Latest news with #SudaneseArmy
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown
A senior adviser to the commander of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said the group is open to serious negotiations with the government based in Port Sudan to end the country's devastating conflict, now in its third year, provided there is genuine political will from the other side. The remarks by Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, who is also a member of the RSF's negotiating team, come as international actors prepare to meet in Brussels on Thursday in a bid to lay the groundwork for a ceasefire. The talks are expected to include the European Union, African Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain. 'Negotiations could begin with confidence-building measures and credible arrangements,' Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat. 'Dialogue remains the best path to ending a war that has no winners, only losers, both the people and the nation.' He said the RSF is ready to discuss the location, timing, and possible mediators for peace talks, but stressed that any engagement must be met with equal seriousness by Sudan's military-backed government. However, Al-Safi cautioned that his group would not accept talks that merely allow the opposing side to regroup and secure external support to resume fighting. 'We cannot enter into a dialogue that gives the other party time to reorganize and rearm,' he said, adding that the RSF remains 'at its strongest' on the battlefield. Sudan's army has conditioned any peace negotiations on the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration, a humanitarian agreement signed in May 2023. The deal, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, has since been marred by mutual accusations of violations from both the military and the RSF. Meanwhile, the RSF is pushing ahead with plans to form a rival administration in areas under its control. Al-Safi, a senior adviser to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said the group is nearing the formation of what he called a 'government of unity and peace.' He added that over 90% of the preparations for the announcement have been completed. 'The delay in announcing the government is due to ongoing consultations among members of the Founding Sudan Alliance [Tasis], which supports this move,' Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat. 'It's not because of internal disagreements, as some have suggested.' Asked about the planned capital of the parallel government, Al-Safi declined to name the city but suggested it would not be Khartoum. 'There are cities more beautiful than Khartoum,' he said. 'From a strategic perspective, I believe the capital should be temporary and capable of accommodating all institutions of government.' He only noted that the proposed city is located in territory controlled by the Tasis alliance. The RSF's moves come amid growing fears that the fragmentation of Sudan will deepen if parallel authorities are entrenched, further complicating efforts to reach a comprehensive peace.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Over 40 People, Including Children, Killed in Sudan Hospital Attack
Over 40 people, including children and health care workers, were killed in an attack on a hospital in Sudan at the weekend, the head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. Saturday's attack on the Al Mujlad Hospital took place in West Kordofan, near the front line between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Reuters said. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for attacks on health infrastructure to stop, without saying who was responsible.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Health
- Arab News
Over 40 people, including children, killed in Sudan hospital attack, says WHO chief
GENEVA: Over 40 people, including children and health care workers, were killed in an attack on a hospital in Sudan at the weekend, the head of the World Health Organization said on attack on the Al Mujlad Hospital took place in West Kordofan, near the front line between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for attacks on health infrastructure to stop, without saying who was responsible.
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 days ago
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Tens Killed, Injured in West Kordofan, Reports Say
Dozens of people were killed and injured in a drone strike on a public hospital in the city of Al-Majlad, in the western state of Kordofan, western Sudan. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and local bodies blamed the Sudanese Army (SAF) for the attack. 'The shelling on Saturday afternoon killed 34 civilians, including medical personnel, and wounded dozens more,' the RSF said in a statement on Sunday. Also, Al-Majlad Emergency Room, a local group in the West Kordofan State, posted a statement on its Facebook page, blaming the army for the attack. Until Sunday evening, the Sudanese army had not responded to the accusations. Its official spokesman, Nabil Abdullah, has not answered calls for comment. According to local sources, the attack on the hospital came shortly after the RSF had transferred to the facility dozens of its members injured in the fierce clashes that broke out last week with the SAF in Babanusa. On Saturday, the Sudanese army had said in a statement that its forces in the 22nd Infantry Division operating in Babanusa, repelled a major RSF attack on the city. On Sunday, the Emergency Lawyers, a rights group that monitors abuses in the Sudanese war, confirmed the deaths and injuries in the raid on Al-Majlad's hospital. 'The hospital is one of the state's primary health facilities. It houses a dialysis unit that provides regular services to patients,' the group said, adding that the attack constitutes a 'serious violation.' The lawyers added, 'We categorically reject any explanations that could be offered to justify this attack. We hold the parties behind the shelling fully responsible for the human and material losses.' Meanwhile, local sources said that the majority of residents in Al-Majlad and the nearby towns and villages, mainly rely on this hospital to receive treatment and healthcare. Earlier, SAF media sources said on social media that the military had carried out an airstrike on the city of Al-Majdal, without specifying the targeted area. Despite international calls to protect hospitals during armed conflict, medical facilities have been repeatedly attacked, with both sides of conflict blaming each other for the incidents. Last May, the SAF blamed the RSF for the attack on a hospital in Obeid, the capital of northern Kordofan, where six people were killed and 12 others injured.
Asharq Al-Awsat
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sudan's Paramilitaries Seize a Key Area along with the Border with Libya and Egypt
Sudanese paramilitaries at war with the country's military for over two years claimed to have seized a strategic area along the border with neighboring Libya and Egypt. The Rapid Support Forces said in a statement Wednesday that they captured the triangular zone, fortifying their presence along Sudan' s already volatile border with chaos-stricken Libya, The Associated Press said. The RSF's announcement came hours after the military said it had evacuated the area as part of 'its defensive arrangements to repel aggression' by the paramilitaries. On Tuesday the military accused the forces of powerful Libyan commander Khalifa Hafter of supporting the RSF's attack on the area, in a 'blatant aggression against Sudan, its land, and its people.' Hafter's forces, which control eastern and southern Libya, rejected the claim, saying in a statement that the Sudanese accusations were 'a blatant attempt to export the Sudanese internal crisis and create a virtual external enemy.' The attack on the border area was the latest twist in Sudan's civil war which erupted in April 2023 when tensions between the Sudanese army and RSF exploded with street battles in the capital, Khartoum that quickly spread across the country. The war has killed at least 24,000 people, though the number is likely far higher. It has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who crossed into neighboring countries. It created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and parts of the country have been pushed into famine. The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.
