Burhan, High-level Sudanese Delegation, to Visit Turkey at End of Month

Chairman of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Burhan. (AFP)
Chairman of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Burhan. (AFP)
TT

Burhan, High-level Sudanese Delegation, to Visit Turkey at End of Month

Chairman of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Burhan. (AFP)
Chairman of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Burhan. (AFP)

Chairman of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Burhan is scheduled to pay an official visit to Turkey at the end of the month at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Heading a high-level delegation, his talks will cover the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis, as well as joint and bilateral relations.

Dubai-based Asharq television said Burhan will be accompanied by the ministers of finance, defense, agriculture, health and higher education.

“The Burhan-Erdogan talks will cover joint relations between both countries, in addition to the GERD crisis between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia,” it reported

On Sunday, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was briefed on the arrangements for the visit, his office announced.

It did not specify the date of the trip.

Hamdok reviewed agreements signed between Sudan and Turkey.

Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, “Hemedti”, had visited Turkey in May. He was accompanied by a delegation that included the ministers of agriculture, energy, livestock, transport and urban development.

Hemedti had praised the historic relations with Turkey and said he was looking forward to developing them further.

Upon his return to Sudan, he declared that an understanding had been reached to update all previous agreements. He did not elaborate.

Ankara and Khartoum had developed their ties under the regime of ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

After his removal, ties grew strained due to relations between Islamists in Sudan and Turkey. Tensions were further stoked when Ankara hosted several Sudanese Islamist officials, who had fled Khartoum following the fall of the Bashir regime.

Hemedti appeared to have eased the tensions when he made his surprise visit.



Lebanon Returns 70 Officers and Soldiers to Syria, Security Official Says

A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
TT

Lebanon Returns 70 Officers and Soldiers to Syria, Security Official Says

A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)

Lebanon expelled around 70 Syrian officers and soldiers on Saturday, returning them to Syria after they crossed into the country illegally via informal routes, a Lebanese security official and a war monitor said.

Many senior Syrian officials and people close to the former ruling family of Bashar al-Assad fled the country to neighboring Lebanon after Assad's regime was toppled on Dec 8.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based organization with sources in Syria, and the Lebanese security official said Syrian military personnel of various ranks had been sent back via Lebanon's northern Arida crossing.

SOHR and the security official said the returnees were detained by Syria's new ruling authorities after crossing the border.

The new administration has been undertaking a major security crackdown in recent days on what they say are "remnants" of the Assad regime.

Several of the cities and towns concerned, including in Homs and Tartous provinces, are near the porous border with Lebanon.

The Lebanese security official said the Syrian officers and soldiers were found in a truck in the northern coastal city of Jbeil after an inspection by local officials.

Lebanese and Syrian government officials did not immediately respond to written requests for comment on the incident.

Reuters reported on Friday that Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of Assad charged in Switzerland with war crimes over the bloody suppression of a revolt in 1982, had flown out of Beirut recently, as had "many members" of the Assad family.

Earlier this month, Lebanese caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said top Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban had flown out of Beirut after entering Lebanon legally.

In an interview with Al Arabiya, Mawlawi said other Syrian officials had entered Lebanon illegally and were being pursued.