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Sudan's Army Chief Says He Favors Negotiated Settlement to War

Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council. (AP)
Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council. (AP)
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Sudan's Army Chief Says He Favors Negotiated Settlement to War

Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council. (AP)
Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council. (AP)

Sudan's army chief said on Friday he had not sought military support on a recent regional tour and that his preference was for a peaceful solution to the conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions of civilians.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan also said in an interview with Reuters that he had asked neighboring states to stop sending mercenaries in support of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
War between the army and the RSF broke out in mid-April over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the army, four years after long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a popular uprising.
"Every war ends in peace, whether through negotiations or force. We are proceeding on those two paths, and our preferred path is the path of negotiations," Burhan said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Burhan added that he believed that stalled talks in Jeddah could still succeed.
Burhan has made a series of foreign visits in recent weeks after remaining in Sudan for the first months of the war. The purpose was to seek solutions, not military support, though he had asked other states to block external backing that he asserts the RSF is receiving, he said.
"We asked our neighbors to help us monitor the borders to stop the flow of mercenaries," said Burhan.
RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said in a video speech released on Thursday to coincide with an address by Burhan to the UN General Assembly that he was ready for a ceasefire and political talks.
Previous claims by both sides that they want peace and are ready for ceasefires have failed to stop bloodshed.
Witnesses say the army's bombardments have caused civilian casualties and that the RSF is responsible for widespread looting, sexual violence and other abuses, as well as participating in ethnically targeted attacks in Darfur.
Burhan on Friday dismissed accusations against the army as propaganda by its rivals. The RSF has denied it is behind the violence in Darfur, and will hold its men accountable for abuses.
Burhan said that army deployment in El Geneina, which suffered the worst mass killings in Darfur, has been limited, hindering their ability to respond.
The violence peaked after the governor of West Darfur was killed on June 14. Burhan said he told the governor to seek protection at a military camp, but the governor had rejected that.
"The armed forces present in El Geneina are not sufficient in number to spread out in every area," he said.

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Arab World

Pro-Palestinian Flotilla’s New Gaza Mission to Start in Spain on April 12

The Global Sumud Flotilla's first weeks-long journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza, blockaded by Israel during the war against Hamas, drew worldwide attention. (Reuters)
The Global Sumud Flotilla's first weeks-long journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza, blockaded by Israel during the war against Hamas, drew worldwide attention. (Reuters)
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Pro-Palestinian Flotilla’s New Gaza Mission to Start in Spain on April 12

The Global Sumud Flotilla's first weeks-long journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza, blockaded by Israel during the war against Hamas, drew worldwide attention. (Reuters)
The Global Sumud Flotilla's first weeks-long journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza, blockaded by Israel during the war against Hamas, drew worldwide attention. (Reuters)

A flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists who attempted to reach Gaza last year said on Thursday they would launch a new mission to the devastated territory from Barcelona on April 12.

The Global Sumud Flotilla's first weeks-long journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza, blockaded by Israel during the war against Palestinian group Hamas, drew worldwide attention.

Israel's interception of their boats and arrests of the activists as they approached Gaza, which suffered severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel, sparked international condemnation.

The group, which described its first attempt as a humanitarian mission, said the latest trip starting in Spain's second city would gather more than 80 boats and 1,000 international participants.

"The cost of inaction is too high to bear," it said in a statement, adding that a land-based movement would join the maritime action to create pressure in multiple countries.

"As Gaza endures intensifying blockade, violence, and deprivation, the mission is a principled, nonviolent intervention: a defense of human dignity, a call for humanitarian access, and a demand for international accountability," the group said.

Gaza is under a fragile ceasefire agreed last October, which followed two years of devastating conflict sparked by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people Israel, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures tallied by AFP. Palestinian fighters also abducted 251 hostages.

The retaliatory Israeli military campaign killed more than 70,000 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry whose figures the United Nations considers reliable.

Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

Gaza's health ministry says Israeli strikes have killed more than 700 Palestinians since the truce. Israel says five of its soldiers have been killed in the same period.

Arab World

Israel Says It Has Struck Over 3,500 Targets in Lebanon in Past Month

This picture taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Naqoura on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
This picture taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Naqoura on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Says It Has Struck Over 3,500 Targets in Lebanon in Past Month

This picture taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Naqoura on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
This picture taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Naqoura on March 31, 2026. (AFP)

The Israeli military said Friday it had struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon in the month since fighting with the Hezbollah group began.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack that killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Israel has responded with massive strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive.

The Israeli military said Friday it had killed approximately 1,000 militants in Lebanon over the past month, with strikes targeting what it described as "terrorist infrastructure, weapons storage facilities, launch positions, and command and control headquarters" belonging to Hezbollah.

Lebanon's health ministry said on Thursday that 1,345 people had been killed and 4,040 wounded since the start of the war, including 1,129 men, 91 women and 125 children.

The ministry said the toll also included 53 healthcare workers.

Hezbollah has so far not announced its losses.

On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem would pay an "extraordinarily heavy price" for escalating attacks during the ongoing Jewish holidays.

"The Hezbollah terrorist organization you now lead, and its supporters in Lebanon, will bear the full and severe consequences," Katz said.

His warning followed claims by Hezbollah that it had carried out a series of rocket attacks on northern Israel late Wednesday and early Thursday, as Israeli Jews began marking Passover.

Katz also reiterated that Israeli forces "will clear Hezbollah and its supporters from southern Lebanon, maintain Israeli security control throughout the Litani area, and dismantle Hezbollah's military capabilities across Lebanon".

Eighteen European countries on Thursday urged Israel and Hezbollah to stop fighting as their latest conflict reached one month and with fears over Israeli plans to occupy part of southern Lebanon post-war.

"Israeli military operations in Lebanon and Hezbollah's attacks must cease," the foreign ministers of the countries including Italy, Spain, Belgium, Poland and Ireland said in a joint statement.

"We urge Israel to fully respect Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and call on all parties, both Hezbollah and Israel, to halt military action," the statement said.

The countries include Spain, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Moldova, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Slovenia and Sweden.

Arab World

US Warning on Iraq's Militias Deepens Tensions with Baghdad

Iraqis inspect smoke rising from an oil storage facility on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike on April 1, 2026. (AFP) 
Iraqis inspect smoke rising from an oil storage facility on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike on April 1, 2026. (AFP) 
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US Warning on Iraq's Militias Deepens Tensions with Baghdad

Iraqis inspect smoke rising from an oil storage facility on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike on April 1, 2026. (AFP) 
Iraqis inspect smoke rising from an oil storage facility on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike on April 1, 2026. (AFP) 

Relations between Baghdad and Washington have entered a more tense phase after the US embassy issued sharp security warnings and questioned Iraq’s ability to prevent attacks on American interests.

The US embassy in Baghdad said Thursday that Iran-aligned Iraqi militias could carry out attacks in central Baghdad within 24 to 48 hours, urging US citizens to leave Iraq immediately.

It said potential attacks could target Americans and US-linked interests, including companies, universities, diplomatic facilities, energy infrastructure, hotels, and airports.

The warning came a day after the State Department announced a reward of up to $3 million for information leading to the identification of those responsible for attacks on US diplomatic facilities in Iraq.

In a separate statement issued hours earlier, the embassy said the Iraqi government “has not been able to prevent terrorist attacks” taking place inside Iraq or launched from its territory, referring to repeated incidents targeting the US embassy in Baghdad, the consulate general in Erbil, and a diplomatic support center in the capital.

It further noted that certain members of armed groups may possess identification documents indicating employment with the Iraqi government, suggesting potential institutional affiliations or official cover, though no additional details were provided.

The escalation comes less than a week after Iraq’s Joint Operations Command and US officials reaffirmed their commitment to keeping Iraq out of the ongoing regional conflict. They stressed that Iraqi territory, airspace, and territorial waters should not be used to threaten Iraq or neighboring countries.

At the same time, airstrikes targeted sites belonging to armed factions in Anbar and Nineveh provinces.

Local sources in Anbar said a US strike hit the headquarters of the Tribal Popular Mobilization Forces’ 57th Brigade in Haditha, west of the province. No immediate official toll on damage or casualties was released.

In Nineveh, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said a site belonging to the 38th Regiment of the 58th Brigade under Nineveh Operations Command was struck in Qayyarah, south of Mosul, with no casualties reported.

The PMF said the strike occurred at 11:30 a.m., adding it came less than 24 hours after another site in the same province was targeted. Earlier Thursday, it reported a double airstrike targeting the 4th Regiment of the 14th Brigade, also without casualties.

The repeated targeting of these sites in a short period point to a widening military escalation, coinciding with US warnings of possible attacks in Baghdad and underscoring growing security risks.

Politically, the State Administration Coalition — which includes Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish parties in government — rejected “any violation of the country’s sovereignty under any pretext” and reiterated its refusal to allow Iraqi territory to be used to launch attacks on other states, particularly neighbors.

It also condemned attacks on state institutions, diplomatic missions, and vital facilities, voicing support for government and judicial efforts to enforce the law and restore stability.

Analysts say the combination of airstrikes and US warnings could increase pressure on Baghdad to take a clearer stance on armed factions and attacks originating from Iraqi territory.

A former Iraqi government adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the embassy warning “signals declining confidence in Baghdad’s ability to take decisive action against armed groups.”

He said US policy had shifted “from giving the government room to maneuver to exerting direct pressure” to adopt a clearer position, warning that continued ambiguity could lead to further political and security pressure on Iraq.