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Sisi Demands Decisive Stance from Int’l Community on Ceasefire in Gaza

Sisi received Sunak in Cairo last month. (EPA)
Sisi received Sunak in Cairo last month. (EPA)
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Sisi Demands Decisive Stance from Int’l Community on Ceasefire in Gaza

Sisi received Sunak in Cairo last month. (EPA)
Sisi received Sunak in Cairo last month. (EPA)

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stressed on Wednesday the need for the international community to take a decisive stance to earnestly pursue an immediate ceasefire and enforce a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip.

According to Egypt's presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy, al-Sisi received a phone call from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak where the two leaders discussed the recent developments pertaining to the Israeli military escalation in the Gaza Strip.

Sisi underlined that a resolution to the Palestinian issue requires the implementation of a two-state solution, stressing that military solutions pose a threat to the overall security and stability of the region.

He also pointed out that Egypt is making significant efforts to de-escalate the situation and prevent bloodshed and to deliver humanitarian aid to assist the people of Gaza.

Sunak also welcomed the opening of the Rafah crossing to allow British and other foreign nationals and injured Palestinians to leave Gaza, his office said.

The two men also discussed urgent work to increase the humanitarian aid flow to Gaza.

Sunak's office said the two officials "discussed diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, prevent escalation in the wider Middle East, and achieve long-term peace and prosperity for the Palestinian people."

At least 320 foreign passport holders crossed on Wednesday to Egypt from Gaza in the first batch of evacuations from the besieged enclave, Reuters quoted three Egyptian security sources and a Palestinian official as saying.

The Palestinian official on the Gaza side of the border said the foreign passport holders departed the strip on six buses. A first list of about 500 foreigners or dual nationals had been cleared to leave Gaza, with evacuations expected to continue in the days to come.

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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.