Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Blinken Agrees to Bilateral Meeting with Sudan’s Army Chief

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP)
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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Blinken Agrees to Bilateral Meeting with Sudan’s Army Chief

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has agreed to a meeting with Commander of the Sudanese army Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, trusted sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The agreement to meet took place during a telephone call between the officials on Monday.

They agreed to hold a bilateral meeting ahead of negotiations in Switzerland on December 15.

The sources said Blinken suggested that the talks be held in Switzerland, while Burhan proposed Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah that had already held negotiations between the army and Rapid Support Forces and led to the Declaration of Principles.

During a briefing on the telephone call, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday that Blinken “reiterated the need for the army to participate in ceasefire talks in Switzerland.”

“The Secretary underscored the need to urgently end the fighting and enable unhindered humanitarian access, including cross border and cross line, to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people,” he added.

In a post on the X platform, Burhan said he discussed with Blinken “the need to address pressing government affairs before starting any negotiations.”

Despite the government’s announcement that it was prepared to take part in the negotiations in Switzerland, it is hoping that they would be preceded by the RSF implementing the Declaration of Principles that was signed in Jeddah in May 2023.

On the Blinken-Burhan meeting, the sources said the government may demand that Washington exert more pressure on the countries that are allegedly supporting the RSF in the ongoing war with the army.

The demands may also include pressing the RSF to agree to a ceasefire and end military operations so that they don’t capture more Sudanese territories, added the sources.

The meeting will also most likely address the “future of the RSF in Sudan’s political scene,” continued the sources.



Hamas Says It Is Engaged in ‘Fierce Fighting’ in Gaza’s Rafah

Palestinian men walk near rubble of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 13, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinian men walk near rubble of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 13, 2025. (Reuters)
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Hamas Says It Is Engaged in ‘Fierce Fighting’ in Gaza’s Rafah

Palestinian men walk near rubble of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 13, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinian men walk near rubble of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 13, 2025. (Reuters)

Hamas fighters were engaged in "fierce fighting" with Israeli soldiers on Thursday in the south of the Gaza Strip near Rafah, the Palestinian group said.

The statement, issued on Telegram, suggests that Hamas is still active in areas where the Israeli military has expanded its control, more than 19 months after the start of Israel's air and ground campaign in Gaza.

In a later statement, it said fighters ambushed an Israeli 12-man force inside a house in the Tanur neighborhood in the eastern Rafah area with two anti-personnel and anti-armor rockets, killing and wounding several soldiers.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the Hamas claim.

The group has rarely reported fighting around Rafah in recent months, with most clashes reported in the eastern area of the nearby city of Khan Younis and northern parts of the coastal territory.

Israel said earlier this month it would further extend its offensive in Gaza.

Israel resumed its offensive in March after the collapse of a fragile, US-backed ceasefire that had halted fighting for six weeks.