Dagalo Accuses Sudanese Parties of ‘Obstructing’ Peace

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo addresses troops at a camp west of Omdurman. SUNA
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo addresses troops at a camp west of Omdurman. SUNA
TT
20

Dagalo Accuses Sudanese Parties of ‘Obstructing’ Peace

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo addresses troops at a camp west of Omdurman. SUNA
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo addresses troops at a camp west of Omdurman. SUNA

The leader of Sudan's Sovereign Council, Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan, said on Friday that his country is passing through exceptional circumstances imposed by the reality of the transitional period.

On the occasion of Eid al-Adha, Burhan called for spreading a spirit of forgiveness in the country to enhance national unity.

“There is a need to exert efforts for building state institutions during this transitional phase,” he said.

For his part, his deputy chairman, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, warned that some parties plan to obstruct peace.

Dagalo said the parties seek to incite strife and to settle their own scores to destroy the country.

“The international community wants to achieve peace in Sudan. However, unfortunately, some parties inside the country do not want peace,” he said.

Also on Friday, Chairman of Sudan’s opposition Umma Party Sadiq Al-Mahdi rejected to extend the transitional phase.

In a sermon delivered on the occasion of Eid al-Adha from Wad Nubawi mosque in Omdurman, he spoke about the "failure of the transitional period.”

After months of protests in Sudan, negotiations led last year to a joint civilian-military transitional government to govern the country for a period of 39 months.

In his evaluation of the transitional period, al-Mahdi disapproved Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok’s request to place Sudan under "UN tutelage.”

The NUP leader also criticized the PM’s acceptance of the principle of paying compensation to US victims of terror attacks committed by the ousted regime in order to remove Sudan from the list of countries that support terrorism.

The Umma Party leader said that the communist faction of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) recently established an alliance with the SPLM-N led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu and formed a secularist bloc with external support from the right-wing American evangelical groups that seek to divide Sudan.

"This secularist bloc, with its declared policies, would provide the Islamist bloc with more reasons to justify its existence and actions,” he said.

Leader of the Original Democratic Unionist Party Muhammad Uthman al Mirghani expressed on Friday his support to the transitional government “until holding free and fair elections to allow the Sudanese people chose their representatives.”



Hamas Expects 'Real Progress' in Cairo Talks to End Gaza War

 Palestinians make their way with belongings as they flee areas in the eastern part of Gaza City, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders, in Gaza City, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way with belongings as they flee areas in the eastern part of Gaza City, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders, in Gaza City, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Hamas Expects 'Real Progress' in Cairo Talks to End Gaza War

 Palestinians make their way with belongings as they flee areas in the eastern part of Gaza City, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders, in Gaza City, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way with belongings as they flee areas in the eastern part of Gaza City, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders, in Gaza City, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)

Hamas expects "real progress" towards a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, an official said, as senior leaders from the Palestinian movement hold talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Saturday.

The meeting between Hamas and Egyptian mediators come amid ongoing violence in Gaza, as the Israeli military intercepted three projectiles fired from the territory and launched air strikes and artillery shelling on several areas. No injuries were reported, the military said in a statement.

The scheduled talks in Cairo also come days after US President Donald Trump suggested an agreement to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza was close to being finalized.

A Hamas official told AFP that the Palestinian group anticipated the meeting with Egyptian mediators would yield significant progress.

"We hope the meeting will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza," the official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations told AFP on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The delegation will be led by the group's chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, he said.

According to the official, Hamas has not yet received any new ceasefire proposals, despite Israeli media reports suggesting that Israel and Egypt had exchanged draft documents outlining a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

"However, contacts and discussions with mediators are ongoing," he added, accusing Israel of "continuing its aggression" in Gaza.

The Times of Israel reported that Egypt's proposal would involve the release of eight living hostages and eight bodies, in exchange for a truce lasting between 40 and 70 days and a substantial release of Palestinian prisoners.

President Trump said during a cabinet meeting this week that "we're getting close to getting them (hostages in Gaza) back".

Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was also quoted in an Israeli media report as saying "a very serious deal is taking shape, it's a matter of days".

Israel resumed its Gaza strikes on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.

Since then, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory to which Israel cut off aid more than a month ago.

Dozens of these strikes have killed "only women and children," according to a report by UN human rights office.

The report also warned that expanding Israeli evacuation orders were resulting in the "forcible transfer" of people into ever-shrinking areas, raising "real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza".

On Saturday, Israel continued with its offensive.

Gaza's civil defense agency reported an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza City on Saturday morning.

AFP footage of the aftermath of the strike showed the bodies of four men, wrapped in white shrouds, at a local hospital, while several individuals gathered to offer prayers before the funeral.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said its air force intercepted three projectiles that were identified as crossing into Israeli territory from southern Gaza on Saturday.

The ceasefire that ended on March 17 had led to the release of 33 hostages from Gaza -- eight of them deceased -- and the release of around 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. It resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Gaza's health ministry said on Friday that at least 1,563 Palestinians had been killed since March 18 when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,933.