Sudan to Discuss Military, Security Reform

Protests in Khartoum demanding the army's departure from power on Mar. 14 (File photo: AFP)
Protests in Khartoum demanding the army's departure from power on Mar. 14 (File photo: AFP)
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Sudan to Discuss Military, Security Reform

Protests in Khartoum demanding the army's departure from power on Mar. 14 (File photo: AFP)
Protests in Khartoum demanding the army's departure from power on Mar. 14 (File photo: AFP)

The security and military reform workshops will start in Khartoum on Sunday to discuss the final phase of the ongoing political process in Sudan since the signing of the "framework agreement" last December.

The workshop's recommendations will be included in the final political agreement drafted by the joint military and civilian committee.

The workshop, which will continue until next Wednesday, is scheduled to come up with a road map whose recommendations contribute to reform issues and arrangements in the security and regular sectors.

The workshop would involve the political forces that signed the framework agreement, regular parties, armed movements, and specialists coordinating with the Tripartite Mechanism.

The Tripartite Mechanism consists of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), the African Union (AU), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which facilitates the dialogue process between the Sudanese parties.

Earlier, army leaders agreed with the civil forces on the foundations and principles discussed during the security and military reform.

The workshop discusses the integration of the Rapid Support Forces into the army according to stages and timetables to be agreed upon and the integration of armed factions following the security arrangements stipulated in the Juba Peace Agreement.

The Sudanese parties that signed the political framework agreed to form a technical committee between the army and the Rapids Support Forces to discuss technical issues and proposed perceptions regarding the integration of forces.

Meanwhile, the committee for drafting the final agreement continued Saturday its meetings in the presidential palace in Khartoum in preparation for submitting the draft final agreement to the parties to the military and civil political process for discussion and legalization.

During its previous meetings, the committee reached a draft, which includes the content and chapters of the agreement, with an expansion of its explanation and adding a preamble and a chapter to the final provisions.

The leaders of the army and the civilian forces that signed the political Framework Agreement agreed to accelerate the political process and steps to solve the crisis in the country.

The parties agreed that the primary references for drafting the final political agreement would be the Framework Agreement, the draft political declaration, the recommendations of the political process workshops and conferences, and the draft transitional constitution for the Bar Association.

The final political agreement would be signed next April, and the draft transitional constitution would be signed on Apr. 6, provided the political forces begin forming civil power structures on Apr. 11.

Last December, the army commander, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lt. Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, signed the framework agreement with the civil forces under international and regional auspices.

The agreement stipulated that the army should permanently withdraw from power, paving the way for the political forces to form a civilian-led government.

The position of the civilian prime minister raises controversy among the Sudanese, with the deadline approaching for the formation of the transitional civilian government.

The opposition Freedom and Change coalition, which signed the framework agreement with the military, said it agreed on the criteria and mechanisms but has not yet begun to nominate candidates for the position.

The coalition is expected to name its candidate for prime minister and head of the Sovereign Council soon.



Israel-Backed Armed Group Burns Homes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage after a person was hit by an Israeli strike while riding a bicycle, according to medics, in Gaza City, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinians inspect the damage after a person was hit by an Israeli strike while riding a bicycle, according to medics, in Gaza City, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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Israel-Backed Armed Group Burns Homes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage after a person was hit by an Israeli strike while riding a bicycle, according to medics, in Gaza City, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinians inspect the damage after a person was hit by an Israeli strike while riding a bicycle, according to medics, in Gaza City, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Residents of Maghazi camp in central Gaza said armed men linked to Israel-backed groups set fire on Thursday to land, homes, and agricultural greenhouses.

Witnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat the fires broke out in Hamas-controlled areas west of an informal “yellow line,” while Israeli forces were stationed to the east.

Several residents accused a group known as the Abu Nasira gang, led by a former security officer, of carrying out the attack.

Such groups have become a growing concern for Hamas and its security arms, as kidnapping and assassination attempts against members of the movement, its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, and its security forces increase.

Days earlier, east of Maghazi camp, two Qassam members were lured in an attempted abduction that escalated into clashes with Israeli fire, killing 10 Palestinians.

One witness said armed men arrived shortly before noon in several four-wheel-drive vehicles, carrying weapons. They advanced dozens of meters west of the “yellow line,” near the Hosni al-Masdar mosque east of Maghazi camp, as Israeli drones flew overhead. Infantry vehicles later reinforced them amid intermittent gunfire.

The witness, who requested anonymity, said large fires broke out soon after. Residents and field sources confirmed the blazes destroyed farmland, greenhouses, and homes.

A member of a local armed faction said Abu Nasira fighters spread across the area and carried out the arson under Israeli cover, with intensified fire directed at western areas where residents and displaced people are located.

A Hamas source repeated accusations against the group, saying it is trying to assert its presence by escalating operations. The source described it as a “major threat,” carrying out kidnappings, assassinations and direct incursions under Israeli support that provides aerial cover and, at times, ground backing.

The attack coincided with Israeli escalation elsewhere in Gaza, killing a man and a child in separate incidents. An Israeli drone killed Youssef Mansour, 33, who witnesses said was bird hunting in the Mawasi area of Rafah in southern Gaza.

In northern Gaza, tank shells hit Abu Ubaida bin al-Jarrah school in Beit Lahia, killing a young girl, Retaj Rihan. She had been in a classroom tent with dozens of displaced third-grade students. She was taken in critical condition to a clinic in Jabalia al-Balad, where she died.

Gaza’s Ministry of Education condemned the attack, holding Israel responsible and saying hundreds of students have been killed during and after the war due to repeated targeting. It called for urgent international intervention.

Shortly after the school attack, Israeli fire from remotely operated cranes east of Gaza City wounded four Palestinians. The gunfire hit Ibn al-Haytham school on the western edge of Shuja’iyya, sheltering hundreds of displaced people. Others were wounded in similar fire toward Halawa camp in Jabalia al-Balad, with one reported in critical condition.

On Wednesday evening, two Palestinians were killed in separate strikes, including journalist Mohammed Washah, drawing condemnation over the killing of journalists. The strikes have killed 262 journalists since the start of the war.

The number of Palestinians killed since a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2025 has risen to more than 740, according to available figures.


Israel Carries Out Incursions in Syria’s Quneitra as UNDOF Monitors

Israeli soldiers in the buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights (file photo - AFP)
Israeli soldiers in the buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights (file photo - AFP)
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Israel Carries Out Incursions in Syria’s Quneitra as UNDOF Monitors

Israeli soldiers in the buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights (file photo - AFP)
Israeli soldiers in the buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights (file photo - AFP)

As Israeli forces press deeper into Syrian territory along the ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights, a Syrian official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that increased patrols by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) stem from the 1974 disengagement agreement, not new understandings with Israel.

An Israeli force on Thursday entered the village of Al-Ajraf in northern Quneitra, according to state news agency SANA.

The unit, comprising eight vehicles and more than 30 troops, set up a temporary checkpoint and searched passersby before withdrawing without making any arrests.

The move is part of a pattern of repeated incursions into the UN-monitored buffer zone separating Syrian and Israeli forces under the 1974 agreement. The incursions have continued since the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Israel has since escalated its operations, with near-daily incursions reaching villages and towns beyond the buffer zone, where it has set up nine military bases.

UNDOF has stepped up patrols in Quneitra and Daraa along the ceasefire line, areas frequently entered by Israeli forces. It has also begun meeting residents to document alleged violations.

Quneitra governorate’s media director, Mohammed al-Saeed, said UNDOF’s deployment remains within the framework of the 1974 agreement and does not reflect new arrangements with Israel.

He said the mission monitors the ceasefire and all parties, and is currently documenting Israeli violations against Syrian sovereignty, civilians, and property in areas entered by Israeli forces. The deployment is routine, he added, but has intensified recently.

Al-Saeed said the increased UN presence has not curbed incursions, but offers some reassurance to residents by tracking troop movements and documenting violations.

Israeli forces, he said, carry out house raids, detain civilians, set up checkpoints, search passersby, block roads, disrupt services, and fire weapons to intimidate residents.

He said the actions are aimed at pressuring residents into self-displacement.

Despite this, residents are aware of the tactics and reject leaving, he said, unwilling to repeat the displacement of 1967, when similar practices forced communities from their homes.


Netanyahu Authorizes Direct Talks with Lebanon

Heavy machinery operates at the site of an Israeli strike carried out on Wednesday, in Ain Al Mraiseh in Beirut, Lebanon, April 9, 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked
Heavy machinery operates at the site of an Israeli strike carried out on Wednesday, in Ain Al Mraiseh in Beirut, Lebanon, April 9, 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked
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Netanyahu Authorizes Direct Talks with Lebanon

Heavy machinery operates at the site of an Israeli strike carried out on Wednesday, in Ain Al Mraiseh in Beirut, Lebanon, April 9, 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked
Heavy machinery operates at the site of an Israeli strike carried out on Wednesday, in Ain Al Mraiseh in Beirut, Lebanon, April 9, 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked

In a potential boost to Middle East ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he authorized direct negotiations “as soon as possible” with Lebanon aimed at disarming Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the two countries.

"In light of Lebanon's repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible," his office wrote in a statement.

"Negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peace relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates today's call by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut," the press release added.

Lebanon has spent the last 24 hours advocating for a temporary ceasefire to allow for broader talks with Israel, a senior Lebanese official told Reuters, saying it would ⁠be a "separate track ⁠but the same model" as a fragile truce brokered by Pakistan between ⁠the US and Iran.

The official said no date or location had been set yet but Lebanon needed the US as a mediator and guarantor of any agreement.

The official ⁠spoke ⁠to Reuters after Netanyahu’s announcement.