Egypt, Chad Agree on Backing Efforts to Achieve Ceasefire in Sudan

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi received on Tuesday Chad President Mahamat Idriss Déby in New Alamein City (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi received on Tuesday Chad President Mahamat Idriss Déby in New Alamein City (Egyptian Presidency)
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Egypt, Chad Agree on Backing Efforts to Achieve Ceasefire in Sudan

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi received on Tuesday Chad President Mahamat Idriss Déby in New Alamein City (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi received on Tuesday Chad President Mahamat Idriss Déby in New Alamein City (Egyptian Presidency)

Egypt and Chad on Tuesday agreed on the necessity of supporting efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Sudan where the people suffer from an ongoing conflict and an exacerbating humanitarian crisis that requires urgent intervention.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi received Chad President Mahamat Idriss Déby in New Alamein City where the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and regional developments, according to a statement by the Egyptian Presidency.
Sisi emphasized the deep and longstanding historical relations between the two countries and their peoples.
He then reiterated Egypt's commitment to providing full support to Chad across various fields, including the transfer and sharing of Egyptian expertise in building the capacities of Chad in different developmental sectors such as energy, infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, and livestock.
This is in addition to cooperating in the areas of security and counter-terrorism, in light of Egypt’s keenness to ensure Chad’s security and stability.
For his part, Déby highlighted a mutual will to achieve significant advancement in bilateral cooperation across sectors.
He also valued the role of active Egyptian institutions and companies in Chad, particularly in supporting Chadian educational and cultural processes, infrastructure projects, and the activities of Al-Azhar mission in Chad.
The two presidents agreed to activate the work of the joint committee between the two countries to implement the agreed-upon matters and to accelerate the implementation of joint cooperation projects in a manner that serves the interests of both countries.
The meeting covered a number of African matters of mutual interest, notably the developments in Sudan, security in the Sahel region, and the enhancement of coordination regarding the role of the Community of Sahel–Saharan States.

“The two leaders agreed on the necessity of supporting efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Sudan, so as to uphold the higher interests of the Sudanese people, who are suffering from the ongoing conflict and the exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis that requires urgent intervention,” Presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said.
They also affirmed their countries' support for all efforts to achieve stability in Libya and to bolster security in the Sahel region in confronting the continuing terrorist threats, Fahmy added.

 



Lebanon to Cooperate with Interpol on Arrest of Syrian Official Accused of War Crimes

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Türkiye, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Türkiye, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
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Lebanon to Cooperate with Interpol on Arrest of Syrian Official Accused of War Crimes

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Türkiye, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Türkiye, 18 December 2024. (EPA)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday Lebanon will cooperate with an Interpol request to arrest former Syrian intelligence officer Jamil Hassan, accused by US authorities of war crimes under the toppled Assad government.

Last week, Lebanon received an official notice from Interpol urging judicial and security authorities to detain Hassan, whose whereabouts remain unclear, if he is found on Lebanese soil, three Lebanese judicial sources told Reuters.

"We are committed to cooperating with the Interpol letter regarding the arrest of the Director of Syrian Air Force Intelligence, as we continue to cooperate on all matters related to the international system," Mikati told Reuters.

The directive also called for Hassan's arrest if he enters Lebanon, with the ultimate aim of extraditing him to the United States, the sources said.

On Dec. 9, a US indictment unsealed charges against Hassan, 72, with war crimes, including the torture of detainees, some of them US citizens, during the Syrian civil war.

Hassan is also one of three senior Syrian officials who were found guilty by a French court in May of war crimes over their involvement in the disappearance and subsequent death of a French-Syrian father and his son.

According to Lebanese judicial sources, the Interpol arrest warrant accuses Hassan of involvement in "crimes of murder, torture, and genocide."

Hassan is also allegedly responsible for overseeing the deployment of thousands of barrel bombs against the Syrian population, leading to the deaths of countless civilians, the sources said.

The Interpol request was circulated among Lebanon’s General Security and border control authorities.

Up to 30 lower-ranking former intelligence and Fourth Division army officers under the Assad administration are now in police custody in Lebanon following their arrest by Lebanese authorities, two security sources told Reuters.