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KHARTOUM — Tens of thousands of protesters rallied across Sudan on Sunday against the ruling generals as demonstrators marched on the presidential palace in Khartoum, in the biggest mass demonstration since a deadly crackdown on demonstrators.

The "million-man" march is seen as a test for protest organisers whose push for civilian rule has been hit by the June 3 raid on a Khartoum sit-in and a subsequent internet blackout that has curbed their ability to mobilise support.

Dozens of demonstrators were killed and hundreds wounded when armed men in military fatigues stormed the sit-in outside army headquarters, shooting and beating protesters who had camped there since April 6.

On Sunday, police fired several rounds of tear gas on crowds approaching the presidential palace after organisers called for a march on the building that houses offices of the ruling transitional military council, an AFP correspondent reported.

"We call on our revolutionary people in the capital to go to the republican palace... to seek justice for the martyrs and for an unconditional transfer of power to civilians," the Sudanese Professionals Association that first launched protests against now ousted ruler Omar Al Bashir said on Twitter.

Police also fired tear gas at protesters in the northern Khartoum district of Bahri and in Mamura and Arkweit, in the capital's east, as thousands of protesters chanted "Civilian rule! Civilian rule!", witnesses said.

Elsewhere, security forces used tear gas to disperse protests in the capital's twin city of Omdurman and the eastern town of Gadaref.

The latest demonstrations come at a time when Ethiopia and the African Union (AU) are jointly mediating between the protesters and generals.

The European Union, several Western nations and rights groups called on the generals to avoid any violence.

Men and women flashing victory signs and carrying Sudanese flags flooded the streets of Al Sahafa neighbourhood of Khartoum.

“We are here for the martyrs of the [June 3] sit-in. We want a civilian state that guarantees our freedom. We want to get rid of military dictatorship,” said Zeinab, 23, as onlookers cheered and motorists honked horns.

“No one gave a mandate to the military council, all the people are against the council,” said another protester who shouted out: “I’m the next martyr.”

Marchers also passed by the homes of those killed on June 3.

Others chanting “Blood for blood, we don’t want compensation” took to the streets of the Jabra district, while rallies were also under way in other neighbourhoods of the capital.

On the road to airport, security forces moved to block off crowds of demonstrators, an AFP correspondent reported.

Thousands also protested in the cities of Port Sudan, Al Obied, Madani and Khasma El Girba, witnesses said.

Crackdown feared 

The feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were deployed in pick-up trucks mounted with machineguns in several Khartoum squares and many shops stayed shut.

RSF chief Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo had warned he would not tolerate any “vandalism” at the protests.

“There are vandals, there are people who have an agenda, a hidden agenda, we don’t want problems,” Dagalo, who is also the ruling military council’s deputy chief, said on Saturday.

In the run-up to the protest many Sudanese said they feared new violence.

“I expect large numbers... and it’s very possible that security forces will use force,” said Mustafa, 25.

Another demonstrator, Talal, 29, said: “Even if only a few rallies take place in Khartoum, they will break the barrier of fear and more people will take to the streets” in coming days.

About 130 people have been killed since the crackdown, the majority of them on that day, according to doctors close to the alliance.

The health ministry says 61 people died nationwide on June 3.

The military council insists it did not order the dispersal of the sit-in, but acknowledged “excesses” after orders were given to purge a nearby area allegedly notorious for drug peddling.

The council has warned it would hold the alliance “entirely responsible if any soul is lost” in Sunday’s protests.

‘World is watching’ 

Tensions remain high since the June 3 raid, which followed the collapse of talks over who should lead a new governing body — a civilian or soldier.

Ethiopia and the AU have proposed a blueprint for a civilian-majority body, which the generals say could be a basis for resuming talks.

Protesters had initially gathered at the military headquarters to seek the army’s support in ousting Bashir.

They kept up their sit-in to demand civilian rule after the generals deposed the president on April 11.

Demonstrators’ “right to peacefully protest and express their views on 30 June, or on any other date, remains key”, the European Union said.

Amnesty International’s Secretary General Kumi Naidoo said the military council “must not allow the country to slide back into yet more repression”. 

“The world is watching.”

ANKARA — Turkey said Sunday six of its nationals were being held by forces of Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar after earlier warning Ankara was ready to retaliate against attacks.

Haftar has ordered attacks on Turkish ships and interests after he recently lost ground to the UN-recognised Libyan government which is also backed by Turkey.

"The detention of six of our citizens by illegal militia forces linked to Haftar is an act of thuggery and piracy. We expect our citizens to be immediately released," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Should this not happen, Haftar elements will become legitimate targets," it added.

But the ministry did not give any details on where the Turks were being held or when they had been taken by the forces. 

A ministry source told AFP there was “no additional information to give at this stage”.

Haftar’ instructed his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) to target Turkish companies, ban flights and arrest Turkish nationals in Libya, his spokesman said on Friday.

After a NATO-backed uprising that led to dictator Muammar Qadhafi’s death in 2011, Libya was propelled into chaos with militias fighting for control of the country.

Haftar was a retired general who had taken part in the revolt against Qadhafi but in May 2014, he launched his assault to purge the country of Islamist “terrorists”.

‘Heavy price’ 

The LNA, which holds eastern Libya and much of the country’s south, launched an offensive to take the capital Tripoli in early April.

Anti-Haftar forces recently retook the strategic town of Gharyan in a surprise attack and a major setback for the strongman.

Earlier on Sunday, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar warned there would be a “heavy price for hostile attitudes or attacks”, in comments to state news agency Anadolu.

“We will retaliate in the most effective and strong way,” Akar said.

He said Turkey’s efforts in Libya sought to “contribute to peace” in the region.

“It should be known that we have taken all kinds of measures to deal with any threat or antagonistic action against Turkey,” Akar added.

He emphasised Turkey’s push to support a political solution in Libya would continue and said Turkish efforts were in line with international law and agreements.

Turkey has a keen interest in Libya, especially since it had been part of the Ottoman Empire until 1912 when the north African country was conquered by Italy.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed his country backs the internationally recognised Government of National Accord and provides weapons to it under a “military cooperation agreement”.

He told reporters on June 20 that Turkish backing had allowed Tripoli to “rebalance” the fight against Haftar, who has the backing of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu last month criticised “some countries” without naming them who were giving weapons and ammunition support to Haftar.

“They should not forget that taking sides like this, supporting military solutions rather than political solutions, will drag Libya into a long-running civil war,” Cavusoglu said on May 2.

TEHRAN — Nearly four years after it was agreed, the 2015 Iran nuclear deal appears to be under serious threat.

How did we reach this point?

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was concluded on July 14, 2015 in Vienna between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — China, Britain, France, Russia and the US — plus Germany).

It sought to bring to an end 12 years of international crisis surrounding a potentially nuclear-armed Iran.

Under the terms of the deal, Iran committed never to acquire the atomic bomb and to accept drastic limits on its nuclear programme in exchange for a partial lifting of international sanctions that had been strangling its economy.

Iran also submitted to unprecedented inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

But US President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the deal on May 8, 2018 — and subsequent sanctions — have deprived Iran of the economic benefits it expected and plunged it into recession.

Exactly a year after the US withdrew, Tehran announced it no longer felt beholden to two Vienna commitments.

It gave the remaining parties 60 days to help it bypass US sanctions, or it would withdraw from two further commitments.

What commitments has Iran renounced?

On May 8, President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran would temporarily cease to limit its stocks of heavy water and low-enriched uranium to 130 tonnes and 300 kilogrammes respectively.

Tehran has not yet breached these Vienna ceilings, but it does appear to be flirting with the uranium limit.

An Iranian official said on Friday that the national stock had hit 297.2 kilogrammes.

What are the other threats?

Iran has threatened to start enriching uranium above the agreed maximum purification level of 3.67 per cent from July 7.

Weapons-grade levels are about 90 per cent.

It has also threatened to resume building from that date a heavy water reactor — capable of one day producing plutonium — in Arak in central Iran, a project that had been mothballed under the deal.

What does Iran want?

The threats are "above all a call for help by Iran to its partners — to escape the growing difficulties which American sanctions have heaped on the economy", Francois Nicoullaud, a former French ambassador to Iran, told AFP.

For Clement Therme, a researcher on Iran at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Tehran seeks "primarily to preserve" the Vienna deal itself.

"The main problem for Iran is to avoid economic collapse... without provoking a war."

But a military conflict "is a real probability due to the effects of Washington's strategy", Therme told AFP. 

Is there a danger of proliferation?

"As long as Iran does not get close to a threshold of a tonne of lightly enriched uranium, there is no pressing concern,” Nicoullaud said. 

But if Iran "amassed, for example, a stock of 200 to 300 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to nearly 20 per cent, there would be cause for great concern".

But even under that scenario, Nicoullaud noted, Iran could still not be deemed to be within months of being able to detonate a nuclear device.

And a growing stock of heavy water "presents no danger of proliferation, at least for many years", he said.

The retired diplomat also pointed out that Iran has not indicated it will expel IAEA inspectors, so "the evolution of the [nuclear] programme can still be observed".

For Therme, a relaunch of the programme would be "above all dangerous for Iran's population because it would drive the country into total isolation and even greater impoverishment of the people".

What are the risks beyond July 7?

If the remaining co-signatories are unable to ease the impact of US sanctions by July 7, "it is probable that Iran will follow through on its threats", Nicoullaud warned.

"But Iran's partners, and particularly the Europeans, would have no interest in immediately sanctioning" the Islamic republic, because this would immediately harden the situation, he observed.

Therme believes that the remaining signatories want "to avoid a war while giving respite to Iran's economy".

"The perception of an imminent risk of an American war... could drive the Europeans, the Chinese and the Russians to provide guarantees to the Islamic republic" on economic matters.

Therme said the UAE, Qatar and Oman also favour de-escalation, which could further feed into a multilateral diplomatic effort based on common economic and security interests.

KHARTOUM — A top Sudanese general warned on Saturday that he will not tolerate any vandalism at a planned mass protest, even as army rulers insisted they would hand over power to a civilian administration.

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo's warning came as the country's umbrella protest movement called for a "million-man" march in Khartoum on Sunday against the generals who have seized power since ousting longtime ruler Omar Al Bashir on April 11.

"There are vandals, there are people who have an agenda, a hidden agenda, we don't want problems," Dagalo, the deputy head of the ruling military council, told a rally in comments broadcast by state television.

Dagalo commands the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which have been heavily deployed in Khartoum since a deadly crackdown on a protest camp on June 3 left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.

Dagalo, widely known by his nickname Himeidti, defended the heavy presence of security forces in the capital.

"The military forces who are deployed in Khartoum are there for the security of the people, not to disturb them," he said.

In a separate statement, the military council said the protest movement would be held responsible for any violence on Sunday.

"The country is going through a serious crisis, and we will hold the Alliance for Freedom and Change entirely responsible if any soul is lost in the march on Sunday", the council said.

'Ready to cede power' 

Later on Saturday, the chief of the military council, General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, told a rally in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, that the generals were ready to give up power.

"We promise you that we will reach an agreement fast with our brothers in the Alliance for Freedom and Change and other political groups," he said.

“We are ready to cede power today to an elected government that is acceptable to all the people of Sudan.”

But as he ended his speech, the crowd began chanting “civilian rule, civilian rule”, and “blood for blood”, two prominent slogans of the protest movement that has rocked the country.

Sunday’s mass rally will be the first attempt to mobilise protesters since the June 3 crackdown on the protest camp outside the military headquarters in Khartoum.

The violent dispersal of the sit-in came after talks between the generals and protest leaders collapsed over who should lead a new governing body — a civilian or a soldier.

The generals have so far resisted a transfer of power to a civilian administration.

Ethiopia and the African Union have mediated between the two sides and proposed a 15-member civilian-majority body to govern the country during a three-year transition period.

The generals said Friday the proposal could be a base to resume talks with protesters, although they expressed “some observations”, a spokesman said.

About 130 people have been killed since the June 3 crackdown, according to doctors close to the protest movement.

The health ministry says 61 people died nationwide on June 3.

Earlier on Saturday, Dagalo also insisted the generals had no intention of holding on to power.

“The military council is just a guarantor,” he said.

“We are saying we want a civilian government, a government of competences, of independents. This is not political talk... This is true.”

WASHINGTON — The US has deployed F-22 stealth fighters to Qatar for the first time, its military said on Friday, adding to a buildup of US forces in the Gulf amid tensions with Iran.

The Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters have been deployed "to defend American forces and interests", the US Air Forces Central Military Command said in a statement that did not specify how many of the hi-tech planes had been sent.

A photo handout showed five of the jets flying above Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar. 

Tehran and Washington have been locked in an escalating standoff since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a multiparty 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic republic.

Tensions spiked last week when Iran shot down a US drone over sensitive Gulf waters following a series of tanker attacks that Washington blamed on Tehran, which has denied involvement.

Since then the arch-foes have been locked in a war of words, which escalated this week when Trump announced new sanctions against Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Iran has threatened to abandon some of its commitments under the nuclear deal unless the remaining partners — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — help it circumvent US sanctions and especially sell its oil.

In May, the US Air Force deployed several nuclear-capable B-52 Stratofortress bombers to the Gulf in response to what the Defence Department described as a possible plan by Iran to attack American forces in the region, as well as an aircraft carrier task force.

BENGHAZI, Libya — Khalifa Haftar has threatened to attack Turkish interests and accused Ankara of backing his rivals after he suffered a major setback in his push to take the capital Tripoli.

Anti-Haftar forces that nominally back Libya's internationally recognised government announced Wednesday they had retaken the strategic town of Gharyan in a surprise attack, seizing Haftar's main supply base for his months-long offensive.

Haftar on Saturday promised a "tough response" and accused militias backing the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) of executing his wounded troops at the town's hospital — allegations refuted by both the GNA and authorities in Gharyan.

Dozens of pro-Haftar fighters were killed in the clashes some 100 kilometres south of the capital, with at least 18 taken prisoner, a GNA spokesman said.

AFP correspondents who toured Gharyan were shown signs of a hasty retreat by Haftar’s forces, who left behind their wounded, a command post, arms, ammunition and even food burning on stoves.

“The speed [of the attack], the surprise element and the revolt [by the area’s residents] sowed fear” in the ranks of Haftar’s fighters, Gen. Ahmad Bouchahma, a senior GNA officer, said during a tour of the area.

Among the weaponry the GNA says it seized were US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles packed in wooden crates marked “armed forces of the United Arab Emirates”, a major buyer of American weapons and one of Haftar’s main international backers.

The US State Department said Saturday it was looking into the missile find.

“We take all allegations of misuse of US origin defence articles very seriously,” a spokesperson said on condition of anonymity. “We are aware of these reports and are seeking additional information.”

In retaliation for the defeat, Haftar ordered his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) to target Turkish ships and companies, ban flights and arrest Turkish nationals in the country, his spokesman said.

General Ahmed Al Mesmari accused Ankara of “directly” helping GNA forces “with its soldiers, planes and ships”.

He also accused Gharyan residents of “treason”.

The LNA, which holds eastern Libya and much of the country’s south, seized Gharyan two days before launching its offensive on Tripoli in early April. 

Its initial lightning advance was quickly brought to a standstill in Tripoli’s southern outskirts as GNA-aligned militias rushed to defend the capital.

‘Rebalance’ 

Both sides accuse each other of using foreign mercenaries and receiving military support from external powers, despite a UN arms embargo in place since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew Muammar Qadhafi’s regime.

Haftar has the backing of the UAE and Egypt and accuses Turkey and Qatar of supporting the GNA.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed his country backs the GNA and provides weapons to it under a “military cooperation agreement”.

He told reporters on June 19 that Turkish backing had allowed Tripoli to “rebalance” the fight against Haftar.

On Saturday, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Japan, Erdogan said he had no information on Haftar’s threat against Turkish assets.

“If there is an order like this from Haftar, my colleagues will study [it]. We have already taken the necessary measures regarding this anyway, and after this, we will take much more different measures,” he said.

‘Legitimate targets’ 

Since the fall of Gharyan, Haftar’s forces have carried out several air raids on Tripoli as GNA fighters push to keep up pressure on the LNA. 

On Friday, GNA militias claimed they had launched another successful offensive, this time in Esbiaa, more than 40 kilometres south of Tripoli.

But Mesmari said the attack was repulsed after a “very violent battle”.

Mesmari said orders had been given to the LNA’s air force “to target Turkish ships and boats in Libyan territorial waters”.

“Turkish strategic sites, companies and projects belonging to the Turkish state [in Libya] are considered legitimate targets by the armed forces,” he added.

“All Turkish nationals on Libyan territory will be arrested [and] all flights to and from Turkey will be banned.”

Regular flights to Turkey operate from Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport and a second airport in the western city of Misrata, held by pro-GNA forces. 

Mesmari did not explain how the flight ban could apply to areas not under Haftar’s control.

BEIRUT — Kurdish authorities in north-eastern Syria have handed to Italy one of its citizens accused of belonging to the Daesh group, a spokesman said Saturday.

“Italian terrorist Samir Bougana [aka Abu Abdullah] who had been captured fleeing ISIS [Daesh] and had been imprisoned since then, was handed over to Italian government,” said Mustefa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, using a different acronym for Daesh.

He said the transfer had been made on Rome’s request.

He did not specify when it took place or whether or not the suspected terrorists had already left the country. 

Bougana — also known as Abu Hureyre Al Muhajir or Abu Abdullah Al Muhajir — was first captured by Kurdish fighters in Syria in August 2018 as he tried to flee into Turkey.

He had allegedly been involved in weapons shipments to Daesh. 

His transfer is part of a wider effort by the Kurdish administration to rid itself of the dregs of the Daesh proto-state. 

Following the collapse of the group’s “caliphate” in March, alleged Daesh fighters from nearly 50 countries have been detained in Syria and Iraq. 

Over 11,000 of their family members are being held in Syria’s Al Hol camp alone.

But repatriation is a sensitive issue for Western nations such as France and Britain, which have experienced attacks by homegrown extremists and have little interest in seeing more return. 

There are also worries that it could prove difficult to successfully prosecute fighters in European courts for crimes committed in Iraq or Syria. 

Britain has gone so far as stripping Daesh members of citizenship, while France has said it will repatriate only orphans. 

The United States, however, has urged Western countries to take their nationals back and has repatriated some of its own, including three Daesh group fighters and several American women and children. 

On Thursday, it warned European countries they were making a “bad decision” by leaving their nationals in Syria instead of repatriating them to face justice. 

Also last week, the United Nations’ rights chief called for countries to repatriate Syria-based family members of suspected foreign fighters, including some 29,000 foreign children of Daesh fighters. 

OSAKA, Japan — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he was confident there would be no US sanctions against Turkey over a controversial Russian missile deal, following reassurances from leader Donald Trump at the G-20 summit.

Ankara’s push to buy Moscow’s S-400 missile defence system has strained ties between the NATO allies, with the threat of penalities from Washington looming over Turkey.

“We heard from him that there won’t be anything like this [sanctions],” Erdogan told a press conference, after meeting with the US president on the sidelines of the summit in Osaka, Japan. 

While Erdogan insisted Turkey and the United States were “strategic partners”, he said that “no one has the power to intervene in Turkey’s sovereignty”.

His office said Trump wished to resolve the S-400 issue “without damaging bilateral ties”.

Before the talks, Trump said Turkey “has been a friend of ours... We’re a big trading partner. We’re going to be much bigger”.

Despite heavy pressure from Washington to cancel the purchase, Erdogan has repeatedly said it was a “done deal” and reaffirmed on Saturday that delivery of the system would begin in the first half of July.

Experts say sanctions would hit Ankara’s already fragile economy hard. Tariffs imposed by Trump last summer over the jailing of a US pastor helped trigger a currency crisis.

‘Not good’ 

Washington has warned that if the S-400 system is delivered to Turkey, the country faces penalties under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act which bars business with Russia’s state and private defence and intelligence sectors.

Turkish officials have previously said they are preparing for US sanctions.

In a line of argument that appears to have played well with Trump, Erdogan told him that the reason for purchasing the S-400 was that his predecessor Barack Obama had failed to secure a deal to sell Turkey the American Patriot system instead, with the sale blocked by Congress at the time. 

The Patriot is an anti-missile and anti-aircraft weapon system, similar to the S-400. The US finally approved the sale of the Patriot system to Turkey in December.

Trump said Erdogan should not be blamed for Obama’s failure.

“We have a complicated situation because the president [Erdogan] was not allowed to buy the Patriot missiles... he wasn’t allowed by the Obama administration,” Trump told reporters in Osaka.

“So he buys the other missile and then, all of a sudden, they say, ‘Well, you can now buy our missile,’” Trump said, adding: “You can’t do business that way. It’s not good.”

Washington has nonetheless threatened to remove Turkey from its F-35 fighter jet programme, giving Ankara until July 31 to cancel the S-400 purchase or have its pilots kicked off the training course and expelled from the US.

Turkey has plans to buy 116 F-35s, Erdogan said, and has invested a total of $1.4 billion in the production so far.

Relations between Turkey and the US have been tense over multiple issues, including American support for a Kurdish militia in Syria and the failure to extradite a Pennsylvania-based Muslim preacher blamed for the 2016 failed coup.

But the two leaders said they were committed to increasing bilateral trade.