Sudan Sending Delegation to Cairo to Meet US and Egyptian Mediators

A woman protecting her face with a cardboard bearing the Sudanese flag as she holds a banner next to the monumental wood sculpture "Broken Chair" (L) during a demonstration on the opening day of Sudan ceasefire talks, in Geneva, on August 14, 2024. (AFP)
A woman protecting her face with a cardboard bearing the Sudanese flag as she holds a banner next to the monumental wood sculpture "Broken Chair" (L) during a demonstration on the opening day of Sudan ceasefire talks, in Geneva, on August 14, 2024. (AFP)
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Sudan Sending Delegation to Cairo to Meet US and Egyptian Mediators

A woman protecting her face with a cardboard bearing the Sudanese flag as she holds a banner next to the monumental wood sculpture "Broken Chair" (L) during a demonstration on the opening day of Sudan ceasefire talks, in Geneva, on August 14, 2024. (AFP)
A woman protecting her face with a cardboard bearing the Sudanese flag as she holds a banner next to the monumental wood sculpture "Broken Chair" (L) during a demonstration on the opening day of Sudan ceasefire talks, in Geneva, on August 14, 2024. (AFP)

Sudan's government said it will send a delegation to Cairo for discussions with US and Egyptian officials on Monday, keeping open the question of participation in peace talks aimed at ending a 16-month war.

The government, controlled by the army which is fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for control of the country, has said it would not attend the peace talks in Switzerland unless a previous agreement struck in Jeddah is implemented.

The US-led talks, which the RSF is attending, aim to end the devastating war that broke out in April 2023, and address the crippling humanitarian crisis that has left half of Sudan's population of 50 million facing food insecurity.

A statement from the ruling Transitional Sovereign Council said the decision to go to Cairo came after contacts with the US special envoy and the Egyptian government, which is an observer in the talks, and was limited to discussing implementation of the Jeddah agreement, under which the RSF would leave civilian areas.

High-level government sources told Reuters that the government had presented its vision on that and other topics to US and Saudi mediators, and that its approach to further talks would be based on their response.

The sources denied media reports that the government had already sent a delegation to Geneva.

The army on Thursday pre-empted a key topic of the talks when it said it would allow an RSF-controlled border crossing into Darfur to be used for aid deliveries.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had agreed to the opening during a phone call with Secretary of State Antony Blinken the day before.



Lebanon: Mikati Asks Lammy to Pressure Israel to Stop Escalation

FILED - 02 December 2023, United Arab Emirates, Dubai: Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati speaks during the High-Level Segment for Heads of State and Government at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). Photo: Christopher Pike/COP28/dpa
FILED - 02 December 2023, United Arab Emirates, Dubai: Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati speaks during the High-Level Segment for Heads of State and Government at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). Photo: Christopher Pike/COP28/dpa
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Lebanon: Mikati Asks Lammy to Pressure Israel to Stop Escalation

FILED - 02 December 2023, United Arab Emirates, Dubai: Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati speaks during the High-Level Segment for Heads of State and Government at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). Photo: Christopher Pike/COP28/dpa
FILED - 02 December 2023, United Arab Emirates, Dubai: Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati speaks during the High-Level Segment for Heads of State and Government at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). Photo: Christopher Pike/COP28/dpa

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in a phone call on Saturday to prevent Israel from further military escalation in southern Lebanon warning of “severe consequences”.
“In their telephone call, the talks between Mikati and Lammy focused on the security developments in southern Lebanon and the need to intensify efforts to stop the spiraling violence”, Mikati’s press office said in a statement.
The Lebanese PM emphasized the "necessity of pressuring the Israeli enemy to stop its direct targeting of towns and villages in the south, leading to casualties, injuries, and severe destruction”. Mikati expressed concerns that "the current cycle of violence could lead to a dangerous escalation."
Lammy, for his part, assured that he would intensify his diplomatic efforts to halt the rising risk of a broader deterioration.
Message of Defiance
Hezbollah MP, Hasan Ezzedine, noted that a new video released by the party showcasing an underground military facility "Imad 4" and an extensive tunnel network is in itself a “challenge” to Israel.
He said Israel should take the “capabilities” of the “Resistance” very seriously.
During a commemorative celebration, Ezzedine stated that Israel must not misinterpret the Resistance’s “self-restraint and silence” as a “sign of weakness”, noting that the party is “prepared for any foolish act” although it “does not seek a broader war”.
He concluded saying that the response of the Resistance and that of Iran are “inevitable” and “independent” of the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Qatar and their potential outcomes.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire since the Gaza war started. An Israeli strike Saturday killed at least 10 Syrians, including a woman and her two children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot.

Truce talks are set to resume in Cairo in the coming days. US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have said negotiations to clinch a ceasefire in the more than 10-month-old war were making progress, and US President Joe Biden said "we are closer than we have ever been".