agree an “immediate cessation of violence” and start talks.

‘Unprecedented’ violence 

Despite the wide calls for a ceasefire, the two generals have appeared in no mood for talks with each one calling the other “criminal”.

While Sudan has endured since independence decades of multiple bitter civil wars, coups and rebellions, Sudanese analyst Kholood Khair said the level of fighting inside the capital was “unprecedented”.

“This is the first time in Sudan’s history, certainly in its independence history, that there has been this level of violence in the centre, in Khartoum,” she said.

Fighting also raged in other parts of Sudan including the western Darfur region and in the eastern border state of Kassala.

The 2021 coup by the generals derailed a transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of Bashir, triggering international aid cuts and sparked near-weekly protests met by a deadly crackdown.

Burhan, who rose through the ranks under the three-decade rule of now-jailed Bashir, has said the coup “necessary” to include more factions in politics.

Daglo later called the coup a “mistake” that failed to bring about change and reinvigorated remnants of Bashir’s regime ousted by the army in 2019 following mass protests.

KHARTOUM — Three civilians died in battles between Sudanese paramilitaries and the regular army, which said it launched air strikes against them, sparking global concern days after the army warned the country was at a "dangerous" turning point.

The paramilitaries said they were in control of the presidential place as well as Khartoum airport, claims denied by the army, as civilian leaders called for an immediate ceasefire to prevent the country's "total collapse".

The doctors' union reported the three civilian deaths, including at Khartoum airport which is in the city centre, and in North Kordofan state. At least nine others were wounded, the medics said.

The eruption of violence came after weeks of deepening tensions between military leader Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and his number two, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, over the planned integration of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the regular army.

That was a key element of talks to finalise a deal that would return the country to civilian rule and end the crisis sparked by their 2021 coup, which triggered a deepening economic crisis in what was already one of the world’s poorest countries.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was “deeply concerned” and urged both sides to “stop the violence immediately”, a call echoed by the United Nations, African Union, Arab League, regional bloc IGAD and the European Union.

Russia’s foreign ministry said there was “serious concern in Moscow,” which called for urgent steps towards a ceasefire.

The army said it had carried out air strikes and “destroyed” two RSF bases in Khartoum. 

More than 120 civilians had already been killed in a crackdown on regular pro-democracy demonstrations since the coup.

‘Sweeping attack’ 

The RSF said its forces had taken control of Khartoum airport, after witnesses reported seeing truckloads of fighters entering the airport compound, as well as the presidential palace, where Burhan is officially based, and other key sites.

Its claims were quickly denied by the army, who said the airport and other bases remain under their “full control”, publishing a photograph of black smoke billowing from what it said was the RSF headquarters.

The army also accused the paramilitaries of burning civilian airliners at the airport, and Saudi flag carrier Saudia said it had suspended all flights to and from Sudan until further notice after one of its Airbus A330 planes “was involved in an accident”.

RSF chief Daglo vowed no let-up. “We will not stop fighting until we capture all the army bases and the honourable members of the armed forces join us,” he told Al Jazeera. 

Created in 2013, the RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia that then president Omar Al Bashir unleashed against non-Arab ethnic minorities in the western Darfur region a decade earlier, drawing accusations of war crimes. 

A plan to integrate the RSF into the regular army is one of the main points of contention, analysts have said.

Haggling between the two men has twice forced postponement of the signing of an agreement with civilian factions setting out a roadmap for restoring the democratic transition disrupted by the 2021 coup.

Witnesses also reported clashes around the state media building in Khartoum’s sister city Omdurman.

Outside the capital, witness Eissa Adam said explosions and gunfire had been heard across the North Darfur state capital of El Fasher, where civilians were hunkered down inside their homes.

Witnesses in the South Darfur state capital Nyala also reported clashes.

The two sides traded blame for starting the fighting.

The RSF said they were “surprised Saturday with a large force from the army entering camps”, reporting a “sweeping attack with all kinds of heavy and light weapons”.

Army spokesman Brigadier General Nabil Abdallah said the paramilitaries launched the fighting, attacking “several army camps in Khartoum and elsewhere around Sudan”.

“Clashes are ongoing and the army is carrying out its duty to safeguard the country”, he added.

Burhan, in a statement to Al Jazeera, said he “was surprised by Rapid Support Forces attacking his home at 9:00 am”, without giving details.

‘Slipping into abyss’ 

The military’s civilian interlocutors called on both sides “to immediately cease hostilities and spare the country slipping into the abyss of total collapse”. 

Their plea was echoed by US ambassador John Godfrey, who tweeted that he “woke up to the deeply disturbing sounds of gunfire and fighting” and was “currently sheltering in place with the embassy team, as Sudanese throughout Khartoum and elsewhere are doing”.

The head of the United Nations mission in Sudan, Volker Perthes, called for an “immediate” ceasefire, to “spare the country from further violence”. 

Western governments had been warning of the dangers of all-out fighting between the rival security forces since the army issued its warning to the paramilitaries on Thursday.

Daglo has said the 2021 coup was a “mistake” that failed to bring about change in Sudan and reinvigorated remnants of Bashir’s regime ousted by the army in 2019 following month of mass protests. 

Burhan, a career soldier from northern Sudan who rose the ranks under Bashir’s three-decade rule, maintained that the coup was “necessary” to bring more groups into the political process.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Thousands of Christians attended the thousand-year-old Holy Fire rite in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre Saturday ahead of the Orthodox Easter despite a security clampdown in the holy city.

The ancient church was built on the site where Christian tradition says Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected.

The annual Holy Fire ceremony, during which priests bring a flame from the tomb which they believe sparks miraculously each year, marks the most important event in the Orthodox calendar. 

Clutching candles, so the holy flame can be passed from one hand to another, pilgrims crowded the inside the church this year in reduced numbers.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, and for the second consecutive year Israeli police had told church leaders that access would be considerably restricted.

In the past about 10,000 worshippers would fill the church, with many more crowding into the surrounding alleys of the Old City, before the flame was flown to Orthodox communities internationally.

This year's ceremony also comes after deadly attacks and clashes in Israel, East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, and cross-border fire several days ago between Israeli forces and fighters in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces said attendance inside the church would be limited to 1,800 people including clergy as a safety measure.

Last year there were scuffles between worshippers and police who set up barriers throughout the city's Christian quarter.

"We understand the feeling, the religious feelings of people that want to participate in this Holy Light ceremony. But unfortunately not everyone can enter the church because of the safety regulation," Yoram Segal of the Jerusalem district police said.

He said the ceremony would be broadcast on screens in the Old City.

Father Mattheos Siopis from the Greek Orthodox Church said the Israeli forces were “enforcing unreasonable restrictions”.

“The ceremony has been faithfully taking place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for nearly 2,000 years,” he said.

After talks broke down between Christian leaders and the Israeli forces, Siopis urged “all who wish to worship with us to attend” on Saturday.

Christians made up more than 18 per cent of the population of the Holy Land when the state of Israel was created in 1948, but now they are fewer than two per cent, mostly Orthodox.

TUNIS — A professional footballer in Tunisia has died after setting himself alight earlier this week in what he called a protest against the "police state" ruling the country, his brother said on Friday.

Nizar Issaoui, 35, suffered third-degree burns from his action in the village of Haffouz in the central region of Kairouan, his brother Ryad told AFP.

He was taken from hospital in Kairouan to the specialist burns hospital in the capital Tunis, but doctors were unable to save his life, the brother said.

"He died yesterday [Thursday] and will be buried today."

Issaoui's protest recalled that of street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi, who burned himself to death on December 17, 2010, sparking the Tunisian revolution that was the trigger for the Arab Spring uprisings which toppled authoritarian regimes across the Middle East.

News of Issaoui's death sparked protests on the streets of Haffouz on Thursday evening, Tunisian media reported. Young demonstrators hurled stones at police who responded with tear gas.

There was no immediate comment from the authorities.

On Friday, hundreds of mourners gathered outside Issaoui's house awaiting his funeral, shouting: "With our blood and with our soul we will sacrifice ourselves for you, Nizar".

During his funeral, clashes broke out between protesters and the police, who fired tear gas, local media reported.

Issaoui was a free agent at the time of his death, after a career that saw him play for a range of clubs from the lower divisions to the top flight.

In a Facebook post shortly before his fatal action, Issaoui said he had sentenced himself to "death by fire".

"I have no more energy. Let the police state know that the sentence will be executed today," he wrote.

According to Tunisian media, Issaoui decided to make his extreme protest against the police after officers accused him of "terrorism" when he complained that he was unable to buy bananas for less than 10 dinars ($3.30) a kilogramme, double the price set by the government.

A video selfie circulating on social media shows Issaoui screaming: "For a dispute with someone selling bananas at 10 dinars, I get accused of terrorism at the police station. Terrorism for a complaint about bananas."

AMMAN — Jerusalem churches have condemned the “unreasonable” restrictions imposed by Israeli forces for the upcoming Holy Light ceremony on Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the day before Easter, according to the Julian calendar.

In a joint statement, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, the Custody of the Holy Land and the Armenian Patriarchate said: “Each year, the Churches coordinate with the authorities to ensure this ceremony can take place without issue. 

“Notably, last year barriers were imposed by the Israel Authority throughout the Old City that made impossible the access of our local Christian Communities pilgrims from attending the Holy Light Ceremony in the Holy Sepulchre, impeding their freedom to worship and witness the miracle of the resurrection.” 

“This year, after many attempts made in good will, we are not able to coordinate with the Israeli authorities, as they are enforcing unreasonable and unprecedented restrictions on access to the Holy Sepulchre — more so than last year. These heavy-handed restrictions will limit access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Holy Light Ceremony. Police are unfairly and inappropriately placing the burden on the churches to issue invitations, while tying the churches’ hands with unreasonable restrictions that will prevent worshippers from attending, particularly our local community. This makes difficult our coordination with the police,” the statement said.

“As we, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, the Custody of the Holy Land and the Armenian Patriarchate clearly stated in our various statements, we shall continue to uphold the Status Quo customs, and the ceremony will be held as customary for two millennia and all who wish to worship with us are invited to attend. With that made clear, we leave the authorities to act as they will. The churches will freely worship and do so in peace,” concluded the statement.