عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Cairo, Juba Discuss Efforts for Permanent Ceasefire in Sudan

FILE – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry – Reuters
FILE – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry – Reuters
TT
TT

Cairo, Juba Discuss Efforts for Permanent Ceasefire in Sudan

FILE – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry – Reuters
FILE – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry – Reuters

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has discussed with South Sudan’s Acting Foreign Minister, Deng Dau, efforts to promote and support a permanent ceasefire in Sudan.

In a telephone call, Shoukry and Dau reviewed the efforts the two sides exert towards reaching a permanent ceasefire in Sudan, based on the Egyptian-South Sudanese initiative that was agreed upon during the phone call of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and President Salva Kiir on April 16.

During the call, Shoukry emphasized that Egypt and South Sudan are among the most affected by the ongoing conflict in Sudan, especially that they share long borders with Sudan, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid.

“The FM also stressed that the interests of the brotherly Sudanese people remain the primary concern and goal behind the two countries' efforts,” the spokesperson added.

Both sides agreed to intensify communication and coordination in the coming period.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry updated the list of assembly points where Egyptian citizens are evacuated from Sudan. It said the new assembly points are the Egyptian Consulate General in Port Sudan and the border crossings of Qastal and Arqin.

The Ministry announced the end of the evacuations from the Wadi Seidna Air Base, north of Khartoum, for security reasons.

It called upon those who are currently in the base to leave as early as possible and to head to one of the three following areas: the Egyptian Consulate in Port Sudan and the Qastal and Arqin border crossings.

On Friday, Abu Zaid said in a statement that 454 Egyptian nationals were evacuated.

A total of 1,072 Egyptians returned to Egypt from Sudan on Friday, bringing the figure to 6,399 since the beginning of the crisis in the southern neighbor.

He said Egypt operated four flights on April 28 as part of the ongoing airlift operation to transport Egyptian nationals from Sudan.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Damascus Moves to Implement SDF Deal amid Regional and International Backing

Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces welcome a convoy of the Syrian Ministry of Interior heading to Qamishli in northeastern Syria. (AP)
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces welcome a convoy of the Syrian Ministry of Interior heading to Qamishli in northeastern Syria. (AP)
TT
TT

Damascus Moves to Implement SDF Deal amid Regional and International Backing

Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces welcome a convoy of the Syrian Ministry of Interior heading to Qamishli in northeastern Syria. (AP)
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces welcome a convoy of the Syrian Ministry of Interior heading to Qamishli in northeastern Syria. (AP)

Damascus is pressing ahead with steps to implement its agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the gradual integration of its fighters, redeployment in northeastern Syria, and the return of key facilities to state control.

The deal is receiving regional and international support and is being framed as an opportunity to integrate Syria’s Kurds into state institutions and help build a “new Syria.”

On Friday, a delegation from the Syrian Ministry of Defense was in Hasakah to discuss practical measures for incorporating SDF personnel into the national military, said the ministry’s Media and Communications Directorate.

The move is in line with the agreement announced on Jan. 29 between the Syrian government and the SDF. The accord includes a ceasefire, the gradual integration of Kurdish military and administrative structures into state institutions, and the restoration of government control over vital installations in the province.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba said the deployment of Internal Security Forces in Qamishli, in northeastern Syria, is proceeding under a clear timeline and operational plan to complete the agreement’s implementation.

This includes taking over and managing strategic facilities such as border crossings, Qamishli International Airport, and oil fields, with the aim of reactivating them “in service of the Syrian people,” he said in statements carried by state television Al-Ikhbariya.

Al-Baba added that the deployment is being carried out “in coordination with the other side in the city,” referring to the SDF, following a similar security deployment in Hasakah.

The agreement is also expected to address the issue of foreign fighters and to integrate the local Kurdish internal security force, known as the Asayish, into the Interior Ministry.

Al-Baba stressed that the ministry welcomes “all Syrian national cadres who serve the people.”

French support

French diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot informed SDF commander Mazloum Abdi that Paris wants to the January 29 agreement implemented “clause by clause” over the long term.

Barrot, who visited Iraq, Syria and Lebanon this week, described the deal as a “historic opportunity” for Syria’s Kurds to take part in building a new Syria alongside other components of society, the sources said.

The FM also discussed developments in Syria with leaders of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, acknowledging their role in securing the ceasefire between Damascus and the SDF and agreeing to maintain close coordination to ensure the agreement’s success.

On Friday, Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani met with Abdi and urged both the Syrian government and SDF to commit to the agreement.

A statement from Barzani’s office said the talks focused on conditions in northeastern Syria and underlined coordination among all parties to safeguard Kurdish rights within the country’s constitutional framework.

Arab World

Axios: US Plans Meeting for Gaza 'Board of Peace' in Washington on Feb 19

Trump and leaders and representatives of the countries participating in the signing of the founding charter of the “Peace Council” in Davos (AFP - Archive)
Trump and leaders and representatives of the countries participating in the signing of the founding charter of the “Peace Council” in Davos (AFP - Archive)
TT
TT

Axios: US Plans Meeting for Gaza 'Board of Peace' in Washington on Feb 19

Trump and leaders and representatives of the countries participating in the signing of the founding charter of the “Peace Council” in Davos (AFP - Archive)
Trump and leaders and representatives of the countries participating in the signing of the founding charter of the “Peace Council” in Davos (AFP - Archive)

The White House is planning the first leaders meeting for President Donald Trump's so-called "Board of Peace" in relation to Gaza on February 19, Axios reported on Friday, citing a US official and diplomats from four countries that are on the board.

The plans for the meeting, which would also be a fundraising conference for Gaza reconstruction, are in early stages and could still change, Axios reported.

The meeting is planned to be held at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, the report added, noting that Israeli Prime ‌Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‌is scheduled to meet Trump at the ‌White ⁠House on ‌February 18, a day before the planned meeting.

The White House and the US State Department did not respond to requests for comment.

In late January, Trump launched the board that he will chair and which he says will aim to resolve global conflicts, leading to many experts being concerned that such a board could undermine the United Nations, Reuters said.

Governments around ⁠the world have reacted cautiously to Trump's invitation to join that initiative. While some ‌of Washington's Middle Eastern allies have joined, many ‍of its traditional Western allies have ‍thus far stayed away.

A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in ‍mid-November, authorized the board and countries working with it to establish an international stabilization force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October under a Trump plan on which Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas signed off.

Under Trump's Gaza plan revealed late last year, the board was meant to supervise Gaza's temporary governance. Trump thereafter said ⁠it would be expanded to tackle global conflicts.

Many rights experts say that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory's affairs resembled a colonial structure and have criticized the board for not including a Palestinian.

The fragile ceasefire in Gaza has been repeatedly violated, with over 550 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers reported killed since the truce began in October.

Israel's assault on Gaza since late 2023 has killed over 71,000 Palestinians, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza's entire population.

Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel calls its actions self-defense after Hamas-led ‌militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in a late 2023 attack.

Arab World

A Man Detonates Explosive Belt during Arrest Attempt in Iraq, Injuring 2 Security Members

A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up Friday while a security force was trying to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing himself and wounding two security members, an Iraqi security official said. (Reuters/File)
A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up Friday while a security force was trying to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing himself and wounding two security members, an Iraqi security official said. (Reuters/File)
TT
TT

A Man Detonates Explosive Belt during Arrest Attempt in Iraq, Injuring 2 Security Members

A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up Friday while a security force was trying to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing himself and wounding two security members, an Iraqi security official said. (Reuters/File)
A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up Friday while a security force was trying to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing himself and wounding two security members, an Iraqi security official said. (Reuters/File)

A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up Friday while a security force was trying to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing himself and wounding two security members, an Iraqi security official said.

The raid was being conducted in the al-Khaseem area in Qaim district that borders Syria, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The official added that “preliminary information” confirms that no members of the security forces were killed, while two personnel were injured and transferred for medical treatment, The Associated Press said.

Iraq’s National Security Agency said in a statement that its members besieged a hideout of an ISIS group security official and two of his bodyguards. One bodyguard ignited his explosives belt, killing him. It gave no further details.

ISIS once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate in 2014. The extremist group was defeated on the battlefield in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019 but its sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in both countries.

In December, two US service members and an American civilian were killed in an attack in Syria that the United States blamed on ISIS. The US carried out strikes on Syria days later in retaliation.

US and Iraqi authorities in January began transferring hundreds of the nearly 9,000 ISIS members held in jails run by the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria to Iraq, where Iraqi authorities plan to prosecute them.