Sudan’s Burhan: No Return to Negotiations Until RSF is Defeated

Smoke rises near Khartoum International Airport, adjacent to the Army General Command headquarters (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises near Khartoum International Airport, adjacent to the Army General Command headquarters (File photo - Reuters)
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Sudan’s Burhan: No Return to Negotiations Until RSF is Defeated

Smoke rises near Khartoum International Airport, adjacent to the Army General Command headquarters (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises near Khartoum International Airport, adjacent to the Army General Command headquarters (File photo - Reuters)

Fierce battles between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have continued in southern Khartoum, as the army sought to reclaim the strategic Jebel Aulia Dam Bridge, aiming to cut off RSF’s supply routes.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Transitional Sovereign Council, reiterated on Tuesday his rejection of negotiations through the Jeddah peace platform until the RSF is completely eliminated.

Speaking at a memorial for fallen soldiers, Burhan declared: “There will be no negotiations or return to Jeddah until the terrorist militia—meaning RSF—is defeated and fully disarmed.”

He reaffirmed the army’s commitment to “purging the country of rebels and restoring security, stability, and peace.”

Reports indicate intense clashes between the SAF and RSF near Al-Qutaynah, White Nile State, and the southern borders of Khartoum State. The army is advancing on Jebel Aulia Dam Bridge from multiple fronts to sever the RSF’s last remaining supply line.

The bridge, located 40 km south of Khartoum, serves as RSF’s sole remaining supply route across the White Nile River, linking their forces in Khartoum (east bank) with those in Omdurman (west bank) and connecting White Nile, Kordofan, and Darfur regions. It is a critical logistical corridor for the RSF.

The Sudanese army has recently regained key areas in Khartoum State, including Bahri, eastern Khartoum, and several bridgeheads, significantly improving its strategic position.

In a related move, Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the SAF, instructed government security agencies to resume normal operations across Khartoum State within 48 hours, following the army’s recapture of key areas from the RSF.

According to state news agency SUNA, the Khartoum State Security Committee, chaired by Governor Ahmed Osman Hamza, held a meeting with senior military and intelligence officials to restore law and order, combat crime, and ensure civilian safety.

In El Fasher, North Darfur, the army reported destroying 47 RSF combat vehicles, including troop carriers and supply trucks, while downing more than 100 RSF drones.

The RSF has besieged El Fasher for months, triggering intense battles that have displaced nearly half a million civilians to Tawila, Jebel Marra, and northern Sudan.

The 6th Infantry Division in El Fasher confirmed in a statement that it inflicted heavy losses on the RSF, using ground defenses to repel drone attacks and neutralize enemy reinforcements.



Lebanon Says Two Killed in Israeli Strike on Palestinian Refugee Camp

22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)
22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)
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Lebanon Says Two Killed in Israeli Strike on Palestinian Refugee Camp

22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)
22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)

Lebanon said an Israeli strike on the country's largest Palestinian refugee camp killed two people on Friday, with Israel's army saying it had targeted the Palestinian group Hamas. 

The official National News Agency said "an Israeli drone" targeted a neighborhood of the Ain al-Hilweh camp, which is located on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon. 

Lebanon's health ministry said two people were killed in the raid. The NNA had earlier reported one dead and an unspecified number of wounded. 

An AFP correspondent saw smoke rising from a building in the densely populated camp as ambulances headed to the scene. 

The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces "struck a Hamas command center from which terrorists operated", calling activity there "a violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon" and a threat to Israel. 

The Israeli military "is operating against the entrenchment" of the Palestinian group in Lebanon and will "continue to act decisively against Hamas terrorists wherever they operate", it added. 

Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. 

Israel has also struck targets belonging to Hezbollah's Palestinian ally Hamas, including in a raid on Ain al-Hilweh last November that killed 13 people. 

The UN rights office had said 11 children were killed in that strike, which Israel said targeted a Hamas training compound, though the group denied it had military installations in Palestinian camps in Lebanon. 

In October 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel in support of Hamas at the outset of the Gaza war, triggering hostilities that culminated in two months of all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group. 

On Sunday, Lebanon said an Israeli strike near the Syrian border in the country's east killed four people, as Israel said it targeted operatives from Palestinian group Islamic Jihad. 


UN Says It Risks Halting Somalia Aid Due to Funding Cuts 

A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
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UN Says It Risks Halting Somalia Aid Due to Funding Cuts 

A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)

The UN's World Food Program (WFP) warned Friday it would have to stop humanitarian assistance in Somalia by April if it did not receive new funding.

The Rome-based agency said it had already been forced to reduce the number of people receiving emergency food assistance from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000 today.

"Without immediate funding, WFP will be forced to halt humanitarian assistance by April," it said in a statement.

In early January, the United States suspended aid to Somalia over reports of theft and government interference, following the destruction of a US-funded WFP warehouse in the capital Mogadishu's port.

The US announced a resumption of WFP food distribution on January 29.

However, all UN agencies have warned of serious funding shortfalls since Washington began slashing aid across the world following President Donald Trump's return to the White House last year.

"The situation is deteriorating at an alarming rate," said Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, in Friday's statement.

"Families have lost everything, and many are already being pushed to the brink. Without immediate emergency food support, conditions will worsen quickly.

"We are at the cusp of a decisive moment; without urgent action, we may be unable to reach the most vulnerable in time, most of them women and children."

Some 4.4 million people in Somalia are facing crisis-levels of food insecurity, according to the WFP, the largest humanitarian agency in the country.

The Horn of Africa country has been plagued by conflict and also suffered two consecutive failed rainy seasons.


Hamas Says Path for Gaza Must Begin with End to ‘Aggression’ 

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
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Hamas Says Path for Gaza Must Begin with End to ‘Aggression’ 

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)

Discussions on Gaza's future must begin with a total halt to Israeli "aggression", the Palestinian movement Hamas said after US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace met for the first time.

"Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression, the lifting of the blockade, and the guarantee of our people's legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination," Hamas said in a statement Thursday.

Trump's board met for its inaugural session in Washington on Thursday, with a number of countries pledging money and personnel to rebuild the Palestinian territory, more than four months into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted however that Hamas must disarm before any reconstruction begins.

"We agreed with our ally the US that there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarization of Gaza," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader did not attend the Washington meeting but was represented by his foreign minister Gideon Saar.

Trump said several countries had pledged more than seven billion dollars to rebuild the territory.

Muslim-majority Indonesia will take a deputy commander role in a nascent International Stabilization Force, the unit's American chief Major General Jasper Jeffers said.

Trump, whose plan for Gaza was endorsed by the UN Security Council in November, also said five countries had committed to providing troops, including Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania.