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KHARTOUM: The Sudanese army pounded paramilitaries in the capital Khartoum with air strikes Thursday while deadly fighting flared in Darfur as the clock ticked down on a fragile US-brokered cease-fire now in its final full day.
Late Wednesday, the army said it had agreed to talks in Juba, capital of neighboring South Sudan, on extending the three-day truce which expires on Friday “at the initiative of IGAD,” the East African regional bloc.
There have been multiple truce efforts since fighting broke out on April 15 between Sudan’s regular army led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his deputy turned rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. All have failed.
The fighting has continued despite the US-brokered cease-fire that took effect on Tuesday, with warplanes patrolling the skies over the capital’s northern suburbs as fighters on the ground have exchanged artillery and heavy machine gun fire, witnesses said.
Burhan agreed on Wednesday to the IGAD proposal for talks on extending the truce by a further 72 hours, the army added.
The RSF’s response to the proposal remains unclear.
At least 512 people have been killed and 4,193 wounded in the fighting, according to health ministry figures, although the real death toll is likely much higher.
The doctors’ union said at least eight civilians had been killed in Khartoum alone on Wednesday despite the truce.
More than two thirds of hospitals in the country were out of service, the union said Thursday, including 14 that had been struck during the fighting.
Beyond the capital, fighting has flared in the provinces, particularly in the war-torn western region of Darfur.
Clashes between the army and the RSF raged for a second day in the West Darfur capital Geneina, witnesses said, adding that civilians were seen fleeing to the nearby border with Chad.
On Wednesday, the United Nations humanitarian agency reported killings, looting and arson in Geneina.
“An estimated 50,000 acutely malnourished children have had nutrition support disrupted due to the fighting,” it added in a statement.
The heavy fighting has trapped many civilians in their homes, where they have endured severe shortages of food, water and electricity.
The UN has warned that as many as 270,000 people could flee into Sudan’s poorer neighbors South Sudan and Chad.
Other Sudanese have sought refuge in Egypt to the north and Ethiopia to the east, but both entail long and potentially dangerous journeys overland.
Speaking at the Egyptian border, 50-year-old refugee Ashraf called on the warring sides to “end the war… because this is your own conflict, not that of the Sudanese people.”
In Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, Syrian evacuee Khalil Ibrahim said: “We just want to get away from this war.”
Cambridge University academic Sharath Srinivasan warned the mass movement of people across Sudan’s borders threatened to destabilize already fragile governments in neighboring countries.
“If the armed confrontation between these two forces protracts — or worse, if it draws in other armed rebel groups across the country — this could quickly become one of the worst humanitarian crises in the region and risk spilling over,” he told US news outlet Politico.
Foreign governments have taken advantage of the fragile truce to organize road convoys, aircraft and ships to get thousands of their citizens out but some have warned their evacuation efforts are dependent on the lull in fighting holding.
A Saudi evacuation ship docked in the Red Sea port of Jeddah Thursday carrying 187 Sudan evacuees from 25 countries, including the United States, Russia and Turkiye, the Saudi foreign ministry said.
It was the eighth such crossing organized by the Saudi authorities since the start of the fighting and took the total evacuated to the kingdom so far to 2,544, only 119 of them Saudis, the ministry said.
As lawlessness has gripped Sudan, there have been several jailbreaks, including from the high security Kober prison where top aides of ousted dictator Omar Al-Bashir were held.
Among those who have escaped is Ahmed Haroun, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the 2003 Darfur conflict.
Haroun’s escape sparked fears of the involvement of Bashir loyalists in the ongoing fighting.
The army said the ousted dictator was not among those who escaped but had been moved to a military hospital before the fighting erupted.
Daglo’s RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia, accused of carrying out atrocities against civilians during Bashir’s brutal suppression of ethnic minority rebels in Darfur in the mid-2000s.
Bashir was toppled by the military in April 2019 following civilian mass protests that raised hopes for a transition to democracy.
The two generals had together seized power in a 2021 coup, but later fell out, most recently over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.
AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni army commander Faisal Rajab was released by the Houthis on Sunday after eight years in captivity.
In a ceremony attended by its leader and other senior officials in Sanaa, the Houthis released Maj. Gen. Rajab to a group of Yemeni tribal elders from Abyan, Shabwa and Al-Bayda who had traveled to the city to request his release.
Abdulkader Al-Murtada, head of the Houthis’ prisoner exchange committee, said the commander was pardoned “in honor” of the elders.
Rajab, along with former defense minister Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Subaihy and former intelligence chief Nasser Mansour Hadi, was captured near Al-Anad military base in Lahj province in March 2015. The men had been part of an effort to gather military forces in the area to fend off the Houthis’ expansion across southern provinces.
Al-Subaihy and Hadi were among 900 captives freed two weeks ago during a second prisoner exchange between the warring factions but Rajab was not given his freedom and his family was not allowed to visit him.
Hans Grundberg, the UN’s special envoy for Yemen, hailed Rajab’s release and urged both sides to strive for the release of all detainees in accordance with their pledges under the UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement.
“I welcome the unilateral initiative by Ansar Allah to release GEN Faisal Rajab,” he said on Twitter. “I appeal to all parties to build on the progress achieved & intensify the efforts to release all detainees, based on the “All for all” principle as stipulated in the Stockholm Agreement.”
Majed Fadhail, a member of the Yemeni government involved in the prisoner exchange talks, also welcomed Rajab’s release.
“We are relieved to hear that Maj. Gen. Faisal Rajab has been released. We hope that all prisoners and detainees are released from these criminal rebel militias’ prisons and detention facilities,” he said on Twitter.
But some Yemeni activists and journalists described Rajab’s release as a charade designed to improve the militia’s image, and urged the Houthis to release hundreds of other prisoners and forcibly disappeared people, including politician Mohammed Qahtan.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani said that two of the four journalists freed in the last prisoner exchange were now in hospital.
Tawfiq Al-Mansouri and Harith Hamid were taken to a hospital in the central city of Marib to be treated for health problems they contracted while being detained by the Houthis. They, and hundreds of other detainees, had been subjected to “barbaric psychological and physical torture,” he said.
Al-Mansouri and Hamid were among nine journalists abducted from a hotel in Sanaa in 2015 and sentenced to execution by a Houthi court.
Soon after his release, Al-Mansouri told reporters that Al-Murtada had personally abused him in jail, an accusation the Houthi official disputed.
RIYADH: The head of the Gulf Cooperation Council called for calm in Sudan and an end to all military escalation in the country on Sunday.
During a meeting with Dafallah Al-Haj Ali, undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jasem Al-Budaiwi stressed the GCC’s keenness on Sudan’s security, safety and stability, preserving the cohesion of the state and its institutions, and supporting it to face all challenges to achieve the aspirations of the Sudanese people.
Al-Budaiwi praised the humanitarian role played by Saudi Arabia and all GCC countries in the current crisis in Sudan.
He also praised all international and regional efforts aimed at reaching consensus among political forces, ending the crisis in Sudan, and achieving security and stability in the country.
A humanitarian truce in Sudan was extended on Sunday and will last for three days starting from midnight, according to a statement released by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) spokesman.
“In response to international, regional and local calls, we announce the extension of the humanitarian truce for 72 hours, starting from midnight tonight, in order to open humanitarian corridors and facilitate the movement of citizens and residents and enable them to fulfil their needs and reach safe areas,” the statement said.
Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded since a long-simmering power struggle between the Sudanese army and the RSF erupted into conflict on April 15.
AMMAN: Jordan will host a meeting of foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and Syria on Monday to continue their talks on formulating a solution to the Syrian crisis.
Sinan Al-Majali, a spokesperson for Jordan’s Foreign Ministry, said on Sunday that the meeting in Amman “comes in continuation of the consultative meeting held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on April 14.”
The latest talks were aimed at “building on the outcomes of the communications these countries made with the Syrian government within their proposals and the Jordanian initiative to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis,” he said.
Following the meeting in Jeddah, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the diplomats discussed the efforts underway to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis that would preserve its stability and territorial unity.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan hosted the meeting. It was also attended by Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al-Zayani, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, Anwar Gargash.
The Saudi statement said the ministers discussed work mechanisms and stressed the need for intensified consultations between Arab countries to ensure the success of the peace efforts.
They also called for immediate measures to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Syria and create a suitable environment for aid to reach all regions of the country.
Meanwhile, Jordan has been working on a joint Arab peace plan that could end the crisis in Syria and bring the country back into the Arab fold. Syria’s membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 over its crackdown on protests.
Although Jordan has yet to announce any details of the plan, Amman is reported to be in talks with its Arab allies and key international players in Syria, including the US, Russia, the UK, EU and UN.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the matter, but an official source, who requested anonymity, told Arab News that the peace plan entailed forming an Arab consultation group that would discuss with the Syrian government a road map for resolving the crisis, which is now in its 13th year.
The plan was based on relevant UN resolutions on Syria, including Resolution 2254, which demands that all parties cease fire and engage in formal negotiations, and Resolution 642, which allows for life-saving humanitarian aid to be delivered into the country, the source said.
“The Syrian government’s adherence to these resolutions, openness for constructive negotiation with other Syrian parties, release of prisoners, opening corridors for humanitarian aid, creating the suitable atmosphere to encourage refugees to return home, and tackling the illicit drug industry and trafficking are the major components of the Jordanian-proposed plan,” the person said.
ANKARA: Turkiye is facing one of the most competitive elections in its political history with both presidential and parliamentary polls set to be held on May 14.
After President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced to postpone his campaigning last week due to a reported intestinal infection — he fell ill during a live interview — questions were raised as to how his health might affect his popularity among voters.
Since undergoing intestinal surgery in 2011, the 69-year-old’s health has been often subject to false reporting.
The latest upset meant Erdogan was forced to inaugurate the activation of a Russian-built nuclear power plant on Thursday via a video link.
But after a few days’ rest, he was back on the scene on Friday at Teknofest, a major aerospace and technology event, alongside Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.
Erdogan’s main opposition in the election is 74-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Both men have campaigned hard in recent weeks, holding daily rallies across the country.
“Erdogan’s voters have probably lost their morale a little, since he’s a charismatic leader who easily gathers people around him,” Hurcan Asli Aksoy, deputy head of the Berlin-based Center for Applied Turkey Studies at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told Arab News.
“(But) Erdogan will try to attend and organize big and attractive meetings to regain their attention,” she added.
Erdogan has been in power for two decades and is seeking a third presidential term but the latest polls give Kilicdaroglu a narrow lead.
The challenger’s campaign has focused on the public’s discontent at Turkiye’s “one-man” rule and proposes to replace it with a more democratic system. He has also promised to bring wealth and prosperity to Turkey amid an economic recession.
Kilicdaroglu recently pledged to introduce a five-year ban on foreigners buying property in Turkiye to help ease a long-running housing crisis.
“Within a year, rent prices increased by 197 percent. The minimum wage is 8,500 lira ($437) while the average rent for a house is 7,400 lira,” he said.
According to a survey by Turkish firm Konda that was leaked on social media, Erdogan won 43 percent of the votes in the first round against Kilicdaroglu’s 42 percent. But in the second round, the challenger secured 51 percent to Erdogan’s 49 percent.
During his campaign rallies, which drew large crowds even in conservative strongholds, Kilicdaroglu was accompanied by potential vice presidents Ekrem Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas, the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara respectively.
Osman Sert, research director of polling firm Panoramatr, said Kilicdaroglu was showing he had wide appeal among voters, from the center-left to the center and nationalist groups, as well as those with Islamist tendencies.
“Both Imamoglu and Yavas have helped him during his electoral campaign and they appeal to large crowds because they represent the center and nationalistic tendencies within Turkish society,” he told Arab News.
“As the opposition conducts his campaign with several actors under the same bloc, they have been able to hold rallies across 10 cities on the same day. But, their campaign still lacks a main message.”
In contrast, the Erdogan camp was using identity politics to win over voters, but the leader’s absence had hampered this approach, Sert said.
“As the three-day sickness of Erdogan revealed, the government, in contrast to the opposition bloc, does not have any backup actors who can overcome the short-term absences of the leader,” he said.
“The only political actor who could generate rhetoric during the campaign is Erdogan and when he is not on the campaign field, the void can’t be filled, because in Turkiye political power has become extremely centralized around Erdogan.”
While Erdogan was recuperating, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu attracted criticism by referring to the upcoming elections as the “West’s political coup attempt” against the current regime.
But Sert said the president’s brief absence was unlikely to have had a major effect on his ratings.
“Such short-term disappearances can happen in any country and it is totally understandable that it can fuel some speculations and concerns,” he said. “But this time it was not for a long duration and it did not change voter preferences to a significant degree.”
The race was still neck and neck, he said.
Erdogan on Saturday delivered a 40-minute speech to voters in the western province of Izmir — an opposition stronghold — helping dispel concerns about the state of his health.
LONDON: Some Britons are feared to have been left behind in Sudan after reports that the country’s armed forces had stopped a number of people from reaching the final British evacuation flights out of the country on Saturday.
The final Royal Air Force flight left the Wadi Saeedna airfield north of Khartoum late on Saturday, four hours behind schedule, taking the number of Britons and their relatives evacuated since Tuesday to 1,888.
The UK pledged to maintain support for Britons trapped in the war-torn country but said conditions had grown too dangerous to continue evacuation flights.
The Conservative chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee told The Observer she had received information that elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces had blocked British citizens as they tried to arrive at an airbase north of Khartoum.
“I’ve had some messages saying the Sudanese armed forces have been stopping people from crossing through Khartoum to get to the airstrip,” Alicia Kearns MP said.
“I think we need to look into that and see if that’s got any truth to it. If so, you’ve got British nationals who are stuck and being stopped from getting to the evacuation point,” she added.
Hundreds of people were told to make the risky journey to an evacuation center at the Wadi Saeedna airbase, about 14 miles north of Khartoum, while Sudan’s armed forces continued to attack Rapid Support Forces positions.
The UK government denies it has abandoned anyone in Sudan, after accusations of repeating the mistakes of its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Heavy fighting continued to rock Khartoum on Sunday and Sudan’s former Premier Abdalla Hamdok warned of the “nightmare” risk of a descent into full-scale civil war.