Burhan Hopes IGAD Summit on Sudan Will Be a Success

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, holds talks with IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu in Djibouti on Sunday. (Sovereign Council)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, holds talks with IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu in Djibouti on Sunday. (Sovereign Council)
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Burhan Hopes IGAD Summit on Sudan Will Be a Success

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, holds talks with IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu in Djibouti on Sunday. (Sovereign Council)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, holds talks with IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu in Djibouti on Sunday. (Sovereign Council)

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, held talks in Djibouti on Sunday with President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who is currently chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu.

They agreed on the need for sustainable ceasefire in Sudan.

On his way back to Sudan, Burhan met with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki at Asmara International Airport where they tackled the latest developments in Sudan.

A statement from the Sovereign Council's media office said Burhan spoke with Djibouti’s President about the repercussions of what he called the violations and crimes committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces against the citizens and their destruction of the state infrastructure.

He expressed hopes to find a solution to the current crisis in Sudan.

“We hope the upcoming IGAD summit on Sudan will be a success and find a solution to the crisis so that security and stability can be restored,” the statement quoted him as saying.

Sudan announced on Sunday that the IGAD will meet soon, but a date has not been set yet.

Two weeks ago, Burhan met with Kenyan President William Ruto in Nairobi to discuss the security situation in Sudan. The leaders agreed to work to convene an urgent IGAD summit to find ways to accelerate a solution to the crisis.

In Djibouti, Omar Guelleh expressed his country's readiness to provide any assistance and suggestions of solutions to end the conflict.

He also voiced full support to the proposed initiatives and the roles played by Saudi Arabia, the US and IGAD to resolve the crisis.

For his part, Gebeyehu wrote on his X account that the meeting with Burhan focused on the role played by IGAD in facilitating discussions on the conflict.

The Sovereign Council said Burhan and Gebeyehu discussed the progress of the indirect negotiations held in the Saudi city of Jeddah.



German Minister Says Israeli Occupation of Golan Heights Breaches International Law

 An Israeli military vehicle rides on the Golan Heights side of the ceasefire line with Syria, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli military vehicle rides on the Golan Heights side of the ceasefire line with Syria, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)
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German Minister Says Israeli Occupation of Golan Heights Breaches International Law

 An Israeli military vehicle rides on the Golan Heights side of the ceasefire line with Syria, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli military vehicle rides on the Golan Heights side of the ceasefire line with Syria, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)

The occupation of the Golan Heights is a violation of international law, Germany's foreign minister said during a speech in the parliament on Wednesday, after the Israeli government decided at the weekend to double its population on the occupied strategic plateau.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also said she would make clear to Türkiye on a visit on Friday that the rights of Kurds in northern Syria must be protected.

Israel will remain on the strategic Mount Hermon site on the Syrian border until another arrangement is found, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

Israeli troops occupied Mount Hermon when they moved into a demilitarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights following the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government this month.

Officials have described the move as a limited and temporary measure to ensure the security of Israel's borders but have given no indication of when the troops might be withdrawn and Defense Minister Israel Katz last week ordered troops to prepare to remain on Mount Hermon over the winter.

Israel's move into the buffer zone created following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war has been criticized as a violation of international agreements by a number of countries and the United Nations, which have called for the troops to be withdrawn.