Sudan’s Mahdi Calls for ‘Consensus that Preserves Revolution’

Sadiq al-Mahdi during a press conference in Khartoum on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. (AP)
Sadiq al-Mahdi during a press conference in Khartoum on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. (AP)
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Sudan’s Mahdi Calls for ‘Consensus that Preserves Revolution’

Sadiq al-Mahdi during a press conference in Khartoum on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. (AP)
Sadiq al-Mahdi during a press conference in Khartoum on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. (AP)

Sudanese political and religious leader Sadiq al-Mahdi has called for consensus among rival parties before the African initiative reaches a dead end.

He also called for wisdom as Norwegian and British envoys exert efforts to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Mahdi rejected a call for nationwide mass demonstrations against the country’s ruling generals on June 30.

“Our opinion is to avoid escalatory measures from either side,” Mahdi noted.

He said any escalation prior to receiving the ruling military council’s response to a power transfer plan proposed by Ethiopia would be “premature.”

He welcomed the Ethiopian and the national initiatives, urging both parties to coordinate and prepare a joint work plan.

However, he condemned the wave of crimes that accompanied the sit-in near the army’s General Command, suggesting the formation of an independent commission to investigate the clampdown.

Mahdi also pressed parties to consider the nation’s interest a priority and follow a national approach that maintains the revolution’s goals and prevents sedition.

He slammed the current political division, saying it leads to the country’s destruction,.

He attributed the delay in reaching an agreement with the military council to the diverse viewpoints within the Alliance for Freedom and Change because it includes right, left and centrist parties.

“We recognize our lag in responding to the demands, but it is because out party is composed of different political forces,” he explained.

He also revealed receiving many initiatives to resolve the country’s crisis, but stressed that the national initiative is the best and comes in line with the African Ethiopian mediation.

Ethiopia’s proposal calls for forming a new 15-member civilian-majority governing body, which the protest leaders have accepted but the military council has so far dismissed.

“We accept the principle of mediation to get out of the crisis, and we don’t believe that escalation and counter-escalation will serve the nation’s interest,” Mahdi said.

He also warned against foreign interference in Sudan.



Iraq Says 50 Israeli Warplanes Planes Violated Its Airspace

Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Iraq to the UN Dr. Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict at the UN headquarters in New York on June 20, 2025. (AFP)
Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Iraq to the UN Dr. Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict at the UN headquarters in New York on June 20, 2025. (AFP)
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Iraq Says 50 Israeli Warplanes Planes Violated Its Airspace

Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Iraq to the UN Dr. Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict at the UN headquarters in New York on June 20, 2025. (AFP)
Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Iraq to the UN Dr. Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict at the UN headquarters in New York on June 20, 2025. (AFP)

Iraq's representative to the United Nations said 50 Israeli warplanes planes violated Iraqi airspace shortly before a UN meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict on Friday.

Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, charge d'affaires of Iraq's UN mission, told the UN Security Council the aircraft came from the Syrian-Jordanian border areas.

"Twenty airplanes started, followed by 30 airplanes heading to the south of Iraq, and they flew over Basra, Najaf and Karbala cities," he said.

"These violations are violations of international law and the UN Charter," he said, adding: "They also constitute a threat to the sacred sites and regions which might cause strong popular reactions, considering the importance of these holy sites for our peoples."