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.



Gaza: Israeli Fire Kills Five People, including a Child

Palestinian casualties are transported by paramedics after arriving from Gaza at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing (File/AFP).
Palestinian casualties are transported by paramedics after arriving from Gaza at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing (File/AFP).
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Gaza: Israeli Fire Kills Five People, including a Child

Palestinian casualties are transported by paramedics after arriving from Gaza at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing (File/AFP).
Palestinian casualties are transported by paramedics after arriving from Gaza at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing (File/AFP).

Israeli airstrikes killed at least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, health officials there said.

Medics said an Israeli missile hit a tent for displaced people in the Mawasi area in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave, killing at least four people including a 10-year-old child, while another attack killed one person near a school in Gaza City. Twelve people were wounded in the two incidents.

The Israeli military didn't immediately comment on either incident, Reuters reported.

Israel has repeatedly carried out strikes in Gaza since a US-mediated ceasefire with Hamas was reached last October, saying it is targeting militants who threaten its forces or who took part in the October 2023 attack on Israel.

Hamas has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire. Nickolay Mladenov, US President Donald Trump's appointed Board of Peace envoy to Gaza, has said both sides have violated the agreement.

Since the ceasefire took effect nine months ago, more than 1,070 Palestinians, many of them civilians, and four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza, according to figures released by the two sides. Hamas does not disclose the number of its fighters killed.


Drone Strikes on Civilian Vehicles Kill at Least 20 in Sudan, Rights Groups Say

Scenes from the war in Sudan (AFP)
Scenes from the war in Sudan (AFP)
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Drone Strikes on Civilian Vehicles Kill at Least 20 in Sudan, Rights Groups Say

Scenes from the war in Sudan (AFP)
Scenes from the war in Sudan (AFP)

Drone strikes on civilian vehicles headed to social gatherings in Sudan have killed over 20 people in recent day, according to rights groups, as the use of unmanned aircraft becomes increasingly common in the north eastern African country’s war.

A drone hit the outskirts of Khartoum killing 10 civilians, including five women from the same family, as they drove to a wedding, the Sudan Doctors Network said on Wednesday.

The medical aid group, which has been tracking violence between the military and the Rapid Support Forces throughout the war — which is in its fourth year — blamed Tuesday's attack on a road west of Omdurman, the sister city of the capital, Khartoum, on the RSF.

The vehicle immediately caught fire and all 10 people inside died, an eyewitness told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The Sudan Doctors Network said that the strike “was deliberate and carried out using a guided drone” and called for the international community to pressure RSF leadership to stop targeting civilians.

A separate drone strike on Tuesday hit a transport vehicle near a water facility in the province, killing two people, according to Emergency Lawyers, which tracks violence in Sudan. The previous day, 13 civilians, including five women, were killed when a drone hit their vehicle as they headed to a wedding in a al-Shaatout town, in North Kordofan province, Emergency Lawyers said.

“This attack is part of an escalating pattern of drone attacks on civilians as drones continue to fly over the northern parts of the province...monitoring residents’ movements,” the group said in a statement.

North Kordofan has seen a surge in drone strikes amid repeated international concerns about the RSF closing in on the strategic city of el-Obeid, which is home to the army’s 5th Infantry Division. Drone strikes on the city have destroyed civilian infrastructure, including power facilities and neighborhoods, and targeted bridges and key supply routes, according to the UN.

The war in Sudan, which started in April 2023 after long-simmering tensions between the army and the RSF, has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced some 13 million and pushed many parts of the country into famine. More than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.


Lebanon to Participate in Rome Talks Only if Israel Withdraws from 2 'Pilot' Zones

Vehicles drive past billboards that read in Arabic, "Lebanon first". (Photo by ibrahim AMRO / AFP) /
Vehicles drive past billboards that read in Arabic, "Lebanon first". (Photo by ibrahim AMRO / AFP) /
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Lebanon to Participate in Rome Talks Only if Israel Withdraws from 2 'Pilot' Zones

Vehicles drive past billboards that read in Arabic, "Lebanon first". (Photo by ibrahim AMRO / AFP) /
Vehicles drive past billboards that read in Arabic, "Lebanon first". (Photo by ibrahim AMRO / AFP) /

Lebanon demands Israel's withdrawal from two "pilot zones" in the south before participating in the next round of direct talks in Rome next week, a diplomatic source told AFP on Wednesday.

The source, requesting anonymity, said "Lebanon is stipulating Israel's withdrawal from two pilot zones in order to participate in the round of negotiations" that Italy and Israel said would take place in Rome on July 15 and 16, following a framework agreement signed last month.