US Delegation Discusses Political Crisis in Sudan with Political Actors

Sudanese protesters attend a demonstration in Khartoum (File photo: Reuters)
Sudanese protesters attend a demonstration in Khartoum (File photo: Reuters)
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US Delegation Discusses Political Crisis in Sudan with Political Actors

Sudanese protesters attend a demonstration in Khartoum (File photo: Reuters)
Sudanese protesters attend a demonstration in Khartoum (File photo: Reuters)

A US delegation visiting Sudan met with various political forces and reviewed the national political crisis following the army's seizure of power last October.

The delegation held meetings with the pro-military armed factions which signed the Juba Agreement and the National Umma Party, led by Mubarak Al-Mahdi.

It is scheduled to meet army leaders and the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change-the Central Council (FFC).

Following the meeting, al-Mahdi called in a press statement for expediting the formation of a government consisting of technocrat figures to assume the executive and legislative authorities and lead the country to elections.

He also called for distributing the financial and humanitarian aid to the vulnerable groups that pay the bill for the economic reform agreed upon with international institutions.

Al-Mahdi stressed the importance of lifting the ban on private sector financing from the International Financing Corporation (IFC), affiliated with the World Bank, to ease the burdens on the Sudanese people.

Meanwhile, the FFC-National Accord affirmed its demands for unconditional dialogue, saying it was ready to sit down with all parties.

Spokesperson Mohamed Zakaria Faragallah briefed the US delegation on the peace process developments, including implementing the security arrangements and the challenges such as lack of international support.

Faragallah explained the vision of the forces for a political solution and consensus, including holding dialogue and identifying the parties involved in it.

The FFC wants to hold unconditional dialogue and is willing to meet all parties, Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) quoted Faragallah as saying.

The spokesman indicated that the Forces of Freedom and Change handed over the Tripartite Mechanism a written vision with several observations.

The Tripartite Mechanism consists of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), African Union (AU), and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

He stressed that the international community and facilitators must have a position regarding the parties that refuse to join the dialogue because of their negative role that prevents the completion of the democratic transition and contributes directly to exacerbating the economic and security situations.

The FFC Secretary of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Taqd Lisan said the meeting with the US delegation discussed many issues related to the current situation and the initiatives put forward, namely the tripartite mechanism initiative.

Taqd Lisan confirmed the group's desire to participate in the dialogue, noting that it has a clear vision of the talks with the rest of the political blocs without any preconditions.



Israeli Troops Battle Palestinian Fighters in Gaza City of Khan Younis

 Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Troops Battle Palestinian Fighters in Gaza City of Khan Younis

 Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli troops battled Palestinian fighters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and destroyed tunnels and other infrastructure, as they sought to suppress small militant units that have continued to hit troops with mortar fire, the military said on Friday.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said troops had killed around 100 Palestinian fighters since Israeli troops began their latest operation in Khan Younis on Monday, which continued as pressure mounted for a deal to halt the fighting.

It said seven small units that had been firing mortars at the troops were hit in an air strike, while further south, in Rafah, four fighters were also killed in air strikes.

The Islamic Jihad armed wing said it fired rockets toward the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and other Israeli towns near Gaza. No casualties were reported, the Israeli ambulance service said.

The continued fighting, more than nine months since the start of Israel's invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack, underlined the difficulty the IDF has had in eliminating fighters who have reverted to a form of guerrilla warfare in the ruins of the coastal strip.

A Telegram channel operated by the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two main militant groups in Gaza, said fighters had been waging fierce battles with Israeli troops east of Khan Younis with machine guns, mortars and anti-tank weapons.

Medics said at least six Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in eastern Khan Younis.

US PRESSURE

US President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, both urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a proposed ceasefire deal as soon as possible.

However there has been no clear sign of movement in talks to end the fighting and bring home some 115 Israeli and foreign hostages still being held in Gaza. Public statements from Israel and Hamas appear to indicate that serious differences remain between the two sides.

Local residents contacted by messenger app, said Israeli tanks had pushed into three towns to the east of Khan Younis, Bani Suhaila, Al-Zanna and Al-Karara and blew up several houses in some residential districts.

The military said air force jets hit around 45 targets, including tunnels and two launch pads from which rockets were fired into Beersheba in southern Israel.

Even while the fighting continued around Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, in the northern part of the enclave, Israeli tanks pushed into the Tel Al-Hawa suburb west of Gaza city, residents said.

A Hamas Telegram channel said fighters targeted an Israeli tank in Tal Al-Hawa and shot an Israeli soldier.

Medics said two Palestinians were also killed in an air strike in western Gaza city.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.

Israeli officials estimate that some 14,000 fighters from armed groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have been killed or taken prisoner, out of a force they estimated to number more than 25,000 at the start of the war.