Biden Calls on Sudan's Warring Parties to Re-engage in Negotiations

US President Joe Biden speaks before a wildfire briefing in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, 17 September 2024. EPA/SAMUEL CORUM
US President Joe Biden speaks before a wildfire briefing in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, 17 September 2024. EPA/SAMUEL CORUM
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Biden Calls on Sudan's Warring Parties to Re-engage in Negotiations

US President Joe Biden speaks before a wildfire briefing in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, 17 September 2024. EPA/SAMUEL CORUM
US President Joe Biden speaks before a wildfire briefing in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, 17 September 2024. EPA/SAMUEL CORUM

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday called on Sudan's warring parties to re-engage in negotiations to end a war that has been ongoing for more than 17 months.

"We call for all parties to this conflict to end this violence and refrain from fueling it, for the future of Sudan and for all of the Sudanese people," Biden said in a statement.

"I call on the belligerents responsible for Sudanese suffering—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—to pull back their forces, facilitate unhindered humanitarian access, and re-engage in negotiations to end this war,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

More than 12,000 people have been killed across Sudan since the war started on April 15, 2023.

The conflict began when competition between Sudan's army and the RSF, which had previously shared power after staging a coup, flared into open warfare.

Biden said the RSF's assault is disproportionately harming Sudanese civilians and called on the armed forces to stop "indiscriminate" bombings that are destroying civilian lives and infrastructure.

The US previously determined that the two sides committed war crimes and sanctioned 16 individuals and entities tied to the war.

Biden said the United States will continue to evaluate further atrocity allegations and potential additional sanctions.



Israeli Military Says it Has Intercepted 2 Suspicious Drones 

People wait for a bus near images of those taken hostage or killed during the deadly October 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel September 17, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait for a bus near images of those taken hostage or killed during the deadly October 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel September 17, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Military Says it Has Intercepted 2 Suspicious Drones 

People wait for a bus near images of those taken hostage or killed during the deadly October 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel September 17, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait for a bus near images of those taken hostage or killed during the deadly October 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel September 17, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel’s military said they had intercepted two suspicious drones that approached Israel from Lebanon and Iraq on Wednesday morning, the day after pagers used by the group Hezbollah exploded in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding nearly 3,000. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack. 

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said they intercepted a drone launched from Lebanon over the Mediterranean Sea near the coast of northern Israel. Another drone launched from Iraq was intercepted by Israeli air force fighter jets. There were no injuries or damage reported. 

Israel also began moving more troops to the northern border with Lebanon in preparation for a possible retaliation. 

As a precautionary measure, the Israeli military moved its 98th division to the northern border, an official said. The division, which includes infantry, artillery and commando units, has until recently been fighting in Gaza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. 

Hezbollah began firing rockets over the border into Israel on Oct. 8, the day after a deadly Hamas-led attack in southern Israel triggered a massive Israeli counteroffensive and the ongoing war in Gaza. Since then, Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged strikes near-daily, killing hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and displacing tens of thousands on each side of the border.