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Egypt Calls on 'Sudan’s Neighbors' to Take 'Immediate' Measures to Solve Crisis

Meeting of the Ministerial Mechanism of Sudan’s Neighboring Countries (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Meeting of the Ministerial Mechanism of Sudan’s Neighboring Countries (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt Calls on 'Sudan’s Neighbors' to Take 'Immediate' Measures to Solve Crisis

Meeting of the Ministerial Mechanism of Sudan’s Neighboring Countries (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Meeting of the Ministerial Mechanism of Sudan’s Neighboring Countries (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called on Sudan’s neighboring countries to put forward “immediate measures” to respond to the “crippling humanitarian crisis” in Sudan.

During the first meeting of the ministerial mechanism of Sudan’s neighboring countries, which was held on Monday in N'Djamena, Shoukry briefed the participants on the situation in the country, pointing to the “complete ambiguity in the course of the political process.”

He also stressed “the importance of concerted efforts to convince the two parties to the conflict of the need for an immediate end to the fighting.”

The Sudan’s Neighboring Countries Summit was held last month in Cairo, to discuss a solution to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The summit was attended by the leaders of Ethiopia, Chad, Central Africa, Eritrea, Libya and South Sudan, in addition to the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The participants agreed to form a mechanism at the level of foreign ministers, to meet for the first time in Chad.

In a speech during Monday’s meeting, Shoukry stressed that the initiative of Sudan’s neighboring states was evidence of the “serious political will to help the country overcome its crisis and put an end to the devastating war.”

The Egyptian diplomat underlined the need to strengthen the resilience of the displaced communities in neighboring states, calling at the same time the donor community to support the capabilities of host countries to provide the required rapid response to the Sudanese people.

According to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, the foreign ministers of Sudan’s neighboring countries discussed the Sudanese crisis, with all its security, political and humanitarian dimensions, its effects on the people and its regional and international repercussions, with the aim to put forward practical proposals to reach solutions that would put an end to the crisis, and preserve the unity and territorial integrity of Sudan.

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Arab World

Israel Wants to Set up Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon Until Army Is Deployed

Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
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Israel Wants to Set up Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon Until Army Is Deployed

Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)

The Israeli army has been preventing the residents of southern Lebanon’s villages from returning to their homes, warning them against going back.

In a statement to the residents, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said they are barred from returning home “until further notice.”

He warned that anyone heading to the barred areas would be putting their lives in danger.

However, the majority of the villages and towns mentioned by the Israeli army are located north of the Litani River.

A security sources said the army’s warning “is confusing and unacceptable, especially since it is continuing its razing of agricultural lands in Khiam city and other villages near the border.”

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The only explanation for this is that Israel is trying to impose a buffer zone in the 60-day period offered by the ceasefire until the Lebanese army and United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers can continue their deployment along the southern border and the monitoring committee can begin its work.”

The Israeli actions are a violation of the ceasefire, which went into effect on Wednesday, added the source.

The violations demand immediate political effort sand contacts with US officials so that they can put a stop to them and speed up the formation of the five-member committee that will be chaired by an American officer, he stated.

Military and strategic expert General Nizar Abdel Qader said: “Israel’s gains on the ground and its success in imposing its conditions in the ceasefire agreement have led it to believe that it has the final say” in the South.

“True, it did not achieve a crushing victory against Hezbollah, but it proved its military superiority and achieved major gains,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.”

“It is preventing the residents of the South from returning home because it fears that Hezbollah members may be among them. It has learned lessons from its withdrawal from the South in 2000 when Hezbollah imposed its total and sole control of the border,” he remarked.

“It also learned its lesson from its withdrawal in 2006 when it let the Lebanese state oversee the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and soon after Hezbollah built a much more powerful military arsenal,” he noted.

Moreover, Abdel Qader said the Israeli violations cannot be separated from what is happening in Israel itself. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believed that it was too soon to declare a ceasefire and he instead said that Israel did not stop the war and can launch it all over again.

The violations in the South are part of political maneuvers that Netanyahu is using to hide his “embarrassment in front of the Israeli opposition and are attempts to calm the extremist ministers in his government,” he explained.

Residents of the South have acknowledged that Israel is in fact dictating their return to their homes. They said that Hezbollah was the one who called the shots in 2006, but this is not the case now.

Sami, a resident of Yohmor north of the Litani, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel has been relentlessly attacking his town.

It is dangerous for people to return to their homes, he warned, revealing that Israel has imposed a no-go zone 5 km deep into Lebanon.

Israel has so far not fulfilled its side of the ceasefire, he noted.