US Special Envoy to Attend IGAD’s Extraordinary Summit

US Special Envoy to Attend IGAD’s Extraordinary Summit
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US Special Envoy to Attend IGAD’s Extraordinary Summit

US Special Envoy to Attend IGAD’s Extraordinary Summit

US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer will attend the 41st Extraordinary Summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Assembly Heads of State and Government in Sudan and meet with Djiboutian officials.

The US Embassy in Sudan announced that Hammer will support regional and international efforts in Sudan to end the conflict, promote a democratic transition, press for unhindered humanitarian access, and support justice and accountability for victims of the violence.

According to the statement, the Ambassador will participate in the Doha Forum and discuss regional and international efforts with Qatari officials to end the ongoing violence in Sudan and advance stability in the Horn of Africa.

Hammer is also scheduled to visit Ethiopia and intends to meet with African Union (AU) officials to coordinate efforts on Sudan and other regional priorities.

- Gebeyehu-Hammer

IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu met with the US envoy on Friday ahead of the 41st Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Assembly in Djibouti.

They discussed issues of common concern and the partnership contributing to regional development, peace, and security.

The Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, will also participate in the summit.

During his visit to Djibouti in November, the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council and the army commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, agreed with the IGAD secretary to hold an emergency summit to develop a clear road map to end the crisis.

- Salva Kiir - Hamdok

South Sudan Prime Minister Salva Kiir Mayardit met with Sudan’s former premier Abdullah Hamdok in UAE. The meeting discussed peace and stability in Sudan.

South Sudan’s Minister of Presidential Affairs, Joseph Bakosoro, said that the meeting focused on finding a peaceful settlement to the current crisis in Sudan.

- The division of Sudan

In the meantime, the leader of the Forces of Freedom and Change, Khalid Omar Yousif, warned of the worst scenario that may face the country in light of the ongoing war between Sudan’s National Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since last April.

Yousif said in a political forum on the Clubhouse application that the negotiated political solution is the only way to end the war. Otherwise, the country could face worse scenarios, such as the division of Sudan into failed states and turning the country into a hotbed for terrorist groups.

He asserted that the peaceful, negotiated solution is highly complex and may succeed or fail, pointing out that the continuation of the war will lead to the destruction and collapse of Sudan.



Director of Yeyha al-Houthi's Office Arrested for Allegedly Spying for US

The Houthi have intensified their crackdown on people who refuse to support them. (EPA)
The Houthi have intensified their crackdown on people who refuse to support them. (EPA)
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Director of Yeyha al-Houthi's Office Arrested for Allegedly Spying for US

The Houthi have intensified their crackdown on people who refuse to support them. (EPA)
The Houthi have intensified their crackdown on people who refuse to support them. (EPA)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias continued their wave of arrests, reaching the highest ranks of the Houthi command.

Under the supervision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) experts, they arrested Ali Abbas, the director of the office of Yehya al-Houthi – the militias’ leader – on alleged charges of spying for the United States.

Political sources in Sanaa told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi intelligence, which operates under the IRGC, arrested Abbas and deputy at the Ministry of Education Ahmed al-Nunu on spying charges.

The sources said the arrests were based on investigations the Houthis have carried out with dozens of detainees who used to work for United Nations offices and other international organizations, as well as former staff at the US embassy in Yemen and the Netherlands.

The legitimate Yemeni government condemned the Houthis for kidnapping Nunu.

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the arrest sheds light on the ongoing oppression the Houthis practice in regions under their control.

“No one is safe from their violent practices, not even people who have worked for them since their coup,” he added.

The Houthis had kidnapped other senior Education Ministry officials, professor Mohammed al-Mekhlafi and expert Mujib al-Mekhlafi, nine months ago.

Eryani said the Houthis also executed educational expert Sabri al-Hakimi while in detention because he refused to join their effort to change curricula that would promote the militias’ goals.

He called on the international community, UN and rights organizations to speak out against these “heinous crimes.”

He also called for the designation of the Houthis as a terrorist organization and for the international community to offer real and effective support to the government so that the state can impose its control throughout the country and end the violations against the Yemeni people.