Egypt Calls on Int’l Donors to Fulfill Pledges to Support Sudan, Refugee-Hosting Countries

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets with his Sudanese counterpart Hussein Awad in Cairo, 23 July, 2024. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets with his Sudanese counterpart Hussein Awad in Cairo, 23 July, 2024. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt Calls on Int’l Donors to Fulfill Pledges to Support Sudan, Refugee-Hosting Countries

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets with his Sudanese counterpart Hussein Awad in Cairo, 23 July, 2024. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets with his Sudanese counterpart Hussein Awad in Cairo, 23 July, 2024. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt on Tuesday called on international donors to swiftly fulfill their pledges to support Sudan, and its neighboring refugee-hosting countries after millions of Sudanese have been displaced due to the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

“Egypt is in ongoing talks with donor countries and humanitarian organizations to urge them to share the burden with Sudan’s caretaker government and neighboring countries,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said during a meeting with his Sudanese counterpart Hussein Awad in Cairo.

Since the conflict erupted in Sudan in mid-April 2023, some 10 million have been displaced within the country or have fled into neighboring countries, making it the largest displacement crisis globally, according to UN statistics.

Abdelatty reiterated Egypt's unwavering support for the stability and safety of Sudan and its people, stressing Cairo's commitment to helping the Sudanese people overcome political, security, and humanitarian challenges caused by the ongoing war.

Early this month, Egypt hosted the Sudanese Political and Civil Forces Conference aimed at ending the war in the country.

According to the Egyptian FM, the Conference affirmed the need to maintain state institutions, deliver aid to Sudan and its neighbors, and ensure Sudanese control over the political process.

A Foreign Ministry statement said during their meeting in Cairo on Tuesday, Abdelatty and Awad reviewed the latest progress of the ongoing Egyptian development projects in Sudan, such as the electrical interconnection project and the reconstruction and development of Wadi Halfa Port.

Abdelatty pledged Egypt's continued commitment to completing these projects, the statement noted.

He called on international donors to quickly fulfill their pledges made at the conferences in Geneva and Paris to support Sudan, its neighboring refugee-hosting countries, and the UN humanitarian response plan.

Abdelatty said Egypt is in ongoing talks with donor countries and humanitarian organizations to urge them to share the burden with Sudan’s caretaker government and neighboring countries.

Egypt has received more than half a million of Sudanese fleeing the war, in addition to more than 5 million Sudanese who already reside in Egyptian cities, according to Egyptian government estimates.

For his part, the Sudanese minister thanked Egypt for the facilities and services provided to Sudanese citizens since the crisis began, including health and educational services, according to the Egyptian statement.

He also praised Egypt’s initiatives aimed at resolving the Sudanese crisis.

Abdelatty and Awad touched on several regional issues such as the situation in the Horn of Africa, the Gaza Strip crisis, the Red Sea security, the situation in Libya, and the Sahel–Saharan region.

They also discussed the dispute caused by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), reaffirming the unified stance of both countries on water security.



Yemen Warns of Environmental Disaster as Oil Tanker Faces Explosion

Sounion oil tanker (Reuters)
Sounion oil tanker (Reuters)
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Yemen Warns of Environmental Disaster as Oil Tanker Faces Explosion

Sounion oil tanker (Reuters)
Sounion oil tanker (Reuters)

The Yemeni government has issued a warning about a looming environmental disaster in the Red Sea, where the Greek oil tanker “Sounion” is at risk of exploding or sinking due to ongoing fires.
The fires started after the Iranian-backed Houthi militants attacked the tanker last Wednesday, as part of their escalating maritime assaults, claiming to support Palestinians in Gaza.
The warning coincides with reports from the European maritime mission (ASPIDES), which noted that the fires on the tanker, carrying around one million barrels of oil, are still burning in an area between Yemen and Eritrea in the southern Red Sea.
ASPIDES announced on Monday via platform X that fires have been burning on the “Sounion” tanker since last Friday, with no signs of an oil spill yet.
The mission also shared images on Sunday showing flames and thick smoke rising from at least five spots on the ship’s deck, including part of its upper structure.
The tanker was attacked by Houthi militants on August 21, causing its engines to fail and leaving it adrift. A French warship from ASPIDES evacuated the 29 crew members, mostly Filipinos, to Djibouti.
Houthi-released footage shows the group boarding the tanker, placing explosives near the tank openings, and detonating them remotely, which ignited the fires. There are concerns that the tanker could sink or explode, leading to a major oil spill.
Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani warned of the looming environmental disaster after revealing that the attack on Sounion was the ninth such strike on oil tankers in the Red Sea since last November.
The tanker is carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil.
Al-Eryani said the Houthi attacks caused the tanker to drift, disabled its engines, and led to the evacuation of its crew, leaving the vessel at risk of sinking or exploding just 85 nautical miles from Yeman’s Hodeidah port city.
He accused Houthis of “systematic terrorism” that could trigger an unprecedented environmental, economic, and humanitarian crisis.