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Preparations Underway for a Meeting Between Sudan's Hemedti, Hamdok in a Regional Capital

An aerial view of the black smoke and flames at a market in Omdurman, Khartoum North, Sudan (Reuters)
An aerial view of the black smoke and flames at a market in Omdurman, Khartoum North, Sudan (Reuters)
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Preparations Underway for a Meeting Between Sudan's Hemedti, Hamdok in a Regional Capital

An aerial view of the black smoke and flames at a market in Omdurman, Khartoum North, Sudan (Reuters)
An aerial view of the black smoke and flames at a market in Omdurman, Khartoum North, Sudan (Reuters)

Several arrangements are being made in various countries to hold a meeting between the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo known as Hemedti, and the Civil Front for Democratic Forces, led by former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok.

Djibouti announced that arrangements were being made to host Sudanese talks within a week and discuss recent developments in Sudan.

Sources close to the RSF told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that a meeting is expected to be held within days between Dagalo and the communication committee of the Civil Front.

- Hemedti does not mind meeting Hamdok

Hamdok said last week that he sent two letters to the army commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF commander, requesting a meeting to discuss ways to stop the war in Sudan and restore stability.

On Dec. 26, Hemedti approved the request of the former Prime Minister for an urgent meeting, while there had yet to be a comment from the army commander.

- Djiboutian Foreign Ministry’s efforts

Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister of Djibouti, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, announced on his “X” account that his country, in its capacity as president of the current session of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), is preparing “the ground for Sudanese dialogue, and will host a critical meeting,” without providing detailed information about this meeting.

A meeting scheduled between the army commander and the RSF commander in Djibouti on Dec. 28 to resolve the Sudanese crisis and stop the war was not held.

The Djiboutian Foreign Ministry said that the meeting was postponed for technical reasons and will be held in January.

On Dec. 10, the IGAD emergency summit decided to hold an urgent meeting between Burhan and Hemedti to end the war in Sudan.

However, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry rejected the final communique, saying the statement of the extraordinary summit does not represent the Sudanese government unless the IGAD presidency corrects it.

Sudan accused the IGAD Secretariat of inserting inaccurate information and requested the deletion of a paragraph regarding the attendance of the Emirati Foreign Minister and the assertion that the IGAD heads had met with an RSF delegation.

The concluding statement also claimed the Transitional Sovereign Council President had approved a meeting with the RSF leader and the omission of the Egypt-led initiative proposed by Sudan’s neighboring countries to resolve the crisis.

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Arab World

Yemeni Army Grinds Down Houthis West of Taiz, East of Bab al-Mandab

This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage shows a fighter from the Nation's Shield Forces deployed in Yemen's Al-Kadha area, west of Taiz province, on September 10, 2026. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP)
This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage shows a fighter from the Nation's Shield Forces deployed in Yemen's Al-Kadha area, west of Taiz province, on September 10, 2026. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP)
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Yemeni Army Grinds Down Houthis West of Taiz, East of Bab al-Mandab

This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage shows a fighter from the Nation's Shield Forces deployed in Yemen's Al-Kadha area, west of Taiz province, on September 10, 2026. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP)
This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage shows a fighter from the Nation's Shield Forces deployed in Yemen's Al-Kadha area, west of Taiz province, on September 10, 2026. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP)

The Houthis suffered casualties and equipment losses over the past 24 hours as fighting intensified across Yemen’s western Taiz province and areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The group is trying to consolidate newly seized positions and secure its rear lines in mountain ranges overlooking the western coast and the international shipping lane.

The heaviest clashes were reported in the Kahboub mountains and the districts of Al-Mudaraba and Al-Wazi’iyah, according to local and military sources.

Government forces and local tribesmen are seeking to secure strategic heights, while the Houthis have sent reinforcements and pushed toward elevated positions that would help protect their recent gains.

Military sources said government forces, backed by local fighters, thwarted a Houthi infiltration attempt in the Al-Aghbara sector of Al-Mudaraba district in Lahj province, inflicting casualties on the attackers.

On the Kahboub front near Bab al-Mandab, the Southern Giants Brigades struck Houthi concentrations and vehicles with air, drone, artillery and rocket attacks.

Field sources said a senior Houthi commander with the rank of major general was killed along with six of his escorts.

They identified him as Firaq Mohsen al-Assar, known as Abu Saqr al-Qafr, from Al-Qafr district in Ibb province. He had held several military posts, including commander of the First Commando Brigade, the sources said.

Battle for the heights

Government forces and the Houthis are fighting for a chain of heights in Al-Wazi’iyah district, west of Taiz, stretching eastward from the Kahboub mountains to Jardad.

Government forces are seeking to secure positions overlooking the western coast and Bab al-Mandab and drive Houthi fighters from the high ground.

The mountains are strategically important because they overlook areas near the strait and the plain extending toward Ras al-Ara.

The Houthis are trying to seize the heights to protect areas under their control and to use them as a launch point for any new southward advance, the sources said.

On the Al-Kadha front west of Taiz, government forces repelled a Houthi attack and forced the assailants to retreat after suffering casualties.

The army also recaptured positions on Jabal al-Shuhada, overlooking Wadi al-Ghail in Al-Wazi’iyah, after driving out Houthi fighters.

Government aircraft struck Houthi positions around Jawlat al-Qasr, east of Taiz city.

The fighting in western Taiz is not only about the current front lines. It is also a battle for high ground that would give the side holding it greater ability to defend its positions and move between the coast and inland areas.

Strikes continue in Marib

Government forces also continued ground and air operations against the Houthis in Marib province.

Warplanes struck Houthi concentrations and vehicles at the Umm Rish camp and Aqabat Mala’a in the south of the province.

Government forces said they thwarted three Houthi infiltration attempts on the Marib fronts as the two sides exchanged artillery fire.

On Friday, government forces said they had destroyed nine Houthi military vehicles on the western Marib fronts, killing those aboard.

Drones operated by the Seventh Military Region also targeted Houthi concentrations on the northern fronts, while other strikes hit the group’s vehicles in the Third Military Region’s area of operations.

Other fronts remained relatively calm compared with the fighting in western Taiz and Marib, although forces remained on high alert along the lines of contact.

The latest operations show government forces concentrating on preventing the Houthis from tightening their grip on heights overlooking Bab al-Mandab and the western coast.

At the same time, they are targeting Houthi reinforcements and vehicles in an effort to disrupt the group’s attempts to consolidate its new positions and advance toward the mountains overlooking the strait.

Arab World

Gaza Health Officials Say 4 Killed in Israeli Strikes, Including Child

People operate on a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP)
People operate on a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP)
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Gaza Health Officials Say 4 Killed in Israeli Strikes, Including Child

People operate on a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP)
People operate on a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP)

Gaza's health officials said on Saturday that Israeli fire killed at least four people in the Palestinian territory, including a 10-year-old girl and the son of a top government official.

A statement from Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority, said that the child "succumbed to wounds sustained this morning from Israeli army fire north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip".

An airstrike also killed Baseer al-Barsh, the son of Munir al-Barsh who serves as director-general of Gaza's health ministry, in an encampment for displaced people in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, the ministry said.

Speaking during his son's funeral, Munir Al-Bursh said the killing was "a continuation of (Israel's) crimes", according to a ministry statement.

In addition, two Palestinians were killed and several others injured in two separate strikes near Gaza City, according to Gaza's al-Shifa hospital and the territory's civil defense, a rescue agency operating under Hamas authority.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP inquiry on the strikes.

Israel in October last year agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States but since then has advanced further into Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed no let-up in strikes targeting Hamas, which led the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack against Israel, and no pullout from Gaza until Hamas gives up all of its weapons.

The 2023 attack killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The gunmen also dragged into Gaza some 251 hostages, 44 of them already dead.

The massive Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 73,800 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 people since the ceasefire was announced last year, according to the Gaza health ministry, whose figures are considered generally reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor.

Arab World

Syria Says Arrested Assad-Era General Who Led Attacks on Opposition

Former Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail after his arrest. (Syrian Internal Security Forces)
Former Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail after his arrest. (Syrian Internal Security Forces)
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Syria Says Arrested Assad-Era General Who Led Attacks on Opposition

Former Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail after his arrest. (Syrian Internal Security Forces)
Former Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail after his arrest. (Syrian Internal Security Forces)

Syrian authorities on Saturday said they arrested a general who served under the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad, saying he led operations against formerly opposition-held areas during the country's 13-year civil war.

In a statement, security forces announced "the arrest of former Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail, a high-ranking commander in the Republican Guard of the former regime's army".

Military records indicate that "he began his service as a platoon commander, then served as a company commander in the 2nd Battalion of the 101st Airborne Regiment. He was subsequently promoted, at the beginning of 2016, to Chief of Operations of the same regiment, and directly participated in commanding military assaults on the cities of Aleppo and Daraa, as well as on Eastern Ghouta."

Located near Damascus, Eastern Ghouta was an opposition stronghold during the civil war until 2018, and the site of a major chemical attack five years prior.

US intelligence says more than 1,000 people were killed with sarin nerve gas in the suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus, in 2013 during Syria's civil war.

The attack was attributed to the Syrian government under the rule of Assad, who was toppled in late 2024.

The government at the time denied involvement and blamed the opposition factions.

Since Assad was overthrown in December 2024, Syria's new authorities have arrested dozens of former security officials, while trials began in April.

Earlier this month Syrian authorities said they had arrested nine former pilots including three generals accused of taking part in lethal bombings of towns and villages under Assad's rule.

Syria sentenced Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher, and five other security officials to death in absentia in August for atrocities committed during the civil war.

The former president fled Syria as his government fell and is believed to be living in Russia.