Sudanese Opposition Pushes for Constitutional Declaration that Removes Army's Control

Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) during their meeting with the head of UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes (Twitter Account of Perthes)
Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) during their meeting with the head of UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes (Twitter Account of Perthes)
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Sudanese Opposition Pushes for Constitutional Declaration that Removes Army's Control

Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) during their meeting with the head of UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes (Twitter Account of Perthes)
Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) during their meeting with the head of UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes (Twitter Account of Perthes)

Sudan's opposition Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) stressed the need to exclude the army from any future political arrangements, saying military leaders used the remnants of the former regime against the United Nations initiative to solve the crisis in the country.

The Forces handed its vision to resolve the crisis to the head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes.

Perthes met with the FCC as part of UN-facilitated consultations for a political process for Sudan, which will continue engaging Sudanese stakeholders in the next few days.

The vision is based on ending the military coup, restoring the democratic transition, and defining a clear role for the traditional agencies during the transitional period.

The leader of the Forces, Khaled Omar Youssef, said: "We met with the UN Special Envoy for Sudan, based on his invitation to consult on the political process in the country."

He added that the Forces announced that they will deal positively with the initiative provided that it ends the coup and restores the path of civil and democratic transition in the country.

Youssef pointed out that the insurgents welcomed the initiative, but they aligned with the remnants of the ousted regime and continued to kill the peaceful protesters.

The leader explained that the meeting with the UN mission discussed some of the issues related to a constitutional establishment based on a fully civilian state that will lead the transitional phase.

He pointed out that the coalition's vision is to establish a new constitutional declaration that stipulates an entirely civilian transitional authority.

The new constitutional declaration should explicitly redefine the relationship between the civilian component and the military institution to avoid repeating the previous partnership, said Youssef.

The official believes it is crucial to establish healthy relations between civilians and the army based on the military establishment's disassociation from politics, adding that the army must perform its tasks in a democratic society.

The Forces suggested that the transition period should not exceed two years, ending with free and fair elections.

The Forces also stressed the need to include a roadmap for reforming the security and military agencies in the constitutional declaration, with a unified national army.

The Forces also wanted the revolutionary forces to agree on a prime minister and a cabinet to lead the transitional period, providing that consultations on the formation of the transitional state institutions would begin immediately after the military coup was overthrown.

The declaration wants to ensure justice is established in all the crimes committed in the country and all officials are held accountable for their involvement in the dispersal of the sit-in of the General Command and violence against the protests.

The spokesman of the FCC Central Council, Jaafar Hassan, said the Forces agreed on a clear vision to end the current situation and establish the next transitional phase.

The opposition alliance identified the parties to the political process, including the Forces of Freedom and Change, the Resistance Committees, the armed struggle forces that signed and did not sign the Juba Agreement.

The Forces proposed establishing a high-level mechanism in which international and regional parties would be represented by influential figures from the Troika countries, the European Union, and African and Arab countries.



Despite War with Iran, Israel Intensifies Campaign against Hezbollah in South Lebanon

A plume of smoke rises above hills after an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese Nabatiyeh district on June 20, 2025. (AFP)
A plume of smoke rises above hills after an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese Nabatiyeh district on June 20, 2025. (AFP)
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Despite War with Iran, Israel Intensifies Campaign against Hezbollah in South Lebanon

A plume of smoke rises above hills after an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese Nabatiyeh district on June 20, 2025. (AFP)
A plume of smoke rises above hills after an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese Nabatiyeh district on June 20, 2025. (AFP)

Israel has intensified its campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in the past three days, carrying out six strikes that killed five of the Iran-backed party’s members.

Israel's military said Saturday its navy hit a Hezbollah "infrastructure site" near the southern Lebanese city of Naqoura, a day after Israel's foreign minister warned the Lebanese armed group against entering the Iran-Israel war.

"Overnight, an Israeli Navy vessel struck a Hezbollah 'Radwan Force' terrorist infrastructure site in the area of Naqoura in southern Lebanon", the military said, adding the site was used by Hezbollah "to advance terror attacks against Israeli civilians".

On Friday, Israeli jets struck a vehicle in the town of al-Abbasiyeh east of Tyre city, killing Mohammed Khodr al-Husseini, whom local media identified as a Hezbollah member.

The Israeli army confirmed the killing, saying Husseini was a Hezbollah commander operating in the Litani sector. It added that he was working on rebuilding Hezbollah’s artillery operations in the area.

Later on Friday, an Israeli drone strike in the town of al-Hebbariyah near the Israeli border hit a vehicle parked by the side of the road. The vehicle turned out to be empty.

The attacks followed a bloody day of strikes on Thursday that killed three Hezbollah members in three strikes. One civilian was killed in the attacks.

One strike targeted a motorcycle in the town of Kfar Joz in Nabatiyeh, another a vehicle in the border town of Houla and the third another motorcycle in the town of Barish in the Tyre district.

Israel has kept up its strikes against Hezbollah members despite the ceasefire that ended the war between them in November and despite the ongoing war between Israel and Iran.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hezbollah to exercise caution on Friday, saying Israel's patience with "terrorists" who threaten it had worn thin.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Thursday that the group would act as it saw fit in the face of what he called "brutal Israeli-American aggression" against Iran.

In other statements, the group has made no explicit pledge to join the fighting. But it has condemned Israel’s surprise strikes on Iran that sparked the conflict and endorsed Iran’s missile barrages over Israel.

"I suggest the Lebanese proxy be cautious and understand that Israel has lost patience with terrorists who threaten it," Katz said in a statement on Friday, adding that "if there is terrorism -- there will be no Hezbollah."

Qassem "is not learning a lesson from his predecessors and is threatening to act against Israel in accordance with the Iranian dictator's orders," Katz stated.

Separately, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Friday the appointment of Major General Diodato Abagnara of Italy as Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that operates in the South.

He succeeds Lieutenant General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz of Spain.

Abagnara brings to the position over 36 years of military service, including extensive leadership roles within the Italian Armed Forces, said UNIFIL in a statement.

Most recently, he served as Commander and Chair of the Military Technical Committee for Lebanon (MTC4L), where he oversaw multinational coordination efforts in support of the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Prior to that, he held several key appointments, including Personnel Division Chief and Adviser to the Chief of Defense Staff in the Defense General Staff, Commander of an infantry brigade, and Chief of the Officers’ Employment Office.

From 2018 to 2019, he was also UNIFIL Sector West Commander. In addition, he chaired the Joint Gender Perspective Council within the Defense General Staff, underscoring his commitment to inclusive leadership and institutional reform.