Mikati Determined to Form New Lebanese Govt Despite Obstacles

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati gestures as he attends an interview with Reuters at the government headquarters in downtown Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2022. (Reuters)
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati gestures as he attends an interview with Reuters at the government headquarters in downtown Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2022. (Reuters)
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Mikati Determined to Form New Lebanese Govt Despite Obstacles

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati gestures as he attends an interview with Reuters at the government headquarters in downtown Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2022. (Reuters)
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati gestures as he attends an interview with Reuters at the government headquarters in downtown Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2022. (Reuters)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed on Tuesday his determination to proceed with the cabinet formation process despite the many obstacles in his way.

“We are determined to continue work according to the constitution and the nation’s best interest; no one will be allowed to sabotage and obstruct the constitutional process,” Mikati said at the launch of a youth forum in Beirut.

The PM hoped that parliament will succeed in electing a new president within the constitutional deadline, because the existing challenges require cooperation and integration among constitutional institutions.

Last week parliament failed to elect a new head of state to replace President Michel Aoun whose term ends on Oct. 31. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said he would call lawmakers to convene again once they reach consensus over a candidate.

Mikati warned against suspicious attempts aimed at obstructing the implementation of the Taif Accord, which he said helped end the 1975-90 civil war and restore state institutions.

The accord may not be perfect, “but it is at least better than chaos and demagogy,” he added.

The agreement is the “natural framework” that can bring together the Lebanese people under common values, he stated, while stressing the need to implement all of its articles to achieve the higher national interest.

He also suggested that the pact could be adjusted to current times, while preserving its main goal of securing coexistence between the Lebanese people.



Drone Strikes Target Army Celebration in Central Sudan, Say Witnesses

A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
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Drone Strikes Target Army Celebration in Central Sudan, Say Witnesses

A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

Drone strikes targeted the Sudanese town of Tamboul, southeast of the capital Khartoum, on Wednesday during a celebration organized by the army, two witnesses told AFP.

One Tamboul resident said chaos had erupted in the central square where "hundreds of people had gathered" for the ceremony as air defenses responded.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes, the first in Al-Jazira state in months, and neither the army nor its RSF foes issued any comment.

Al-Jazira was Sudan's pre-war agricultural heartland, AFP reported.

It had been largely calm since the army recaptured it from the Rapid Support Forces in January in the same counteroffensive that saw it retake Khartoum in March.

According to the United Nations, around a million people have returned to their homes in Al-Jazira since January.

Wednesday's celebration in Tamboul was due to be attended by Abu Aqla Kaykal, the commander of the Sudan Shield Forces, an armed group currently aligned with the regular army which has been accused of atrocities while fighting on both sides of Sudan's devastating war.

His defection back to the army's side late last year helped pave the way for its gains of recent months.

Since it began in April 2023, the war between the regular army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The army now controls the centre, north and east of Sudan, while the RSF hold nearly all of the west and parts of the south.