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Shorter: UK, US Will Continue to Support the Lebanese Army

FILE PHOTO: Lebanese army soldiers gesture as they sit on their military vehicles in the town of Ras Baalbek, Lebanon August 21, 2017. Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Lebanese army soldiers gesture as they sit on their military vehicles in the town of Ras Baalbek, Lebanon August 21, 2017. Reuters
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Shorter: UK, US Will Continue to Support the Lebanese Army

FILE PHOTO: Lebanese army soldiers gesture as they sit on their military vehicles in the town of Ras Baalbek, Lebanon August 21, 2017. Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Lebanese army soldiers gesture as they sit on their military vehicles in the town of Ras Baalbek, Lebanon August 21, 2017. Reuters

British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter has reaffirmed the support of the United Kingdom and the United States to the Lebanese Army as the sole defender of Lebanon.

“It is a respected and professional Army that has shown its ability to protect Lebanon from the biggest regional and internal threats and challenges,” the diplomat said Wednesday.

Shorter attended the High Level Steering Committee, with US Ambassador Elizabeth Richard and Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun at the new Land Border Training Center at Rayak.

The discussions focused on the Lebanese Army’s efforts to secure 100% of the Lebanese-Syrian border by 2019, the British embassy said in a statement.

During the meeting, Shorter inaugurated the Land Border Training Center at Rayak, it said.

This Center will support the Land Border regiments deployed along the totality of the Lebanese borders with Syria.

According to the embassy, the UK has committed over £60 million to this project in recent years, alongside significant contributions from the US and other international donors.

It said Shorter congratulated Aoun on the upcoming anniversary of Fajr el-Jouroud military operation which saw the defeat of ISIS in Lebanon, and “reaffirmed the UK’s support to the Lebanese Army as the sole defender of Lebanon, providing security to all citizens including near-border communities.”

“It has always been a privilege to meet the Commander of the Lebanese Army, General Joseph Aoun, and discuss progress on the UK’s Land Border Project. It has been a privilege to serve as ambassador to Lebanon for three incredible years,” he said.

“I have seen firsthand how the Army has continued to transform over this period,” Shorter said. He described it as a “professional” Army that has been capable of protecting Lebanon from the biggest regional and internal threats and challenges.

The diplomat said he was pleased that the UK and the US will continue helping the Lebanese Army construct and equip additional Protected Border Observation Posts and Forward Operating Bases to support the Land Border Regiments deliver their mission in maintaining security within Lebanon.

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Sudan War Intensifies Across Kordofan’s Three States

War between the army and Rapid Support Forces has destroyed much of Sudan’s infrastructure. (AFP)
War between the army and Rapid Support Forces has destroyed much of Sudan’s infrastructure. (AFP)
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Sudan War Intensifies Across Kordofan’s Three States

War between the army and Rapid Support Forces has destroyed much of Sudan’s infrastructure. (AFP)
War between the army and Rapid Support Forces has destroyed much of Sudan’s infrastructure. (AFP)

Fighting between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has flared in the central Kordofan region, home to some of the country’s largest oil fields, including Heglig, Abu Jabra, and Balila.

The city of El-Obeid, the region’s largest urban center and capital of North Kordofan, was hit by drone strikes early Monday, triggering panic among residents. Multiple sites were targeted in the attack, which comes amid escalating clashes and troop build-ups across the region’s three states.

Local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that drones struck the eastern neighborhood of Al-Radeef, wounding several civilians. One source said a drone was spotted flying over the Sudanese army’s 5th Infantry Division.

The battlefront shifted westward to Kordofan following the army’s full takeover of the capital Khartoum, where the conflict had raged since breaking out more than two years ago. Now, the three Kordofan states, North, South and West, are the focus of renewed violence as both parties vie for control.

The RSF has stepped up its offensive in Sudan’s North Kordofan, targeting the strategic city of El-Obeid with drone strikes as part of a broader push following the withdrawal of army troops and allied forces from nearby towns, including Al-Khuwei, Al-Debeibat and Al-Hammadi.

The RSF’s maneuvers have allowed it to surround El-Obeid from three directions, exposing significant vulnerabilities in the army’s air defense systems. The latest attack underscores the RSF’s increasing reliance on combat drones, which have been deployed in several battles across the Kordofan region in recent weeks.

Military sources said the nearest RSF-controlled area is the town of Bara, less than 50 kilometers northeast of El-Obeid. The paramilitary group is also reported to have a strong presence in Al-Khuwei, Al-Hammadi, and Kazgeil, all located near the embattled city.

In West Kordofan, fierce clashes continue in the town of Babanusa, where the Sudanese army’s 22nd Infantry Division is headquartered. The division has lost control of three key garrisons in Al-Nuhud, Al-Fula, and the oil-rich area of Heglig amid the RSF’s westward advances.

The RSF said on Monday it now controls the entire town of Babanusa in West Kordofan and is encircling the 22nd Infantry Division from multiple directions, claiming the fall of the strategic town is “only a matter of time.”

Babanusa lies along the key Western Salvation Road, a vital artery linking the capital Khartoum to the Kordofan and Darfur regions. Control of the route has become a major objective for both sides: the army views it as a pathway for advancing into Darfur, while the RSF sees it as a forward defensive line and potential springboard for a renewed push on Khartoum.

West Kordofan, which borders South Sudan and contains most of Sudan’s oil fields, has emerged as one of the fiercest battlegrounds in the war. The state includes around 15 localities and has seen intensifying combat as both sides vie for control of critical infrastructure and territory.

Meanwhile, the army is attempting to drive the RSF out of northern and southern pockets of the state to lift the siege on South Kordofan.

In South Kordofan, clashes have intensified between the army, the RSF, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu. The army briefly regained control of the towns of Al-Debeibat and Al-Hammadi in an effort to relieve pressure on Dilling and Kadugli, but the RSF later retook the areas, prolonging the deadlock in the region.

Sudanese army forces are fending off ongoing attempts by the RSF to storm El-Fasher, the largest city in the Darfur region, a senior military official said.

Major General Mohamed Ahmed Al-Khader, commander of the army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the military has been repelling RSF assaults on the city for over a year.

Witnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat that army units have launched targeted operations around El-Fasher to push back RSF fighters from the city’s outskirts.