The Sudanese men in the video clips looked starved and can barely talk, their bodies marked by bruises and cuts.
“The army people hit me with iron rods and told me I was collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces,” said a man who appeared to be in his twenties and gave only his first name, Mohannad.
“I have been in detention for four months. They gave me no food at all for the last three days."
The videos were posted online last month by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group that has been fighting against the Sudanese army in Khartoum and other parts of the country since April.
According to the RSF, the men in the videos were held at a key military base in Khartoum that was the scene of some of the war’s fiercest battles last week.
They were freed when RSF fighters seized control of large sections of the sprawling complex housing the army’s Armoured Corps in Al Shagara district.
The authenticity of the video clips could not be independently verified, but the accounts given by the men conform with information given by witnesses and activists about the detention of hundreds of men by the army and the RSF, on suspicion of spying for the other side.
In many cases, the men's families do not know where they are being held. Some of the men are tortured or held in dismal conditions, witnesses and activists said.
The hunt for spies and collaborators in Khartoum is a dirty war waged in almost complete secrecy. It adds a grim layer to the conflict between the army, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by his one-time deputy and ally Gen Mohamed Dagalo.
The International Criminal Court is investigating the RSF for possible war crimes in the western region of Darfur, where the paramilitary's fighters and allied Arab militias are accused of killing thousands of ethnic Africans in July.
The US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Gen Dagalo's brother, RSF deputy leader Abdelrahim Dagalo, over rights abuses.
The US Treasury said sanctions were imposed on him for his leadership of "an entity whose members have engaged in acts of violence and human rights abuses, including the massacre of civilians, ethnic killings, and use of sexual violence".
The war in Sudan has caused a major humanitarian crisis, with more than five million Sudanese displaced since April. Millions more are in need of food and medical aid.
Against this backdrop, the warring generals have promised Sudan’s 48 million people that the country will have democratic rule when the fighting ends, as well as justice and equality.
The RSF has sought out active and retired members of the armed forces, as well as people known to have been active supporters of the toppled government of former president Omar Al Bashir and suspected of fighting on the army’s side.
Homes known to belong to army officers or members of Al Bashir’s now-dissolved National Congress Party are targets for RSF fighters. If a suspect is found in the homes, he is arrested and taken away.
For its part, the army hunts for Sudanese who hail from the Arab tribes of Darfur and who typically live in the capital’s outlying districts.
Army soldiers have also been accused of assaulting civilians in neighbourhoods they liberate from RSF control, said Saeed Samy, a US-based expert on Sudan.
“These are two warring armies to which human rights or the prevalence of the law don’t matter,” Mr Samy said.
“The RSF targets members of Al Bashir’s National Congress Party. The army goes after individuals it believes to have collaborated with the RSF when the paramilitary controlled their neighbourhood.
“A pattern has also emerged that army air strikes targeting districts controlled by the RSF and whose inhabitants predominantly share the same ethnicity as RSF fighters leave large numbers of civilian casualties."
Sudanese state television frequently broadcasts names provided by the military of people suspected of spying for the RSF.
The announcements give those on the list a week to surrender.
An army source told The National that the hunt for RSF spies was led by the military intelligence, but that special police units operating in civilian clothes make the arrests.
Spying for the RSF or the army is sometimes used as cover to detain anti-war activists with large followings on social media, residents and activists have said.
The father of a 22-year-old university student told The National how his son was detained by plainclothes security men when he went back to the family home in Khartoum to retrieve official documents to allow his sister to travel abroad.
“Days after he disappeared, we received a text, presumably from one of the security agencies, saying he has been detained. They did not say where or why,” said the father.
The family moved to White Nile state, south of the capital, to escape the fighting.
“A few days later he managed to call us and say he has been beaten, verbally insulted and accused of being a Rapid Support Forces spy," he said.
“I hold Al Burhan and Hemedti [Gen Dagalo] responsible for the safety of my son who is detained on drummed up and false charges.
“My son has no political affiliation, but he is against the war and the destruction it has brought us.”
Osman Al Mirghany, a prominent political analyst, believes most of the blame for the detentions should be directed at the RSF, which he said had an unusually high number of detention centres across Khartoum.
“Arbitrary detentions are not uncommon in war. They have been common in Darfur for the past 20 years, but they are new in Khartoum,” he said.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Boston%20Strangler
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
