Region

NAIROBI - Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its allies have agreed to set up a parallel government, sources said Sunday, despite warnings such a move could further fragment the war-ravaged country.

"It's done," a source close to the organisers of the signing ceremony in Nairobi told AFP.

The signatories said the charter paves the way for a "government of peace and unity" in rebel-controlled areas of the northeast African country.

The move comes nearly two years into a devastating war with the regular army that has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's worst hunger and displacement crises.

The signing, delayed multiple times, took place behind closed doors in the Kenyan capital.

Among those who agreed to it was a faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz Al Hilu, which controls parts of the southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

Abdel Rahim Daglo, deputy and brother of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo -- who was notably absent -- also signed.

The charter, seen by AFP, calls for "a secular, democratic, decentralised state based on freedom, equality, and justice, without bias toward any cultural, ethnic, religious, or regional identity".

It also outlines plans for a "new, unified, professional, national army" with a new military doctrine that "reflects the diversity and plurality characterising the Sudanese state".

The proposed government aims to end the war, ensure unhindered humanitarian aid and integrate armed groups into a single, national force.

Divided 

The signing follows a rift within Sudan's largest civilian coalition, Taqadum, over the formation of the new government. 

Taqadum, a bloc of political parties and professional unions, has split into two factions: the Sudan Founding Alliance (TASIS), aligned with the RSF and spearheading the new government, and the Civilian Democratic Alliance for Revolution Powers (Sumud), led by former prime minister Abdallah Hamdok. 

Alaa El Din Nuqd, a former Taqadum spokesperson and signatory of the charter representing professional unions, said the proposed government aims to address service gaps in RSF-held territories.

"Citizens in these regions have been cut off from essential services like the new banknotes issued by the army, passport processing, and document renewals," Nuqd told AFP.

In December, the army introduced new banknotes in areas under its control. Analysts said the move aimed at weakening the RSF economically would entrench divisions. 

Nuqd said the charter was a step toward "protecting the dignity" of civilians affected by the conflict. 

The United Civil Forces -- a coalition of political parties and armed groups that previously signed peace deals with Khartoum -- was another signatory. 

Najm Al Din Drisa, the group's spokesperson, said the newly proposed administration "may be formed within a month".

Army backlash 

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan had earlier vowed to form a "war cabinet" after making gains against the RSF in Khartoum and central Sudan. 

Kenya's hosting of the signing has drawn sharp criticism from Sudan's army-aligned government which recalled its ambassador from Nairobi on Thursday in protest.

A spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres warned the move could "increase the fragmentation of the country and risk making this crisis even worse".

On Thursday, the Arab League condemned "any steps that would undermine the unity of Sudan or expose it to division or fragmentation".

Ali Magouk, an RSF adviser, said earlier this month that the RSF does not seek the division of Sudan, adding "it will not allow this under any circumstances".

The war, sparked by disputes over integrating the RSF into the military, has killed tens of thousands, with both sides accused of atrocities.

The conflict has divided the country, with the army controlling the north and east and the RSF holding much of the western region of Darfur and swathes of the south.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Tens of thousands of black-clad mourners vowed support for Hizbollah at the Beirut funeral of slain leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday, after the group was dealt major blows in its last round of hostilities with Israel.

Women wailed as a truck carrying the coffins of Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine -- Nasrallah's chosen successor killed in another Israeli air strike -- slowly moved through the crowd, topped with two black turbans and draped in Hizbollah's yellow flag.

The September killing of the charismatic leader, who led Hizbollah for more than three decades, in a massive Israeli strike dealt a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group.

But Hizbollah, which dominated Lebanon's politics for decades, has long had a support base in the country's majority Shiite Muslim community.

As the funeral began at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Israeli warplanes flew at a low altitude over Beirut in what Defence Minister Israel Katz said was a "clear message" against anyone who threatens Israel.

In a televised address to the ceremony, Nasrallah's successor Naim Qassem said Hizbollah would keep following his "path" and rejected any control of "tyrant America" over Lebanon.

"The resistance is not over, the resistance is still present and ready" to face Israel, he said.

Nasrallah speeches were blasted as the mourners raised their fists in the air and chanted "We are at your service, Nasrallah" and "We are loyal to the promise, Nasrallah".

Men, women and children walked in the biting cold to reach the site of the ceremony, that was delayed for months over security concerns.

One of them was Umm Mahdi, 55, who had come to see Nasrallah "one last time and see his shrine".

"This is the least we can do for Sayyed, who gave up everything," she added, using an honorific.

AFP correspondents at the stadium, which organisers said could accommodate roughly 78,000 people, was fully packed.

 'Heroes of the resistance' 

As crowds gathered, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli strikes in Lebanon's south, including a location about 20 kilometres from the border, but also in the east.

Israel's military said it had struck "sites containing rocket launchers and weapons" in those areas.

The Israeli army in a tweet ahead of the start of the funeral said "the world is a better place". 

Israel has carried out multiple strikes in Lebanon since a November 27 ceasefire deal with Hizbollah ended more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war.

The funeral comes days after the deadline for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon's south, with Israeli troops pulling out from all but five locations. Both sides have accused each other of violating the truce.

President Joseph Aoun asked parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hizbollah ally, to represent him at the ceremony, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam was to be represented by a minister.

Hizbollah's weakening in the war was widely seen as having contributed to the election of Aoun, who named Salam as his premier last month after two years of leadership vacuum.

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in attendance, with representatives of Iraq's main pro-Iran factions also expected to come.

Araghchi, in a speech from Beirut, described the slain leaders as "two heroes of the resistance" and vowed that "the path of resistance will continue".

Sam Heller of the Century Foundation think-tank said it was "important for the group to demonstrate that it remains a major social and political force, despite some of the setbacks it's been dealt".

Since Saturday, roads into Beirut have been clogged with carloads of supporters travelling in from Hizbollah's other power centres in south and east Lebanon.

Khouloud Hamieh, 36, came from the east to mourn the leader that she said was "dearest to our souls".

Despite the cold weather and massive crowds, she said she would not have missed the funeral for anything.

 'Dearest to our souls' 

A funeral procession will take place to the site near the airport highway where Nasrallah will be buried. Safieddine will be interred in his southern hometown of Deir Qanun Al Nahr on Monday.

Hizbollah's Al-Manar television said the movement deployed 25,000 members for crowd control. A security source said 4,000 troops and security personnel were on duty.

Civil aviation authorities said Beirut airport would close exceptionally for four hours.

A founding member of Hizbollah in 1982, Nasrallah won renown around the Arab world in May 2000 when Israel ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon under relentless attack by the group under his leadership.

In the decades since, Lebanese have been divided over Hizbollah, with many criticising the group for initiating hostilities with Israel in support of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Hamas on Sunday said Israel has gravely endangered a five-week-old Gaza truce by delaying the release of Palestinian prisoners under the deal because of the manner it has freed Israeli hostages.

The first phase of the truce ends early in March and details of a planned subsequent phase have not been agreed.

With tensions again hanging over the deal -- which halted more than 15 months of war -- Israel on Sunday announced an expansion of military operations in the occupied West Bank.

The military said a tank division will be sent in to the West Bank city of Jenin, the first such deployment to the territory in 20 years.

Since the Gaza ceasefire's first phase began on January 19, Hamas has released 25 living Israeli hostages in ceremonies before crowds at various locations in Gaza.

Armed masked fighters escort the captives onto stages adorned with slogans. The hostages have spoken and waved in what Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called "humiliating ceremonies".

The Red Cross has previously appealed to "all parties" for the swaps to be carried out in a "dignified and private" manner.

In the seventh such transfer, Hamas released six Israeli captives on Saturday but Israel put off the planned release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said postponing the release exposes "the entire agreement to grave danger".

Naim said the mediators, "especially the Americans", must pressure Israel's government "to implement the agreement as it is and immediately release our prisoners."

Both sides have accused each other of violations during the ceasefire but it has so far held.

Israeli tanks in Jenin 

Early Sunday, Netanyahu's office said that, "In light of Hamas' repeated violations -- including the disgraceful ceremonies that dishonour our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda -- it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists."

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war. The attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, and Israel's retaliation killed more than 48,000, according to figures from both sides.

The war drew in Iran-backed groups around the region, including in Lebanon where Israel in November reached a separate ceasefire with the Hezbollah group.

Alongside the Gaza war -- which displaced almost the entire population of 2.4 million -- violence has also soared in the West Bank.

On Sunday, Israel's military said "a tank division will operate in Jenin" as part of "expanding" operations in the area, where the military began a major raid against Palestinian militants just after the Gaza truce began.

The United Nations has said the military activities have led to "forced displacement" of 40,000 Palestinians from Jenin and other refugee camps.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said he has told troops "to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism."

In the West Bank as well as in Gaza, families of Palestinian prisoners had waited with uncertainly into the night on Saturday, hoping for their release.

In the city of Khan Yunis, Umm Diya Al Agha, 80, said she had received word her son was among those scheduled to be freed, after 33 years in prison.

"If my heart were made of iron, it would have melted and shattered. Every day, I have been waiting for this moment," she said.

'Parading of bodies' 

The six Israelis released Saturday were the last group of living hostages set to be freed under the truce's first phase.

At a ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza, hostages Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Israeli-Argentine Omer Wenkert, 23, waved from a stage, flanked by masked Hamas militants, before being transferred to the Red Cross.

"I saw the look on his face. He's calm, he knows he's coming back home... He's a real hero," said Wenkert's friend Rory Grosz.

In Rafah, southern Gaza, militants handed over Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38.

A sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, 37, was later released in private and taken back to Israeli territory, the military said.

Sayed, a Bedouin Muslim, and Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, had been held in Gaza for about a decade after they entered the territory individually.

Hamas said they freed Sayed in private to "honour and respect" Palestinians inside Israel.

On Thursday, the first transfer of dead hostages under the truce sparked anger in Israel after analysis concluded that captive Shiri Bibas's remains were not among the four bodies returned.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk condemned the "parading of bodies" during a ceremony in which coffins, with pictures of the dead attached, were displayed on a slogan-bedecked stage.

Bibas and her two young sons became symbols of Israel's hostage ordeal.

Hamas admitted a possible "mix-up of bodies", and late Friday handed over more human remains, which the Bibas family said had been identified as the mother's.

Hamas has long maintained that an Israeli air strike killed Bibas and her sons.

Forensics expert Chen Kugel, however, said an autopsy of their remains found "no evidence of injuries caused by a bombing".

NUSEIRAT, Palestinian Territories — Palestinian fighters on Saturday freed six Israeli hostages, the last living captives to be released under the first phase of a fragile truce that is also expected to see Palestinian prisoners released.

Palestinian fighters seized dozens of captives during their unprecedented October 7, 2023 surprise attack on Israel which triggered more than 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip.

At a ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza, masked Hamas fighters brought onto a stage Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Israeli-Argentine Omer Wenkert, 23.

They waved while holding release certificates before their handover to the Red Cross, who took them away in a convoy after more than 16 months of captivity, an AFP correspondent said.

The military said they later were back home on Israeli soil.

At a similar ceremony earlier Saturday in Rafah, southern Gaza, militants handed over Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, who both appeared dazed.

Shoham was made to address the gathering, flanked by armed and masked fighters dressed all in black.

In the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, hundreds who gathered at a site known as "Hostages Square" applauded and some appeared to weep as they watched the releases.

A sixth hostage, thought to be Hisham Al Sayed, 37, was also later handed over to the Red Cross, Israel's military said.

Sayed, a Bedouin Muslim, and Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, were captured in Gaza around a decade ago after they entered the territory individually on their own accord.

"Our family has endured 10 years and five months of unimaginable suffering," Mengistu's family said in a statement.

Relatives of Shoham wept and embraced as they watched his handover, video released by Israel’s government showed.

“We saw that Tal seems well considering the circumstances. An enormous weight is lifted from us,” the family of the Austrian-Israeli dual national said in a statement.

The releases came under the first phase of a ceasefire deal which began on January 19 and is due to expire in early March.

Well-practised ceremony

At both locations the militants had prepared for a now well-practised ceremony, with stages in front of large posters promoting the militants’ cause or praising fallen fighters.

The Red Cross has repeatedly appealed for handovers to take place in a dignified manner.

Under a cold winter rain in Rafah, and in Nuseirat, Hamas staged a show of force after months of bombardment and strikes that killed the group’s top leaders. Some fighters held rifles, others rocket launchers, as nationalistic Palestinian music blared.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said Israel would free 602 inmates, most of them Gazans arrested during the war, on Saturday as part of the exchange.

The ceasefire has so far seen 24 living Israeli hostages freed from Gaza in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.

On Thursday the first transfer of hostages’ bodies took place under the truce.

Hamas had said Shiri Bibas’s remains were among the four bodies returned but Israeli analysis concluded they were not in fact hers, sparking grief and anger.

Hamas then admitted a possible “mix-up of bodies”, which it attributed to Israeli bombing of the area.

Late Friday the Red Cross confirmed the transfer of more human remains to Israel “at the request of both parties”.

Early Saturday, the Bibas family said in a statement that after an identification process, “We received the news we feared the most. Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family to rest.”

Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during the October 7 attack that sparked the war. There are 62 hostages still in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s campaign has killed at least 48,319 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

AMMAN — US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would not impose his controversial Gaza takeover plan although it "really works."

In an interview with Fox News Radio's Brian Kilmeade, Trump said," I'll tell you the way to do, it is my plan. I think that's the plan that really works. But I'm not forcing it. I'm just going to sit back and recommend it."

Trump expressed surprise at Jordan and Egypt’s opposition to his plan for Gaza, stating, "I was a little surprised they'd say that."

Earlier this month, Trump said that the US would seize control of Gaza and displace the population of the war-torn Strip.

Trump said the US will take over Gaza and be responsible for disposing of unexploded munitions and rebuilding the Strip and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

His Majesty King Abdullah, during a meeting with Trump at the White House on February 12, said Egypt and Arab countries will present a plan on Gaza.

Following the meeting with President Trump, the King said on X platform, "I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all."

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosted a meeting of leaders from Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Jordan, and Egypt in Riyadh on Friday.

The meeting discussed joint efforts in support of the Palestinian cause, and developments in Gaza, along with other regional and international issues, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The meeting was attended by His Majesty King Abdullah, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, and Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The leaders welcomed the holding of the emergency Arab Summit in Cairo on March 4, according to SPA.

WAD MADANI, SUDAN — In a bustling market in central Sudan, vegetable seller Ahmed al-Obeid dusts off his wooden stall, carefully arranging fresh cucumbers and tomatoes in neat piles as customers cautiously return.

Just weeks ago, this market in the central Sudanese city of Wad Madani lay mostly deserted. Traders had shuttered their shops, gripped by fear of the paramilitaries who controlled the city.

Now, voices ring out again, bargaining over fresh produce as the city tentatively stirs back to life after the army reclaimed it from its rival Rapid Support Forces [RSF] last month.

"We are feeling safe again," said Obeid.

"People are buying and selling like old times," he told AFP, adjusting a pile of onions.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a war between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this month called it "an unprecedented humanitarian crisis" in Africa, and the United States has sanctioned both Burhan and Daglo for abuses.

Wad Madani, the capital of pre-war breadbasket Al-Jazira state, became a battleground when RSF forces descended on the city in December 2023, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the city and Al-Jazira.

But today, signs of recovery in the city are palpable, if restrained.

Buildings bear the scars of war. Blackened walls and piles of rubble are constant reminders of the destruction the city has endured.

Storefronts, restaurants and other businesses remain gutted by fire.

At a maternity ward in the city's main hospital, expectant mothers wait with their families while nurses in white scrubs hurry through the corridors, attending to patients.

"Medicine is available. Life is finally back to normal. Things have completely changed, thank God," Rehab Moussa, a patient receiving care, told AFP.

Yet, obstetrics and gynaecology specialist Khalid Mohammed said that although the hospital is slowly recovering, there are still serious shortages in staff, medicine and equipment.

"Our surgical supplies, including sutures, are nearly expired and we really need more anesthesia equipment," Mohammed told AFP between surgeries.

BEIRUT — The US military said Saturday it had killed a senior member of Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch Hurras al-Din, which announced its dissolution last month, in an air strike in the country's northwest.

It is the latest US strike this year against the group in Syria. Along with its Western and Arab allies, the United States has emphasised that Syria must not serve as a base for "terrorist" groups after the toppling of president Bashar al-Assad in December.

On Friday, US Central Command [CENTCOM] forces "conducted a precision air strike in northwest Syria, killing Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior leadership facilitator of the terrorist organisation Hurras al-Din," the military said in a statement.

The northwest was the stronghold of interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group before it led the rebel offensive that toppled Assad in December.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said a drone strike on a car killed Bayraqdar.

Last Sunday, CENTCOM said it killed "a senior finance and logistics official" in Hurras al-Din.

That came after CENTCOM last month reported killing another senior Hurras al-Din operative, Muhammad Salah al-Zabir, in an air strike also in the northwest.

The US-based SITE Intelligence Group said Hurras al-Din was founded in February 2018.

The group did not publicly confirm its allegiance to Al-Qaeda until its dissolution announcement in January.

Hurras al-Din dissolved in line with orders from Sharaa, who has called on all armed group to disband.

The United States designated Hurras al-Din as a "terrorist" organisation in 2019.