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Sudan: Burhan Sacks Hemedti as Deputy of Sovereign Council

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti. AP
Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti. AP
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Sudan: Burhan Sacks Hemedti as Deputy of Sovereign Council

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti. AP
Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti. AP

Sudan's sovereign council head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan issued a decree on Friday sacking Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, from his position as deputy of the council with immediate effect.

Burhan also appointed former rebel leader Malik Agar as a deputy on the council.

The army and the RSF have been locked in weeks of conflict that has killed hundreds of people and turned the streets of the capital Khartoum into war zones.

More than a million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan so far, including a quarter of a million refugees, a UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesperson said on Friday.

The latest figure includes some 843,000 people displaced internally and around 250,000 people who have fled across Sudan's borders, UN refugee agency spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh told a Geneva briefing.

Refugees have streamed into Sudan's neighbors, including Chad, Ethiopia and South Sudan, with their own poorly-funded humanitarian crises. Egypt has so far received the highest number of Sudanese refugees with around 110,000 arriving there since the conflict broke out last month, Saltmarsh added.

"Many of those who have approached us are in a distressed state having been exposed to violence or traumatic conditions in Sudan, and having suffered arduous journeys," Saltmarsh said. The pace has increased in recent weeks, he added, with some 5,000 arriving each day in Egypt.

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Arab World

Arab, International Momentum to Support Lebanon Kicks Off with Macron’s Visit

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace (Reuters)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace (Reuters)
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Arab, International Momentum to Support Lebanon Kicks Off with Macron’s Visit

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace (Reuters)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace (Reuters)

The election of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and the designation of Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam to form the first government of the new presidential term have drawn unprecedented Arab and international attention. This growing interest is reflected in a series of high-level visits, starting with French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Beirut on Friday.
While Spanish Foreign Minister and EU High Representative Josep Borrell visited Lebanese officials on Wednesday, coinciding with similar meetings held by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to arrive in Beirut on Saturday. Additionally, Arab and international officials are set to visit the Lebanese capital starting next week.
In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, former Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Antoine Chedid stated that Lebanon “is of great importance to the region and the world, and the changes happening in the country are part of broader regional transformations.”
“International interest in Lebanon didn’t begin today. It became evident during the recent Israeli war, when the United States, Saudi Arabia, and France played pivotal roles in achieving a ceasefire,” he remarked.
Chedid further noted that Macron’s visit will mark the start of a series of trips by international and Arab leaders expressing their firm support for Lebanon’s state institutions, including its president, government, army, and constitutional bodies.
“We are witnessing an unprecedented phase of international support for Lebanon’s presidency and state institutions,” he said. “What matters now is for Lebanon to embrace this support positively.”
Former minister Rashid Derbas highlighted that international attention to Lebanon “clearly indicates that the country has moved past its state of unrest and security disruptions and is no longer a platform for undermining regional stability.”
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Derbas said: “Macron’s visit, followed by the arrival of Arab and global leaders, restores confidence among Lebanese citizens. Electing a president and forming a government has reignited hope.”
He added: “This renewed openness paves the way for assisting Lebanon in investing in stability, development, and conflict resolution, steering the country away from chaos and disorder.”
Derbas stressed that certain factions, “particularly the Shiite duo, have failed to recognize regional changes and shifting power dynamics, clinging instead to rhetoric that clouds their judgment.”
He criticized their rejection of past opportunities, stating: “When the Shiite duo had strong leverage in choosing the president and forming the government, they dismissed all proposals, squandering opportunities until external forces imposed decisions on them.”
Derbas expressed hope for an end to the cycle of missed opportunities and constitutional violations, which he said have “isolated Lebanon from its allies under the pretext of sovereignty, while maintaining a rhetoric about liberating Palestine and weakening Israel.”
The decision by the Shiite duo (Amal Movement and Hezbollah) to boycott non-binding consultations has cast a shadow over the atmosphere as international and Arab officials prepare to visit Lebanon. Political analyst Toufic Hindi warned that the duo’s choice to boycott consultations “sends a discouraging message and does not align with the will of the Lebanese people or the intentions of Lebanon’s Arab and international allies.”
Hindi praised Aoun’s inaugural speech, describing it as “a source of hope for the Lebanese people and a signal of reassurance for the international community.” Similarly, he commended Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam for outlining a clear framework for state-building during his speech at the presidential palace.