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Cairo Summit Gives Sudan 3 Months for Power Transfer

Handout / Egyptian Presidency / AFP | African leaders at a summit in Cairo on April 23, 2019.
Handout / Egyptian Presidency / AFP | African leaders at a summit in Cairo on April 23, 2019.
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Cairo Summit Gives Sudan 3 Months for Power Transfer

Handout / Egyptian Presidency / AFP | African leaders at a summit in Cairo on April 23, 2019.
Handout / Egyptian Presidency / AFP | African leaders at a summit in Cairo on April 23, 2019.

African Union leaders meeting in Cairo on Tuesday gave Sudan’s transitional military council three months to hand over power to civilians.

The summit, which was chaired by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, saw the attendance of the presidents of Chad, Rwanda, Congo, Somalia, South Africa, and Djibouti in addition to the deputy prime minister of Ethiopia, foreign ministers of Uganda and Kenya, permanent secretary of Nigeria’s foreign ministry, head of the African Union commission and security affairs adviser of South Sudan’s president.

Since the ouster of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir earlier this month, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is leading the transitional military council.

The AU threatened on April 15 to suspend Sudan’s membership if the council didn’t hand out the authority to civilians within 15 days.

The summit statement on Tuesday expressed "the complete support of the African Union and neighboring countries for Sudan as it faces political, security and economic challenges."

The participating countries said they would help Sudan tackle cross-border crime including arms and human trafficking in order to maintain regional stability.

The meeting stressed that the Sudanese authorities and the political parties should work together in good faith to address the current situation in Sudan and to speed up the reestablishment of a constitutional regime.

"The participating countries recognized the need to give more time to the Sudanese authorities and the Sudanese parties to implement these measures, taking into consideration that they will not be lengthy, and recommended that the African Peace and Security Council extend the schedule given to the Sudanese authority for three months," added the statement.

Egyptian Presidential spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi stated that Sisi, who holds the rotating African Union presidency, asserted during the summit the importance of setting a joint vision for stability in Sudan.

Sisi affirmed Egypt’s “full support for the choices of the Sudanese people, their free will in shaping their country’s future, and what they will agree upon in such crucial and determining phase of their history.”

“Establishing the concept of 'African solutions for African problems' is the only way to deal with joint challenges. The African states are most capable of understanding the complications of their issues, and the uniqueness of their affairs," the Egyptian president told the conference.

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Arab World

Houthi Charges of Espionage: A Tool to Intimidate, Control the Population

Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
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Houthi Charges of Espionage: A Tool to Intimidate, Control the Population

Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)

The Houthi militia has recently released several individuals it had abducted for celebrating Yemen’s September Revolution. However, over the past few days, it has detained hundreds of residents in its stronghold of Saada, accusing them of espionage.

The campaign coincides with the airing of alleged confessions from a purported spy cell and the abduction of a former employee of the US Embassy in Yemen.

Local sources in Saada province, approximately 242 kilometers north of Sanaa, report that the Houthis have launched a widespread campaign of arrests targeting civilians. These individuals have been taken from their homes, workplaces, and businesses under allegations of collaborating with Western nations and Israel. Families of those detained have been warned to remain silent and refrain from discussing the arrests with the media or on social media platforms.

According to the sources, more than 300 individuals, including dozens of women, have been abducted across various districts in Saada. The arrests have also targeted relatives and associates of Othman Mujalli, a member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, who hails from the region.

The sources suggest that the Houthis are detaining women as hostages to pressure their relatives, who may either be out of the militia’s reach or living outside Houthi-controlled areas. They also appear to be using the women to coerce confessions from male relatives. Last month, the Houthis accused Hamid Mujalli, Othman Mujalli’s brother, of engaging in espionage for Arab and Western nations for nearly two decades.

In a separate incident, the Houthis abducted a former employee of the US Embassy in Sanaa from his home on Monday without providing any explanation for their actions.

Release of Detainees

The Houthis recently released Sheikh Amin Rajeh, a tribal leader from Ibb province, after detaining him for four months. Several other individuals were also freed, none of whom had been formally charged during their detention. Rajeh, a member of the General People’s Congress Party, was one of many political activists, students, workers, and public employees abducted in September for celebrating Yemen’s September 26, 1962, revolution.

One of the released individuals, a shop owner, told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was unaware of the reason for his detention. He had been abducted in November, two months after the Houthis initiated a crackdown on those commemorating the revolution.

Alleged Spy Cell

Houthi-controlled media recently broadcast confessions from what they claimed was a newly uncovered spy cell. The group linked the cell to its broader narrative of “promised conquest and sacred jihad” against the West and Israel.

According to Houthi security officials, the alleged spy cell was working to compile a “target database,” monitor sites linked to missile forces and drones, and track specific military and security locations. They also claimed the cell had been observing the residences and movements of Houthi leaders.

In response, the Houthis issued warnings to residents, forbidding them from discussing or sharing information about militia-controlled sites, facilities, or the whereabouts of their leaders.

The Houthis’ actions reflect mounting concerns over potential strikes targeting their senior leadership, similar to the recent attacks on Hezbollah figures in Lebanon. Those fears come amid ongoing tensions with Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom, following the Houthis’ assaults on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and missile attacks on Israel.