Cairo, Juba Intensify Talks to ‘Stabilize Ceasefire in Sudan ’

Sisi met Tuesday with South Sudan's Presidential Advisor on Security Affairs Tut Gatluak (Egyptian Presidency)
Sisi met Tuesday with South Sudan's Presidential Advisor on Security Affairs Tut Gatluak (Egyptian Presidency)
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Cairo, Juba Intensify Talks to ‘Stabilize Ceasefire in Sudan ’

Sisi met Tuesday with South Sudan's Presidential Advisor on Security Affairs Tut Gatluak (Egyptian Presidency)
Sisi met Tuesday with South Sudan's Presidential Advisor on Security Affairs Tut Gatluak (Egyptian Presidency)

Cairo and Juba have intensified their efforts to stabilize the ceasefire in Sudan, following weeks of ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

On Tuesday, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and South Sudan's President Salva Kirr exchanged messages carried by envoys from both sides.

While Sisi met with South Sudan's Presidential Advisor on Security Affairs Tut Gatluak, his counterpart in South Sudan was holding talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

“Sisi met with Gatluak in the presence of the Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Major General Abbas Kamel,” the Egyptian presidential spokesman, Ahmed Fahmy, said.

He noted that Gatluak gave the President a letter from Salva Kiir on ways to strengthen the distinguished bilateral relations between the two fraternal countries.

During the meeting the grave challenges facing Sudan at the humanitarian, security and political levels were tackled, and the efforts to resolve the crisis in order to safeguard the Sudanese people were tackled.

Also they discussed the importance of encouraging Sudanese parties to maintain the truce and move towards a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire to allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and relief and a constructive dialogue to resolve differences and settle the crisis, thus completing the transitional path and political process in a way that preserves the unity and cohesion of the State, fulfills the aspirations of the Sudanese people and safeguards their supreme interests.

In a related development, Shoukry met with South Sudan's President Salva Kirr in Juba, as part of the FM’s visits to Chad and South Sudan to discuss the latest developments of the Sudanese crisis and its regional and international impacts.

The Minister delivered a message from Sisi that dealt with the latest developments in war-ridden Sudan and the important role of its neighboring countries in helping to resolve the current crisis and enabling the warring parties to reach a permanent ceasefire to save the lives of the Sudanese people and preserve the country's stability and territorial integrity.

Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the Foreign Ministry’s official spokesperson said Shoukry reviewed the efforts and contacts that Egypt has made since the beginning of the crisis, especially at the political level by working with the conflicting parties and the influential forces regionally and internationally to realize a ceasefire and settle differences through dialogue.

He also explained that Egypt had received over 60,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan, highlighting the immense human suffering inflicted on the Sudanese due to this conflict.

The foreign minister stressed during his meeting with Kirr the necessity of coordination among Sudan’s neighboring countries which are directly affected by the continuation of the Sudanese conflict.



Iraq Reiterates Need for Int’l Coalition Forces to Remain

A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)
A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)
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Iraq Reiterates Need for Int’l Coalition Forces to Remain

A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)
A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)

Iraq’s security and defense committee announced on Sunday that “the need still stands” for the US-led anti-ISIS international coalition to remain in the country.

It made its announcement days after Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbasi made similar remarks.

In televised statements, he stressed that the international troops were still needed in Syria, adding that “Iraq and Syria’s security are indivisible.”

Security and military coordination with the coalition continues, he said.

Baghdad has not received any official notice about the withdrawal of the forces from Syria or Iraq, he revealed.

Iraq had in 2024 held three rounds of dialogue with the United States about organizing the presence of the coalition after the completion of the pullout of remaining American forces.

Pro-Iran factions in Iraq, which had for years demanded the withdrawal, have so far not commented on the latest statements about the coalition.

Abbasi added that the American and coalition forces were necessary in Syria to maintain the fight against ISIS remnants, which continue to be a cross-border threat.

The US Defense Department recently said that American troop movement from northern and eastern Syria to more secure locations in Iraq was part of a calculated, safe and professional redeployment plan aimed at consolidating the successes against ISIS and cementing regional stability.

It does not mean the end of the coalition’s mission in Syria, it added.

A Pentagon official said local partners remain in the field in Syria and are an effective force against ISIS.

The US will continue to empower those partners in performing most of their remaining counter-terrorism duties, including guarding ISIS detainees, he went on to say.

ISIS is seeking to exploit any instability in the area, but the US efforts to deter its resurgence cannot be underestimated. The coalition remains committed to achieving the permanent defeat of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, he vowed.

Member of the security and defense committee Yasser Iskander Watout said on Sunday that Iraq needs major logistic and aerial support since the means at its disposal were not enough to control borders with neighbors.

The continued deployment of the international coalition forces is “necessary and realistic”, he said.

The Interior Ministry and border and security forces have secured the border with Syria, but members of the committee said the need remains for aerial support to bolster stability in the area, he revealed.

Watout agreed with Abbasi on the need for the international forces to remain given that it boasts air forces that have effectively secured Iraq’s skies.

He noted that recent government contracts for the purchase of 14 modern jets “were not enough to cover all our needs.”

The coalition currently has 2,500 forces deployed in Iraq to counter ISIS and offer Iraqi forces logistic support.

Pro-Iran factions that have long been opposed to the international troops have not commented on the recent statements on their continued deployment given the Israeli threats against Tehran and US President Donald Trump’s urging of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against carrying out attacks against the factions themselves.