Sudan's military leader Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan was on Monday visiting neighbouring Eritrea, his fourth foreign trip in two weeks.
Gen Al Burhan, also Sudan's army chief, is seeking to rally regional support at a time when the army is locked in a civil war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
He has already visited Egypt, South Sudan and Qatar.
Gen Al Burhan will hold talks with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on issues of common interest between the two states, his office said without giving further details.
Sudan and Eritrea are bound by close economic and political ties. Sudan was also home to hundreds of thousands of Eritrean and Tigrayan refugees during the civil war in Ethiopia between 1974 and 1991. Many of them remain in Sudan to this day.
The war, which began in April and is centred in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, has created a major humanitarian crisis, with more than five million people displaced.
The conflict between the RSF and the army is widely seen as a fight for political and military supremacy between Gen Al Burhan and his former ally and deputy, RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo.
Diplomacy drive
Gen Al Burhan's foreign visits are helping confirm his legitimacy as the nation's ruler at a time when the RSF is coming under increasing criticism for its alleged wholesale abuse of civilians in Khartoum and Darfur. Its members are accused of looting, sexual attacks and targeting civilian members of ethnic African communities in Darfur.
The International Criminal Court is investigating suspected war crimes by the RSF and its Arab allies.
On Saturday, Gen Al Burhan again lambasted the African Union for what he said was its unwelcome meddling in Sudan's affairs. He did not elaborate, but the general has in the past warned the AU against sending peacekeepers to Sudan, threatening to fight them if they arrive.
He has also warned foreign powers against equating the army with the RSF, whose forerunner is a notorious Darfur-based militia, known as the Janjaweed, in their public announcements, repeatedly declaring that the RSF was a mutinous force and dissolved it in a decree last week.
Sudan's AU membership was suspended in 2021 when Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo jointly seized power in a coup that toppled a civilian-led government and derailed Sudan's democratic transition.
Neither the army nor the RSF has been able to gain a battlefield edge after nearly five months of fighting, with the lightly armed RSF fighters entrenched deep in the capital's residential areas. The army relies on heavily on artillery and air strikes, unable to dislodge them or wrestle back control of the streets.
Gen Al Burhan, seeking to compensate for the army's insufficient manpower, had called on retired servicemen and able-bodied men to join his army in the fight against the RSF. Hundreds are known to have volunteered in the fight against the RSF.
On Saturday, he instructed his commanders to integrate them into the armed forces.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
Understand What Black Is
The Last Poets
(Studio Rockers)
Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Omar%20Hilal%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhammad%20Farrag%2C%20Bayoumi%20Fouad%2C%20Nelly%20Karim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5