UN: Sudan's Army Shouldn't Miss Chance to Withdraw from Politics

Protests in Khartoum (AP)
Protests in Khartoum (AP)
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UN: Sudan's Army Shouldn't Miss Chance to Withdraw from Politics

Protests in Khartoum (AP)
Protests in Khartoum (AP)

The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Sudan, Volker Perthes, said that the Sudanese army's announcement of withdrawal from politics is "an opportunity that needs to be grasped."

Perthes began new moves to revive the political process halted after the army withdrew from the dialogue with the civilian forces in early July.

He said in a statement, which Asharq Al-Awsat received a copy of, that civilians must accept the challenge and form a civilian government.

Perthes said that the Trilateral Mechanism would continue to provide unlimited support to all Sudanese efforts to overcome the deadlock and find a way out of the crisis.

"We will continue to provide technical assistance and provide a space where divergent views by different parties can be bridged when needed."

The UN official warned that "Time is not on Sudan's side. The continuation of the political impasse will lead to more losses of recent national gains."

"We call on all major forces, political parties, and grassroots movements, including the Resistance Committees, to open communication channels with one another and to think through their ideas and proposals," he said.

Perthes noted that broad participation in the political process is something that the Sudanese political forces can achieve by ensuring the broadest possible consultations with the actors and stakeholders close to them.

In his statement, the UN envoy referred to Lieutenant General Abdelfattah al-Burhan's announcement on 4 July, which Lt-Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo later confirmed.

He said it positively indicated that the military was prepared to accept the leadership of a civilian-led government to oversee a democratic transition.

"This presented a challenge for the civilian forces, which we have encouraged them to accept. The withdrawal of the military from politics and the return to civilian government has been a key demand of the street and most political parties and civilian political forces."

According to Perthes, there are now several political initiatives that propose solutions.

"We have mentioned more than once that full Sudanese ownership of the political process is the cornerstone for its success."

He warned that progress under the current situation in the debt relief process, which amounts to $56 billion, would be impossible.

The political process to resolve the Sudanese crisis, led by the Trilateral Mechanism of the United Nations, the African Union, and the African Intergovernmental Organization (IGAD), froze ahead of Eid al-Adha.

Differences emerged after the army announced its withdrawal from the political process, saying it aimed to allow the political forces to form a civilian government of independent figures.



Israel Halts Aid, Official Says, as Gazan Clans Deny Hamas is Stealing It

Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Halts Aid, Official Says, as Gazan Clans Deny Hamas is Stealing It

Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)

Israel has halted aid supplies to Gaza for two days to prevent them being seized by Hamas, an official said on Thursday after images circulated of masked men on aid trucks whom clan leaders said were protecting aid, not diverting it to the militants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, said late on Wednesday that he had ordered the military to present a plan within two days to prevent Hamas from taking control of aid.

The decision was made after Netanyahu and Katz cited new information indicating that Hamas was seizing aid intended for civilians in northern Gaza. The statement did not disclose the information but a video circulating on Wednesday showed dozens of masked men, some armed with rifles but most carrying sticks, riding on aid trucks

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that aid deliveries had been temporarily suspended for two days to allow the military time to develop a new plan.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli prime minister's office, the defense ministry or the Israeli military.

The Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs, which represents influential clans in the territory, said that trucks had been protected as part of an aid security process managed "solely through tribal efforts". The commission said that no Palestinian faction, a reference to Hamas, had taken part in the process.

Hamas, the militant group that has ruled Gaza for more than two decades but now controls only parts of the territory after nearly two years of war with Israel, denied any involvement.

Throughout the war, numerous clans, civil society groups and factions - including Hamas' secular political rival Fatah - have stepped in to help provide security for the aid convoys.

Clans made up of extended families connected through blood and marriage have long been a fundamental part of Gazan society.

ACUTE SHORTAGE

Amjad al-Shawa, director of an umbrella body for Palestinian non-governmental organisations, said the aid protected by clans on Wednesday was being distributed to vulnerable families.

There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year military campaign by Israel that has displaced most of Gaza's two million inhabitants.

Aid trucks and warehouses storing supplies have often been looted, frequently by desperate and starving Palestinians. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies.

"The clans came ... to form a stance to prevent the aggressors and the thieves from stealing the food that belongs to our people," Abu Salman Al Moghani, a representative of Gazan clans, said, referring to Wednesday's operation.

The Wednesday video was shared on X by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who claimed that Hamas had taken control of aid allowed into Gaza by the Israeli government. Bennett is widely seen as the most viable challenger to Netanyahu at the next election.

Netanyahu has also faced pressure from within his right-wing coalition, with some hardline members threatening to quit over ceasefire negotiations and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza.

At least 103 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire over the past 24 hours, local health authorities said, including some shot near an aid distribution point, the latest in a series of such incidents. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Twenty hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, while Hamas is also holding the bodies of 30 who have died.