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Lebanon: Mikati Calls for Serious Effort to Elect New President

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai receives Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday (Dalati & Nohra)
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai receives Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday (Dalati & Nohra)
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Lebanon: Mikati Calls for Serious Effort to Elect New President

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai receives Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday (Dalati & Nohra)
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai receives Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday (Dalati & Nohra)

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati met on Thursday with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai and stressed the need for unity among political factions, and called for serious efforts to elect a new president in the crisis-hit nation.

Mikati’s visit came after a statement issued by the Maronite Bishops Council that criticized the months-long failed efforts to form a new government.

After the meeting, Mikati said that “unity is crucial in these difficult circumstances, and in order to elect a new president” regardless of the opinions of political parties.

The tenure of President Michel Aoun ends on October 31.

“We must work seriously in order to elect a president in these difficult circumstances,” he emphasized.

On the formation of the government, Mikati said: "I told Patriarch Rai that I am the last one to talk about sectarianism in the government file. I believe in the unity of Lebanon and the building of the state. We must avoid any talk that leads to further divisions and discuss instead what brings us together," he added.

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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.