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Sudanese Army Closes in on Presidential Palace

(FILES) Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visits the Flamingo Marine Base in Port Sudan on August 28, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
(FILES) Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visits the Flamingo Marine Base in Port Sudan on August 28, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
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Sudanese Army Closes in on Presidential Palace

(FILES) Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visits the Flamingo Marine Base in Port Sudan on August 28, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
(FILES) Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visits the Flamingo Marine Base in Port Sudan on August 28, 2023. (Photo by AFP)

The Sudanese army is moving closer to reclaiming the presidential palace in central Khartoum, which has been under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.

The army is advancing from several directions, while its forces took back the town of Umm Ruwaba, the second-largest city in North Kordofan state.

The army also reported defeating an RSF attack on Umm Ruwaba on Wednesday, causing significant losses, and stated that its air force is chasing down retreating RSF fighters.

The army has been intensifying its attacks on RSF-held areas in recent days, making quick gains.

Witnesses in Khartoum say Sudanese army troops, advancing from the General Command headquarters, are engaged in fierce clashes with the RSF and moving toward the presidential palace, about two kilometers away.

Sources predict the army could soon reclaim the palace if its progress continues at this pace.

The army has also entered the Al-Azba district in Bahri, retaking the Dardoug and Nibta neighborhoods. It is nearing the Al-Shuqla area in East Nile, Bahri, and has made gains in the Umm Badda area of Omdurman.

The army and RSF continue to control overlapping areas in Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri.

On Wednesday, the army said it took control of a strategic bridge in Bahri and is advancing toward the city center. However, RSF forces still control several districts, including Kafouri, Kober, East Nile, and Soba, with some resistance in other areas.

In Khartoum city, the army regained control of the Rmaila, Al-Hilla Al-Jadida, and parts of Jabra neighborhoods.

The RSF holds areas east of the army’s General Command headquarters, Khartoum International Airport, and districts like Al-Sahafa, Khartoum 2, and Al-Durrah Extension, among others.

RSF forces also control southern Khartoum, including the central market and neighborhoods such as Al-Salmah, Soba, and Mayo, extending to the eastern Jabal Awlia area.

In Omdurman, the army has retaken much of the city, except for its southern and western parts. Some neighborhoods, including the Popular Market and Al-Shuqla, remain under RSF control.

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Arab World

Fidan, Barrack Discuss Merging of SDF in Syrian Army, Erdogan Warns of Israeli Violations

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack meet on Tuesday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack meet on Tuesday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Fidan, Barrack Discuss Merging of SDF in Syrian Army, Erdogan Warns of Israeli Violations

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack meet on Tuesday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack meet on Tuesday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack held talks on Tuesday on the latest developments in Syria a year after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

They discussed the measures needed to establish stability in Syria and maintain its territorial integrity.

Turkish sources said the meeting focus primarily on the implementation of the agreement between Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader Abdi Mazloum on the merger of the Kurdish forces in the Syrian army.

The agreement was signed in Damascus in March and should have been completed by December.

Fidan and Barrack also tackled the Israeli violations and attacks against Syria and their “negative impact on its stability and unity.” They discussed sanctions on Syria and the support for political steps during the country’s transition, added the sources.

Fidan had on Saturday accused Israel of “encouraging” the SDF to renege on the March agreement.

In a televised interview, he warned that the developments in southern Syria were the “greatest danger.” He explained that the problem isn’t in the extent of the developments, but in how Israel has intervened in them.

The danger in Syria could impact Türkiye, he added.

He stressed the need for the SDF to fulfill its commitments to the March agreement and to dissolve itself and for its foreign fighters to leave Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned on Tuesday the Israeli violations in Syria, saying they were the “greatest obstacle” to the country’s security and stability at the time and for the long-term.

Speaking before ambassadors to Türkiye, he vowed that Ankara will continue to support Damascus “as it has always done”.

He echoed Fidan’s demand on the SDF to commit to the March agreement, saying any delay will lead to a new crisis in Syria.

He also slammed the international silence over the “massacres that were committed in Syria” during its 13 years of civil war.

Throughout those years, “except for a few with a real conscience, we didn’t hear anything from the supporters of democracy and defenders of human rights,” he added.

Arab World

Sudanese Powers Sign Declaration of Principles to End the War 

The gatherers in Nairobi held the warring parties and their allies fully responsible for any violations and war crimes. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The gatherers in Nairobi held the warring parties and their allies fully responsible for any violations and war crimes. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Sudanese Powers Sign Declaration of Principles to End the War 

The gatherers in Nairobi held the warring parties and their allies fully responsible for any violations and war crimes. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The gatherers in Nairobi held the warring parties and their allies fully responsible for any violations and war crimes. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The political and civilian parties of Sudan’s Somoud alliance signed in Nairobi on Tuesday a joint declaration of principles with the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, led by Abdul Wahid al-Nur, and the Arab Socialist Baath Party to end the war in Sudan and completely eliminate the Islamic movement from politics.

The declaration is the first act of rapprochement between Sudanese parties that are opposed to the ongoing war between the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Former Prime Minister and Somoud leader Abdalla Hamdok was among the signatories.

The declaration said that “there can be no military solution to the crisis”, urging the immediate end to the war.

It called for greater pressure to be applied on the military and RSF to end the conflict and commit to the roadmap drafted by the international Quad that includes Saudi Arabia, the US, United Arab Emirates and Egypt in August.

The declaration called for the swift implementation of a proposed three-month humanitarian truce and for an unconditional ceasefire.

Sudan Liberation Movement/Army deputy leader Abdullah Harran said the signatories of the declaration agreed on the need to expand it further and to bring in more parties to sign it, excluding the ousted National Congress.

Harran told a press conference that the declaration aims to establish a wide popular civilian base that will embark on a transitional phase, leading up to holding free and transparent elections.

The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army holds some regions in central Darfur and has extended its influence in northern parts of the province. It has received tens of thousands of refugees from el-Fasher in areas under its control.

Leading member of the Arab Socialist Baath Party Wajdi Saleh said the gatherers in Nairobi agreed on a “unified vision” to end the war.

They signed three documents, he revealed. The first is the declaration of principles to build a new nation, the second is a roadmap to stop the war and the third aims to designate the National Congress and Islamic movement as terrorist.

Moreover, he declared that the warring parties would be barred from taking part in the democratic transition.

The gatherers held the warring parties and their allies fully responsible for any violations and war crimes, calling on regional and international powers, led by the Quad, to intervene decisively to implement a humanitarian truce.

Arab World

Israeli Settler Kills 16-Year-Old Palestinian in West Bank, Mayor Says

Friends and family gather around the body of Ammar Yasser Sabbah, 16, ahead of his funeral at a morgue in Bethlehem on December 16, 2025, after he was killed by Israeli forces in the town of Tuqu’, east of Bethlehem during a military raid the day before. (AFP)
Friends and family gather around the body of Ammar Yasser Sabbah, 16, ahead of his funeral at a morgue in Bethlehem on December 16, 2025, after he was killed by Israeli forces in the town of Tuqu’, east of Bethlehem during a military raid the day before. (AFP)
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Israeli Settler Kills 16-Year-Old Palestinian in West Bank, Mayor Says

Friends and family gather around the body of Ammar Yasser Sabbah, 16, ahead of his funeral at a morgue in Bethlehem on December 16, 2025, after he was killed by Israeli forces in the town of Tuqu’, east of Bethlehem during a military raid the day before. (AFP)
Friends and family gather around the body of Ammar Yasser Sabbah, 16, ahead of his funeral at a morgue in Bethlehem on December 16, 2025, after he was killed by Israeli forces in the town of Tuqu’, east of Bethlehem during a military raid the day before. (AFP)

An Israeli settler shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian in Tuqu' on Tuesday after the funeral of another teenager, the town's mayor said.

Violence has escalated in the West Bank since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank have increased sharply, with the UN reporting the highest number of attacks on record in October.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Muheeb Jibril's death on Tuesday.

"Today, after the funeral of 16-year-old Ammar Sabah, who was killed yesterday by the Israeli army in the town center, a number of youths were gathered by the main street when a settler shot 16-year-old Muheeb Jibril in the head," Tuqu' Mayor Mohammed al-Badan told Reuters by telephone.

Israeli forces killed Sabah on Monday during a military raid on the town, the Palestinian health ministry said. The military said the incident was under review. It said rocks were thrown at soldiers who used riot dispersal means and later responded with fire.

The West Bank is home to 2.7 million Palestinians who have limited self-rule under Israeli military occupation. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have settled there.

Most world powers deem Israel's settlements, on land it captured in a 1967 war, illegal, and numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity.

Israel denies the illegality of the settlements, citing biblical and historical connections to the land.