عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Sudan's Rival Military Leaders Give Competing Addresses to UN

Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
TT
TT

Sudan's Rival Military Leaders Give Competing Addresses to UN

Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

The heads of Sudan's rival military factions gave competing addresses to the United Nations on Thursday, one from the podium at UN headquarters in New York and the other in a rare video recording from an undisclosed location.
Army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, speaking at the United Nations following a string of foreign trips, called on the international community to designate the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a terrorist organization and to counter its sponsors outside Sudan's borders, Reuters said.
RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said in a video message that his forces were fully prepared for a ceasefire and comprehensive political talks to end the conflict.
Both sides blamed the other for starting the war that erupted in mid-April in Khartoum and has spread to other parts of the country including the western region of Darfur, displacing more than 5 million people and threatening to destabilize the region.
Most of Hemedti's recent communications have been audio messages, and his whereabouts have been a source of speculation.
In the video released on Thursday shortly before Burhan spoke, Hemedti appeared in military uniform, seated behind a desk with a Sudanese national flag behind him as he read out his speech. His location was not clear.
"Today we renew our commitment to the peaceful process to put a halt to this war," Hemedti said. "The RSF are fully prepared for a ceasefire throughout Sudan to allow the passage of humanitarian aid ... and to start serious and comprehensive political talks."
FAILED CEASEFIRES
Previous assertions by the army and the RSF that they are seeking a solution to the conflict, as well as announcements of ceasefires by both sides, have failed to stop bloodshed and the deepening of a humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
"We are still extending our hands for peace, to stop this war and the suffering of our people," said Burhan, adding that the army remained committed to withdrawing from politics in a transition to civilian rule.
But he also called for the RSF to be labeled a terrorist group and said it was backed by regional and international backers, without naming any. "There is a need to firmly address their sponsors," he said.
Sudan's war broke out over plans to formally integrate the RSF into the army as part of a political transition, four years after the overthrow of former leader Omar al-Bashir during a popular uprising. The army and RSF staged a coup together in 2021 before coming to blows.
Witnesses say the army has used heavy artillery and air strikes that have caused casualties in residential districts of Khartoum and other cities, and that the RSF has inflicted widespread looting and sexual violence on residents as well as participating in ethnically targeted attacks in Darfur.
Saudi Arabia and the United States have tried to secure a lasting ceasefire in Sudan but the process stalled amid parallel international initiatives in Africa and the Middle East.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israeli Army: Hezbollah Disarmament Needs Full Occupation of Lebanon

An Israeli military truck transports a tank in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanese border (AFP)
An Israeli military truck transports a tank in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanese border (AFP)
TT
TT

Israeli Army: Hezbollah Disarmament Needs Full Occupation of Lebanon

An Israeli military truck transports a tank in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanese border (AFP)
An Israeli military truck transports a tank in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanese border (AFP)

A senior Israeli military commander said on Friday that disarming Hezbollah was not part of the current war objectives, and that the army’s plan instead focused on razing entire villages in southern Lebanon and forcibly displacing residents to create a buffer zone imposing a new border reality.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the war aimed to achieve what he called the “top objective” of disarming Hezbollah and that the government remained committed to it.

The spokesperson for the Israeli army later walked back the commander’s remarks, saying the military remained committed to the long-term goal of disarming Hezbollah through a broad, gradual effort.

The current operation weakens Hezbollah and will contribute to its disarmament over time, the spokesperson noted.

A military source said Israel would act if the Lebanese government failed to disarm the group, adding that Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem was within the scope of Israeli assassination plans.

Former general Yom-Tov Samia said dismantling Hezbollah would require targeting the Lebanese state itself, including its infrastructure, to pressure the public against the group.

Despite the clarification, the initial remarks continued to reverberate. Military analysts and reserve generals said they reflected a blunt reality: the current war cannot destroy Hezbollah.

They said such a goal would require full occupation of Lebanon and sweeping searches across all towns and villages, which would exceed the scope of the current operation.

Amid the visible rift, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed a cabinet meeting scheduled for Friday, replacing it with limited consultations before rescheduling it for Saturday evening.

A military source said the army would present a plan to the cabinet to completely destroy Lebanese border villages and establish a depopulated security zone, barring residents from returning to areas along what Israel calls the “contact line,” with 20 Christian villages exempted.

The army says Hezbollah has tried over the past year to rebuild its infrastructure along the border. It proposes turning a 3-4 km strip into a forward defensive zone.

The plan calls for the total destruction of dozens of villages near Israeli towns, from Kfarkela opposite Metula to Naqoura opposite Shlomi, including the demolition of all infrastructure and a permanent ban on residents returning.

The military says the plan has received legal approvals, arguing that villages used by Hezbollah constitute “incriminated” infrastructure and that their existence would enable the group to rebuild in the future.

It added that after a November 2024 ceasefire, Hezbollah fighters returned to border villages and attempted to rebuild underground infrastructure and deploy weapons not previously detected.

The army said it would be impossible after the current operation to revert to the existing border, as Hezbollah would return, requiring a new line.

The proposed model mirrors what the army calls the “yellow line” in the Gaza Strip, a 2-4 km strip cleared of locals and controlled by Israeli forces with forward positions.

A senior Israeli officer said the plan differs from Israel’s past security zone in southern Lebanon, stressing that civilians would not be allowed to return.

The officer acknowledged that setting Hezbollah’s disarmament as a war goal had been “overly ambitious,” saying current constraints, including a prolonged war and the need to focus on Iran, prevent making it an immediate objective.

 

Arab World

Israel Says Striking Hezbollah Sites in Beirut after Destroying Bridge

File photo of a bridge destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Dalfy, Lebanon on March 26, 2026. Stringer, Reuters
File photo of a bridge destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Dalfy, Lebanon on March 26, 2026. Stringer, Reuters
TT
TT

Israel Says Striking Hezbollah Sites in Beirut after Destroying Bridge

File photo of a bridge destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Dalfy, Lebanon on March 26, 2026. Stringer, Reuters
File photo of a bridge destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Dalfy, Lebanon on March 26, 2026. Stringer, Reuters

The Israeli military said Saturday it had begun striking "Hezbollah infrastructure" in Beirut after it destroyed a bridge in eastern Lebanon to prevent the Iran-backed group's reinforcements from crossing.

An AFP journalist heard two loud explosions in the capital within half an hour early Saturday and saw smoke billowing from one of them, said AFP.

Local media reported two strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, a locality that has been a target of Israeli strikes in recent days as the military presses on with its ground invasion in the country's south.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack that killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

On Friday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said a blast at one of its positions in the country's south near the border wounded three peacekeepers, the third similar incident in days.

Israel's military had warned that it would target two adjacent bridges over the Litani River in the area "to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and military equipment".

The Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) said: "Israeli warplanes targeted the bridge that links Sohmor with Mashghara, leading to its destruction."

Lebanese local media reported that a second bridge was also hit.

The strikes in Sohmor continued into early Saturday, with the NNA reporting the town's center being hit twice as warplanes roared in the skies.

Israel has previously struck five other bridges over the Litani in the country's south, including most of the main routes crossing the waterway.

The river runs around 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border, an area where Israel has said it wants to maintain "security control".

Also in Sohmor, two people were killed and 15 wounded in an Israeli strike that hit "as worshippers were leaving the town's mosque" after Friday prayers, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Lebanese authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed in a month of hostilities.

- 'No longer afraid' -

UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said an explosion inside a UN position injured three peacekeepers, adding that the origin was unknown.

Israel's army accused Hezbollah of launching a rocket that hit the post.

On the edge of the southern suburbs of Beirut, Christians marked Good Friday in Shiyah with a procession around Saint Maroun Church.

Resident Hala Farah, 62, said she had never before missed the religious rites, even during repeated conflicts in the country.

"We're always here, we have to hold on for the future of our children," she told AFP at the entrance to the overflowing church.

Another worshipper, Patricia Haddad, 32, said she was no longer afraid of the bombardments.

"We got used to it, unfortunately," she said.

Israel's army has said it has struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon since last month, while Hezbollah said it had carried out 1,309 operations against Israeli targets.

On Sunday, an Indonesian peacekeeper was killed when a projectile exploded in a UNIFIL position, while another blast the following day killed two more Indonesian troops.

According to the UN, 97 force members have been killed in violence since UNIFIL was first established to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon in 1978.

The force's mandate expires at the end of this year.

Arab World

US Embassy in Beirut Warns of Possible Iran Threat to Universities in Lebanon

People walk past the main gate to the campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the center of Beirut on January 13, 2022. (AFP)
People walk past the main gate to the campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the center of Beirut on January 13, 2022. (AFP)
TT
TT

US Embassy in Beirut Warns of Possible Iran Threat to Universities in Lebanon

People walk past the main gate to the campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the center of Beirut on January 13, 2022. (AFP)
People walk past the main gate to the campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the center of Beirut on January 13, 2022. (AFP)

The US embassy in Beirut said on ‌Friday ‌that Iran ‌and ⁠its aligned armed ⁠groups "may intend to target ⁠universities ‌in Lebanon".

In ‌a security ‌alert, ‌the embassy also ‌urged US citizens to depart ⁠Lebanon "while ⁠commercial flight options remain available".

Lebanon was dragged into the conflict in the Middle East when Iran-backed Hezbollah shot rockets at Israel in retaliation to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the beginning of the war.

Over the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes killed 23 people and wounded 98, the Lebanese health ministry said Friday.

The ministry said that the overall death toll includes 125 children and 91 women, since Israel launched intense airstrikes across Lebanon after the Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel in solidarity with Iran on March 2. The strikes have also wounded 4,138 others.

Among those killed are 53 health workers, while Israeli strikes have targeted 83 emergency medical service facilities, the health ministry said.