Arab League Calls for Ending War in Sudan

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
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Arab League Calls for Ending War in Sudan

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)

The Arab League called on Tuesday for the immediate cessation of all hostilities in Sudan and a complete ceasefire to save the Sudanese state, its institutions and facilities.

Egypt chaired an emergency meeting of the organization, which convened at the level of permanent delegates, to follow up on the developments in Sudan.

The League strongly condemned the targeting and killing of residents, regardless of their nationalities, and attacks on civilian and medical facilities.

It warned of the consequences and repercussions of these actions, which may intensify the conflict and which violate international humanitarian law.

The organization offered its deepest condolences to the families of Sudanese victims and the Assistant Administrative Attaché at the Egyptian Embassy in Khartoum, Mohamed al-Gharawi.

It called for protecting diplomatic missions and their staff from the fighting in line with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Furthermore, the organization expressed its gratitude to Sudanese authorities for coordinating, securing, and facilitating the safe evacuation of members of diplomatic missions and Arab and foreign nationals.

The Arab League praised the efforts of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Algeria, and Morocco in evacuating their citizens and other Arab nationals, diplomats, and international missions.

It called for military forces or gunmen to leave hospitals and civilian facilities and for facilitating relief aid and humanitarian assistance to all Sudanese civilians and residents.

Arab League member states expressed their readiness to provide all forms of emergency humanitarian support, medical and food aid in coordination with Sudanese authorities and international and regional organizations.

The organization also praised the efforts of the member states and their initiatives towards reaching a ceasefire, and the humanitarian appeal by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on April 19 for a truce.

He had appealed to warring sides to end the conflict and allow people to access food supplies and medical assistance.

The member states welcomed Aboul Gheit's call to hold an emergency session for the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs and another for the Council of Arab Ministers of Health to form a comprehensive Arab response to the crisis and its humanitarian and health repercussions.

According to the Middle East News Agency (MENA), the Arab League called on the international community to provide all urgent humanitarian needs and provide support to Sudan's neighboring countries that are receiving Sudanese fleeing the fighting.

The League stressed the need to resolve the crisis in a way that guarantees Sudan's security, sovereignty and territorial integrity, protects its institutions and fulfills the aspirations of its people for peace and development.

It stressed its rejection of foreign interference in Sudan's domestic affairs to avoid fueling the conflict, prolonging the crisis, and threatening regional peace and security.



Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.