9 dead as Sudan military rulers try to break up sit-in
Khartoum: Sudan's military rulers moved Monday to break up a weeks-long sit-in outside Khartoum's army headquarters, leaving at least nine protesters dead, a doctors' committee said as gunfire was heard echoing from the site.
Heavily armed security forces in pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns were deployed in large numbers all around the capital, while gunfire was heard from the protest site by an AFP journalist.
The United States and Britain called for an end to the crackdown on demonstrators, who want the generals behind the overthrow of veteran president Omar al-Bashir to hand over to civilian rule.
The death toll "from the massacre today has risen to nine martyrs," the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is close to the protesters, wrote on Facebook.
It also reported a "large number of critical casualties" and called for "urgent support" from the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organisations to help the wounded.
The military council has denied multiple reports of their forces violently dispersing the sit-in in front of army headquarters.
"Now an attempt is taking place to disperse the sit-in at the headquarters of the people's armed forces by force by the military council," said the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), the group which spearheaded nationwide protests that started in December.
The SPA said it amounted to a "bloody massacre" and called on Sudanese to take part in "total civil disobedience" to topple the military council.
The doctors' committee said forces were also opening fire inside the city's East Nile Hospital and "chasing peaceful protesters". It said another hospital near the site of the sit-in was surrounded and volunteers were prevented from reaching it.
Rallies against Bashir's authoritarian, three-decade rule led to his ouster in April, but protesters have remained outside the army headquarters calling on the generals to cede power to a transitional authority.
Near the demonstration site, a witness living in the Burri neighbourhood said he could "hear the sound of gunfire and I see a plume of smoke rising from the area of the sit-in."
Another resident of the area, in east Khartoum, said he had seen forces in "police uniform" trying to expel the demonstrators. The military council "did not disperse the sit-in by force," their spokesman said.
"The tents are there, and the youth are moving freely," Shamseddine Kabbashi told Sky News Arabia. Britain's ambassador to Khartoum, Irfan Siddiq, said he had heard "heavy gunfire" from his residence.
"Extremely concerned by... reports that Sudanese security forces are attacking the protest sit-in site resulting in casualties. No excuse for any such attack. This. Must. Stop. Now," he wrote on Twitter.
The US embassy in Khartoum said "security forces' attacks against protesters and other civilians is wrong and must stop."
"Responsibility falls on the TMC. The TMC cannot responsibly lead the people of Sudan," it added referring to the transitional military council.
The Alliance for Freedom and Change, the umbrella group of the protest movement, urged "peaceful marches and rallies" nationwide and for barricades to be put up including in the capital.
Protesters had already set about building a brick barricade and had set tyres and tree trunks alight on Street 60 -- one of the main streets in the capital.
The SPA had said on Saturday that it had reason to believe the military council was "planning and working to end the peaceful sit-in at the headquarters with excessive force and violence" after three people were killed in incidents on the fringes of the demonstration last week.
Negotiations between protest leaders and the ruling military council have broken down, as the two sides have failed to agree on whether a planned transitional body would be headed by a civilian or a military figure.
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US pauses visa processing for individuals from 75 countries
New York/Washington (PTI): The Trump administration on Wednesday announced pausing immigrant visa processing for individuals from 75 countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Russia, as part of increasing crackdown on foreigners likely to rely on public benefits in the US.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the State Department said in a post on X.
“The Trump administration will PAUSE immigrant visa processing from 75 countries until the US can ensure that incoming immigrants will not become a public charge or extract wealth from American taxpayers. AMERICA FIRST,” the White House said in a post on X.
“The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people. The pause impacts dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival. We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused," the State Department said.
"The Trump Administration will always put America First," the State Department added.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement, "The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people."
A report in the Fox News said that the pause will begin from January 21.
The State Department memo, seen first by Fox News Digital, directs “consular officers to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses screening and vetting procedures”.
The list of countries include Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The Fox News report added that in November 2025, a State Department cable sent to missions around the globe instructed consular officers to “enforce sweeping new screening rules under the so-called "public charge" provision of immigration law.
The guidance had instructed US consular officers across the world to deem those individuals seeking to enter and live in the US ineligible if they have certain medical conditions, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, saying these people could end up relying on public benefits.
The foreigners applying for visas to live in the US “might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions”. “You must consider an applicant’s health…Certain medical conditions – including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases, and mental health conditions – can require hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of care,” the cable had said.
The cable also advised visa officers to consider conditions like obesity in making their decisions, noting that the condition can cause asthma, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure.
The guidance directed "visa officers to deem applicants ineligible to enter the US for several new reasons, including age or the likelihood they might rely on public benefits.
The guidance says that such people could become a “public charge” — "a potential drain on US resources — because of their health issues or age”.
The report added that older or overweight applicants could be denied, along with those who had any past use of government cash assistance or institutionalisation.
