2025 in Review: Voices of Resistance Across MENA and Beyond

As 2025 comes to a close and we step into 2026, we at MENA Solidarity Network reach out in solidarity, gratitude, and revolutionary determination. Explore our roundup of the key articles published since 1 January 2025 — a year of struggle, resistance, and international working-class solidarity across the Middle East and beyond. From war zones and imperialist supply chains to workers uniting across borders, these reports and analyses map the terrain of resistance.
Read, share, reflect, and organise — let 2026 be a year of stronger solidarity, renewed struggle, and internationalist victory.

Cartoons Are Not a Crime – Free Ashraf Omar, Stop Egypt’s Repression

When a cartoon becomes a crime, authoritarianism reveals its fear of truth.
Ashraf Omar — cartoonist, translator, and political artist — has been imprisoned for his drawings, accused of terrorism for exposing social and political realities. His case is not an exception, but part of Egypt’s systematic assault on freedom of expression, independent journalism, and dissent. We demand his immediate release. The pen is not a crime.

20 December (London): March for Sudan — End the War | Defend the Revolution | Expose the Imperialist Order

On 20 December, we will march in London to mark the seventh anniversary of the Sudanese uprising and to stand with a people still resisting war, military rule, counter-revolution, and imperialism.
The war in Sudan is being waged by rival militias (SAF & RSF) and sustained by international backers who profit from violence and destruction. Civilians face killing, hunger, and mass displacement — and silence is not an option.
JOIN US

Event: Sudan Solidarity Conference 2026

The Sudan Solidarity Conference 2026 will bring together activists, trade unionists and community organisers to stand with the struggles for justice in Sudan and Palestine. The conference will amplify grassroots voices resisting imperialism, war, genocide, racism, and build the international solidarity needed to fight for peace and democratic change. Join us on 17 January — join us in taking action, organising and standing in solidarity.

Free Abo Bakr Hamza: The Lawyer Who Dared to Help in Sudan’s War

At a time when Sudan is being torn apart by war, famine, and mass killing and displacement at the hands of both Sudanese militias – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – the case of Lawyer Abo Bakr Mansour Mohamed Hamza shows exactly who pays the price for their struggle for power: ordinary people who try to keep their communities alive.

El-Fasher Falls — What It Tells Us About Sudan’s War, The Revolution, And The Fight For Solidarity

The fall of El Fasher, the last SAF stronghold in Darfur, marks a brutal new phase in Sudan’s counter-revolutionary war. After 18 months under siege, the RSF seized the city in October 2025, unleashing mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and terror. This is not an isolated tragedy but the outcome of a war between two militias born of the same repressive regime the 2018 revolution sought to overthrow — a war that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced over 15 million people.

Seminar & Pamphlet Launch: Sudan’s Revolutionary Movements Research (7 Nov)

JOIN US on 7 November for the launch of “Sudan’s Revolutionary and Popular Movements: A Research Report”, a pamphlet by MENA Solidarity offering an in-depth analysis of Sudan’s revolutionary movements, the forces of counter-revolution, and the enduring strength of grassroots resistance.
The seminar will explore the pivotal role of strikes, women’s organising, and neighbourhood networks in the struggle for freedom, peace, and justice. It will also examine the impact of imperialism and the vital importance of international solidarity in connecting Sudan’s revolution to broader global struggles against oppression and exploitation.

Join Us for the MENA Solidarity AGM 2025: Building Workers’ Solidarity Across Borders

Join our AGM – Monday 13 October, 7:30 PM UK time (Zoom)

From Italy to Khartoum to Gaza, workers and ordinary people are standing up against war, violence, and economic hardship. At our Annual General Meeting, we’ll hear from a special guest from S.I. Cobas Union, whose members have led general strikes and protests across Italy. Together, we’ll explore solidarity, share experiences, and plan strategies to advance workers’ rights and justice across borders.

Confronting Arab Regimes’ Complicity in Genocide, War Crimes, and Starvation in Gaza

Three weeks ago, coordinated protests in London and Washington, D.C. targeted the Israeli, Egyptian, and Jordanian embassies, challenging Arab regimes complicit in Gaza’s genocide, war crimes, and enforced starvation. MENA Solidarity spoke to Ibrahim, a young UK-based Palestinian who organised and joined the London actions on July 23–24, while activists in Washington rallied in parallel.