Guterres Appoints New Representative for Libya

Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, the new envoy to Libya (UN)
Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, the new envoy to Libya (UN)
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Guterres Appoints New Representative for Libya

Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, the new envoy to Libya (UN)
Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, the new envoy to Libya (UN)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Friday the appointment of Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana as the global body's new envoy to Libya, replacing Senegal's Abdoulaye Bathily who stepped down last April.

Before joining the United Nations, Tetteh was a senior member of the cabinet of the Government of Ghana as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017, and member of the National Security Council and the Armed Forces Council. She also served as Minister for Trade and Industry from 2009 to 2013.

Tetteh, who has been Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's special representative to the Horn of Africa for the past two years, is the 10th person since 2011 to occupy the sensitive post of special envoy and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Tetteh's appointment requires endorsement by the UN Security Council, according to AFP.

The post, in a North African country riven by conflict and civil war for over a decade, had been vacant since the surprise departure last April of Bathily.

At the time the Senegalese diplomat warned of a “lack of political will and good faith” by Libyan leaders and said the United Nations could not “operate successfully” in such a climate.

Libya has been mired in political chaos and conflict since the overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

 



Hemedti Admits Forces Withdrew from Sudan Capital

A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)
A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)
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Hemedti Admits Forces Withdrew from Sudan Capital

A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)
A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)

The head of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces admitted in a speech to fighters on Sunday that the group had withdrawn from the capital but pledged the RSF would return stronger to Khartoum.

"I confirm to you that we have indeed left Khartoum, but... we will return with even stronger determination," Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said in the speech, three days after the group said there would be "no retreat.”

It was Dagalo's first comment since the RSF were pushed back from most parts of Khartoum by the Sudanese army during a devastating war that has lasted two years.

Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, conceded in an audio message on Telegram that his forces left the capital last week as the army consolidated its gains.

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ruled out any reconciliation with the RSF in a video statement on Saturday in which he vowed to crush the group.

"We will neither forgive, nor compromise, nor negotiate," he said, reaffirming the military's commitment to restoring national unity and stability.

Earlier on Saturday, the army said it had taken control of a major market in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, which had previously been used by the RSF to launch attacks during a devastating two-year-old war.

Burhan also said fighters who "repent to the truth" could still be amnestied if they lay down their arms, particularly those who are in rebel-held areas.