Sudanese factions fight on after failing to agree on truce

KHARTOUM: Airstrikes and artillery pounded Khartoum on Friday after Sudan’s warring army and Rapid Support Forces paramilitary failed to agree to a ceasefire despite committing to protect civilians and allow humanitarian access.

A so-called declaration of principles was signed in Saudi Arabia late on Thursday after nearly a week of talks between the two factions, which had shared power before falling out over a transition to civilian rule.



Concern as Beirut Civil Defense chief detained by Syrian intelligence

BEIRUT: Syrian intelligence on Friday detained Beirut’s Civil Defense chief for four hours after he crossed overland into the country en route to Egypt.

Walid Hashash, 57, director-general of the Civil Defense in the Lebanese capital, was detained and interrogated by the Palestine Branch of Syria’s intelligence service.

It is the first time such an incident has taken place since the resumption of Lebanese movement into Syria at the end of 2021.



Palestinian reaction in West Bank to Israeli attacks on Gaza ‘below expectations’

RAMALLAH: The apparent lack of a strong reaction in the West Bank to the deadly Israeli campaign targeting the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza Strip is because the resistance group has set a new precedent by responding to the aggression with rocket attacks rather than protests, according to a Fatah leader.


‘I want to live in peace like the rest of the world’s children’: Palestinian teen’s plea to Pope Francis

LONDON: Pope Francis received a moving letter from a young Palestinian refugee when Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, visited the pontiff at the Vatican on Thursday.

During their meeting, Lazzarini detailed the unprecedented challenges Palestine refugees continue to face, particularly in light of the lack of any prospect of a solution to their plight.



Sudan’s warring factions agree to facilitate humanitarian work for civilians

RIYADH: The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) signed on Thursday a declaration committing themselves to International Humanitarian Law to facilitate humanitarian action to meet the needs of civilians.

In a document titled “Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan”, the warring parties also promised to prioritize discussions “to achieve a short-term ceasefire to facilitate the delivery of emergency humanitarian assistance and restoration of essential services.”