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KHARTOUM: Sudan said Monday it will recall its ambassador to Addis Ababa for “consultations” following accusations that the Ethiopian army executed seven captured Sudanese soldiers and a civilian.
“In an act that contravenes all laws and customs of war and international humanitarian law, the Ethiopian army executed seven Sudanese soldiers and a citizen who were their captives,” the Sudanese armed forces said late Sunday.
The army said “this treacherous act will not pass,” vowing to respond to “this cowardly behavior.”
Tensions have risen in recent years, sparking sporadic armed clashes, over the Al-Fashaqa border strip which is close to Ethiopia’s troubled Tigray region.
There was no immediate response from Ethiopia.
A Sudanese military official who requested anonymity told AFP the soldiers were taken into captivity from a border area close to the Al-Fashaqa region.
On Monday, Sudan’s foreign ministry said it “will immediately recall its ambassador to Ethiopia for consultations” and submit a complaint with the UN Security Council.
“The Ethiopian ambassador to Khartoum will also be summoned to inform him of Sudan’s condemnation of this inhumane behavior,” the ministry said.
Relations between Khartoum and Addis Ababa have soured over Al-Fashaqa, a fertile strip long cultivated by Ethiopian farmers but claimed by Sudan, sparking sporadic deadly clashes between the Sudanese and Ethiopian sides.
Tensions were heightened further after fighting erupted in Tigray in November 2020, sending tens of thousands of refugees fleeing into Sudan.
Khartoum and Addis Ababa have since been locked in a tense war of words, trading accusations of violence and territorial violations.
The border dispute feeds into wider tensions in the region, including over Ethiopia’s controversial Blue Nile dam.
Sudan and Egypt, both downstream countries, have been opposed to the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and pushed for an agreement over the filling of its reservoir and the operation of the dam.
In February, Khartoum and Cairo slammed Addis Ababa for unilaterally deciding to start power generation at the dam.
DUBAI: The UAE’s Ministry of Education on Tuesday unveiled the country’s Green Education Partnership Road Map, which is part of the preparations for COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference, which Dubai will host toward the end of this year.
During the road map launch event, the ministry signed agreements with the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and its Children’s Fund, UNICEF, to advance climate education and action among the younger generation before, during and after the conference.
The ministry also announced that it will create the first education pavilion ever to be included at a COP event, the Emirates News Agency reported on Tuesday.
Under the UAE’s leadership, UNESCO will support the organization of a high-level advocacy meeting of the leaders of member states to discuss the role of education in efforts to address climate issues, and host the inaugural meeting of Greening Education Partnership Multi-Partner Trust Fund. This partnership initiative was established last year during the Transforming Education Summit, with a particular focus on tackling climate change.
The UAE’s road map identifies environmental and climate-friendly initiatives the ministry intends to implement before and after COP28. For example, it plans to ensure that 50 percent of all UAE schools and campuses attain green accreditation, and provide more than 2,400 educators and 1,400 principals with relevant training.
Ahmad Belhoul Al-Falasi, the UAE’s minister of education, said that COP28 marks a significant development because it will provide a blueprint for leveraging the potential of education to help accomplish the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and combat climate change. It will also raise awareness of climate change and discuss efforts to mitigate its consequences, he added.
The minister stressed the importance of global cooperation to integrate climate themes into education and coordinate activities to combat climate change. He said the UAE is eager to provide a practical and adaptable road map for the education of students and teachers about climate change, which other countries can adapt, customize and benefit from.
“Individual behaviors toward climate change are still the key to making a real impact, and with that comes the significant role of education in shifting minds, actions and attitudes about the environment today and in the future,” said Al-Falasi.
“At the Ministry of Education, we have a critical role to play to advance the role of education in addressing climate change, by building environmentally friendly curricula and schools, and training educators to build sustainable green communities.
“The UAE’s hosting of COP28 presents another opportunity to highlight the country’s efforts in this field and mobilize international efforts to include green education within educational systems in the region and the world.”
The ministry will also launch a “Children’s Voice” initiative, as part of which young people throughout the country will be offered training to help them advocate for, and participate in, environmental decision making.
There will also be an “Educator’s Voice” initiative through which the ministry will focus on developing the critical role teachers can play in raising awareness of climate change and combating its effects.
NEW YORK CITY: The member states of the UN Security Council on Tuesday called for the Israeli occupation and the building of illegal Jewish settlements on Palestinian land to end, as they reiterated their support for a two-state solution to resolve the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
It came during the council’s quarterly meeting and debate on the situation in Palestine and the status of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. It was chaired by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, as Russia holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month and chose to convene it at a ministerial level.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki opened his remarks by commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, or “Catastrophe,” the destruction of the Palestinian homeland in 1948 as a result of the formation of the state of Israel, and the permanent displacement of a majority of Palestinian Arabs. More than 700,000 were forced to flee their homes and became refugees. Then, in 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War.
Al-Maliki called on the international community to do more to hold Israeli authorities accountable for their repeated violations of international law resulting from the continuing occupation of Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the building of illegal settlements for Jewish citizens in occupied territories.
He said that while the international community has been vocal in condemning Israel for failing to adhere to the principles of international law, and for the mistreatment of Palestinians, it has failed back this up with “decisive action on the ground” that might deter such behavior and end the occupation.
Israeli authorities continue to act with “impunity” and total disregard for the norms of international law and diplomacy, Al-Maliki added, and they behave this way because the international community has refused to hold them to account.
“As long as Israel reaps the benefits of its occupation, while we pay the cost, annexation and apartheid are the only reality we are left with” he told council members.
“Make the occupation costly and I can assure you it will come to an end.”
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, did not respond to Al-Maliki’s comments. Instead, he accused the Security Council of “bias” because it had refused to postpone the meeting to accommodate Israel’s Memorial Day holiday on Tuesday. He then read out the names of Israeli soldiers who died in wars, before promptly leaving the meeting.
Tor Wennesland, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said that both Israelis and Palestinians should refrain from any actions that might escalate the conflict, and called for an end to any provocations or incitements that could prevent a resolution and an end to the occupation.
He highlighted the killing of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces and the demolition of Palestinian homes, and urged Israel to adhere to the principles of international law, preserve the status quo in occupied Jerusalem, and respect Jordan’s Hashemite custodianship of Muslim holy sites in the city.
Lavrov said that Russia supports a two-state solution and is intent on engaging with all powers in the region to help achieve stability and peace in the Middle East.
He said “unilateral steps on the ground” by the Israelis, such as the construction of illegal settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes, and random arrests of Palestinian civilians, were the main driver of instability in the region.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US permanent representative to the UN, expressed Washington’s continuing support for Israel as she called on “all parties to exercise restraint in action and in rhetoric to prevent further escalation.”
She also condemned recent rocket attacks launched from the Gaza Strip and from Lebanon against Israeli targets in response to violence against Muslim worshippers in Jerusalem.
Thomas-Greenfield reiterated US support for a two-state solution as she called for an end to violence and the start of “confidence-building measures” between Israel and the Palestinians.
She also stressed Washington’s support for the UN Relief and Works Agency, the UN body responsible for supporting and aiding Palestinian Refugees. She said Washington has provided the agency with hundreds of millions of dollars in funding but warned that the agency might face financial problems soon that could put Palestinian refugees at risk and cause instability in the region.
Council members from France, Ecuador, Ghana and the UAE expressed concern about the recent increase in violence in Jerusalem and urged a “deescalation of tensions.”
They expressed support for Palestinian rights and called for an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people. They also welcomed efforts by authorities in Egypt and Jordan to ease the rising tensions.
RAMALLAH: A Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike for 80 days could die any moment following a sudden deterioration in his health, Palestinian sources have warned.
Khader Adnan, 44, from Arraba in Jenin, stopped taking food in protest at his arrest and detention by Israeli authorities.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club said Israel’s refusal to respond to his demand was a “death sentence” and that his condition had become “dangerous.”
Despite Adnan’s medical emergency, the Israeli authorities have refused to end his detention, allow his family to visit, or transfer him permanently to a civil hospital, the club said.
Every time he is transferred to a hospital, he is returned under the pretext that he refused medical support, it added.
During a meeting with his lawyer on Tuesday in Ramla prison, Adnan lost consciousness and later had no memory of what happened to him. The prison administration told his lawyer that it would transfer him to a hospital.
During a video court hearing on Sunday, Adnan, a member of the Islamic Jihad group, passed out several times and suffered severe convulsions.
The court rejected his lawyer’s request that he be released on bail.
Adnan has been detained since Feb. 5, the day he announced his hunger strike. The Israeli authorities filed an indictment against him which was swiftly rejected by Adnan.
His wife said in press statements on Tuesday that no information about Adnan’s condition was made available after he was transferred to a hospital.
Prison authorities postponed a scheduled visit by his lawyer at noon on Tuesday.
Jamil Alayan, an Islamic Jihad leader, said: “We will not allow the Israeli occupation to unilaterally kill the prisoner, Adnan,” adding that what was happening amounted to an “execution.”
Shawan Jabarin, director of the Al-Haq Institution for Human Rights in Ramallah, told Arab News that Israeli authorities refused to release Adnan on bail because they did not deal with the Palestinians according to the law.
“There are no fair trial procedures in the Israeli military judiciary when it comes to the Palestinians,” Jabarin said.
Palestinians in Gaza held a sit-in to express solidarity with the prisoner.
A number of the prisoners’ families staged a protest in front of the Red Cross office in the occupied West Bank town of Tulkarm in support of those incarcerated in Israeli prisons, including Adnan, and against the Israeli policy of administrative detention and deliberate medical negligence.
According to the Prisoners Club, 4,900 prisoners, including 31 women, 160 children, more than 1,000 administrative detainees and 19 journalists have been detained by Israel. Hundreds of sick and older prisoners are being kept in harsh conditions, it said.
Almost 400 prisoners have been held in detention for more than 20 years, it said.
The number of prisoners is increasing daily and has risen by more than 2,300 since the beginning of the year, while the number of Palestinians arrested since the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories now exceeds 1 million.
Palestinian prisoners are facing worsening conditions since the arrival of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has pledged unprecedented punitive measures against them.
BEIRUT: Two groups of Lebanese and Palestinian refugees flew to Beirut on Tuesday after they were evacuated from Sudan.
They arrived at Rafic Hariri International Airport carried by two Middle East Airlines flights from Jeddah.
The first batch of 12 Lebanese arrived at 3 p.m., and the second plane arrived at 11 p.m., carrying 32 passengers, 12 of whom were Palestinian.
The evacuees were welcomed at the airport by caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib, Lebanon’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Fawzi Kabbara, and the Secretary-General of the High Relief Commission Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khair.
On Monday, a group of Lebanese, including businessmen and their families, were evacuated from Sudan.
Bou Habib said the evacuation process was both delicate and tiring, praising the Saudi efforts to evacuate people from Sudan.
“The first stage of the evacuation process was successful thanks to the assistance of the UAE, which took over the evacuation from Khartoum to Port Sudan, and the second stage was undertaken by Saudi Arabia, from Port Sudan to Lebanon,” he said.
Bou Habib added: “We are grateful for the assistance provided to the Lebanese who were evacuated, and I want to especially thank Saudi Arabia for prioritizing the Lebanese. Jordan also offered us assistance, but its capabilities are limited in terms of warplanes.”
The evacuees were transferred from Port Sudan to Jeddah on board a private Saudi ship of the Royal Saudi Navy.
Bou Habib said: “So far, we have evacuated about 60 Lebanese, including Palestinians. Four Syrians have decided to stay in Saudi Arabia, which granted them visas to stay in the country for a full month, although we did not object to them coming to Lebanon. If there are more Lebanese stuck in Sudan, we hope they will contact us so that we can arrange their evacuation.
“The Lebanese ambassador to Sudan, Dima Haddad, who moved to Port Sudan, will return to Lebanon with the evacuation of the last batch of Lebanese to Beirut.
“A convoy that includes 16 Lebanese set off from Khartoum but has not yet arrived in Port Sudan, and we are waiting for it.”
The Lebanese community in Sudan is comprised of approximately 100 people, most of whom are businessmen and their families. Some were spending the Eid Al-Fitr vacation in Beirut when the clashes broke out in Khartoum.
The evacuation process began at dawn on Sunday with the Lebanese community gathering in front of the Rotana Hotel in Khartoum, to embark on a land trip toward the Coral Port Sudan Hotel, a journey that takes several hours and is fraught with dangers.
Maj. Gen. Khair said: “The evacuees are mostly businessmen and employees in different companies in Sudan.”
Hassan Attia, a Lebanese who was returning with his wife and their child, described the situation in Khartoum as “terrifying.” He said they encountered several roadblocks during their 18-hour journey between Khartoum and Port Sudan.
Another evacuee pointed out the Lebanese businessmen’s concern over their property and money in Khartoum, which have become at risk.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the “special care with which the Kingdom surrounded the Lebanese evacuees, and the efforts of the Saudi Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, and everyone who contributed to the evacuation of the Lebanese and ensured their safe return.”
Mikati said: “Saudi Arabia has been and still is the top supporter of Lebanon and the Lebanese in all circumstances. The Lebanese people, from all sects, look forward to returning the love that the Kingdom has shown them, as a token of appreciation and loyalty.”
AL-MUKALLA: More than 150 Yemenis were evacuated from Sudan and taken on a Royal Saudi Navy ship to Jeddah on Tuesday as Yemen’s government launched emergency plans to rescue thousands of its citizens trapped in the war-torn country.
The first group of evacuees left the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on a Saudi ship bound for the Kingdom on Tuesday morning, while hundreds of Yemenis were also being relocated from the Sudanese capital Khartoum to safe locations in the country.
Evacuations are being overseen by an emergency committee made up of staff from Yemen’s Embassy in Sudan and the Yemeni community in the country, including members of the Yemeni students’ union.
Afif Al-Barashi, head of the students’ union, told Arab News that the emergency committee plans to evacuate 3,000 Yemenis on Saudi ships in the coming days.
Evacuees will be taken from Port Sudan to Jeddah and then returned to Yemen, he said.
Thousands of Yemenis have been living in Sudan for the past decade, with others relocating there for study or medical treatment.
Al-Barashi said that some Yemeni families faced difficulty escaping conflict-ridden areas of Khartoum, while rising bus fares had also hampered evacuation plans.
“The bus prices are exorbitant. A 50-passenger bus costs $16,000. Financial transfers to Sudan are difficult since banks are closed and there is no adequate housing in Port Sudan.”
Yemen’s Foreign Ministry said at least 400 Yemenis have left Khartoum “safely” in the past 48 hours, with 250 heading to Madani city, southeast of the capital, before being taken to Port Sudan for evacuation.
The Yemeni government was in contact with Saudi authorities over plans to evacuate Yemenis from Sudan “as soon as possible,” the ministry said.
It urged Yemenis in Sudan to inform the emergency committee of their location and to follow its instructions.
Images on social media showed scores of Yemenis boarding a truck with their belongings as they fled Khartoum.
Many described terrible scenes in the capital when violence erupted in the streets, trapping them inside their homes for days.
Nassar Mohammed, a Yemeni academic at a Sudanese university, told Arab News that Yemeni families fled their residences in the country during a ceasefire, leaving their property behind.
“The situation is really tough. The fighting eased, but it did not end. Yemenis fled their houses and left their belongings behind, with many homes still unlocked,” he said.
Mohammed said that he knew five Yemeni students who went without food for six days because they were unable to withdraw money from banks.