Burhan: The Coup Aimed to Reform Sudan

Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (AP)
Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (AP)
TT

Burhan: The Coup Aimed to Reform Sudan

Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (AP)
Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (AP)

The President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Gen. Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan, affirmed on Saturday that the military rule will end when the situation returns to normal in Sudan.

Addressing civilians demanding the end of the military rule, he stressed that the purpose of the coup was to reform the country and once this is achieved then the armed forces would withdraw from power.

“The army is an independent institution and if it gets involved in politics then the country would be ruined,” he said, adding that “if politics gets engaged as well in the army, it ruins it.”

Burhan stressed that the army would not be dragged into a confrontation with any party or group in the country.

Speaking on Thursday before a huge mass, he said that the greatest challenge facing the Framework Agreement is the integration of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti”.

In remarks delivered at a mass marriage ceremony north of the country, in the Zakiab locality of the River Nile state, Burhan confirmed that the military is not an enemy to the Forces of Freedom and Change or the Democratic Bloc.

Sudan's military leader went on to say that the military approved the Framework Agreement because it tackles the army unity matters, Juba Agreement, and transitional justice.

He expressed his will to bring together the biggest number of supporters to the Agreement and to avoid “repeating previous scenarios”.

He further called for refraining from bidding in the name of the army or exploiting it in favor of another party.

On Oct. 25, Sudan's military seized power after it ousted the ruling FFC civil alliance.

Burhan and Hemetti signed on Dec. 5 the Political Framework Agreement on handing over power to civilians.

Burhan has been leading mediation efforts to bring the points of view of the FFC and Democratic Bloc closer.

The Bloc consists of armed factions who reject the Framework Agreement.

The mediation resulted in declaring a joint political agreement that stipulates their participation in the current political process in the country.



Israeli Cabinet Approves Gaza Ceasefire Accord, Due to Take Effect Sunday

A woman speaks on a phone outside a tent pitched by the rubble of a destroyed building at a camp for people displaced by conflict in Bureij in the central Gaza Strip on January 17, 2025 following the announcement of a truce amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
A woman speaks on a phone outside a tent pitched by the rubble of a destroyed building at a camp for people displaced by conflict in Bureij in the central Gaza Strip on January 17, 2025 following the announcement of a truce amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
TT

Israeli Cabinet Approves Gaza Ceasefire Accord, Due to Take Effect Sunday

A woman speaks on a phone outside a tent pitched by the rubble of a destroyed building at a camp for people displaced by conflict in Bureij in the central Gaza Strip on January 17, 2025 following the announcement of a truce amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
A woman speaks on a phone outside a tent pitched by the rubble of a destroyed building at a camp for people displaced by conflict in Bureij in the central Gaza Strip on January 17, 2025 following the announcement of a truce amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Israel's cabinet approved a deal with Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire and release of hostages in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Saturday, a day ahead of the agreement's scheduled start.

In the early hours of Saturday after meeting for more than six hours, the government ratified the agreement that would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza's deadliest-ever war.

It would also enable the release of hostages held in the territory since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
"The Government has approved the framework for the return of the hostages. The framework for the hostages' release will come into effect on Sunday," Netanyahu's office said in a brief statement.

The ceasefire will come into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday, the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman posted on X.

Under the deal, the three-stage ceasefire starts with an initial six-week phase when hostages held by Hamas will be exchanged for prisoners and detainees jailed in Israel.

Thirty-three of the 98 remaining Israeli hostages, including women, children, men over 50 and ill and wounded captives, are to be freed in this phase. In return, Israel will release almost 2,000 Palestinians from its jails.

They include 737 male, female and teen-aged prisoners, some of whom are members of Palestinian militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis, as well as hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza in detention since the start of the war.

The Israeli Justice Ministry published their details early on Saturday, along with the ceasefire agreement, which said that 30 Palestinian prisoners would be released for each female hostage on Sunday.

With the accord bitterly opposed by some Israeli cabinet hard-liners, media reports said 24 ministers in Netanyahu's coalition government voted in favor of the deal while eight opposed it.
The opponents said the ceasefire agreement represented a capitulation to Hamas. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to resign if it was approved and urged other ministers to vote against it. However, he said he would not bring down the government.

His fellow hard-liner, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, also threatened to quit the government if it does not go back to war to defeat Hamas after the first six-week phase of the ceasefire.

After a last-minute delay on Thursday that Israel blamed on Hamas, the Israeli security cabinet voted on Friday in favor of the ceasefire accord, a requirement before the full cabinet vote.

The truce is to take effect on the eve of the inauguration of Donald Trump, who claimed credit for working with outgoing US President Joe Biden's team to seal the deal.