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Deputy Head of Sovereign Council Calls for Liberating Central Sudan

The Sudanese conflict has forced thousands of people to flee their homes. (AFP)
The Sudanese conflict has forced thousands of people to flee their homes. (AFP)
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Deputy Head of Sovereign Council Calls for Liberating Central Sudan

The Sudanese conflict has forced thousands of people to flee their homes. (AFP)
The Sudanese conflict has forced thousands of people to flee their homes. (AFP)

Deputy chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council Malik Agar called on his forces to advance and liberate Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira state, in the country's center.

Agar directed his forces in the Blue Nile State to advance and liberate Wad Madani, which was seized by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in December.

Addressing the forces of the Fourth Division in Damazin, Agar called on the commander of the troops to advance to Wad Madani as it is the first line of defense for the region, stressing his commitment to providing all necessary support.

Meanwhile, conflicting reports emerged about the death toll of the ongoing battles between the Sudanese army and the RSF in Babanusa in West Kordofan state. The majority of the population was displaced to safe areas.

The Sudan Doctors Syndicate said that over ten people were killed and more than 16 injured.

The Syndicate reported that the General Public Hospital and all private health facilities were out of service, adding that medical personnel faced difficulties transporting the injured to nearby cities.

Humanitarian corridors

The Syndicate called on the army and the RSF to stop the fighting that is endangering the lives of the people.

It urged humanitarian organizations to pressure the warring parties to open safe humanitarian corridors for the injured and medical personnel.

Emergency Lawyers, an independent human rights organization that monitors violations and tallies civilian victims, said the clashes killed over 23 civilians, injured about 30 others, and displaced large numbers of civilians.

In a statement on Facebook, the legal activists condemned the Rapid Support Forces' continued expansion of the war by attacking safe cities and the grave violations they committed against civilians.

The statement noted that the crimes do not have a statute of limitations and are subject to criminal accountability by international humanitarian law and International Criminal Court (ICC).

Local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that there was a complete blackout of telephone communications and the Internet in Babanusa.

Many fleeing residents arrived in the neighboring state's capital, and arrangements are being made to accommodate the displaced in school buildings and provide them with the necessary humanitarian aid.

Residents told Asharq Al-Awsat that military aircraft launched successive attacks targeting the RSF in residential neighborhoods.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.