Sudan, South Sudan Armies to Form Joint Military Forces

SPLA soldiers stand in a vehicle in Juba, South Sudan, December 20, 2013. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic/File Photo
SPLA soldiers stand in a vehicle in Juba, South Sudan, December 20, 2013. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic/File Photo
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Sudan, South Sudan Armies to Form Joint Military Forces

SPLA soldiers stand in a vehicle in Juba, South Sudan, December 20, 2013. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic/File Photo
SPLA soldiers stand in a vehicle in Juba, South Sudan, December 20, 2013. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic/File Photo

Sudan’s army confirmed its agreement to conduct joint military exercises with the South Sudan Army and to work on resolving outstanding security files between the two countries.

Both states are working towards implementing joint Juba-Khartoum cooperation agreements before the end of 2018.

Sudanese Army chief Lieutenant General Kamal Abdel Marouf said the talks with his South Sudan counterpart General Gabriel Jok Riak in Khartoum on Tuesday were fruitful and discussed areas of joint training and the formation of joint forces.

The two reiterated efforts being exerted on enforcing solutions for all outstanding issues between the two countries.

A deal was reached on the "implementation of joint cooperation agreements between the two countries,” said Sudanese army spokesman Brigadier General Ahmad Khalifa Al-Sham in a press statement.

Good cooperation between Sudan and South Sudan armies is the key for a strong relationship between the two neighbors.

Riak discussed the implementation of the security arrangement following a recent agreement to launch the operationalization of the buffer zone between the two countries last September in Addis Ababa.

According to a statement, he said the Sudanese efforts to narrow the gaps between the South Sudanese parties in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development-led peace process has encouraged Juba to go ahead in the implementation of the security arrangements and to strengthen relations with Khartoum.

Talks focused on developing bilateral relations and building good ties between armed forces in both countries as a gateway for settling other files of common interest.

Sudan and South Sudan agreed in September 2012 to establish a demilitarized zone on the disputed and non-delimited border to prevent cross-border attacks by paramilitary groups from both sides.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.