South Sudan is teetering on the edge of renewed civil war, UN envoy says

South Sudan is teetering on the edge of renewed civil war, UN envoy says
South Sudan President Salva Kiir (2nd R) arrives during the launch of a new round of peace talks with rebel groups on at the State House in Nairobi on May 9, 2024. (File/AFP)
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Updated 25 March 2025
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South Sudan is teetering on the edge of renewed civil war, UN envoy says

South Sudan is teetering on the edge of renewed civil war, UN envoy says
  • The country slid into a civil war in December 2013 largely based on ethnic divisions
  • More than 400,000 people were killed in the war, which ended with a 2018 peace agreement
  • The latest tensions stem from fighting in the country’s north between government troops and a rebel militia, known as the White Army

UNITED NATIONS: South Sudan is teetering on the edge of renewed civil war, the top UN official in the world’s youngest nation warned on Monday, lamenting the government’s sudden postponement of the latest peace effort.
Calling the situation unfolding in the country “dire,” Nicholas Haysom said international efforts to broker a peaceful solution can only succeed if President Salva Kiir and his rival-turned-vice president, Riek Machar, are willing to engage “and put the interests of their people ahead of their own.”
There were high hopes when oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long conflict. But the country slid into a civil war in December 2013 largely based on ethnic divisions when forces loyal to Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, battled those loyal to Machar, an ethnic Nuer.
More than 400,000 people were killed in the war, which ended with a 2018 peace agreement that brought Kiir and Machar together in a government of national unity. Under the agreement, elections were supposed to be held in February 2023, but they were postponed until December 2024 — and again until 2026.
The latest tensions stem from fighting in the country’s north between government troops and a rebel militia, known as the White Army, which is widely believed to be allied with Machar.
Earlier this month, a South Sudanese general was among several people killed when a United Nations helicopter on a mission to evacuate government troops from the town of Nasir, the scene of the fighting in Upper Nile state, came under fire. Days earlier on March 4, the White Army overran the military garrison in Nasir and government troops responded by surrounding Machar’s home in the capital, Juba, and arresting several of his key allies.
Haysom said tensions and violence were escalating “particularly as we grow closer to elections and as political competition increases, sharpens between the principal players.”
He said Kiir and Machar don’t trust each other enough to display the leadership needed to implement the 2018 peace deal and move to a future that would see a stable and democratic South Sudan.
“Rampant misinformation, disinformation and hate speech is also ratcheting up tensions and driving ethnic divisions, and fear,” Haysom said.
“Given this grim situation,” he said, “we are left with no other conclusion but to assess that South Sudan is teetering on the edge of a relapse into civil war.”
Haysom, who heads the nearly 18,000-member UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, warned that a relapse into open war would lead to the same horrors that ravaged the country, especially in 2013 and 2016.
He said the UN takes the threat of the “ethnic transformation” of the conflict very seriously.
To try to prevent a new civil war, the UN special envoy said the peacekeeping mission is engaging in intense shuttle diplomacy with international and regional partners, including the African Union.
Haysom said the collective message of the regional and international community is for Kiir and Machar to meet to resolve their differences, return to the 2018 peace deal, adhere to the ceasefire, release detained officials and resolve tensions “through dialogue rather than military confrontation.”


Oman, China discuss strategic relations in political, economic sectors

Oman, China discuss strategic relations in political, economic sectors
Updated 4 sec ago
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Oman, China discuss strategic relations in political, economic sectors

Oman, China discuss strategic relations in political, economic sectors
  • China commended Oman’s role ‘in promoting the settlement of regional hotspot issues’
  • Two sides discussed their bilateral cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields

LONDON: Oman and China held the 14th round of strategic consultations in Beijing to deepen their political, economic and cultural cooperation this week.

Khalifa Ali Al-Harthy, the undersecretary of the Omani foreign ministry for political affairs, and Liu Bin, the Chinese assistant minister of foreign affairs, led their respective delegations.

The two sides discussed their bilateral cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields on Monday, exploring ways to enhance strategic relations, the Oman News Agency reported.

Special Envoy Zhai Jun, of the Chinese government on the Middle East issue, said that the strategic partnership between Beijing and Muscat had continued to develop steadily, with successful cooperation in various fields.

“China appreciates the important role played by Oman in promoting the settlement of regional hotspot issues and easing regional tensions,” Jun said, according to a statement on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website.

Khalifa met Jun and Zhang Xiaoqiang, executive vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the ONA reported.

Nasser Mohammed Al-Busaidi, the Omani ambassador to China, and Abdulaziz Mohammed Al-Hosni, head of the Asia and Pacific Department at the Foreign Ministry, attended the consultations session.


Jordan’s prime minister warns against threat of ‘political opportunism’ and external loyalties

Jordan’s prime minister warns against threat of ‘political opportunism’ and external loyalties
Updated 26 min 16 sec ago
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Jordan’s prime minister warns against threat of ‘political opportunism’ and external loyalties

Jordan’s prime minister warns against threat of ‘political opportunism’ and external loyalties
  • Jafar Hassan’s comments follow arrest of 16 people accused of planning acts of chaos and sabotage, and seizures of missiles, explosives and firearms
  • ‘Nothing transcends Jordan’s interests’ and there is no tolerance for ‘subversive elements seeking to propagate instability and impede national progress,’ he says

LONDON: Jordan’s Prime Minister Jafar Hassan cautioned on Tuesday against acts of “political opportunism” and any activities that might undermine public safety.

Speaking during a Cabinet meeting in Ajloun, he said: “The Jordanian state’s forbearance cannot be subjected to testing, nor can any entity prevail against it through performative displays or populist demagoguery, or jeopardize public welfare for any cause whatsoever,” the Jordan News Agency reported.

“Nothing transcends Jordan’s interests” and there is “no space for external loyalties or subversive elements seeking to propagate instability and impede national progress,” he added.

“Within Jordan’s borders, sovereignty is exclusively vested in constitutional legitimacy, with authority concentrated solely in state institutions and our independent judiciary.”

The prime minister’s comments came a week after Jordanian authorities said they foiled a series of plots that threatened the country’s national security. They arrested 16 people accused of planning acts of chaos and sabotage, and seized weapons including missiles, explosives and firearms.

Hassan said national unity is essential to the country’s strength and any attempt to compromise it “constitutes direct opposition to Jordan’s national interests and its citizenry.”


Syria arrests Assad-era officer accused of ‘war crimes’: ministry

Interior ministry announced that security forces had arrested the “criminal brigadier-general Sultan Al-Tinawi.”
Interior ministry announced that security forces had arrested the “criminal brigadier-general Sultan Al-Tinawi.”
Updated 26 min 46 sec ago
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Syria arrests Assad-era officer accused of ‘war crimes’: ministry

Interior ministry announced that security forces had arrested the “criminal brigadier-general Sultan Al-Tinawi.”
  • The statement accused Tinawi of involvement in “committing war crimes against civilians, including a massacre” in the Damascus countryside in 2016

DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities said Tuesday they had arrested a former officer in the feared security apparatus of ousted ruler Bashar Assad, the latest such announcement as the new government pursues ex-officials accused of atrocities.
The interior ministry announced in a statement that security forces in the coastal province of Latakia had arrested the “criminal brigadier-general Sultan Al-Tinawi,” saying he was a key officer in the air force intelligence, one of the Assad family’s most trusted security agencies.
The statement accused Tinawi of involvement in “committing war crimes against civilians, including a massacre” in the Damascus countryside in 2016.
It said he was responsible for “coordinating between the leadership of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and a number of sectarian groups in Syria.”
Tinawi has been referred to the public prosecution for further investigation, the statement said.
A security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said that Tinawi held senior administrative positions in the air force intelligence when Jamil Hassan was head of the notorious agency.
Hassan has been sentenced in absentia in France for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes, while the United States has accused him of “war crimes,” including overseeing barrel bomb attacks on Syrian people that killed thousands of civilians.
Tinawi had been “head of the information branch of the air force intelligence” before Assad’s ouster late last year, the security source told AFP, describing the branch as “one of the most powerful and secret security agencies in the country.”
Since taking power in December, Syria’s new authorities have announced a number of arrests of Assad-era security officials.
Assad fled to Moscow with only a handful of confidants, abandoning senior officials and security officers, some of whom have reportedly fled to neighboring countries or taken refuge in the coastal heartland of Assad’s Alawite minority community.


Jerusalem patriarch hails pope’s commitment to Gaza

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, gives a press conference at the patriarchate headquarters.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, gives a press conference at the patriarchate headquarters.
Updated 22 April 2025
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Jerusalem patriarch hails pope’s commitment to Gaza

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, gives a press conference at the patriarchate headquarters.
  • Patriarch thanked numerous Palestinian and Israeli public figures who offered condolences, did not comment on lack of any official message from Netanyahu

JERUSALEM: The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Tuesday hailed Pope Francis’s support for Gazans and engagement with the small Catholic community in the war-battered Palestinian territory.
The Catholic church’s highest authority in the region, who is considered a potential successor to the late pontiff, Pizzaballa told journalists in Jerusalem that “Gaza represents, a little bit, all what was the heart of his pontificate.”
Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, advocated peace and “closeness to the poor... and to the neglected one,” said the patriarch.
These positions became particularly evident in Francis’s response to the Israel-Hamas war which broke out in October 2023, Pizzaballa said.
“He was very close to the community of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, he kept calling them many times — for a certain period, also every day, every evening at 7 pm,” said the patriarch.
He added that by doing so, the pope “became for the community something stable, and also comforting for them, and he knew this.”
Out of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox, but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.
Since the early days of the war, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City, and some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge there.
Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war. The day before his death, in a final Easter message delivered on Sunday, he condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in the besieged territory.
“Work for justice... but without becoming part of the conflict,” said Pizzaballa of the late pontiff’s actions.
“For us, for the Church, it leaves an important legacy.”
The patriarch thanked the numerous Palestinian and Israeli public figures who have offered their condolences, preferring not to comment on the lack of any official message from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Even as “the local authorities... were not always happy” with the pope’s positions or statements, they were “always very respectful,” he said.
Pizzaballa said he will travel to Rome on Wednesday, after leading a requiem mass for the pope at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in the morning.
As one of the 135 cardinal electors, the Latin patriarch will participate in the conclave to elect a new pope.
Pizzaballa, a 60-year-old Italian Franciscan who also speaks English and Hebrew, arrived in Jerusalem in 1990 and was made a cardinal in September 2023, just before the Gaza war began.
His visits to Gaza and appeals for peace since then have attracted international attention.


UAE FM meets Sri Lankan president in Colombo visit

UAE FM meets Sri Lankan president in Colombo visit
Updated 22 April 2025
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UAE FM meets Sri Lankan president in Colombo visit

UAE FM meets Sri Lankan president in Colombo visit
  • Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan highlighted the UAE’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Sri Lanka
  • He attended the signing of a deal to establish the UAE-Sri Lanka Joint Business Council

LONDON: Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE minister of foreign affairs, met Sri Lanka’s president and foreign minister in Colombo during an official visit on Tuesday.

Sheikh Abdullah and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in various sectors, building on strong and evolving ties between the UAE and Sri Lanka.

He highlighted the UAE’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Sri Lanka to support the development goals of both countries, the Emirates News Agency reported.

The UAE is committed to partnering with friendly countries to enhance prosperity and sustainable development, he added. President Dissanayake commended the strong relationship between Abu Dhabi and Colombo, WAM reported.

Sheikh Abdullah spoke with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Vijitha Herath, about opportunities for enhancing cooperation in areas such as the economy, trade, tourism and development.

The ministers exchanged views on several regional and international issues, and attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka.

The memorandum, signed on Tuesday by Saeed Mubarak Al-Hajeri, the Emirati assistant minister for economic and trade affairs, and Lakmal Fernando, vice president of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, aims to establish the UAE-Sri Lanka Joint Business Council.

Khaled Nasser Al-Ameri, the UAE’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, attended the meetings along with senior Emirati officials.