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)
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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.



Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Meets HTS Leader in Damascus

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
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Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Meets HTS Leader in Damascus

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Sunday, Türkiye’s foreign ministry said, without providing further details.

Photographs and footage shared by the ministry showed Fidan and Sharaa, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which led the operation to topple Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, walking ahead of a crowded delegation before posing for photographs.

The two are also seen shaking hands, hugging, and smiling.

On Friday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Türkiye would help Syria's new administration form a state structure and draft a new constitution, adding Fidan would head to Damascus to discuss this new structure, without providing a date.

Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Türkiye’s MIT intelligence agency, also visited Damascus on Dec. 12, four days after Assad's fall.

Ankara had for years backed opposition fighters looking to oust Assad and welcomed the end of his family's brutal five-decade rule after a 13-year civil war. Türkiye also hosts millions of Syrian migrants it hopes will start returning home after Assad's fall, and has vowed to help rebuild Syria.

Fidan's visit comes amid fighting in northeast Syria between Türkiye-backed Syrian fighters and the Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast and Ankara regards as a terrorist organization.

Earlier, Türkiye’s defense minister said Ankara believed that Syria's new leadership, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in the northeast.

Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the Kurdish faction in northern Syria and controls swathes of Syrian territory along the border, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halts support for the Kurdish fighters.

The SDF has been on the back foot since Assad's fall, with the threat of advances from Ankara and Türkiye-backed groups as it looks to preserve political gains made in the last 13 years, and with Syria's new rulers being friendly to Ankara.