Burhan, Hemedti Call for Dialogue to Overcome Sudan Crisis

Transitional Military Council Chairman General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (Reuters)
Transitional Military Council Chairman General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (Reuters)
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Burhan, Hemedti Call for Dialogue to Overcome Sudan Crisis

Transitional Military Council Chairman General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (Reuters)
Transitional Military Council Chairman General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (Reuters)

Military leaders in Sudan have called for dialogue and national unity to overcome the crisis facing the country. This came at a time security forces disbanded a gathering of families of political detainees, lawyers, and civil society activists.

While the crowd intended to perform Eid al-Fitr prayer, they had also planned a sit-in in front of Soba prison in southern Khartoum with the aim of pressing authorities to release all political detainees.

Since the army took power on October 25, security services have arrested dozens of political leaders and members of “resistance committees” who are active in organizing demonstrations against the military authority.

In Sudan, popular protests are escalating in demand of ending the army's rule and returning the country to the path of democratic transition led by a civilian government.

Transitional Military Council Chairman Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), addressed the nation on Eid al-Fitr and called on Sudan’s political parties to find national consensus and resolve the crisis through dialogue.

Al-Burhan said that discord and lack of acceptance of the other have negatively affected the overall political, social, and economic conditions in Sudan.

He added that the armed forces and other security services will have an active presence in all solutions offered to complete the democratic transition in the country.

Al-Burhan pointed out that the multiplicity of national initiatives and the efforts of international and regional organizations reflect the importance of national reconciliation and contribute towards a solution.

During his speech, Al-Burhan reiterated the call for all societal components, political parties, resistance committees and the revolution’s youth to rise above differences and place the country above all.

He also stressed the importance of stopping the tribal conflicts in West Darfur.

For his part, Hemedti echoed Al-Burhan’s statements and said that dialogue was the only way to resolve the political crisis experienced by Sudan.



Airlines Including Lufthansa Cautiously Plan to Resume Some Middle East Flights

An Airbus A320-214 passenger aircraft of Lufthansa airline, takes off from Malaga-Costa del Sol airport, in Malaga, Spain, May 3, 2024. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo
An Airbus A320-214 passenger aircraft of Lufthansa airline, takes off from Malaga-Costa del Sol airport, in Malaga, Spain, May 3, 2024. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo
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Airlines Including Lufthansa Cautiously Plan to Resume Some Middle East Flights

An Airbus A320-214 passenger aircraft of Lufthansa airline, takes off from Malaga-Costa del Sol airport, in Malaga, Spain, May 3, 2024. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo
An Airbus A320-214 passenger aircraft of Lufthansa airline, takes off from Malaga-Costa del Sol airport, in Malaga, Spain, May 3, 2024. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo

Germany's Lufthansa Group is set to resume flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel from Feb. 1 and Wizz Air restarted its London to Tel Aviv route on Thursday, the companies said following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Many Western carriers cancelled flights to swaths of the Middle East in recent months, including Beirut and Tel Aviv, as conflict tore across the region. Airlines also avoided Iraqi and Iranian airspace out of fear of getting accidentally caught in drone or missile warfare.

Wizz Air also resumed flights to Amman, Jordan starting on Thursday from London Luton airport.

Lufthansa Group carriers Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Austrian Airlines and Swiss were included in Lufthansa's decision to resume flights to Tel Aviv.

Ryanair said it was hoping to run a full summer schedule to and from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv in an interview with Reuters last week, before the ceasefire deal was announced.

In the wake of the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Turkish Airlines said it would start flights to Damascus, the Syrian capital, on Jan. 23, with three flights per week.

CAUTIOUS RETURN

But airlines remain cautious and watchful before re-entering the region in full, they said.

British carrier EasyJet told Reuters it welcomed the news of the Gaza ceasefire and would review its plans in the coming days.

Air France-KLM said its operations to and from Tel Aviv remain suspended until Jan. 24, while its flights between Paris and Beirut will be suspended until Jan. 31.

"The operations will resume on the basis of an assessment of the situation on the ground," it said in a statement.

The suspension of Lufthansa flights to and from Tehran up to and including Feb. 14 remains in place and the airline will not fly to Beirut in Lebanon up to and including Feb. 28, it said.