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Syrian Government, Kurdish Officials Discuss Merging Their Armed Forces

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signing an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signing an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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Syrian Government, Kurdish Officials Discuss Merging Their Armed Forces

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signing an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signing an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

Government officials met Wednesday in the northeastern province of Hasakeh with the commander of the main Kurdish-led group in the country, the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is backed by the US.

The new Syrian government wants to bring Syria’s breakaway Kurdish militias back under government control, but the details of their recent breakthrough agreement are still being worked out and negotiators will have overcome a decade of civil war.

Wednesday’s meeting comes a week after Syria’s interim government signed a deal with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, including a ceasefire and the merging of the SDF into the Syrian army.

The deal should be implemented by the end of the year. It would bring northeast Syria’s borders and lucrative oil fields under the central government’s control.

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Arab World

Sudan Gold Mine Collapse Kills 10, Injures 21

Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)
Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)
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Sudan Gold Mine Collapse Kills 10, Injures 21

Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)
Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)

A gold mine collapsed in northern Sudan killing at least 10 people and injuring 21 others, two survivors told AFP on Sunday after overnight rescue efforts.

Shafts of the Awny mining area near Sudan's border with Egypt collapsed on Saturday.

By Sunday morning "10 bodies had been recovered and 21 injured miners pulled out", said one of the survivors who was working at the mine when it collapsed, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

Another survivor, also requesting anonymity, told AFP the rescue operation was "being carried out by the miners themselves" with little equipment available.

More miners were feared dead under the rubble and survivors said the search for the missing was ongoing.

Many young Sudanese have joined a dangerous gold rush, working in unregulated mines with their hands and rudimentary tools for meagre daily wages.

They face chemical poisoning and regular mine collapses.

Last week at least 82 people were killed and dozens injured in a collapse in the southern Kordofan region.

Artisanal and small-scale mining, which takes place in unofficial zones or decommissioned mines, accounts for the majority of gold extracted in Sudan.

Even before the war pushed nearly 20 million Sudanese into severe hunger, artisanal mining employed more than two million people, according to industry figures.

Arab World

CIA Chief Meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
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CIA Chief Meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa

US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Sunday in a rare visit to Cairo, as the United States warned of rapid escalation in the Middle East war.

Sisi's office said the meeting, attended by Egypt's spy chief Hassan Rashad, discussed the wars in Iran, the Gaza Strip and Sudan, as well as attacks on Gulf countries and threats to maritime security.

Sisi stressed "the paramount importance of settling regional crises through political and diplomatic tracks," according to a presidency statement.

"This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," it warned.

Sisi's office said Ratcliffe on Sunday "lauded Egypt's pivotal role in supporting efforts aimed at reaching peaceful, comprehensive settlements to regional crises".

 

 

 

 

 

Arab World

Arab Parliament Condemns Houthi Militia Attack Targeting Riyadh

Arab Parliament Condemns Houthi Militia Attack Targeting Riyadh
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Arab Parliament Condemns Houthi Militia Attack Targeting Riyadh

Arab Parliament Condemns Houthi Militia Attack Targeting Riyadh

The Arab Parliament has strongly denounced the terrorist Houthi militia's continued attacks, including the attack targeting Riyadh, stressing that it constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and a threat to Arab national security and regional stability.

In a statement on Sunday, Arab Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Yamahi expressed the parliament's full solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its support for the measures it takes to defend itself against any attacks targeting its security and territorial integrity, SPA reported.

Al-Yamahi called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to assume its legal and political responsibilities to stop these blatant attacks, ensure that they are not repeated, and hold those responsible accountable.