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Sudanese Authorities Bury Hundreds of Victims of Darfur Landslide

This handout image made available by the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM), on September 4, 2025, shows people surrounding mud-covered debris, following a mudslide that devastated the village of Tarasin in Sudan's Jebel Marra area. (Sudan Liberation Movement/Army / AFP)
This handout image made available by the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM), on September 4, 2025, shows people surrounding mud-covered debris, following a mudslide that devastated the village of Tarasin in Sudan's Jebel Marra area. (Sudan Liberation Movement/Army / AFP)
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Sudanese Authorities Bury Hundreds of Victims of Darfur Landslide

This handout image made available by the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM), on September 4, 2025, shows people surrounding mud-covered debris, following a mudslide that devastated the village of Tarasin in Sudan's Jebel Marra area. (Sudan Liberation Movement/Army / AFP)
This handout image made available by the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM), on September 4, 2025, shows people surrounding mud-covered debris, following a mudslide that devastated the village of Tarasin in Sudan's Jebel Marra area. (Sudan Liberation Movement/Army / AFP)

Sudanese authorities have recovered and buried the bodies of hundreds of people who died in a landslide over the weekend in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.

Mujib al-Rahman al-Zubair, head of the Civil Authority in the Liberated Territories, said in a video address shared with The Associated Press that the authority, along with help from local aid workers, was able to reach 375 bodies, but the remaining bodies remain trapped underground.

“May the victims of this devastating incident receive mercy,” he said as he and dozens of others gathered at the scene of the landslide to pray for the dead.

Al-Zubair is leading rescue missions, hoping to recover more bodies and find survivors despite the lack of equipment and resources.

The Aug. 31 landslide that followed days of heavy rainfall in Tarasin, in the Marrah Mountains, could have possibly killed as many as 1,000, Mohamed Abdel-Rahman al-Nair, a spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army, previously told the AP. The United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had a similar death toll estimate, but said it’s hard to confirm the magnitude of the tragedy because the area is hard to reach.

The UN has said that efforts have been mobilized to support the impacted area, located more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) west of the capital, Khartoum.

Al-Nair said in a statement Thursday that the landslide caused a “catastrophic humanitarian situation” that requires a rapid response from the international community to provide food and shelter for those who have lost everything.

The Marrah Mountains region is a volcanic area with a height of more than 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) at its summit. The mountain chain is a world heritage site and is known for its lower temperature and higher rainfall than its surroundings, according to UNICEF.

A small-scale landslide hit the area in 2018, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens of others, according to the now-disbanded United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur.

Sudan is already impacted by one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world caused by the ongoing civil war that erupted in April 2023 in the capital city, Khartoum. The conflict spread across the country after simmering tensions escalated between the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. More than 40,000 people have been killed and as many as 12 million displaced.

Some areas in the country are struggling with famine and disease outbreaks such as cholera.

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Arab World

Lebanese Army Says Soldier Wounded by Gunfire from Syria

Vehicles line up at Jdeidat Yabous border crossing with Lebanon, amid an increased cross-border movement in Jdeidat Yabous, 45 kilometers west of Damascus, Syria, 03 March 2026. (EPA)
Vehicles line up at Jdeidat Yabous border crossing with Lebanon, amid an increased cross-border movement in Jdeidat Yabous, 45 kilometers west of Damascus, Syria, 03 March 2026. (EPA)
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Lebanese Army Says Soldier Wounded by Gunfire from Syria

Vehicles line up at Jdeidat Yabous border crossing with Lebanon, amid an increased cross-border movement in Jdeidat Yabous, 45 kilometers west of Damascus, Syria, 03 March 2026. (EPA)
Vehicles line up at Jdeidat Yabous border crossing with Lebanon, amid an increased cross-border movement in Jdeidat Yabous, 45 kilometers west of Damascus, Syria, 03 March 2026. (EPA)

Lebanon's military said on Saturday that a soldier was moderately wounded by gunfire coming from Syria a day prior in the country's northeast.

"A Lebanese soldier sustained moderate injuries as a result of gunfire from the Syrian side targeting a Lebanese army post in the Qasr-Hermel area," the military said, adding that "soldiers at the post returned fire".

"An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the incident in coordination with the relevant Syrian authorities."

On Friday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa informed him that Syrian troop building along the border with Lebanon was "solely aimed at strengthening border control and maintaining internal Syrian security", and that similar measures were taken on the border with Iraq.

Arab World

Israel Defense Minister Warns Lebanon to Disarm Hezbollah or Face ‘Heavy Price’

A man inspects the debris of destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Haret Hreik neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
A man inspects the debris of destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Haret Hreik neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Defense Minister Warns Lebanon to Disarm Hezbollah or Face ‘Heavy Price’

A man inspects the debris of destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Haret Hreik neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
A man inspects the debris of destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Haret Hreik neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz warned the Lebanese government on Saturday to disarm Hezbollah or "pay ‌a very ‌heavy price." 

"We (ISRAEL) ‌have ⁠no territorial claims ⁠against Lebanon, but we will not accept a situation ⁠where what ‌existed ‌for many ‌years — firing ‌from Lebanese territory toward the State of ‌Israel — is renewed," Katz said in ⁠a ⁠statement.  

"Therefore, we are turning and warning: act and take action before we act even more." 

The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon on Saturday urged Lebanon and Israel to enter talks to negotiate an end hostilities after the outbreak of a renewed Israel-Hezbollah war.  

"As bad as things are today, they are set to get even worse," Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said.  

"Talks between Lebanon and Israel can be the game changer needed to save future generations from going, time and again, through the same nightmare".  

In December, Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives engaged in their first direct talks in decades as part of a meeting of a committee monitoring the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.  

Lebanon was engulfed by the expanding Middle East war on Monday, after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel to avenge the death of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks on Iran. 

Arab World

Hezbollah’s Rejection of ‘Surrender’ Stalls Macron Initiative to Halt War

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receiving former prime ministers Fouad Siniora, Tammam Salam, and Najib Mikati (Lebanese Presidency). 
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receiving former prime ministers Fouad Siniora, Tammam Salam, and Najib Mikati (Lebanese Presidency). 
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Hezbollah’s Rejection of ‘Surrender’ Stalls Macron Initiative to Halt War

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receiving former prime ministers Fouad Siniora, Tammam Salam, and Najib Mikati (Lebanese Presidency). 
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receiving former prime ministers Fouad Siniora, Tammam Salam, and Najib Mikati (Lebanese Presidency). 

French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative has failed to break the political stalemate surrounding the ongoing war in Lebanon, as Hezbollah rejects what it describes as “surrender” and insists on pressing ahead with the confrontation.

Lebanese and international observers view Hezbollah's fighting as support for Iran in its conflict with Israel and the United States. At the same time, Washington’s continued silence regarding the renewed hostilities in Lebanon has drawn notice.

Lebanese sources familiar with the ongoing contacts said Hezbollah has declined to engage in negotiations after Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri conveyed a call to return to the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024, which ended the previous round of fighting.

Activists involved in the communications channel quoted senior Hezbollah officials as saying that it was “too early to speak of negotiations.”

Lebanese ministerial sources said President Joseph Aoun informed Macron that any initiative should be presented to Berri, who oversees negotiations on behalf of Hezbollah.

However, visitors to Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that Macron had only informed him of his intention to send vehicles and equipment to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab, speaking after meeting the president, referred to “ongoing diplomatic efforts.”

“There are contacts with many parties,” he said. “The media has reported on them, whether French or, in particular, American. But so far we have not reached a breakthrough that we can speak about. The effort is still ongoing, and I believe the contacts made yesterday by the president, as well as the call between the Speaker of Parliament and President Macron, helped reduce attacks that had been planned against Lebanon, including areas that were ultimately not targeted.”

He added: “I can say the diplomatic effort has achieved a measure of success. We must meet these efforts internally with solidarity. Those concerned in Lebanon must also cooperate with the president, the prime minister, and the speaker of parliament so that we can emerge from the current crisis.”

Meanwhile, former prime ministers Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora, and Tammam Salam visited the president and issued a statement condemning what they described as “the continuing Israeli aggression and crimes against Lebanon and the Lebanese people.”

They voiced support for government decisions affirming that the authority to decide on war and peace must rest exclusively with the state and for enforcing the principle that weapons should be held solely by the Lebanese state across all Lebanese territory. They also called for broad national support for these measures.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, for his part, told Arab and foreign ambassadors during a meeting that decisions on war and peace must remain in the hands of the state. He noted that the government is continuing to work with various international partners to halt Israeli attacks.

Salam reiterated Lebanon’s willingness to negotiate and stressed the need to spare facilities and property from damage amid the ongoing escalation. He emphasized that Lebanon “did not choose this war.”

As diplomatic activity intensified, Foreign Minister Youssef Raji held a phone call with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, asking Muscat to use its diplomatic influence with the relevant parties to prevent the conflict from being drawn onto Lebanese territory.

Raji also received calls from several European foreign ministers, including Germany’s Johann Wadephul, Ireland’s Helen McEntee, Spain’s José Manuel Albares, Belgium’s Maxime Prévot, and Montenegro’s Ervin Ibrahimović.

The ministers collectively expressed solidarity with Lebanon while welcoming the Lebanese government’s decision to ban Hezbollah’s military and security activities and require the group to surrender its weapons. They also affirmed their readiness to provide the necessary humanitarian assistance.

In turn, Raji expressed deep appreciation for the supportive positions of his counterparts and urged them to mobilize their international contacts to press for an end to the attacks and to spare civilian infrastructure from being targeted.