Sudan’s Burhan Says Has ‘Notes’ on Russian Naval Base Deal

A worker makes fishnets in Port Sudan at Red Sea State. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
A worker makes fishnets in Port Sudan at Red Sea State. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
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Sudan’s Burhan Says Has ‘Notes’ on Russian Naval Base Deal

A worker makes fishnets in Port Sudan at Red Sea State. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
A worker makes fishnets in Port Sudan at Red Sea State. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

Sudan has some notes about an agreement to construct a Russian naval base on its Red Sea coast, the country’s top general said on Monday.

These notes should be addressed before advancing in the implementation process, Army chief Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stressed in an interview with the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency.

“The creation of this base is part of an existing agreement. We keep regularly discussing the matter, and there are some faults that have to be remedied. We are committed to international agreements and will continue to implement them to the end,” he noted.

The Sudanese leader further underscored the “long-standing and continuous” military cooperation with Russia, praising Moscow’s position on developments in Sudan and its support for governments and peoples to decide their own fate.

In November 2020, Sudan and Russia agreed to establish a naval base on the Red Sea coast near Port Sudan to maintain peace and stability in the region. The base is “defensive and not aimed against other countries,” the defense ministry affirmed.

The facility could moor no more than four ships, including nuclear-powered ones, at the same time, it noted, adding that the hub would be used for repair and resupply operations and as a place where Russian naval personnel could take rest.

In other news, the Beja Tribal Council, a tribal group in eastern Sudan, announced on Monday it would temporarily lift a six-week blockade on the country’s main seaport, a week after the military took power in a coup.

Opponents of last week’s military takeover had accused the army of engineering the blockade of Port Sudan to put pressure on civilian leaders and ultimately justify plans to end civilian rule.

The army has denied being behind the blockade and declined to get involved, saying it was based on legitimate demands.

Barricades at the port and on the main road to Khartoum were being lifted from Monday morning for a month, said Abdallah Abushar, secretary for the High Beja Council.

Members of the group had shut the Red Sea port in September, calling for a range of demands including the replacement of the civilian-led government.

The Port Sudan blockade, which shut down Red Sea terminals and the main road linking to the capital, had resulted in wheat and fuel shortages and the re-routing of shipments through Egypt.

The group had demanded the civilian government be replaced with technocrats, and that parts of an October 2020 peace agreement with rebel groups across Sudan be renegotiated.

Last week, Sudan’s military took power in a coup, detaining civilian officials and politicians, and promising to establish a new government of technocrats. The coup has been met with opposition and street demonstrations over the last week.



Israeli Troops Deploy to New Corridor Across Southern Gaza

Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Israeli Troops Deploy to New Corridor Across Southern Gaza

Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israel said Saturday that troops have deployed to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza to pressure the Hamas militant group.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced the new Morag Corridor and suggested it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of Gaza.
A military statement Saturday said troops with the 36th Division had been deployed in the corridor. It was not immediately clear how many had deployed or where exactly the corridor was located, The Associated Press reported. Morag is the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, and Netanyahu suggested it would run between the cities.
Maps published by Israeli media showed the new corridor running the width of the narrow coastal strip from east to west.
Netanyahu said it would be “a second Philadelphi corridor,” referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May.
Israel has also reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the strip. The Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
“We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said Wednesday.
The latest announcement came shortly after a White House official confirmed that Netanyahu on Monday would again meet with President Donald Trump, their second meeting at the White House since Trump took office in January.
Last month, Israel shattered the ceasefire in Gaza with a surprise bombardment after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the truce that had taken hold in January. The White House supported Israel's move.
Netanyahu’s defense minister said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones.
Israel has pledged to escalate the war with Hamas until the militant group returns the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, disarms and leaves the territory.
Israel last month again halted all supplies of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza.