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African Mediation Announces Imminent Agreement in Sudan

Sudanese protesters rally near the military headquarters during a demonstration in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)
Sudanese protesters rally near the military headquarters during a demonstration in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)
    Khartoum, Washington – Ahmed Younes and Elie Youssef
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African Mediation Announces Imminent Agreement in Sudan

Sudanese protesters rally near the military headquarters during a demonstration in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)
Sudanese protesters rally near the military headquarters during a demonstration in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)

The joint African-Ethiopian mediation has confirmed that an agreement between the Sudanese Transitional Military Council (TMC) and Forces of the Freedom and Change Declaration is “imminent”, announcing that both parties will be invited to direct negotiations on Wednesday.

African Union (AU) mediator Mohamed El-Hassan Labat told a press conference held Tuesday in Khartoum that most of the two sides’ proposals were incorporated into a new document, except for the dispute over the formation of the “sovereign council”.

Labat added that constructive proposals had been reached and would be included in the final document, asserting that “the main point of contention revolves around the formation of the body [sovereign council] that will lead the transition process.”

He noted that if an agreement was reached on the council before the joint meeting, it will be included in the document, otherwise, it will be the first point discussed on the first joint agenda and the mediation will be ready to help overcome the difficulties.

The mediator confirmed that the agreement between the Council and the coalition is “just around the corner.”

The regional official appealed to the press and the international community to support mediation efforts aimed at reaching an appropriate solution that opens the horizons for realizing the aspirations of the Sudanese people.

Ethiopian envoy Mahmoud Dreir said mediation had set a date for the direct negotiations between the two sides.

The AU had set June 30 as a deadline for the military to hand over power to civilians, after which it froze Sudan's membership in the organization.

Labat announced that the AU will hold a summit in Niamey, Niger, on July 7 and 8, adding that the African Peace and Security Council (PSC) is expected to hold a meeting on the situation in Sudan.

The opposition coalition had organized several protests in Khartoum and 30 other cities on Sunday which saw the participation of millions to demand the handover of power to civilians and bringing killers of the June 3 crackdown on protesters to justice.

However, the junta authorities faced the protesters with excessive violence, live ammunition and tear gas, killing 11 people.

Meanwhile, the US State Department condemned the use of live ammunition against peaceful protesters.

State Department spokeswoman Peri Farbstein said peaceful demonstrations in Khartoum and many other cities across Sudan on June 30 assert the Sudanese people's demand for a transitional government led by civilians.

Farbstein told Asharq Al-Awsat that the use of live ammunition against peaceful demonstrators is reprehensible and that the military authorities should be held accountable for the resulting deaths.

The spokesman did not mention any steps the US might take as a result of the recent escalation, knowing that US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East African affairs and Sudan Makela James warned last week that Washington was “considering all options, including sanctions at any time, if such violence is repeated.”

Farbstein called on the TMC and Forces of Freedom and Change to agree on a government led by civilians, asserting the support of State Department to the efforts of the AU and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his mediation team.

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Arab World

Report: RSF Drone Strike on School Kills Two Children in Sudan’s Kordofan 

Displaced Sudanese gather near a food distribution point at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese gather near a food distribution point at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
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Report: RSF Drone Strike on School Kills Two Children in Sudan’s Kordofan 

Displaced Sudanese gather near a food distribution point at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese gather near a food distribution point at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)

A drone strike blamed on Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces killed two children and injured 12 others Wednesday in the southern city of El-Rahad, a medical source told AFP.

El-Rahad lies in Sudan's Kordofan region, currently the fiercest battlefield in the war raging between the RSF and the regular army since April 2023.

"I saw a dozen students injured," Ahmed Moussa, an eyewitness to the attack, told AFP, adding that the drone had struck a traditional Quranic school.

El-Rahad, in North Kordofan state, was retaken by the army last February, as part of a rapid offensive that saw it push west to break a long-running siege on state capital El-Obeid.

The RSF has been trying to re-encircle El-Obeid since, including by launching successive drone strikes on the main highway out of the city, which connects the western region of Darfur with the capital Khartoum.

Since it began, the war has killed tens of thousands and left around 11 million people displaced, creating the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.

It has also effectively split the country in two, with the army holding the north, center and east while the RSF and its allies control the west and parts of the south.

Arab World

Türkiye Signals May Launch ‘Simple’ Military Operation Against PKK in Iraq

PKK fighters in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq. (Reuters)
PKK fighters in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Signals May Launch ‘Simple’ Military Operation Against PKK in Iraq

PKK fighters in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq. (Reuters)
PKK fighters in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq. (Reuters)

Türkiye has indicated it may launch a limited military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq, while stressing its readiness to work with any government that assumes power in Baghdad.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the PKK is set to become a major issue for Iraq, noting that the group does not control any territory inside Türkiye, but “occupies large areas in Iraq”.

“How can a sovereign state allow this?” he asked, adding that “changes could soon take place” in several areas, including Iraq’s Sinjar, Makhmour and the Qandil Mountains.

Fidan outlined what he described as the PKK’s current deployment, saying Makhmour, south of Erbil near the Nineveh province, hosts the group’s civilian structures, while Sinjar, northwest of Mosul near the Syrian border, hosts its armed elements.

He said the leadership and command structures are based in the Qandil Mountains, with other strongholds near Duhok lying outside the area covered by Türkiye’s ongoing Claw Operation.

In a televised interview late Monday, Fidan stated that Sinjar is surrounded by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), revealing that Ankara has held around 20 meetings with PMF leader Faleh al-Fayyad to address the issue.

On possible military action against the PKK, he described it as “a simple military operation,” in which PMF forces would advance on the ground while Türkiye conducts air operations, estimating it would take two or three days.

Since 2024, Türkiye has pursued negotiations with imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, which led to his call on February 27, 2025, for the group to dissolve and lay down its arms.

The PKK subsequently announced a ceasefire, declared its dissolution on May 12, 2025, and held symbolic weapons-burning ceremonies in the Qandil Mountains in July. In October, it announced the withdrawal of its fighters from Türkiye to areas in Qandil.

On Baghdad’s position, Fidan said the Iraqi government would be forced to demonstrate genuine political will toward the PKK, insisting that the group cannot remain in Sinjar.

Iraq began addressing the issue during the tenure of former prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and that, under current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the PKK has sought to expand its presence in Baghdad, he remarked.

Baghdad is in the process of forming a new government, months after holding parliamentary elections.

Over the past two years, Ankara and Baghdad have established a high-level security coordination mechanism to confront the PKK, holding five meetings in both capitals. The latest took place in April. Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Iraq in April 2024, Iraq’s National Security Council formally designated the PKK a banned organization.

Fidan also said the Kurdish issue in Syria has direct implications for Iraq, hoping that Baghdad would draw lessons from recent developments in Syria, including the integration of Kurdish forces into the Syrian army, and take “prudent decisions to ease Iraq’s own transition”.

Arab World

SDF Starts Withdrawing from Frontlines in Syria’s Hasakah  

Members of the SDF in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on Tuesday during their withdrawal from frontline positions under an agreement with the Syrian government. (Reuters)
Members of the SDF in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on Tuesday during their withdrawal from frontline positions under an agreement with the Syrian government. (Reuters)
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SDF Starts Withdrawing from Frontlines in Syria’s Hasakah  

Members of the SDF in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on Tuesday during their withdrawal from frontline positions under an agreement with the Syrian government. (Reuters)
Members of the SDF in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on Tuesday during their withdrawal from frontline positions under an agreement with the Syrian government. (Reuters)

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have begun withdrawing their troops from frontline positions in the city of Hasakah under an agreement reached with the Syrian government, according to news reports and photographs published by Reuters.

Earlier on Tuesday, SDF units started preparations to pull back from southern rural areas of Hasakah. Images circulated by local media showed SDF fighters withdrawing from the Panorama Roundabout checkpoint south of the city, ahead of handing it over to General Security forces.

The move followed a security meeting between the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) and Syrian security services to coordinate the deployment of internal security forces in the city, according to North Press.

Syrian security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that implementation of the agreement is proceeding smoothly, including steps toward integration.

The SDF has nominated units to be incorporated as brigades within the Ministry of Defense, while some Asayish personnel are expected to join the General Security forces in predominantly Kurdish areas.

On Tuesday, the SDF also began withdrawing its military units and heavy equipment from contact lines inside Hasakah, particularly in southern neighborhoods around the Panorama Roundabout. This step is part of a permanent ceasefire and the launch of a gradual integration process stipulated in the January agreement.

Syrian affairs researcher from the Jusoor Center for Studies Mohammad Suleiman said the withdrawal involves redeploying SDF military forces from inside Hasakah to agreed barracks outside the city, including Dirbasiyah, Amuda, and the outskirts of Qamishli. At the same time, government internal security forces will deploy in the city centers of Hasakah and Qamishli to oversee security integration.

Suleiman noted differing interpretations of the agreement. The SDF considers the withdrawal limited to its military forces, with the Asayish remaining responsible for internal security, while the government views it as a timetable for a full SDF withdrawal from city neighborhoods.

He added that Syrian army units will also pull back to areas around Hasakah, including Shaddadi, while maintaining a ban on military forces entering cities, particularly those with a Kurdish majority.

The current phase marks the second stage of the agreement and includes the transfer of oil wells and Qamishli Airport to state control. A third phase will place border crossings under state control, notably the Nusaybin crossing with Türkiye and the Semalka crossing with the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

The agreement also calls for the integration of Kurdish autonomous administration institutions into state bodies, stabilization of civilian employees, settlement of Kurdish civil and educational rights, and guarantees for the return of displaced residents to their homes.