Sudan’s Hemedti Meets Hamdok, Civilian Leaders in Ethiopia 

Hemedti shakes hands with Hamdok during his visit to Addis Ababa on Monday. (X platform)
Hemedti shakes hands with Hamdok during his visit to Addis Ababa on Monday. (X platform)
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Sudan’s Hemedti Meets Hamdok, Civilian Leaders in Ethiopia 

Hemedti shakes hands with Hamdok during his visit to Addis Ababa on Monday. (X platform)
Hemedti shakes hands with Hamdok during his visit to Addis Ababa on Monday. (X platform)

The leader of the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo met on Monday with civilian pro-democracy politicians in Addis Ababa, the latest stop in a foreign tour as his troops take the upper-hand in a devastating nine-month war.

The meeting comes as General Dagalo, known as Hemedti, has appeared to present himself as a possible leader of a country now home to the world's largest displacement crisis, with little aid reaching millions in need amid threats of famine.

He has also been received by leaders in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, which army head and Sudan's head of state Abdel Fattah al-Burhan described as "acts of hostility."

The threat of further expansion of the RSF, which has taken hold of the center and most of the west of the country, has prompted calls for civilians to take up arms, with observers warning of all-out civil war.

The local pro-democracy, anti-military resistance committee has accused the RSF of killing hundreds of civilians, kidnapping, and looting in Wad Madani, capital of Gezira State, which it took over late last month.

Hundreds of thousands had sought refuge there from the capital Khartoum to the north. Civilians in the farming villages of the state reported similar activity, including RSF soldiers raiding homes.

That pattern, repeated throughout the war, prompted the US last month to say that the RSF has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In a speech before the meeting on Monday, Hemedti apologized for the violations in Gezira and said that RSF leadership was rounding up "rogue actors."

"We ask the regional and international community to look optimistically at our struggle... towards Sudan's new future after achieving peace," echoing calls for equality and democracy long-espoused by the civilian politicians he met with on Monday.

Many in the group, including former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, had been ousted from power in 2021, when the army and RSF led a coup ending Sudan's democratic transition after the 2019 downfall of Omar al-Bashir.

In a speech late on Sunday, Burhan said that those who made allowances for the RSF were complicit in its crimes.

Referencing previous talks in Jeddah, Burhan said that the way towards ending the war would be the exit of the RSF from Sudanese cities and Gezira state and the return of looted property.

The two leaders have accepted invitations by regional body IGAD to meet, but the details of a meeting have not been announced.



Trump Says Gaza Ceasefire Possible this Week or Next

US President Donald Trump listens to opening remarks, on the day he hosts a lunch for African representatives of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump listens to opening remarks, on the day he hosts a lunch for African representatives of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Trump Says Gaza Ceasefire Possible this Week or Next

US President Donald Trump listens to opening remarks, on the day he hosts a lunch for African representatives of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump listens to opening remarks, on the day he hosts a lunch for African representatives of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US President Donald Trump said there is a "very good chance" of a ceasefire in Gaza this week or next, after meeting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for the second time in two days to discuss the situation.

"We have a chance this week or next week," Trump told reporters.

Israel's military chief said on Wednesday "conditions have been created" for the advancement of a hostage release deal in Gaza, as indirect negotiations were under way between Israel and Hamas.

"We have achieved many significant results, we have caused great damage to the governance and military capabilities of Hamas," armed forces chief Eyal Zamir said in a televised speech.

"Thanks to the operational power that we have demonstrated, the conditions have been created to advance a deal to release the hostages."

Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his meeting with Trump focused on freeing the hostages held in Gaza, and stressed his determination to "eliminate" the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas.