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AL-MUKALLA: A Yemeni government soldier was killed and two others wounded on Saturday when an explosives-laden drone fired by Iran-backed Houthis attacked a convoy conveying senior military leaders, including Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen Al-Daeri, in the besieged city of Taiz, Yemeni officials and local media said.
A Yemeni government official told Arab News that the Houthis launched a drone at a convoy carrying the defense minister, the army’s chief of staff, and the governor of Taiz as they traveled from the Red Sea town of Mocha to Taiz. Al-Daeri and all other government officials were unhurt.
Muammar Al-Eryani, Yemen’s information minister, accused the Houthis of attempting to derail peace attempts.
“This sinful targeting, which comes in the wake of the terrorist Houthi militia’s continuous escalation on multiple fronts, confirms its insistence on sabotaging efforts to restore the ceasefire and calm the situation,” the minister said on Twitter.
Al-Eryani had earlier warned that large-scale military operations would resume throughout the nation if the Houthis continued their assaults on government soldiers, particularly in the central province of Marib.
Scores of fighters have been killed or injured since early last week, when the Houthis began a series of intense assaults on government troops in the district of Hareb, south of Marib province, capturing a few villages.
Those attacks, as well as other less intense shelling and ground attacks in Taiz, have dashed hopes of a peaceful solution to the war, which had arisen following the latest successful round of prisoner-swap talks between the Houthis and the Yemeni government, which resulted in an agreement to release more than 800 prisoners during Ramadan.
Al-Eryani said Houthi raids in Hareb had resulted in the displacement of a significant number of people and posed the prospect of all-out conflict, which would put an end to the country’s relative peace since the UN-brokered ceasefire came into force in April last year.
Speaking to a group of military personnel in Taiz’s Al-Bareh on Friday, the minister pledged to defeat the Houthis, retake Sanaa and other areas currently controlled by the Iran-backed militias, and urged soldiers to remain alert.
“To reclaim every square inch of our territory, retake our capital, and restore our legitimate leadership to its proper position, we must all share the same spirit and direct our firearms against these militias,” the minister said.
Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al-Kumaim, a Yemeni military analyst, said the Houthis have used the UN-brokered truce to regroup, and to target military officials and government-controlled areas. He suggested that the Yemeni government should abandon any agreements with the Houthis and resume military operations.
“Following this attack on the convoy of the highest military authority in the Yemeni army, the government is expected to terminate all accords, including the Stockholm Agreement, and unleash the fronts,” Al-Kumaim said.
Since October, the Yemeni government has labeled the Houthis a terrorist organization. It threatened to withdraw from the Stockholm Agreement and other agreements with the Houthis and resume military offensives when the Houthis shelled oil facilities in Hadramout and Shabwa with drones and missiles, halting Yemen’s oil exports.
Enter
KHARTOUM: Explosions rocked the Sudanese capital Khartoum Monday as fighting between the regular army and paramilitaries raged for a third day with the death toll rising to nearly 100.
The violence erupted Saturday after weeks of power struggles between Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The raging battles triggered a wide international outcry with appeals for an immediate cease-fire and dialogue.
“The death toll among civilians in clashes since it began on Saturday … has reached 97,” the doctors’ union said in a statement early Monday, noting the figure does not include all casualties as many could not reach hospitals due to difficulties in movement.
It said hundreds of civilians were wounded in the clashes.
Loud gunfire and deafening explosions echoed across the streets of Khartoum Monday morning as clashes continued, according to AFP journalists.
A stench of gunpowder lingered as plumes of thick black smoke emanated from damaged buildings, according to witnesses.
The fighting broke out after bitter disagreements between Burhan and Daglo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army — a key condition for a final deal aimed at ending a crisis since the 2021 military coup they orchestrated together.
The coup has already derailed a transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of president Omar Al-Bashir and piled on a spiraling economic crisis in Sudan.
The clashes forced Sudanese to hunker down in their homes with fears of a prolonged conflict that could plunge the country into deeper chaos, dashing hopes for return to civilian rule.
Since Saturday, the two sides have traded blame over who started the fighting.
Each has claimed the upper hand by declaring control of key sites, including the airport and the presidential palace but none of their claims could be independently verified.
Fighting also raged in other parts of Sudan including the western Darfur region and in the eastern border state of Kassala.
The Saturday killing of three staff from the World Food Programme in North Darfur clashes prompted the agency to suspend all operations in the impoverished country.
Medics have pleaded for safe corridors for ambulances and a cease-fire to treat the victims because the streets are too dangerous for transporting casualties to hospital.
The RSF was created under Bashir in 2013, emerging from the Janjaweed militia that his government unleashed against non-Arab ethnic minorities in Darfur a decade earlier, drawing accusations of war crimes.
The latest violence sparked by the two generals has reflected the deep-seated divisions between the regular army and the RSF.
Despite the wide calls for a cease-fire, the two generals appeared in no mood for talks.
Burhan, who rose through the ranks under the three-decade rule of now-jailed Bashir, has said the coup was “necessary” to include more factions in politics.
Daglo later called the coup a “mistake” that failed to bring about change and reinvigorated remnants of Bashir’s regime ousted by the army in 2019 following mass protests.
ADEN: Arab nations and organizations have praised the successful three-day prisoner exchange between the Yemeni government and the Houthis amid renewed efforts from Saudi Arabia to mediate a lasting peace between the warring factions.
Mohammed Al-Jaber, the Kingdom’s envoy to Yemen, and delegation from Oman went to Sanaa last week to discuss with the Houthis ‘stabilize the truce and ceasefire’ and, eventually, end conflict in the war-torn country.
The multi-day humanitarian operation transferred nearly 900 detainees into and out of several cities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The Arab Parliament, in a statement, welcomed the prisoner exchange operation and stressed that these ‘efforts were part of the Arab’s continuous efforts to calm the situation in Yemen and reach a comprehensive political solution that ends the Yemeni crisis.’
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) secretary general Hissein Brahim Taha also lauded the prisoner exchange as an important humanitarian operation, which took place during the holy month of Ramadan.
The OIC leader expressed hope that the prisoner swap would give a new boost to efforts of achieving peace in Yemen through the mediation efforts of Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Egypt’s foreign affairs ministry meanwhile described the prisoner transfer as “a positive and significant step towards renewing the Yemeni truce and achieving comprehensive and sustainable peace.
Cairo also expressed full support for efforts to restore security and stability in Yemen and alleviate the humanitarian crisis that Yemenis are facing.
The Jordanian foreign affairs ministry meanwhile praised the important role the UN and ICRC played in sponsoring the prisoner exchange operations and hailed the efforts made by Saudi Arabia and Oman’s delegations with regard to the agreement.
Both sides are optimistic of more prisoner exchanges in the future, with the Houthi side planning to propose exchanging 1,400 people during the next round of discussions while Yemeni government ‘dedicated to exchanging all detainees with the Houthis as well as clearing jails of those who had been kidnapped or forcefully vanished during the war.’
ISTANBUL: Four Turkish soldiers were wounded in artillery and rocket attacks by Kurdish militants on bases in northern Syria, prompting a counter attack, Ankara said on Sunday.
Turkiye’s defense ministry said the attacks were carried out by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and also the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkiye and Western nations deem a terrorist group.
Turkiye has carried out several cross-border military incursions into northern Syria in recent years and has dozens of bases there.
The four soldiers were sent to hospital, the ministry said. “Ample response is given to the terrorists with strong attacks on targets,” it added.
Earlier on Sunday Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said “we could never be safe while there is an armed terrorist organization” in the north of Syria and Iraq.
“Hopefully in the upcoming term we will increasingly continue our efforts in this direction,” he added in a speech in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa, referring to elections set for May 14.
JERUSALEM: Iran’s exiled crown prince is scheduled to come to Israel this week on a visit that reflects the warm ties his father once had with Israel and the current state of hostility between Israel and the Islamic Republic.
Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah to rule Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, said Sunday that he will be delivering “a message of friendship from the Iranian people.”
He is set to participate in Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial ceremony on Monday night, said Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel, who will host him. He is also set to visit a desalination plant, see the Western Wall and meet representatives of the local Bahai community and Israeli Jews of Iranian descent, she said.
Gamliel praised the “brave decision” by Pahlavi to make what she said would be his first visit to Israel. “The crown prince symbolizes a leadership different from that of the ayatollah regime, and leads values of peace and tolerance, in contrast to the extremists who rule Iran,” she said.
Pahlavi left Iran at age 17 for military flight school in the US, just before his cancer-stricken father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi abandoned the throne for exile. The revolution followed, with the creation of the Islamic Republic, the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran and the sweeping away of the last vestiges of the American-backed monarchy.
Pahlavi, who still resides in the US, has called for a peaceful revolution that would replace clerical rule with a parliamentary monarchy, enshrine human rights and modernize its state-run economy.
Whether he can galvanize support for a return to power is unknown. His father ruled lavishly and repressively and benefitted from a CIA-supported coup in 1953. The late shah also had close diplomatic and military ties with Israel.
That ended in 1979, when the Iranian revolution’s leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, declared Israel an “enemy of Islam” and cut all ties. Today, the countries are arch-enemies. Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat, citing the country’s calls for Israel’s destruction, its support of hostile militant groups on Israel’s borders and its nuclear program. Iran denies accusations by Israel and its western allies that it is pursuing a nuclear bomb.
“I want the people of Israel to know that the Islamic Republic does not represent the Iranian people. The ancient bond between our people can be rekindled for the benefit of both nations,” Pahlavi said on Twitter.
CAIRO: Simmering tensions between Sudan’s ruling factions reached breaking point on Saturday when trucks with mounted machine guns and tanks began rolling through the streets of Khartoum, a city of 5.2 million people, and airstrikes and artillery fire bombarded neighborhoods from all sides, starting fires and wreaking destruction.
Fighting soon spread across the country, from Merowe in the north to El-Obeid in the south.
For Egypt, the situation in neighboring Sudan amounts to more than just a security crisis at its doorstep. On Saturday afternoon, a Twitter post surfaced that showed several Egyptian soldiers being held captive near Merowe. Numerous reports had been circulating about the Egyptian military’s presence at Merowe airport, which served as a base for joint military exercises for the two armies.
كتيبه من الجيش والقوات المصرية تسلم نفسها لقوات الدعم السريع بمروي⭕
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In statements to the media, Ibrahim Al-Shwaimi, a former Egyptian assistant minister of foreign affairs, clarified that the detained troops were carrying out joint training exercises with the Sudanese military, and were not party to the conflict.
Egypt’s concerns over Sudan’s stability comes as no surprise given Cairo’s long history of hot-and-cold ties with Khartoum. While Egypt has invested millions in development projects in Sudan, many issues such as territorial claims over the eastern section of the Egypt-Sudan border and the use of the Nile’s water remain contentious.
“Egypt seeks the stability of Sudan, the unity of Sudanese lands, the preservation of state institutions in Sudan, and the strength of its armed forces. The stability and strength of Sudan are the protection of Egyptian national security, the protection of approximately 1,200 km of common borders with our brothers in Sudan and the prevention of terrorist infiltration into our lands,” Egyptian parliamentarian Mahmoud Badr told Arab News.
“In all cases, the great Egyptian armed forces are able to maintain security in the southern direction, as they protected it in the western direction before, and we wish the Sudanese people goodness and stability.”
In just two days of violence, dozens of Sudanese have been killed and more than 600 wounded. Civilians are caught in the crossfire, with children trapped inside schools, and hospitals completely overwhelmed by the growing number of casualties.
Multiple civilians, including three workers from the UN’s World Food Programme, have been killed. The country’s airports were shuttered and its main telecommunications provider and TV channels shut down their services on Sunday.
This latest explosion of violence is the climax of several months of political tension and days of military mobilization. The clashes stem from events which transpired several years ago, after former Sudanese President Omar Bashir was deposed during a 2019 revolution and replaced by an interim government.
Two years later, Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized power and implemented a military junta.
Fast forward to today — during the 2021 coup, April 2023 was set as the date for Sudan’s transition to a civilian-led government. However, a rift between former allies Al-Burhan and Dagalo grew wider as the two argued over the timetable for and hierarchy of the RSF’s full integration into the Sudanese military.
A few days before the current violence, RSF forces began to mobilize across the country. Now, both sides are blaming each other for lighting the Sudanese powder keg. The information blackout makes accurate reporting difficult: The RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces alternately claim that they control large swaths of cities and other Sudanese territory.
تدمير مدرعات من القوات المعتدية على قواتنا في الخرطوم
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On Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received a phone call from his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir. The two discussed the recent situation in Sudan as well as the political and security roles of Egypt and South Sudan in Sudan.
The two leaders stressed the seriousness of the situation and the ongoing military clashes, calling for an immediate ceasefire and affirming their “full support for the brotherly Sudanese people in their aspirations toward achieving security, stability and peace.”
They also expressed the readiness of Egypt and South Sudan to mediate between the Sudanese parties, while cautioning that additional violence could lead to a further breakdown in the security situation in Sudan.
Separately, Sameh Shoukry and Ali Al-Sadiq, the foreign ministers of Egypt and Sudan respectively, held a phone call on Sunday to discuss the developments in Sudan and efforts to end the crises.
Shoukry conveyed to his Sudanese counterpart Egypt’s “deep concern over the continuation of the current armed confrontations, as they pose a threat to the security and safety of the brotherly Sudanese people and the stability of their country.”
The call also touched on the conditions of the Egyptian community in Sudan and the importance of preserving the security and safety of all Egyptians in Sudan.
They also emphasized that the consolidation of security and stability is the guarantee of the completion of the political transitional path and the achievement of construction and development in Sudan.
For its part, the RSF issued a statement offering assurance that Egyptian citizens in Sudan were safe, referring presumably to the soldiers in its custody. It added that the force was ready to hand Egyptian citizens over to their leadership as soon as the security conditions calmed down.
Khaled Mahmoud, an Egyptian writer and journalist specializing in Sudanese affairs, told Arab News that although the conflict may be limited in scope now, it has the potential to turn into a long-drawn-out crisis.
“The conflict may extend over time and not end or be resolved within hours or days … similar to the Libyan or Syrian situation. It may extend geographically and move to other regions in Sudan. The matter may turn into a regional war by proxy and Egypt may get involved in one way or another in that war, and that is why Cairo wants to anticipate all this and treat the crisis from the beginning,” he said.
Sudan, Africa: Battles erupted yesterday between Sudan’s army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces.
At least 70 people in Sudan’s capital are dead and 400 are injured as rival military factions fight to control the country, UN officials said. pic.twitter.com/gMhDGYrA4s
Badr said the latest crisis had placed Sudan in a delicate situation and he expressed hope that a ceasefire would end the conflict and prevent it from spreading.
Separately, Egyptian political analyst Ammar Ali Hassan weighed in on the crisis in a Facebook post. “Egypt has nothing to do with the conflict between Hamidati (Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo) and Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and any Egyptian presence there took place in agreement with the official authorities — that is, Al-Burhan and Hamidati together,” he said.
“There is no wonder in Egypt’s continuous work for a stable Sudan, because this is in its interest.”
By Sunday evening, witnesses and residents said the Sudanese army had carried out airstrikes on RSF barracks and bases, including in Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, and managed to destroy most of their facilities.
They said the army had also wrested back control over much of Khartoum’s presidential palace from the RSF after both sides claimed to control it and other key installations in Khartoum, where gun battles raged all day.
