Hemedti: Peace Will Certainly Be Achieved in Sudan

Vice-Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Gen. Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Hamdan Dagalo (File photo: Reuters)
Vice-Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Gen. Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Hamdan Dagalo (File photo: Reuters)
TT
20

Hemedti: Peace Will Certainly Be Achieved in Sudan

Vice-Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Gen. Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Hamdan Dagalo (File photo: Reuters)
Vice-Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Gen. Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Hamdan Dagalo (File photo: Reuters)

Peace will inevitably be achieved in Sudan through the agreement expected to be signed with the armed movements in the ongoing negotiations in southern Sudan, stressed Vice-Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Gen. Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Hamdan Dagalo.

Hemedti, who is also the head of the government delegation to the negotiation, invited France-based head of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), Abdul Wahid al-Nur, to join the peace negotiations in which all Sudanese parties participate.

He pointed out that his meeting with Abdelaziz al-Hilu, head of Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), broke the barrier of isolation, describing Hilu as a virtuous man.

During an interview with Ashorooq Network, Vice-Chairman indicated that peace is “inevitably coming”, stressing the need for all to unite to achieve the desired stability and peace.

Hemedti discussed a solution for the issue in eastern Sudan, peace with armed movements, and other issues in the region, according to the Network.

Meanwhile, the South Sudan Mediation Committee for Sudanese Peace Talks announced the suspension of negotiations on the eastern Sudan track for three weeks. The government delegation presented the framework agreement on the eastern track for consultation.

In his turn, member of South Sudan's mediation team Dio Matok said that after consulting with the government and the Revolutionary Front, they decided to adjourn the meeting to enable representatives to participate in the East Sudan conference.

For his part, Beja Congress Sec-Gen Osama Said said in a press statement that the framework agreement for negotiations on the eastern track includes economic, political, and, security issues.

The mediation announced major progress made in the current round of negotiations between the government and SPLM-N which adheres to its demands of a secular state and the right to self-determination.

Last week, the government delegation received from the armed movements the framework agreement to negotiate Darfur issues, which contains the general framework of the main issues to be negotiated during the current round.



Far-Right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

Far-Right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, his spokesperson said, prompting strong condemnation from Jordan and Palestinian group Hamas.

The firebrand politician was visiting the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, in occupied east Jerusalem after returning to the Israeli government last month following the resumption of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Ben-Gvir had quit the cabinet in January in protest at the ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory.

Since the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the end of 2022, Ben-Gvir has made several trips to the Al-Aqsa compound, each time triggering international outcry.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned Wednesday’s visit as a “storming” and “an unacceptable provocation.”

Hamas called it a “provocative and dangerous escalation,” saying the visit was “part of the ongoing genocide against our Palestinian people.”

“We call on our Palestinian people and our youth in the West Bank to escalate their confrontation... in defense of our land and our sanctities, foremost among them the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” it said in a statement.

The site is Islam’s third-holiest and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.

Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it is also Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the second temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Under the status quo maintained by Israel, which has occupied east Jerusalem and its Old City since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

Ben-Gvir’s spokesperson told AFP the minister “went there because the site was opened (for non-Muslims) after 13 days,” during which access was reserved for Muslims for the festival of Eid al-Fitr and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In recent years, growing numbers of Jewish ultranationalists have defied the rules, including Ben-Gvir, who publicly prayed there in 2023 and 2024.

The Israeli government has said repeatedly that it intends to uphold the status quo at the compound but Palestinian fears about its future have made it a flashpoint for violence.