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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)
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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.

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Arab World

Palestinian Authority Suspends Al Jazeera Broadcasts

A photographer shoots the closed door of Al Jazeera TV's office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah following a suspension order from the Palestinian Authority - AFP
A photographer shoots the closed door of Al Jazeera TV's office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah following a suspension order from the Palestinian Authority - AFP
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Palestinian Authority Suspends Al Jazeera Broadcasts

A photographer shoots the closed door of Al Jazeera TV's office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah following a suspension order from the Palestinian Authority - AFP
A photographer shoots the closed door of Al Jazeera TV's office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah following a suspension order from the Palestinian Authority - AFP

The Palestinian Authority has ordered the suspension of broadcasts by Qatar-based Al Jazeera and on Thursday accused it of incitement, which the news channel compared to Israeli practices.

Al Jazeera is already banned from broadcasting from Israel amid a long-running feud with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

In September, armed and masked Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah also raided the Al Jazeera office, saying it was "used to incite terror."

The military issued an initial 45-day closure order, prompting the Palestinian foreign ministry at the time to condemn "a flagrant violation" of press freedom, AFP reported.
On Thursday, the PA insisted its own suspension measure was "temporary," adding its decision followed a complaint from the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate concerning the network's coverage.

"These measures shall be applied until Al Jazeera chooses to act in accordance with basic media ethics, including its duty to prevent deliberate disinformation, ban the glorification of violence, and end the incitement to armed mutiny," the PA said.

The syndicate, which represents about 3,000 Palestinian journalists, said several had filed complaints against Al Jazeera for "biased media coverage on its platforms, including incitement, misleading reports, and content that stirs internal discord".

The PA's decision includes "temporarily freezing the work of all journalists, employees, crews and affiliated channels until their legal status is rectified due to Al Jazeera's violations of the laws and regulations in force in Palestine", the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported late Wednesday.

The channel aired images of what appeared to be Palestinian security officers entering the network's office in Ramallah and handing over the suspension orders.

Al Jazeera condemned the decision, saying it "aligns with Israeli occupation practices targeting its media teams".

It accused the PA, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank, of "attempting to deter Al Jazeera from covering escalating events in the occupied Palestinian territories" including in Jenin and its refugee camp.

The PA's security forces have been engaged in weeks of deadly clashes with armed militants in Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

Hamas, rivals of Fatah which dominates the PA, condemned the decision to ban the network.

"This decision aligns with a series of recent arbitrary actions taken by the Authority to curtail public rights and freedoms, and to reinforce its security grip on the Palestinian people," Hamas said in a statement.

"We call on the Palestinian Authority to immediately reverse this decision ... It is crucial to ensure the continuation of media coverage that exposes the occupation and supports the steadfastness of our people."

Islamic Jihad, allied with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, also criticized the decision.

"We condemn the authority's decision to close Al Jazeera's office in Palestine when our people and our cause are in dire need to convey their suffering to the world," the group said in a statement.

Tensions between the network and the Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas have risen in recent weeks following the channel's coverage of the clashes in Jenin.

In late December, the channel condemned what it said was an "incitement campaign" by Fatah against the network in some areas of the occupied West Bank.

"This campaign follows the network's coverage of clashes between Palestinian security forces and resistance fighters in Jenin," it said in a statement at the time.

The security forces of the PA have been engaged in deadly clashes with gunmen since early December, triggered by the arrests of several militants.

They are fighting members of the Jenin Battalion, most of whom are affiliated with either Islamic Jihad or Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

Fatah's rivals have accused PA forces of aiding Israel.

Al Jazeera continues to work in Gaza, where Hamas seized control in 2007.

The violence in Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of armed groups and a frequent target of Israeli military raids, has killed 11 people including PA security personnel, militants and civilians.