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UN Chief Says He Will Not Give Up Appeals for Ceasefire in Gaza

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting called in response to the Secretary-General invoking Article 99 of the United Nations charter to address the humanitarian crisis being caused by conflict between Israel and Hamas in New York, New York, USA, 08 December 2023. EPA/JUSTIN LANE
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting called in response to the Secretary-General invoking Article 99 of the United Nations charter to address the humanitarian crisis being caused by conflict between Israel and Hamas in New York, New York, USA, 08 December 2023. EPA/JUSTIN LANE
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UN Chief Says He Will Not Give Up Appeals for Ceasefire in Gaza

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting called in response to the Secretary-General invoking Article 99 of the United Nations charter to address the humanitarian crisis being caused by conflict between Israel and Hamas in New York, New York, USA, 08 December 2023. EPA/JUSTIN LANE
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting called in response to the Secretary-General invoking Article 99 of the United Nations charter to address the humanitarian crisis being caused by conflict between Israel and Hamas in New York, New York, USA, 08 December 2023. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday he will not give up appealing for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, adding that the war undermined the credibility and authority of the Security Council.
Gueterres was speaking at the Doha Forum conference as Washington vetoed on Friday a proposed UN Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, Reuters said.
"I urged the Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and I reiterated my appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared," Guterres said.
"Regrettably, the Security Council failed to do it, but that does not make it less necessary," he said.
"I will not give up," Guterres added.
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the gathering that Doha will continue to pressure Israel and Hamas for a truce despite "narrowing" chances.
Qatar has been leading negotiations between the group and Israel.
Sheikh Mohammed said hostages were released from Gaza because of negotiations and not because of Israel's military actions.
The head of UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinians, said the dehumanization of Palestinians has allowed the international community to tolerate Israel's continued attacks on Gaza.
"There is no doubt that a humanitarian ceasefire is needed if we want to put an end to hell on earth right now in Gaza," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said.
The United States and Israel oppose a ceasefire because they believe it would only benefit Hamas. Washington instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas in a deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

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Sudanese Ex-Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: We’re in Contact with Trump Administration on Ways to End the War

Leading member of Sudan’s Sumoud alliance and former Minister Khalid Omer Yousif. (Khalid Omer Yousif on X)
Leading member of Sudan’s Sumoud alliance and former Minister Khalid Omer Yousif. (Khalid Omer Yousif on X)
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Sudanese Ex-Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: We’re in Contact with Trump Administration on Ways to End the War

Leading member of Sudan’s Sumoud alliance and former Minister Khalid Omer Yousif. (Khalid Omer Yousif on X)
Leading member of Sudan’s Sumoud alliance and former Minister Khalid Omer Yousif. (Khalid Omer Yousif on X)

Leading member of Sudan’s Sumoud alliance Khalid Omer Yousif revealed that the coalition is in contact with the Donald Trump administration to end the two-year war in Sudan.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Yousif, a former minister of cabinet affairs in ex-Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s government, praised British and European countries that will hold in London on Tuesday a conference to discuss means to end the war in Sudan.

The conference, called for by Britain, Germany and France, will be attended by the foreign ministers of 20 countries and also tackle efforts to help the millions of Sudanese people who have been displaced by the conflict.

The British organizers have excluded the warring parties from attending the meeting, but a delegation from Sumoud, the country’s largest coalition of civilian parties and forces, has been invited. Sumoud is led by Hamdok, who has been on a visit to Britain for a few days now.

The London conference is a “positive step” in uniting international efforts towards Sudan given that its conflict - despite its enormity - has been overshadowed by the wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Ukraine, Yousif remarked.

He confirmed that contacts are ongoing between Sumoud and the warring parties: army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.

Moreover, Yousif said that the United Nations has estimated that Sudan needs USD6 billion to confront its humanitarian needs in 2025, but so far only 4 percent of that amount has been collected.

He stated that Sumoud has made several proposals aimed at ending the war, including holding a meeting between the UN Security Council and African Union Peace and Security Council, holding another donor conference, and launching African-sponsored political dialogue.

Hamdok has sent these proposals to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Yousif revealed.

International division

Yousif lamented that the international community appears divided over how to approach Sudan, stressing however that the solution should come from the Sudanese people themselves.

“The responsibility lies primarily with them,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He acknowledged, however, that the regional and international division “surrounding us is complicating the crisis and making it harder for the Sudanese to reach solutions.”

“So, we have communicated with the international community to make solutions easier for us, and not to obstruct them. This is at the heart of our communication with the international community,” he explained.

Moreover, he warned that the “war no longer threatens Sudan alone. But it has become a danger to the security of the region, especially with the presence of terrorist groups in some neighboring countries.”

The war has effectively started to impact the security and stability of neighboring countries, and similar conflicts to the ones in Sudan have started to erupt there, he remarked.

Sudan is connected to several strategic regions – the Sahel, Sahara, Red Sea and North Africa – so its war not only threatens the Sudanese, but the region and so it is in the interest of the international community to stop it, Yousif urged.

US role under Trump

On the role the Trump administration can play in resolving the war, the former minister said: “We hope the administration can develop a clear vision over how to help the Sudanese end the conflict.”

He hoped that as the US exerts efforts in ending conflicts across the globe, that it would apply these same efforts in his country.

“Successive administrations have made positive statements towards the Sudanese people and they have worked on reaching negotiated solutions” between them, he noted.

Hope despite the destruction

Yousif said he remains hopeful that the war can be stopped despite the massive losses in life and destruction in the country.

“We hope the Sudanese people will shun violence and turn to solutions to their differences through dialogue and peaceful means,” he stressed.

He revealed that he derives his hope from the growing awareness among the people that peaceful means are the way forward in ending the unrest.

He acknowledged, however, that the war has caused deep divisions among the people and is threatening the fragmentation of Sudan.

These divisions are “the greatest threat facing the unity of the country,” he went on to say.

Ending the fighting and engaging in serious dialogue between the Sudanese parties is the only way to maintain the country’s unity and sovereignty, he added.