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Sudanese Sovereignty Council Member: Jeddah Platform Key for Peace

Representatives of the Sudanese conflict parties during the signing of the Jeddah Agreement in May 2023 (Reuters)
Representatives of the Sudanese conflict parties during the signing of the Jeddah Agreement in May 2023 (Reuters)
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Sudanese Sovereignty Council Member: Jeddah Platform Key for Peace

Representatives of the Sudanese conflict parties during the signing of the Jeddah Agreement in May 2023 (Reuters)
Representatives of the Sudanese conflict parties during the signing of the Jeddah Agreement in May 2023 (Reuters)

Sudan’s new Sovereignty Council member, Salaheddin Adam Tour, said on Friday he was assigned his role under “extremely complex” circumstances and is waiting to officially take over his duties.
In an exclusive interview with the Arab World News Agency, Tour denied any existing peace plan between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“There is no sign of peace yet,” he said. “However, the state has a comprehensive plan to achieve peace,” referring to the agreements from the “Jeddah Platform.”
Tour said he doesn't yet know which tasks he’ll be given, as this decision rests with the state.
Regarding his goals as a council member, Tour said: “We aim to improve living conditions and reduce the suffering of people in camps and those displaced abroad.”
“Our government is working hard to support the armed forces, restore stability in Sudan, and bring back refugees and displaced people forced to flee due to the war,” he added.
On Thursday, army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan issued a decree appointing Tour to the Sovereignty Council, representing the Sudan Liberation Movement - Transitional Council (SLM-TC).
This appointment is part of the Juba Peace Agreement implementation.
On Friday, the Sudanese government reaffirmed its commitment to the Jeddah Declaration and international humanitarian law, emphasizing the protection of civilians.
It stated that the armed forces are dedicated to their constitutional role in defending the country and respecting international rules of engagement.
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry announced that the government will facilitate visas for UN personnel and humanitarian workers.
The ministry also pledged to work with the international community to ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need, following national and UN guidelines.
Additionally, the ministry dismissed concerns about an imminent famine, citing reports from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture that confirm the country’s food reserves are sufficient to meet citizens’ needs.

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Cyprus Says Syria Will Take Back Citizens Trying to Reach the Mediterranean Island by Boat

Migrants stand behind a fence inside a refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia outside of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (AP)
Migrants stand behind a fence inside a refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia outside of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (AP)
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Cyprus Says Syria Will Take Back Citizens Trying to Reach the Mediterranean Island by Boat

Migrants stand behind a fence inside a refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia outside of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (AP)
Migrants stand behind a fence inside a refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia outside of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (AP)

Syria has agreed to take back any of its citizens intercepted trying to reach Cyprus by boat, the Mediterranean island nation's deputy minister for migration said Monday.

Nicholas Ioannides says two inflatable boats, each carrying 30 Syrians, were already turned back in recent days in line with a bilateral search and rescue agreement that Cyprus and Syria now have in place.

Officials didn't share further details about the agreement.

Cypriot navy and police patrol boats intercepted the two vessels on May 9th and 10th after they put out a call for help. They were outside Cypriot territorial waters but within the island's search and rescue area of responsibility, a government statement said. They were subsequently escorted back to a port in the Syrian city of Tartus.

Ioannides told private TV station Antenna there’s been an uptick of boatloads of migrants trying to reach Cyprus from Syria, unlike in recent years when vessels would primarily depart from Lebanon. Cyprus and Lebanon have a long-standing agreement to send back migrants.

He said Cypriot authorities and their Syrian counterparts are trying to fight back against human traffickers who are supplying an underground market for laborers.

According to Ioannides, traffickers apparently cut deals with local employers to bring in Syrian laborers who pick up work right away, despite laws that prevent asylum-seekers from working before the completion of a nine-month residency period.

“The message we’re sending is that the Cyprus Republic won’t tolerate the abuse of the asylum system from people who aren’t eligible for either asylum or international protection and just come here only to work,” Ioannides said.

The bilateral agreement is compounded by the Cypriot government’s decision last week not to automatically grant asylum to Syrian migrants, but to examine their applications individually on merit and according to international and European laws.

From a total of 19,000 pending asylum applications, 13,000 have been filed by Syrian nationals, according to figures quoted by Ioannides.

Since Assad was toppled in December last year and a new transitional government took power, some 2,300 Syrians have either dropped their asylum claims or rescinded their international protection status, while 2,100 have already departed Cyprus for Syria.

Both the United Nations refugee agency and Europe’s top human rights body have urged the Cyprus government to stop pushing back migrants trying to reach the island by boat. Cyprus strongly denies it’s committing any pushbacks according to its definition.