UNITAMS Continues Consultations with Sudanese Stakeholders to End Crisis

 Head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes during a videoconference with several Sudanese party leaders on Friday, January 21, 2022. (SUNA)
Head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes during a videoconference with several Sudanese party leaders on Friday, January 21, 2022. (SUNA)
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UNITAMS Continues Consultations with Sudanese Stakeholders to End Crisis

 Head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes during a videoconference with several Sudanese party leaders on Friday, January 21, 2022. (SUNA)
Head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes during a videoconference with several Sudanese party leaders on Friday, January 21, 2022. (SUNA)

United Nations-facilitated consultations on a political process for Sudan continued to engage Sudanese stakeholders for the second week in a row.

On January 8, the Head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, launched a political dialogue to reach a complete consensus between Sudanese parties to achieve full democratic transition under civilian leadership.

Consultations were held with representatives from the Women’s Agenda, the National Umma Party, the Sudan Liberation Army-Transitional Council (SLA-TC), the Democratic Unionist Party and the FFC Central Committee.

During the discussions, participants offered concrete suggestions on the way forward for transition and presented views regarding the scope and parameters of the consultations process, including means of enhancing international support.

They also tackled immediate priority issues, including ending the violence, and addressed the root causes of the current crisis.

UNITAMS affirmed that it will continue to hold talks with political parties, Darfur resistance committees and civil society groups, including women's groups, families of martyrs of recent protests, representatives of the Professional Associations and signatory groups to the Juba Peace Agreement. The military and security forces will also be included as part of the consultations.

“Further consultation will continue with representatives of the full range of Sudanese political and civil society spectrum in the upcoming weeks, it noted.



Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Warns US Against Intervening in Israel-Iran Conflict

 Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
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Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Warns US Against Intervening in Israel-Iran Conflict

 Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)

Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah warned on Sunday it would resume attacks on US troops in the region if the United States intervenes in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

"We are closely monitoring the movements of the American enemy's army in the region," Kataib Hezbollah Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said in a statement. "If America intervenes in the war, we will act directly against its interests and bases spread across the region without hesitation."

Founded in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah is one of the elite Iraqi armed factions closest to Iran. The group, a key pillar of Iran's network of regional proxy forces, has claimed responsibility for dozens of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US forces in both Iraq and Syria.

Early last year, Kataib Hezbollah announced the suspension of all its military operations against US troops in the region in response to efforts by the Iraqi government.

Kataib Hezbollah is part of a coalition of Iran-aligned groups known collectively as the "Axis of Resistance" — an umbrella of hardline Shiite armed factions that have claimed more than 150 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since the onset of the Gaza war about 20 months ago.

Iraq, a rare ally of both Washington and Tehran, is striving to avoid upsetting its fragile stability while focusing on rebuilding after years of conflict.