Guterres Calls on 'All Parties' to 'Preserve Stability' in Libya

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks as UN General Assembly appointed him for a second five-year term from January 1, 2022, in New York City, New York, US, June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks as UN General Assembly appointed him for a second five-year term from January 1, 2022, in New York City, New York, US, June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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Guterres Calls on 'All Parties' to 'Preserve Stability' in Libya

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks as UN General Assembly appointed him for a second five-year term from January 1, 2022, in New York City, New York, US, June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks as UN General Assembly appointed him for a second five-year term from January 1, 2022, in New York City, New York, US, June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

UN chief Antonio Guterres called Friday on "all parties to continue to preserve stability in Libya as a top priority," after the country found itself with two competing prime ministers, raising the specter of renewed violence.

The secretary-general reminded "all institutions of the primary goal of holding national elections as soon possible," in a statement saying that he "takes note" of the Libyan parliament's naming of a new prime minister.

The UN chief's statement did not mention by name either Libya's interim Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah or the new prime minister appointed on Thursday, Fathi Bashagha.

Guterres also did not repeat what his spokesman had said a day earlier, namely that the UN has continued to support Dbeibah as interim prime minister.

Libya's parliament, based in the country's east hundreds of kilometers from the capital, voted to replace Dbeibah with former interior minister Bashagha, raising the prospect of a power struggle in the capital after a year and a half of relative calm.

Dbeibah, a construction tycoon appointed a year ago as part of United Nations-led peace efforts, has vowed only to hand power to a government that emerges from a democratic vote.

His unity government took office in early 2021.

But when December 24 elections were cancelled amid deep divisions over their legal basis and several controversial candidates, his rivals charged that his mandate had ended.



Heavy Rains Flood Khartoum Streets, Exposing Decomposed Bodies

A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Heavy Rains Flood Khartoum Streets, Exposing Decomposed Bodies

A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Torrential rains battered several parts of Sudan’s Khartoum state this week, flooding residential neighborhoods and streets, disrupting movement, and sweeping away war debris, including decomposed corpses believed to belong to paramilitary fighters.

The rainfall began as sanitation workers were carrying out maintenance on stormwater drains. But before completing their task, the downpour caught them off guard, forcing them to begin draining the water with basic tools already in use.

Local authorities said residents in the East Nile district reported seeing decomposed bodies swept into drainage canals. Officials suspect the corpses may be those of fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which controlled swathes of the capital during its year-long war with the Sudanese army.

The RSF had held large parts of Khartoum since conflict erupted on April 15, 2023. But by March this year, the army claimed to have regained full control of the city. Since then, thousands of displaced families have returned home, according to state authorities, with more returning each day.

This year’s rainy season arrives amid the devastation of war, which has crippled already fragile infrastructure, particularly flood drainage systems. Even before the conflict, seasonal rains often caused widespread destruction in Khartoum, damaging homes and public facilities and resulting in casualties.

Despite extensive water pooling in open areas, Sudan’s Civil Defense Authority reported no fatalities or property losses. “Water was drained naturally, without any intervention from Civil Defense teams,” said Major General Qureshi, deputy director of emergency operations, in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Qureshi added that his teams remain on high alert, as a precaution, although Nile water levels remain stable.

Residents attempted to clear water from their homes by removing weeds and waste blocking drainage channels.

“During the RSF's control of the city, we tried to dig small trenches to divert the rainwater toward the main drains,” said resident Mohamed Elias. “But the blocked drains caused water to stagnate for months, leading to insect infestations and disease.”

Although thousands have returned to Khartoum, the national government has not fully re-established itself in the capital, which it fled in favor of Port Sudan, a Red Sea city now serving as a temporary seat of power. Khartoum’s governor, Ahmed Othman, previously told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government’s return to the capital would be gradual.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said over one million displaced Sudanese have returned to their areas of origin across the country, including in Khartoum.