Sudan’s Burhan Boosts Position with Police, Foreign Affairs Appointments

Sudanese Sovereign Council leader General Abdel Fattah al Burhan. (AP)
Sudanese Sovereign Council leader General Abdel Fattah al Burhan. (AP)
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Sudan’s Burhan Boosts Position with Police, Foreign Affairs Appointments

Sudanese Sovereign Council leader General Abdel Fattah al Burhan. (AP)
Sudanese Sovereign Council leader General Abdel Fattah al Burhan. (AP)

Sudanese Sovereign Council leader General Abdel Fattah al Burhan sacked on Monday acting interior minister Anan Hamed Mohammed Omar, who is also the general director for the police.

A military statement said that Omar was replaced by Lt.-Gen. Khaled Hassan Mohiuddin as police chief.

Additionally, Burhan issued a decision terminating the services of Ambassador Abdel-Monem Osman Mohamed Ahmed Al-Beiti and Ambassador Haydar Badawi Sadik from their positions at the Foreign Ministry.

Omar has close ties to Burhan and both hail from the same region in the state of River Nile in northern Sudan.

Thousands of police forces withdrew from their posts, departments, and streets across the capital city, Khartoum after clashes between the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April.

Later, military leaders deployed many Central Reserve Police forces to secure residential areas and streets, but they ended up embroiled in fighting with the RSF.

Burhan had sacked central bank governor Hussain Yahia Jankol on Sunday.

Borai El Siddiq, who is one of Jankol’s deputies, was named as his replacement, Burhan’s office said in a statement.

Burhan also issued another decree targeting the official accounts of the RSF in Sudanese banks, as well as the accounts of all companies belonging to the group.

Separately, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that healthcare facilities in Sudan are facing imminent “collapse” because of the ongoing intense fighting between the military and RSF.

In a tweet, the organization highlighted the severe shortages of supplies and treatment that healthcare facilities have been enduring for weeks, revealing that more than 70% of hospitals are non-operational.

Since mid-April, the Sudanese army, led by Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have been locked in a power struggle that has forced thousands to flee to neighboring countries.



Displaced People Return to South Lebanon as Ceasefire Appears to Hold

 People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
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Displaced People Return to South Lebanon as Ceasefire Appears to Hold

 People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)

Long-displaced residents of south Lebanon started returning to their homes amid celebrations hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah group took effect early Wednesday morning.

The ceasefire has brought relief across the nation, coming after days of some of the most intense airstrikes and clashes since the war began, though many wondered if the agreement to stop fighting would hold. Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement, which was announced Tuesday.

Hundreds of cars made their way into southern Lebanon, defying a warning from the Israeli army to stay away from previously evacuated areas.

Israeli military spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued the warning on the social platform X.

“You are prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area,” Adraee wrote, using an acronym for the Israeli military. “For your safety and the safety of your family members, refrain from moving to the area.”

At least 42 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to local authorities. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens in the country’s north.

Displaced people started returning to the coastal city of Tyre on motorcycles and in cars early Wednesday.

Ahmed Husseini said returning to southern Lebanon was an “indescribable feeling” and praised Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, who led Lebanon’s negotiations with Washington. “He made us and everyone proud.”

Husseini, who earlier fled a town near the coastal city, spoke to The Associated Press while in his car with family members.

Meanwhile, sporadic celebratory gunfire can be heard at a main roundabout in the city, as people returning honked the horns of cars — some piled with mattresses — and residents cheered.

A couple of men shouted slogans praising slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.

Hussein Sweidan said he sees the ceasefire as a victory for Hezbollah. “This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shiite sect, and for all of Lebanon,” he said.

The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire marks the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but it does not address the devastating war in Gaza.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after Hamas’ attack. The fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south.

In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.