https://arab.news/g8rs8
COPENHAGEN: After pledging all 19 of its French-made Caesar howitzers to Ukraine, Denmark is in talks with Israeli arms maker Elbit Systems for new mobile artillery to plug a “critical gap.”
The Defense Ministry said that negotiations were on “with the manufacturer Elbit Systems for the delivery of ATMOS artillery pieces and PULS rocket launcher systems as soon as possible.”
The equipment could be delivered this year, the government said.
“The rocket launchers complement the new artillery systems,” the ministry said.
Denmark had ordered 15 mobile long-range howitzers from French company Nexter in 2017, and four more in 2019.
Denmark had ordered 15 mobile long-range howitzers from French company Nexter in 2017, and four more in 2019.
But deliveries have been delayed and only a few have arrived. All of them have been pledged to Ukraine.
The system can carry 36 155 mm shells and reach targets at distances of up to 40 km.
ATMOS can fire six shots per minute and can be mounted on most off-road 8X8 trucks.
The next acquisitions are “important for Denmark’s defense and for Denmark to be able to meet its NATO commitments,” Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said.
“The donation to Ukraine leaves a critical capability gap in defense,” he said.
According to Danish media, Nexter advised Denmark against changing suppliers, saying it could provide new artillery.
“Caesar has proven itself on the battlefield in Ukraine, Danish soldiers can use them and the parts are compatible with Danish military IT systems,” a spokesman for the group said.
TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to travel overseas from April 29 to May 5 to visit Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique and Singapore.
During his trip, Kishida will hold meetings with the leaders of these countries to discuss a wide range of topics including regional and international issues, Ukraine and bilateral relations.
Kishida will have a summit meeting in Cairo and meet with other dignitaries in Egypt on April 30. He will depart the following day for the Ghanaian capital Accra before flying on the same day to Nairobi in Kenya. He will arrive in Maputo, Mozambique, on May 3 and after a summit meeting there will depart for Singapore on May 4.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Kishida will show Japan’s resolve to maintain and strengthen the international rule of law as Japan prepares to host the G7 Hiroshima Summit from May 19 to 21. Kishida also hopes to confirm further cooperation with the countries on his itinerary on various global issues.
• This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan
LONDON: France is boosting its southern border protection with 150 police officers amid a surge in migrants leaving Libya and Tunisia to cross into the country from Italy, The Times reported.
Migrants who cross the Mediterranean are using Italy’s border town of Ventimiglia to enter France, traversing mountain passes or swimming the short distance to the French town of Menton.
Almost 40,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean into Italy from North Africa this year, up from 9,500 in 2022.
The large majority of arrivals are leaving from Libya and Tunisia, with the latter serving as the exit point for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
This year, 661 migrants have drowned while attempting the dangerous journey, often on small metal dinghies.
As economic decline and drought ravage large parts of Africa, Italian authorities fear that migration numbers could climb further, with France preventively boosting its border protection in the south.
On the Italian island of Lampedusa, 2,700 migrants are being held in a center with a capacity of 400.
This comes after more than 1,000 people arrived on the island on 20 separate vessels on Wednesday.
Save the Children spokesperson Giovanna Di Benedetto said: “The center is holding 400 unaccompanied minors, many from West Africa, including some under 10 years old.
“Some of them have been in the center for a month because there has been a reduction in spaces for them on the mainland.
“They are the most vulnerable yet here they are the most exposed to risk.”
LONDON: A Sudanese doctor trapped in Sudan who works for the UK’s National Health Service has said he feels “betrayed” after being denied a spot on an evacuation flight back to Britain, the BBC reported.
Dr. Abdulrahman Babiker, who worked for the NHS throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, is due to return to Manchester Royal Infirmary next week.
But after traveling to Sudan during Ramadan to celebrate Eid with family, Babiker is now trapped in the country following the outbreak of violence between the government and Rapid Support Forces paramilitary.
Britain has already completed eight evacuation flights from Sudan, but Babiker was turned away from the flight at Wadi Seidna air base north of the capital because he lacks a UK passport, although he does possess proof of the right to work.
The BBC reported that at least 24 other NHS doctors are in the same position as Babiker.
He said: “To be honest, I feel totally betrayed. I worked throughout COVID-19 and I’m so disappointed.
“I had spoken to my MP and had emails advising me to go to the air base.”
After arriving at Wadi Seidna, Babiker was denied entry to the aircraft and told: “We are really sorry, this is the guidance from the Home Office.”
The UK Foreign Office has said it is prioritizing British nationals as part of rescue efforts, advising others to make their own journeys back to Britain, including through the Egyptian border.
Babiker said: “I’d be more than happy to wait for other people to be airlifted before me, but to not have any chance to be rescued in this very risky situation is … I’m really feeling disappointed.”
The UK has already airlifted 897 people out of Sudan, but thousands of other British nationals are thought to be still in the country, including many with family ties.
Babiker added: “I think this will have an impact on international medical graduates wanting to join the NHS.
“They make up about 40 percent of the workforce and it will make other nationalities think twice about whether they want to work for the NHS.”
Dr. Nadia Baasher, of the Sudanese Junior Doctor’s Association, told the BBC that many of her compatriots trapped in Sudan had traveled to the country for Eid.
“People are heartbroken by the whole situation. It’s not safe. This is is very disappointing to see that they weren’t treated with some consideration.”
UK military authorities have said that up to 500 people per day could be airlifted to Cyprus from Wadi Seidna air base.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on April 27: “I urge all British nationals wishing to leave to proceed to the airport as quickly as possible to ensure their safety.”
TOKYO: Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Sudan in Tokyo Ali Mohammed Ahmed Osman has urged Japan to play a key role in stabilizing Sudan amid its ongoing political turmoil.
Speaking to Arab News Japan, Osman stated that Japan — as the world’s third-largest economy, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and a leading member of the G7 — is well-placed to play a critical role in enhancing the security and stability of Sudan, which is deemed a crucial component of the broader Indo-Pacific domain.
A potential strategy to this end might involve unequivocally “isolating, condemning and classifying the dissolved Rapid Support Forces and their commanders as a terrorist force in international and regional forums, such as the UN Security Council and the G7, for their blatant violations of international norms,” he suggested.
Additionally, Osman urged Japan to provide direct humanitarian assistance to millions of Sudanese affected by the ongoing clashes, including support in the domains of health, services, transportation, energy, and food security. This aid is anticipated to be delivered by Japan in light of its international commitments and sizable contributions under the Official Development Assistance program, which is a pivotal foreign aid initiative by the Japanese government aimed at providing support to developing countries.
The ongoing conflict has resulted in significant loss of life, with over 500 people killed and 4,200 injured in recent weeks, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry. The fighting has also created a humanitarian crisis, with many struggling to access basic necessities such as food and water, and aid agencies have been forced to suspend operations. Japan has already evacuated all of its citizens from Sudan in response to the violence.
• This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan
Chicago: A United Nations Security Council status update on efforts to achieve a final peace between Serbia and Kosovo turned into nearly four hours of name calling with accusations blaming each side for everything from ethnic cleansing to intentional diplomatic obstruction.
The purpose of the meeting was to review a 26-page “monitoring report” issued by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, headed by UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General Caroline Ziadeh that spelled actions taken to ease tensions and provide support.
But rather than address the report, representatives for Serbia and Kosovo instead outlined grievances blocking their hopes for peace during the three and one-half hour session that prompted most other participating nations to take rhetorical sides.
UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General head of UN Interim Administration Mission (UNIAM) in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh of Lebanon opened the session with encouraging words summarizing monitoring efforts and acknowledging agreements previously signed by Serbia and Kosovo leaders including those recently in Brussels intended to achieve “normalization.”
“Our focus is on the empowerment of communities to flourish in spaces where ethically divided prejudice and political rhetoric are being transcended. Trust building can directly help light the path to political normalization,” Ziadeh, who is from Lebanon, told the Security Council members and participants.
“Together these approaches mark a genuine path towards a more sustainable, peaceful and ultimately prosperous future for all.”
Ziadeh emphasized that the two sides need to “overcome divisions caused by miscommunication and by frequent political invective, acknowledging “accusative rhetoric,” “pitfalls” and “insufficient political will” without naming names.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Serbia, Ivica Dacic vowed to abide by peaceful negotiations but said the efforts to achieve “normalization” are being sidelined by Kosovo’s efforts to win independent statehood and EU membership wirthout addressing the suffering and losses by Serbian citizens of Kosovo who have been forced to leave because of discrimination and tensions since the two territories separated.
“The harsh truth is that Kosovo and Metohija in the past 20 years has turned from a multi-ethnic environment into an almost ethnically pure territory,” Dacic said.
“In Krishna, more than 40,000 Serbs used to live while today there are less than 100 of them. In the ancient imperial city of Prizren where I was born and in which today I need permission to visit, there used to be 10,000 Serbs and today there are only 20 left.”
Dacic praised Ziadeh’s efforts, but stressed that the situation in Kosovo is “complex and distrubing.”
“I am convinced the efforts of the Special Representative of the Security General, Miss Ziadeh, have constructive intentions … however the fact is the report we are considering today is not and will never be sufficient for a comprehensive and essential understanding of all of the implications of security and other challenges in Kosovo and Metohija and regional and global flows.”
Dacic said noted that the Serbian population of Kosovo has been pushed out and no effort has been made to allow them to return to their homes or properties.
“There is still an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty and pressure towards Serbs and other Albanians on the ground,” Dacic said.
“The harsh truth is that Kosovo and Metohija in the past 20 years has turned from a multi-ethnic environment into an almost ethnically pure territory. … In Krishna, more than 40,000 Serbs used to live while today there are less than 100 of them. In the ancient imperial city or Prism where I was born and in which today I need permission to visit, there used to be 10,000 Serbs and today there are only 20 left.”
Claiming that four of Serbia’s most important Orthodox Churches in Kosovo built in the 1300s and on UNESCO’s World Heritage Endager list have experienced serious damage.
“There is no way that Kosovo can become a member of the United Nations because they do not have a majority … we are absolutely devoted to dialogue. … The other side is only interested in the independence of Kosovo. This agreement in Brussels is not an agreement on recognizing each other but on normalizing further relations,” Dacic said.
“The obligation taken 10 years ago to form the Association of Serbian Municipalities is something that needs to happen now, otherwise there won’t be any kind of an agreement.”
Kosovo political leader Donika Gervalla-Schwarz responded to Dacic’s assertions, accusing them of blocking the agreements signed in Brussels. She called Serbia’s leaders including Dacic as “cul[prits” in “this breach of contract.”
“Their political DNA makes it impossible for them to keep their word. It promises, and given signatures are not honored. Negotiations become a farce. This is uncivilized. This is outrageous. And this is a sign of disrespect to the entire diplomatic community. The Serbian strategy is to block Balkan integration into Europe. And behind this attempts in power are the Russian working via Serbia it’s Balkan process. When dealing with people who engage in dishonest and unfair behavior, it is important to take punitive action rather than negotiate with them. More and more voices in Europe from Kosovo to the Netherlands and Germany are now calling for sanctions against Serbia. Because you don’t negotiate with cheaters, you face them with the consequences,” Gervalla-Schwarz retorted.
“EU integration will eventually move forward without Serbia. This is not only true or the Berlin process but also for the EU project of the common regional market which promotes integration into the EU market and this applies to the dialogue between the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia. Serbia has largely disregarded signed agreements from 2011, 2013 and 2015.”
Gervalla-Schwarz said that Kosovans were the “victims of genocide and brutality” by the Serbians and accused the Serbian leadership of fomenting “racism, hate and incitement.”
Several nations spoke in calmer terms urging the two sides to persist in following the “path of peace” towards normalization including an officials with the United Arab Emirates.
“Peace is not a simple story of before and after. There are many chapters,” said Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, United Arab Emirates Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
“The recent agreement between Serbia and Kosovo is the most significant breakthrough in relations between both states in over a decade, and we must all support this welcome trajectory. … there is a path forward.”