عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Washington Calls for Forming Unified Libyan Govt Via Elections  

The meeting between the US Special envoy to Libya, Ambassador Richard Norland, and head of the High National Elections Commission Emad al-Sayeh. (US Embassy) 
The meeting between the US Special envoy to Libya, Ambassador Richard Norland, and head of the High National Elections Commission Emad al-Sayeh. (US Embassy) 
    Asharq A-Awsat
TT
20
TT

Washington Calls for Forming Unified Libyan Govt Via Elections  

The meeting between the US Special envoy to Libya, Ambassador Richard Norland, and head of the High National Elections Commission Emad al-Sayeh. (US Embassy) 
The meeting between the US Special envoy to Libya, Ambassador Richard Norland, and head of the High National Elections Commission Emad al-Sayeh. (US Embassy) 

US Special envoy to Libya Ambassador Richard Norland said on Thursday that having two governments in Libya is a “complicated” matter that can only be resolved by unifying the executive authorities through elections.

According to a statement circulated by the US embassy, Norland discussed with head of the High National Elections Commission Emad al-Sayeh in Tripoli on Thursday the commission’s readiness to hold “transparent and credible” elections.

He reaffirmed the US support for Libya’s democratic development.  

Following the meeting, Norland underscored the importance of having a unified government, which can control the whole country, and called for focusing on the elections and setting laws and a basis for these elections. 

He also pledged to “continue to focus on the main and influential actors in holding the elections, while supporting the political track and holding the elections as soon as possible.” 

Norland also implicitly criticized the parliament and the High Council of State’s (HCS) failure to reach a consensus on setting the constitutional basis for the polls.

“We are looking forward to the meeting of the two bodies for this purpose,” Norland said, adding that Sayeh confirmed the commission's readiness to hold the vote once the two sides agree on a constitutional basis. 

Regarding transparency in the distribution of state revenues, Norland called for a mechanism to distribute oil revenues and returns to all Libyans, noting that he discussed several proposals by the Presidential Council, the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the HCS.  

In remarks about the presence of foreign forces and the thousands of mercenaries in Libya, Norland affirmed his country’s support for their departure, the unifying process of the military institution, and the work of the “5+5 Joint Military Commission.”

“We have an idea about the process of unifying the Libyan army. We are focused on reopening our embassy in Libya, and working from the cities of Tripoli, Benghazi and Sabha.” 

During his meeting with chief of staff Mohammed al-Haddad of the GNU, Norland expressed US support for efforts to secure the departure of foreign mercenaries as well as all foreign forces, and cautioned against their further entrenchment in Libya.  

“We discussed promising efforts to form a joint unit as a first step toward reunifying Libyan military forces,” he added.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Satellite Images Appear to Show Attempts to Dispose of Bodies After RSF Seized Sudan’s el-Fasher

This satellite image from Vantor shows a smoke from a fire at the Saudi hospital in el-Fasher, Sudan, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (©2025 Vantor via AP)
This satellite image from Vantor shows a smoke from a fire at the Saudi hospital in el-Fasher, Sudan, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (©2025 Vantor via AP)
TT
20
TT

Satellite Images Appear to Show Attempts to Dispose of Bodies After RSF Seized Sudan’s el-Fasher

This satellite image from Vantor shows a smoke from a fire at the Saudi hospital in el-Fasher, Sudan, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (©2025 Vantor via AP)
This satellite image from Vantor shows a smoke from a fire at the Saudi hospital in el-Fasher, Sudan, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (©2025 Vantor via AP)

New satellite images analyzed Friday appear to show further efforts by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces to dispose of corpses after they seized and rampaged through the city of el-Fasher in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Images by the Colorado-based firm Vantor show a fire at the Saudi hospital in el-Fasher on Thursday near a collection of white objects seen days earlier in other Vantor photos.

The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab described the images as showing the “burning of objects that may be consistent with bodies.”

“The practice of burning bodies is not consistent with Islamic burial practices,” the Yale lab said in its report. “The apparent immolation of objects that may be consistent with human remains complicates any future effort to count the number of people killed since the fall of el-Fasher and to identify and return the remains to family members.”

The Associated Press separately accessed the Vantor images and identified objects corresponding to the Yale lab’s report, including the fire and the white objects. Such objects in other imagery from el-Fasher appear to correspond to dead bodies, showing the scale of the killings in the city.

Earlier satellite images of el-Fasher appear to show mass graves being dug and later covered at two sites in the city, one at a mosque just north of the Saudi hospital where some 460 people reportedly had been killed and another by a former children’s hospital that the RSF had been using as a prison.

The RSF has denied killing anyone at the Saudi hospital.

However, testimonies from those fleeing el-Fasher, online videos and satellite images offer an apocalyptic vision of the attack.

Another satellite image appeared to show the RSF likely blocking an exit to el-Fasher to the west. A new berm had been added to the site, the Yale lab said.

Drones reportedly intercepted

Meanwhile, the Sudanese army intercepted drones fired overnight by its rival paramilitary group on two cities in Sudan's northeast, a military official said Friday.

The army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the matter, said 15 drones targeted Atbara, a city north of the capital, in River Nile province. He confirmed that strikes caused no casualties. Local media reports said residents heard explosions.

The official added that ground defenses intercepted a smaller-scale drone attack that also targeted Omdruman, the sister city of the capital Khartoum.

The RSF drone strikes come a day after the group announced that it has agreed to a humanitarian truce proposed by a US-led mediator group known as the Quad.

A Sudanese military official told the AP on Thursday that the army welcomes the Quad’s proposal but will only agree to a truce when the RSF completely withdraws from civilian areas and give up weapons per previous peace proposals.

US-led plan for a truce

The war between the RSF and the military began in 2023, when tensions erupted between the two former allies that were meant to oversee a democratic transition after a 2019 uprising.

The fighting has killed at least 40,000 people, according to the WHO, and displaced 12 million. However, aid groups say the true death toll could be many times higher. Over 24 million people are also facing acute food insecurity, according to the World Food Program.

The US-led plan for a truce would start with a three-month humanitarian truce followed by a nine-month political process, said Massad Boulos, a US adviser for African affairs, earlier this week.

Also Friday, the UN’s top human rights body announced it will hold an emergency special session on Sudan on Nov. 14 over recent bloodshed and other violence against civilians in and around the Darfur city of el-Fasher.

The call for the special session by the Human Rights Council in Geneva was led by Britain, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway, and has drawn support from two dozen council members in the 47-member-country rights body so far.

Limited aid delivery The RSF’s announcement that it agreed to the truce comes more than a week after the group seized el-Fasher which had been under siege for over 18 months. It was also the last Sudanese military stronghold in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

UNICEF said Thursday that more than 81,000 people have been displaced from el-Fasher since Oct. 26, with rising needs for shelter, food, water and medical care but limited aid delivery.

The UN children agency's report said it identified more than 850 children with acute malnutrition who are now receiving treatment. It added that violence, sexual assaults and looting of health facilities remain rampant across North Darfur, with women and children being the most vulnerable.

Arab World

Report: Azerbaijan Will Only Send Peacekeepers to Gaza if Fighting Stops Completely

A Palestinian child holds a piece of wood with the rubble of destroyed buildings in the background, during sunset, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, November 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A Palestinian child holds a piece of wood with the rubble of destroyed buildings in the background, during sunset, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, November 6, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Report: Azerbaijan Will Only Send Peacekeepers to Gaza if Fighting Stops Completely

A Palestinian child holds a piece of wood with the rubble of destroyed buildings in the background, during sunset, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, November 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A Palestinian child holds a piece of wood with the rubble of destroyed buildings in the background, during sunset, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, November 6, 2025. (Reuters)

Azerbaijan does not plan to send peacekeepers to Gaza unless there is a complete halt to fighting there between Israel and Hamas, an Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry source told Reuters on Friday.

As part of President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza, the US has been speaking to Azerbaijan, Indonesia, the UAE, Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye about possible contributions from those countries to an International Stabilization Force (ISF) of around 20,000 troops.

"We do not want to put our troops in danger. This can only happen if military action is completely stopped," the Azerbaijani source said.

The source noted that any such decision would have to be approved by parliament. The head of the parliamentary security committee told Reuters that it had not yet received any draft bill on the matter.

A US-drafted resolution at the United Nations would authorize the ISF to "use all necessary measures" - meaning force, if necessary - to carry out its mandate to stabilize security in Gaza.

Hamas has not said whether it will agree to disarm and demilitarize Gaza, something it has previously rejected.

Arab World

UN Issues 'Stark' Warning on Sudan's Kordofan

Displaced Sudanese who fled el-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive in the town of Tawila war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on October 28, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese who fled el-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive in the town of Tawila war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on October 28, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

UN Issues 'Stark' Warning on Sudan's Kordofan

Displaced Sudanese who fled el-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive in the town of Tawila war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on October 28, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese who fled el-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive in the town of Tawila war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on October 28, 2025. (AFP)

The United Nations issued a "stark warning" Friday over preparations for intensified fighting in Sudan's Kordofan region, as it made a new call for an end to the violence.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been locked in conflict with Sudan's regular army since April 2023, announced on Thursday that they had agreed to a humanitarian truce proposal made by mediators.

Following the RSF capture of el-Fasher in late October of the army's last major stronghold in the western Darfur region, the paramilitaries appear to be shifting their focus eastward towards Khartoum and oil-rich Kordofan.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said traumatized and trapped civilians were being prevented from leaving el-Fasher.

"I fear that the abominable atrocities such as summary executions, rape and ethnically motivated violence are continuing within the city," he said in a statement.

And for those who do manage to escape, the exit routes have been the scenes of "unimaginable cruelty", he added.

"At the same time, I issue a stark warning about events unfolding in Kordofan," said Turk.

"Since the capture of el-Fasher, the civilian casualties, destruction and mass displacement there have been mounting. There is no sign of de-escalation.

"To the contrary, developments on the ground indicate clear preparations for intensified hostilities, with everything that implies for its long-suffering people."

The RSF have been accused of mass killings, looting and sexual violence in el-Fasher.

Turk said that given the "cataclysmic violence" in the city, countries were on notice that without quick and decisive action, "there will be more of the carnage and atrocities that we have already witnessed".

He said the provision of military support to sustain parties committing serious violations must stop.

"I repeat my plea for an immediate end to the violence both in Darfur and Kordofan. Bold and urgent action is required by the international community," said Turk.

The fall of el-Fasher gave paramilitaries control over all five state capitals in Darfur, raising fears that Sudan would effectively be partitioned along an east-west axis.