Khartoum, Juba Discuss Dispute Over Oil-Rich Border Region

The oil-rich border region of Abyei sits between Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan (Getty Images) and Deputy chief of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in the frame. (AFP)
The oil-rich border region of Abyei sits between Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan (Getty Images) and Deputy chief of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in the frame. (AFP)
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Khartoum, Juba Discuss Dispute Over Oil-Rich Border Region

The oil-rich border region of Abyei sits between Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan (Getty Images) and Deputy chief of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in the frame. (AFP)
The oil-rich border region of Abyei sits between Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan (Getty Images) and Deputy chief of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in the frame. (AFP)

Deputy chief of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo stressed the need for continued coordination and cooperation with South Sudan to build trust and exchange views on how to provide a solid basis for the final solution for the dispute over the Abyei area.

Stressing that resolving the dispute surrounding Abyei is a priority that cannot be delayed, Dagalo said: “Our goal is to attain constructive outcomes that can set the course for a just and enduring peace.”

Sudan and South Sudan are in dispute over the oil-rich region located between Sudan’s Kordofan state and the Red Sea state in South Sudan. The conflict over Abyei has not been resolved since 2011.

An agreement was reached between the two countries to grant the region a temporary status of quasi-independence with the two countries retaining sovereignty until the dispute over its ownership is resolved.

Last year, the countries agreed to establish a joint administration to oversee the region.

At a joint meeting between Sudan and South Sudan on Abyei, Dagalo highlighted the critical conditions that Sudan is experiencing.

He explained that holding the meeting was a priority in terms of appreciating and shedding light on the sensitivity of the Abyei issue and the human suffering that the communities are going through.

Dagalo also noted the importance of the meeting reaching positive results to put Abyei on the path of just and sustainable peace.

“Continued coordination and cooperation between the parties represents a significant opportunity to build trust and exchange opinions on how to provide a solid foundation for a final solution to the issue,” he said.

Dagalo, who also chairs the Supreme Committee for Political and Administrative Oversight of Abyei, stressed that the meeting demonstrated the capability of both countries to collaborate towards achieving peace and stability for the citizens of the region.



Series of Israeli Airstrikes Hit Central Beirut, At Least 1 Building Destroyed

Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Series of Israeli Airstrikes Hit Central Beirut, At Least 1 Building Destroyed

Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Powerful Israeli airstrikes targeted central Beirut on Saturday, resulting in a large number of fatalities and injuries and destroying an eight-story building, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

Footage broadcast by TV stations showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it in the Basta neighborhood.

Israel used bunker buster bombs in the strike, leaving a deep crater, said NNA. Beirut smelled strongly of explosives hours after the attack.
The blasts shook the capital around 4 a.m.

NNA said at least five bombs were dropped in the attack.
It marked the fourth Israeli airstrike this week targeting a central area of Beirut, where the bulk of Israel's attacks have targeted the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.

On Sunday an Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah's media relations chief Mohammad Afif in the Ras al-Nabaa district of central Beirut.

The Israeli military did not issue a warning for Basta's residents to evacuate prior to the strike and did not immediately issue a statement on it.

Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.

Meanwhile, heavy ground fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants was ongoing in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops have pushed farther from the border.