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Egypt Calls on Its Nationals Outside Khartoum to Prepare for Evacuation

Smoke billows over buildings during the clashes in Khartoum (Reuters)
Smoke billows over buildings during the clashes in Khartoum (Reuters)
    Cairo - Khartoum - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Egypt Calls on Its Nationals Outside Khartoum to Prepare for Evacuation

Smoke billows over buildings during the clashes in Khartoum (Reuters)
Smoke billows over buildings during the clashes in Khartoum (Reuters)

Egypt plans to evacuate its citizens from Sudan and has urged Egyptian nationals living there to prepare themselves for evacuation, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The Ministry called on Egyptians residing outside the capital Khartoum, to head to the nearest gathering point in preparation for their evacuation by the competent Egyptian authorities.

It also called on Egyptians living in the conflict-center city of Khartoum to stay in their homes until the security situation improves in the capital. It urged them to coordinate with the Sudanese authorities when the situation improves until their evacuation becomes possible.

The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group has been battling the Sudanese army since April 15.

The situation on the ground remains volatile. Most major airports have become battlegrounds and movement out of the capital has proven intensely dangerous. The two rivals have dug in, signaling they would resume the fighting after the declared three-day truce.

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Lebanon's Parliament Renews Army Chief's Term in First Session after Ceasefire

Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
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Lebanon's Parliament Renews Army Chief's Term in First Session after Ceasefire

Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)

Lebanon's parliament Thursday renewed the term of army chief Joseph Aoun, who is seen as a potential presidential candidate in next year's vote.

The parliament has seldom met since Israel’s war with Hezbollah began 14 months ago, and has not convened to try to elect a president since June 2023, leaving the country in a political gridlock.

Thursday’s session is the first since a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday which has left the Lebanese military responsible for ensuring Hezbollah fighters leave the country's south and its facilities dismantled. The army is expected to receive international aid to help deploy troops to deploy in the south to exert full state control there, The AP reported.

Gen. Joseph Aoun is seen as a likely presidential candidate due to his close relationship with the international community and his hold on an institution that is seen as a rare point of unity in the country facing political and sectarian tensions. Lebanon has been without a president since Oct. 31, 2022.

It is unclear whether the decision to renew Aoun's term will impact his chances as Lebanon's next president.

Hezbollah and some of its key allies and their legislators have been skeptical of a Aoun presidency due to his close relationship with Washington.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who spearheaded negotiations with the United States to end the war, also called for parliament to convene on Jan. 9, 2025 to elect a president, the first attempt in almost 19 months.

French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, tasked by French President Emmanuel Macron with helping Lebanon break its political deadlock, observed the session before meeting with Berri and later caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Berri, in an address Wednesday, urged political parties to pick a president that will bring Lebanon's rival groups together, in a bid to keep the war-torn and financially battered country from further deteriorating amid fears of internal political tensions between Hezbollah and its political opponents following the war.

The militant group's opponents, who believe Hezbollah should be completely disarmed, are furious that it made the unilateral decision to go to war with Israel in solidarity with its ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.