Protesters march during a rally against military rule, following last month's coup in Khartoum North, Sudan, January 6,2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
Protesters march during a rally against military rule, following last month's coup in Khartoum North, Sudan, January 6,2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
The United Nations said on Saturday it would invite Sudanese military leaders, political parties and other groups to take part in a "political process" aimed at ending a crisis unleashed by a coup in October.
UN mediation in the weeks after the coup succeeded in reinstating Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, but his resignation last week deepened uncertainty around Sudan's political future and a transition towards elections scheduled for 2023.
Neighborhood-based resistance committees, political parties and other pro-democracy groups have carried out an ongoing campaign of protests under a "no negotiation" slogan, and crackdowns by security forces have left at least 60 dead.
Unless a new course towards a transition and credible elections can be charted, more instability within and beyond Sudanese borders is likely, analysts and diplomats have said.
"All measures taken to date have not succeeded in restoring the course of this transformation," UN Special Representative Volker Perthes said in a statement announcing the launch of the UN-facilitated process.
"The ... repeated violence against largely peaceful protesters has only served to deepen the mistrust among all political parties in Sudan," Reuters quoted him as saying.
Sudan's military, armed movements, political parties, civil society and resistance committees will be invited to participate, the UN statement said.
Satellite imagery shows new construction and drone support infrastructure at Asosa airport in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, January 28, 2026. (Vantor/Handout via Reuters)
Ethiopia Builds Secret Camp to Train Sudan RSF Fighters
Satellite imagery shows new construction and drone support infrastructure at Asosa airport in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, January 28, 2026. (Vantor/Handout via Reuters)
Ethiopia is hosting a secret camp to train thousands of fighters for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in neighboring Sudan, Reuters reporting has found, in the latest sign that one of the world’s deadliest conflicts is sucking in regional powers from Africa and the Middle East.
The camp is the first direct evidence of Ethiopia’s involvement in Sudan’s civil war, marking a potentially dangerous development that provides the RSF a substantial supply of fresh soldiers as fighting escalates in Sudan’s south.
Eight sources, including a senior Ethiopian government official, said the United Arab Emirates financed the camp’s construction and provided military trainers and logistical support to the site, a view also shared in an internal note by Ethiopia’s security services and in a diplomatic cable, reviewed by Reuters.
The news agency could not independently verify UAE involvement in the project or the purpose of the camp. In response to a request for comment, the UAE foreign ministry said it was not a party to the conflict or “in any way” involved in the hostilities.
Reuters spoke to 15 sources familiar with the camp's construction and operations, including Ethiopian officials and diplomats, and analyzed satellite imagery of the area. Two Ethiopian intelligence officials and the satellite images provided information that corroborated details contained in the security memo and cable.
The location and scale of the camp and the detailed allegations of the UAE’s involvement have not been previously reported. The images show the extent of the new development, as recently as in the past few weeks, along with construction for a drone ground control station at a nearby airport.
Satellite imagery shows a camp with hundreds of tents in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, January 22, 2026. (Vantor/Handout via Reuters)
Activity picked up in October at the camp, which is located in the remote western region of Benishangul-Gumuz, near the border with Sudan, satellite images show.
Ethiopia’s government spokesperson, its army and the RSF did not respond to detailed requests for comment about the findings of this story.
On January 6, UAE and Ethiopia issued a joint statement that included a call for a ceasefire in Sudan, as well as celebrating ties they said served the defense of each other’s security.
The Sudanese Armed Forces did not respond to a request for comment.
As of early January, 4,300 RSF fighters were undergoing military training at the site and “their logistical and military supplies are being provided by the UAE,” the note by Ethiopia’s security services seen by Reuters read.
Sudan's army has previously accused the UAE of supplying the RSF with weapons, a claim UN experts and US lawmakers have found credible.
The camp’s recruits are mainly Ethiopians, but citizens from South Sudan and Sudan, including from the SPLM-N, a Sudanese rebel group that controls territory in Sudan’s neighboring Blue Nile state, are also present, six officials said.
Reuters was unable to independently establish who was at the camp or the terms or conditions of recruitment.
A senior leader of the SPLM-N, who declined to be named, denied his forces had a presence in Ethiopia.
The six officials said the recruits are expected to join the RSF battling Sudanese soldiers in Blue Nile, which has emerged as a front in the struggle for control of Sudan. Two of the officials said hundreds had already crossed in recent weeks to support the paramilitaries in Blue Nile.
The internal security note said General Getachew Gudina, the Chief of the Defense Intelligence Department of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, was responsible for setting up the camp. A senior Ethiopian government official as well as four diplomatic and security sources confirmed Getachew’s role in launching the project.
Getachew did not respond to a request for comment.
The camp was carved out of forested land in a district called Menge, about 32 km from the border and strategically located at the intersection of the two countries and South Sudan, according to the satellite imagery and the diplomatic cable.
The first sign of activity in the area began in April, with forest clearing and the construction of metal-roofed buildings in a small area to the north of what is now the area of the camp with tents, where work began in the second half of October.
Satellite imagery shows a forested area where, ten months later, a camp with hundreds of tents was built in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, December 15, 2024. (Vantor/Handout via Reuters)
The diplomatic cable, dated November, described the camp as having a capacity of up to 10,000 fighters, saying activity began in October with the arrival of dozens of Land Cruisers, heavy trucks, RSF units and UAE trainers. Reuters is not revealing the country that wrote the cable, to protect the source.
Two of the officials described seeing trucks with the logo of the Emirati logistics company Gorica Group heading through the town of Asosa and towards the camp in October. Gorica did not respond to a request for comment.
The news agency was able to match elements of the timeframe specified in the diplomatic cable with satellite imagery. Images from Airbus Defense and Space show that after the initial clearing work, tents began filling the area from early November. Multiple diggers are visible in the imagery.
An image taken by US space technology firm Vantor on November 24 shows more than 640 tents at the camp, approximately four meters square. Each tent could comfortably house four people with some individual equipment, so the camp could accommodate at least 2,500 people, according to an analysis of the satellite imagery by defense intelligence company Janes.
Janes said it could not confirm the site was military based on their analysis of the imagery.
New recruits were spotted travelling to the camp in mid-November, two senior military officials said.
Satellite imagery shows an area where trucks come and go at a camp in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, January 22, 2026. (Vantor/Handout via Reuters)
On November 17, a column of 56 trucks packed with trainees rumbled through dirt roads of the remote region, the officials, who witnessed the convoys, told Reuters, with each truck holding between 50 and 60 fighters, the officials estimated.
Two days later, both officials saw another convoy of 70 trucks carrying soldiers driving in the same direction, they said.
The November 24 image shows at least 18 large trucks at the site. The vehicles’ size, shape and design match those of models frequently used by the Ethiopian military and its allies to transport soldiers, according to Reuters analysis.
Development continued in late January, the Vantor images show, including new clearing and digging in the riverbed just north of the main camp and dozens of shipping containers lined around the camp visible in a January 22 image. A senior Ethiopian government official said construction on the camp was ongoing but did not elaborate on future building plans.
Sudan’s civil war erupted in 2023 after a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
Oman Stresses Importance of Resumption of Negotiations between US and Iran https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5239540-oman-stresses-importance-resumption-negotiations-between-us-and-iran%C2%A0
Oman Stresses Importance of Resumption of Negotiations between US and Iran
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik meets with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Muscat on Tuesday. (ONA)
Oman stressed on Tuesday the importance of the resumption of dialogue and negotiations between the United States and Iran in wake of talks hosted in Muscat on Friday between the two sides. Tehran said last week’s indirect talks allowed it to assess how serious Washington was about resuming that path.
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik received in Muscat on Tuesday Ali Larijani, a former Iranian parliament speaker who now serves as the secretary to the country's Supreme National Security Council, for talks on the latest developments of the Iranian-American negotiations, reported the Sultanate’s official news agency ONA.
The nearly three-hour meeting also addressed paths toward achieving a balanced and equitable agreement for all parties.
It underscored the critical importance of resuming dialogue and returning to the negotiating table to bridge divides and resolve outstanding differences through peaceful means. Such efforts are fundamental to promoting and sustaining peace and security both in the region and the world at large, said ONA.
Sultan Haitham later sent a cable of greetings to Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on his country's National Day.
He expressed his sincere wishes for Iran to achieve further accomplishments. He hoped relations of cooperation and partnership would grow and expand across various sectors in a manner that serves the interests of both countries.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi later received Larijani for a “productive” meeting on recent developments, especially the Iran-US talks, he wrote on X.
“Regional peace and security is our priority, and we urge restraint and wise compromise,” he stressed.
Larijani's entourage shared photos of him meeting with the FM, the chief intermediary in the US-Iran talks, with what appeared to be a letter sheathed in plastic and sitting alongside the Omani diplomat.
Iranian media had said Larijani would deliver an important message. However, Iranian state television hours after that meeting described Albusaidi as having “handed over a letter” to Larijani. It did not elaborate from where the letter came.
Iran talks a global focus
Iran and the US held new nuclear talks last week in Oman. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking Sunday to diplomats at a summit in Tehran, signaled that Iran would stick to its position that it must be able to enrich uranium — a major point of contention with US President Donald Trump. Israel’s war on Iran in June disrupted earlier rounds of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.
“The Muscat meeting, which was not a long one, it was a half-day meeting. For us it was a way to measure the seriousness of the other side, and to find out how we could continue the process. Therefore we mostly addressed the generalities,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists at a news conference Tuesday in Tehran.
“Our principles are clear. Our demand is to secure the interests of the Iranian nation based on international norms and the Non-Proliferation Treaty and peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Baghaei said. “So as for the details, we should wait for the next steps and see how this diplomatic process will continue.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also arrived in Washington for talks with Trump. Iran is expected to be the major subject of discussion.
Larijani accused Israel of trying to play a “destructive role” in the talks.
“Americans must think wisely and not allow him, through posturing, to imply before his flight that ’I want to go and teach Americans the framework of the nuclear negotiations,” Larijani said in a post on X.
Elsewhere, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said there is “extraordinary alignment” between Washington and Israel over the talks with Tehran.
“Everyone would love to see something that would resolve without a war, but it’ll be up to Iran,” said Huckabee before he boarded a flight to Washington with Netanyahu.
The United States has moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and have the firepower necessary to strike the country should Trump choose to do so.
Already, US forces shot down a drone they said got too close to the Lincoln and came to the aid of a US-flagged ship that Iranian forces tried to stop in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf.
The US Transportation Department's Maritime Administration issued a new warning Monday to American vessels in the strait to “remain as far as possible from Iran’s territorial sea without compromising navigational safety.”
Anti-government chants from people's homes
Meanwhile, people in various neighborhoods of Iran’s capital chanted “death to the dictator” from windows and rooftops on the eve of the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, witnesses said, turning the annual celebration into a protest.
State television in recent days has routinely encouraged people to chant pro-government slogans accompanied by fireworks across the city, an annual ritual in the country. The government plans to hold rallies Wednesday to celebrate the anniversary.
The move came nearly one month after a bloody crackdown in Iran on anti-government protests that led to the deaths of thousands of people and tens of thousands more being detained.
Village in Southern Lebanon Buries a Child and Father Killed in Israeli Drone Strike https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5239538-village-southern-lebanon-buries-child-and-father-killed-israeli-drone-strike%C2%A0
Lebanese special forces policemen carry the coffins of their comrade Hassan Jaber, who was killed on Monday with his son Ali, by an Israeli drone attack, during their funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
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Village in Southern Lebanon Buries a Child and Father Killed in Israeli Drone Strike
Lebanese special forces policemen carry the coffins of their comrade Hassan Jaber, who was killed on Monday with his son Ali, by an Israeli drone attack, during their funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Mourners in southern Lebanon on Tuesday buried a father and his young son killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a Hezbollah member.
Hassan Jaber, a police officer, and his child, Ali, were on foot when the strike on Monday hit a passing car in the center of their town, Yanouh, relatives said. Lebanon's health ministry said the boy was 3 years old. Both were killed at the scene along with the car driver, Ahmad Salami, who the Israeli military said in a statement was an artillery official with the Lebanese armed group.
It said it was aware of a “claim that uninvolved civilians were killed” and that the case is under review, adding it “makes every effort to reduce the likelihood of harm” to civilians.
Salami, also from Yanouh, was buried in the village Tuesday along with the father and son.
“There are always people here, it’s a crowded area,” with coffee shops and corner stores, a Shiite religious gathering hall, the municipality building and a civil defense center, a cousin of the boy’s father, also named Hassan Jaber, told The Associated Press.
When the boy and his father were struck, he said, they were going to a bakery making Lebanese breakfast flatbread known as manakish to see how it was made. They were standing only about 5 meters (5.5 yards) from the car when it was struck, the cousin said.
“It is not new for the Israeli enemy to carry out such actions,” he said. “There was a car they wanted to hit and they struck it in the middle of this crowded place.”
Jaber said the little boy, Ali, had not yet entered school but “showed signs of unusual intelligence.”
“What did this innocent child do wrong, this angel?” asked Ghazaleh Haider, the wife of the boy’s uncle. “Was he a fighter?”
Attendees at the funeral carried photos of Ali, a striking child with large green eyes and blond hair. Some also carried flags of Hezbollah or of its ally, the Amal party.
Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces, of which the child’s father was a member, said in a statement that the 37-year-old father of three had joined in 2013 and reached the rank of first sergeant.
The strike came as Israel has stepped up its campaign against Hezbollah and its allies in Lebanon.
The night before the strike in Yanouh, Israeli forces launched a rare ground raid in the Lebanese village of Hebbarieh, several kilometers from the border, in which they seized a local official with the Jamaa al-Islamiya group. The group is allied with Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas.
After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets from Lebanon into Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians.
Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. The low-level conflict escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, later reined in but not fully stopped by a US-brokered ceasefire two months later.
Since then, Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild and has carried out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it says target Hezbollah members and facilities.
Israeli forces also continue to occupy five hilltop points on the Lebanese side of the border. Hezbollah has claimed one strike against Israel since the ceasefire.
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