Intense Arab, International Contacts to Stop War in Sudan

The Sudanese capital is still suffering from continuous fighting in the city center. (AFP)
The Sudanese capital is still suffering from continuous fighting in the city center. (AFP)
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Intense Arab, International Contacts to Stop War in Sudan

The Sudanese capital is still suffering from continuous fighting in the city center. (AFP)
The Sudanese capital is still suffering from continuous fighting in the city center. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia and France stressed the importance of stopping the military escalation between the conflicting parties in Sudan, the Sudanese military and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), that erupted on Saturday.

During a phone call on Wednesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna called for ending the violence, and providing the necessary protection for Sudanese civilians and residents in a way that guarantees the security, stability, and well-being of the country and its people.

For its part, Egypt reaffirmed the importance of reaching a cease-fire agreement in Sudan as soon as possible. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his British counterpart, James Cleverly, agreed on maintaining coordination and talks to resolve the crisis.

The Egyptian foreign minister made contacts, on Wednesday, with his counterparts in Britain, Chad and the Sultanate of Oman, to discuss the situation in Sudan.

Shoukry emphasized “the need to deal with the existing conflict as an internal matter,” noting that external parties should “abstain from interfering in a way that fuels the conflict.”

He also underlined the importance of joining international and regional efforts to contain the crisis.

Meanwhile, Türkiye called on both sides of the conflict in Sudan to avoid further bloodshed, and to hold dialogue and reconciliation to find a permanent solution to the country’s problems.

In an interview with Turkish state TV (TRT), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed his country’s readiness to provide all means of support to contribute to the stability and peace of Sudan.

“We are following the developments in Sudan with concern. Today, I spoke to my brother [Abdelmadjid] Tebboune, the president of Algeria. I will have talks with both sides in Sudan,” Erdogan said, adding: “Türkiye is ready to provide all means of support to Sudan’s peace and stability.”

He also urged the Sudanese people “to continue to build the country’s future together by putting disputes aside.”

According to a statement by the Algerian presidency, reported by the Turkish Anadolu Agency, Tebboune and Erdogan discussed “the means to find a solution to contain the situation politically and stop the fighting.”

In this context, the two sides called for “dialogue and upholding the country’s supreme interest.”

On Tuesday, Tebboune proposed a quartet move by the Arab League, the United Nations, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development for East Africa (IGAD), to stop the fighting in Sudan.

He sent letters in this regard to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, the current chairperson of the African Union, the President of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani, and the executive secretary of IGAD, Workneh Gebeyehu.

In a statement, on Tuesday, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on both sides of the conflict to ease tension to avoid more bloodshed, and for dialogue and reconciliation to find a permanent solution to the outstanding problems.



Lebanon's New President Says to Ensure State Has Exclusive Right to Carry Arms

This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
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Lebanon's New President Says to Ensure State Has Exclusive Right to Carry Arms

This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)

Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun told lawmakers on Thursday that he will work to ensure the state has the exclusive right to carry arms, in his first speech at parliament after he was elected.

His comments were seen partly as a reference to Hezbollah's arsenal, which he had not commented on publicly as the former army commander.

In a first round of voting Thursday, Aoun received 71 out of 128 votes but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to win outright. Of the rest, 37 lawmakers cast blank ballots and 14 voted for “sovereignty and the constitution.”
In the second round, he received 99 votes.

In his speech in parliament, Aoun also pledged to carry out reforms to the judicial system and fight corruption.

He promised to control the country’s borders and “ensure the activation of the security services and to discuss a strategic defense policy that will enable the Lebanese state to remove the Israeli occupation from all Lebanese territories” in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli military has not yet withdrawn from dozens of villages.

He also vowed to reconstruct “what the Israeli army destroyed in the south, east and (Beirut’s southern) suburbs.”

Thursday’s vote came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction.

Aoun said he would call for parliamentary consultations as soon as possible on naming a new prime minister.