Burhan Fires 6 Sudanese Diplomats

Gen. Abdel-Fattah Buran. AFP
Gen. Abdel-Fattah Buran. AFP
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Burhan Fires 6 Sudanese Diplomats

Gen. Abdel-Fattah Buran. AFP
Gen. Abdel-Fattah Buran. AFP

Sudan’s strongman fired at least six ambassadors, including the envoys to the US, the European Union and France, after they condemned the military's takeover of the country, a military official said Thursday.

The diplomats pledged their support for the now-deposed government of Prime Minister Abddalla Hamdok.

Also fired by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan late Wednesday were the Sudanese ambassadors to Qatar, China and the UN mission in Geneva, according to the official.

The state-run Sudan TV also reported the dismissals.

The ambassadors were fired two days after Burhan dissolved the transitional government and detained the prime minister, many government officials and political leaders in a coup condemned by the US and the West. The military allowed Hamdok to return home Tuesday after international pressure for his release.

Burhan said the military forces were compelled to take over because of quarrels between political parties that he claimed could lead to civil war. However, the coup also comes just weeks before Burhan would have had to hand over the leadership of the Sovereign Council, the ultimate decision-maker in Sudan, to a civilian, in a step that would reduce the military's hold on the country. The council has military and civilian members. Hamdok's government ran Sudan's daily affairs.

Protesters, meanwhile, took to the streets of Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman late Wednesday in continued demonstrations against the coup amid heavy security across the capital. By Thursday morning, security forces had cleared several makeshift stone barricades that protesters had set up in a few residential neighborhoods.

No casualties were reported, but a young man died in a Khartoum hospital late Wednesday of wounds sustained in Monday’s protests, according to activist Nazim Siraj.

This raised to seven the number of protesters killed since Monday. More than 140 people have been wounded since the military’s takeover, according to the activist.



‘Oil-for-Salaries’ Deal Ends Dispute Between Baghdad and Erbil

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
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‘Oil-for-Salaries’ Deal Ends Dispute Between Baghdad and Erbil

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)

The Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) reached a landmark agreement on Thursday that ends a years-long dispute over oil revenues and public sector salaries.

The deal, announced following an emergency cabinet meeting in Baghdad, covers oil production handover, non-oil revenue sharing, and the resumption of salary payments to KRG employees beginning with May 2025.

According to a government statement, the agreement was based on a recommendation by a ministerial committee and aligned with Kurdistan’s regional cabinet decision No. 285, issued on July 16.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani confirmed the breakthrough, stating that the federal government had approved a “mutual understanding regarding salaries and the region’s financial entitlements.”

Under the terms of the deal, the KRG will hand over all crude oil production - currently 280,000 barrels per day (bpd) - to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), with the exception of 50,000 bpd reserved for domestic consumption. This marks the first such commitment in more than two years, during which oil exports were suspended amid ongoing disputes and recent drone strikes targeting northern oilfields operated mostly by US firms.

In return, the federal Ministry of Finance will pay $16 per barrel, in cash or in kind, to cover production costs. Revenues from locally consumed oil derivatives will go to the federal treasury after deducting production and transport expenses.

On non-oil revenues, the KRG will transfer an initial 120 billion Iraqi dinars (approx. $92 million) to the federal finance ministry, representing an estimate of Baghdad’s share for May. A joint audit team from both governments will verify and finalize the figures within two weeks.

To resolve long-standing disputes over public salaries, a new joint committee will oversee the localization of KRG employee payrolls, in line with a ruling from the Federal Supreme Court. The committee is expected to complete its work within three months.

As part of the agreement’s first phase, the federal government will begin disbursing May salaries following confirmation from SOMO that the agreed oil volumes have been received.