Sudan’s Bashir to Step down in 2020

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
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Sudan’s Bashir to Step down in 2020

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir vowed on Monday to step down by the end of his presidential term in 2020.

“Our pledge with you is to hand Sudan over to you by 2020, after achieving peace in the Darfur region and the regions of the Blue Nile and South Kordofan,” said Bashir while addressing the 7th session of the National Union of Sudanese Youth in Khartoum Monday.

Bashir went on to announce the start of the implementation of a package of development and service projects in the five states of the Darfur region.

“The next phase will see the evacuation of displaced persons camps, reconstruction of their hometowns and the provision of basic services for them,” he said.

The president also vowed that he would use force against rebel movements if they rejected peace.

During his speech with the youths, Bashir said that the immigration of Sudanese people was not caused by the isolation of Sudan, but because the foreign labor market is interested in Sudanese youths who have high potential.

Bashir held talks on Monday with visiting Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

Sudan and Mauritania agreed on a timeline to implement 35 agreements signed since 2007. They also agreed on joint coordination in regional and international issues.

The Mauritanian president had arrived in Khartoum on a two-day official visit after participating in the inauguration of the World Youth Forum in Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt.



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.