Sudan Army, RSF Trade Blames for Fires at Khartoum Refinery

FILE PHOTO: Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
TT

Sudan Army, RSF Trade Blames for Fires at Khartoum Refinery

FILE PHOTO: Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Thursday accused each other of attacking the Khartoum refinery in Al-Jaili.

The army and the forces led by commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have traded blame since the civil conflict erupted almost two years ago.

"The terrorist militia of Al-Dagalo deliberately set fire to the Khartoum refinery in Al-Jaili this morning in a desperate attempt to destroy the infrastructures of this country, after despairing of achieving its illusions of seizing its resources and land," the Sudanese army said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, the RSF said the army launched airstrikes on the refinery.

"The ongoing aerial bombardment of the refinery, the latest of which was this morning, which led to its destruction, represents a full-fledged war crime," Reuters quoted the RSF as saying in a statement.

Earlier this month, the army and allied forces recaptured the state capital Wad Madani from the RSF, a strategic city that could mark a turning point in the ethnic violence that has caused the world's largest internal displacement crisis.

The army and the RSF together led a coup in 2021, removing Sudan's civilian leadership, but fell out less than two years later over plans to integrate their forces.



Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon,  January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
TT

Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon,  January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo

Israel said on Thursday the terms of a ceasefire with Hezbollah were not being implemented fast enough and there was more work to do, while the Iran-backed group urged pressure to ensure Israeli troops leave south Lebanon by Monday as set out in the deal.

The deal stipulates that Israeli troops withdraw from south Lebanon, Hezbollah remove fighters and weapons from the area and Lebanese troops deploy there - all within a 60-day timeframe which will conclude on Monday at 4 a.m (0200 GMT).

The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended more than a year of hostilities triggered by the Gaza war. The fighting peaked with a major Israeli offensive that displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon and left Hezbollah severely weakened.

"There have been positive movements where the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have taken the place of Hezbollah forces, as stipulated in the agreement," Israeli government spokesmen David Mencer told reporters, referring to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

"We've also made clear that these movements have not been fast enough, and there is much more work to do," he said, affirming that Israel wanted the agreement to continue.

Mencer did not directly respond to questions about whether Israel had requested an extension of the deal or say whether Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon after Monday's deadline.

Hezbollah said in a statement that there had been leaks talking about Israel postponing its withdrawal beyond the 60-day period, and that any breach of the agreement would be unacceptable.
The statement said that possibility required everyone, especially Lebanese political powers, to pile pressure on the states which sponsored the deal to ensure "the implementation of the full (Israeli) withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the last inch of Lebanese territory and the return of the people to their villages quickly.”

Any delay beyond the 60 days would mark a blatant violation of the deal with which the Lebanese state would have to deal "through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters" to recover Lebanese land "from the occupation's clutches," Hezbollah said.