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Coronavirus Middle East: UAE closes schools and second person dies in Iraq

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Iraqi women wearing protective masks a serve tea in Baghdad's Tahrir square where anti-government protesters continue their demonstrations. (AFP)
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Emergency doctors and nurses, who have been trained to handle COVID-19 coronavirus disease cases, exit the Tunisian health ministry premises in the capital Tunis on March 3, 2020. (AFP)
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A relatively few number of Muslims pray around the Kaaba in the Muslim holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2020. (AP)
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Indian students wear masks and listen to a teacher at a government school in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (AP)
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Passengers wearing protective masks walk with their belongings in Baghdad Airport, Iraq, Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (AP)
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Algerian paramedics wearing protective outfits are pictured inside an ambulance in front of El-Kettar hospital in the capital Algiers. (File/AFP)
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A woman wears a protective glove as she purchases a metro card at a subway station, Wednesday, March 4, 2020, in New York. (AP)
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Updated 05 March 2020
Arab News
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Coronavirus Middle East: UAE closes schools and second person dies in Iraq

  • Four-week closure of all UAE public and private schools and higher education institutions starting Sunday
  • Saudi Arabia announces second case
Updated 05 March 2020
Arab News

DUBAI: The UAE closed its schools and Saudi Arabia announced a second coronavirus case on Monday as Middle East countries are took further steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the region.

Wednesday, March (all times in GMT)

20:45 - Ireland's health ministry on Wednesday said it had confirmed four new cases of COVID-19, two males and two females who recently visited northern Italy, bringing the total number of cases in the country to six. 

20:38 - Iraq reported late on Wednesday its second coronavirus death in the capital Baghdad, the health ministry said in a statement published by the state news agency.
The health ministry added the patient had many chronic diseases.

20:06 - The US death toll from the coronavirus climbed to 11 on Wednesday with a victim succumbing in California — the nation's first reported fatality outside Washington state — as officials, schools and businesses came under pressure to respond more aggressively to the outbreak.




A woman wears a protective glove as she purchases a metro card at a subway station, Wednesday, March 4, 2020, in New York. (AP)

20:00 - All sporting events in Italy will take place without fans present for at least the next month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

19:45 - Algeria reported nine new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing to 17 the total number of people tested positive for the virus, the health ministry said.
The cases include 16 from the same family in Blida province, some 30 km (20 miles) south of the capital Algiers, and an Italian man.




Algerian paramedics wearing protective outfits are pictured inside an ambulance in front of El-Kettar hospital in the capital Algiers. (File/AFP)

19:20 - Saudi Arabia’s health ministry announced on Wednesday a second case of coronavirus in the Kingdom. The patient is a Saudi citizen who came from Iran via Bahrain with the person who was the Kingdom's first case.

Full story here: Saudi Arabia detects second coronavirus case

19:00 - Iraq announced on Wednesday its first coronavirus death in the capital Baghdad, the health ministry said.




Passengers wearing protective masks walk with their belongings in Baghdad Airport, Iraq, Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (AP)

18:55 - Dubai Health Authority says a student has been infected with coronavirus. The student and her family have been quarantined and the school she attends has been closed.  

 

 

18:40 - The UAE Pro League has suspended fan attendance in all its competitions until further notice because of coronavirus concerns.  

18:15: The release of the new James Bond film "No Time To Die” has been pushed back until November because of global concerns about coronavirus. 

 

 

17:14 - Health officials in Italy said the death toll from COVID-19 had jumped to 107 and the number of cases had passed 3,000.

17:00 - The total number of known coronavirus cases in India rose sharply to 29 on Wednesday, including 16 Italian tourists who had tested positive for the disease as well as an employee of a digital payments company who had travelled to Italy.




Indian students wear masks and listen to a teacher at a government school in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (AP)

16:41-  Iraq's border port commission said on Wednesday it would halt trade between Iraq and both Iran and Kuwait for a week from Mar. 8 over coronavirus concerns, according to the Iraqi state news agency.

15:57 - Tunisia will suspend passenger ferry services to northern Italy because of the new coronavirus, Health Minister Abdelatif El-Mekki said on Wednesday at a news conference.




Emergency doctors and nurses, who have been trained to handle COVID-19 coronavirus disease cases, exit the Tunisian health ministry premises in the capital Tunis on Mar. 3, 2020. (AFP)

15:40 - Oman's health ministry said three new cases of coronavirus have been discovered in the country, bringing the total number of those infected to 15. Two of the new cases are of Iranian nationality and the third is an Omani citizen. All three cases were people who recently arrived from Iran.

14:45 – The continued spread of the coronavirus will push 2020 global growth below last year's levels, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday.

14:20 – The number of coronavirus cases in the UK has jumped by 34 in a day, to a total of 85.

13:10 – Italian media report that the government will close all schools and universities from Thursday until mid-March to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

12:30 – The Egyptian government has decided to bar Qataris from Egypt from Mar. 6, including those who have valid residency, amid fears over the coronavirus.

12:40 – Saudi Arabia has placed a temporary ban on its citizens and residents from performing the Umrah in Makkah to prevent the spread of coronavirus according to state news agency SPA. The move follows a decision last week to close off the pilgrimage sites to foreign pilgrims.

Full report here: Saudi interior ministry imposes temporary ban on Umrah pilgrims from Kingdom over coronavirus fears




 A relatively few number of Muslims pray around the Kaaba in the Muslim holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2020. (AP)

11:49 – Saudi Arabia quarantined 70 people who were in touch with the coronavirus patient, 51 of them tested negative, the ministry of health announced on Wednesday.

11:42  –  Friday prayers in Iran have been canceled across all provincial capitals amid the country’s growing coronavirus outbreak, state television said.
11:07 – Iran said the new coronavirus has killed 92 people, after 15 deaths were reported on Wednesday, amid 2,922 confirmed cases across the Islamic Republic. Health Ministry spokesman   Jahanpour announced the new figures at a news conference Wednesday in Tehran.
11:05 – Coronavirus has had no effect on oil and gas production in Iran, the deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company said on Wednesday, according to the Tasnim news agency. “The production and distribution of Iran’s oil and gas is being carried out without any effect from the outbreak,” Farokh Alikhani was quoted as saying. Iran’s crude oil exports were cut by more than 80 percent after US President Donald Trump withdrew from a multilateral nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.




Iranians wearing protective masks walk under a prevention campaign poster for coronavirus on March 4, 2020 in Tehran. (AFP)


08:59 - Iraq on Wednesday confirmed the first death from the novel coronavirus in the country where a total of 31 cases have been reported. The deceased 70-year-old religious preacher had been quarantined in the northeastern city of Sulaimaniyah before he died on Wednesday, said a spokesman for the provincial health authority in the region.
07:12 - Kuwait health authorities said on Wednesday there have been no new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. They have also advised cafes in the country to avoid serving shishas to help prevent the spread of the virus. Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation earlier issued a circular saying that expatriate passengers coming from the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Syria, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Georgia, and Lebanon must undergo medical examination to confirm they were free from the new coronavirus before entering the country.

Tuesday, March 3 (all times in GMT)
21:09 – The UAE’s Ministry of Education announced a four-week closure of all public and private schools and higher education institutions starting Sunday.
19:26 – Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health announced a temporary suspension of international patient care services.

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18:53 – The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention announced six new cases of the coronavirus, in the UAE on Tuesday, bringing the number of those infected to 27.


A mask-clad man uses his mobile phone while standing at the entrance of the Crowne Plaza hotel in Yas Island Abu Dhabi, where two Italian cyclists participating in the UAE Tour tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus disease which prompted the cancellation of the cycling event, on February 28, 2020. (File/AFP)

Two Italian cyclists participating in the UAE Tour tested positive for coronavirus disease which prompted the cancellation of the cycling event. Above, Crowne Plaza hotel in Yas Island Abu Dhabi, where Tour participants were billeted . (AFP file photo)


The six patients include two Russians, two Italians, one German and one Colombian. The cases were connected to the two previously announced cases associated with the cycling event, the UAE Tour.
Five of the total number of cases were previously reported to have fully recovered.


13:48 – Oman’s Ministry of Health announced six more coronavirus cases bringing the total number of those infected to 12.
A statement from the ministry said, “The registration of six new cases of COVID-19 has been reported, and is related to travel to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Four of the infected are of Iranian nationality and two are citizens, all of whom are subject to quarantine. This takes the number of cases registered in the Sultanate to 12 cases.”
14:31 – The Kuwait Olympic Committee postponed Gulf Olympic Games, scheduled between April 3 and 14, to December due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Topics: Coronavirus

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A top Qatari official urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a ceasefire deal

Updated 28 April 2024
AP
Reuters
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A top Qatari official urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a ceasefire deal

  • There is growing international pressure for Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire deal and avert an Israeli attack on Rafah
  • Hamas delegation to visit Cairo on Monday for ceasefire talks
Updated 28 April 2024
AP Reuters

TEL AVIV: A senior Qatari official has urged both Israel and Hamas to show “more commitment and more seriousness” in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds on both sides to move toward a deal that would set Israeli hostages free and bring potential respite in the nearly 7-month-long war in Gaza.
The interviews with the liberal daily Haaretz and the Israeli public broadcaster Kan were published and aired Saturday evening. They came as Israel still promises to invade Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah despite global concern for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering there and as the sides are exchanging proposals surrounding a ceasefire deal.
Qatar, which hosts Hamas headquarters in Doha, has been a key intermediary throughout the Israel-Hamas war. Along with the US and Egypt, Qatar was instrumental in helping negotiate a brief halt to the fighting in November that led to the release of dozens of hostages.
The sides have held numerous rounds of negotiations since, none of which produced an additional truce. In a sign of its frustration, Qatar last week said it was reassessing its role as mediator.
In the interviews, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari expressed disappointment in both Hamas and Israel, saying each side has made its decisions based on political interests and not with the good of civilians in mind.
“We were hoping to see more commitment and more seriousness on both sides,” he told Haaretz.
He did not reveal details of the current state of the talks, other than to say they have “effectively stopped,” with “both sides entrenched in their positions.”
“If there is a renewed sense of commitment on both sides, I’m sure we can reach a deal,” he said.
The Israeli journalists conducted the interviews in Qatar, which has no formal diplomatic ties with Israel.
Relations between Qatar and Israel have been strained throughout the war, as some politicians in Israel, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have criticized Qatar for not putting enough pressure on Hamas.
Israeli legislators have also cleared the way for the country to expel Al Jazeera, the Qatar-owned broadcaster.
Al-Ansari’s remarks came after an Egyptian delegation had discussed with Israeli officials a “new vision” for a prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, according to an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the developments.
Hamas meanwhile said Saturday it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a ceasefire, which came in response to a Hamas proposal from two weeks ago.

A Hamas delegation will visit Cairo on Monday for Gaza ceasefire talks, a Hamas official who asked not to be named told Reuters, adding that the delegation will discuss the proposed ceasefire offered by mediators as well as Israel's response.
Negotiations earlier this month centered on a six-week ceasefire proposal and the release of 40 civilian and sick hostages held by Hamas in exchange for freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
There is growing international pressure for Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire deal and avert an Israeli attack on Rafah.
A letter penned by US President Joe Biden along with 17 other world leaders urged Hamas to release the hostages immediately.
Hamas in recent days has released new videos of three hostages it holds, which appear to be meant to push Israel to make concessions.
Israel meanwhile has massed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles ahead of an expected offensive in Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is seeking shelter. The planned incursion has raised global alarm because of concerns over potential harm to civilians. The troop buildup may also be a pressure tactic on Hamas in the truce talks.
Israel sees Rafah as Hamas’ last major stronghold and has vowed to attack the militant group there in its bid to destroy its military and governing capabilities.
The war was sparked with Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 into southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities, who say another 250 people were taken hostage. Hamas and other groups are holding about 130 people, including the remains of about 30, Israeli authorities say.
Israel’s retaliatory assault on Hamas has killed more than 34,000 people, most of them women and children, according to health authorities in Gaza, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally. The Israeli military says it has killed at least 12,000 militants, without providing evidence to back the claim.

Topics: Qatar War on Gaza

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France to make proposals in Lebanon to prevent war between Hezbollah and Israel

Updated 28 April 2024
Reuters
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France to make proposals in Lebanon to prevent war between Hezbollah and Israel

Updated 28 April 2024
Reuters

NAQOURA: France’s foreign minister said that he would make proposals to Lebanese officials on Sunday aimed at easing tensions between Hezbollah and Israel and preventing a war breaking out.
“If I look at the situation today if there was not a war in Gaza, we could be talking about a war in southern Lebanon given the number of strikes and the impact on the area,” Stephane Sejourne said after visiting the United Nations peace keeping force in Naqoura, southern Lebanon.
“I will pass messages and make proposals to the authorities here to stabilize this zone and avoid a war.”

Topics: France Lebanon Hezbollah Israel

France’s foreign minister looks to prevent Israel-Hezbollah conflict escalation in Lebanon visit

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stephane Sejourne. (REUTERS file photo)
Updated 28 April 2024
Reuters
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France’s foreign minister looks to prevent Israel-Hezbollah conflict escalation in Lebanon visit

  • Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry
  • Israel has remained cautious on the French initiative, although Israeli and French officials say Israel supports efforts to defuse the cross-border tensions
Updated 28 April 2024
Reuters

BEIRUT: France’s foreign minister will push proposals to prevent further escalation and a potential war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah during a visit to Lebanon on Sunday as Paris seeks to refine a roadmap that both sides could accept to ease tensions.
France has historical ties with Lebanon and earlier this year Stephane Sejourne delivered an initiative that proposed Hezbollah’s elite unit pull back 10 km (6 miles) from the Israeli border, while Israel would halt strikes in southern Lebanon.
The two have exchanged tit for tat strikes in recent months, but the exchanges have increased since Iran launched a barrage of missiles on Israel in response to a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus that killed members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps’ overseas Quds Force.
France’s proposal, which has been discussed with partners, notably the United States, has not moved forward, but Paris wants to keep momentum in talks and underscore to Lebanese officials that Israeli threats of a military operation in southern Lebanon should be taken seriously.
Hezbollah has maintained it will not enter any concrete discussion until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, where the war between Israel and Islamist militant group Hamas has entered its sixth month.
Israel has also said it wants to ensure calm is restored on its northern border so that thousands of displaced Israelis can return to the area without fear of rocket attacks from across the border.
“The objective is to prevent a regional conflagration and avoid that the situation deteriorates even more on the border between Israel and Lebanon,” foreign ministry deputy spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said at a news conference.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Nikati and Lebanese army chief Joseph Aoun met French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month, where they discussed the French proposal.
In a letter addressed to the French embassy in Beirut in March, Lebanon’s foreign ministry said Beirut believed the French initiative would be a significant step toward peace and security in Lebanon and the broader region.
Local Lebanese media had reported the government had provided feedback to the French on the proposal.
French officials say the responses so far have been general and lack consensus among the Lebanese. While they deem it too early for any form of accord, they believe it is vital to engage now so that when the moment comes both sides are ready.
Paris will also underline the urgency of breaking the political deadlock in the country. Lebanon has neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Michel Aoun’s term as president ended in October 2022.
Israel has remained cautious on the French initiative, although Israeli and French officials say Israel supports efforts to defuse the cross-border tensions.
“The flames will flicker and tensions will continue,” said a Lebanese diplomat. “We are in a situation of strategic ambiguity on both sides.”
France has 700 troops based in southern Lebanon as part of the 10,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force.
Officials say the UN troops are unable to carry out their mandate and part of France’s proposals are aimed at beefing up the mission by strengthening the Lebanese army.
After Lebanon, Sejourne will head to Saudi Arabia before traveling to Israel.
Arab and Western foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, will hold informal talks on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum event in Riyadh to discuss the Gaza war with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

 

Topics: War on Gaza Palestine Gaza France US

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32 more killed in Gaza as Hamas studies new Israeli truce proposal

Updated 28 April 2024
Arab News
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32 more killed in Gaza as Hamas studies new Israeli truce proposal

  • Mediators working on compromise that will answer most of main demands
  • Minister says Israel a deal could lead to suspension of planned Rafah offensive 
Updated 28 April 2024
Arab News

JEDDAH/GAZA STRIP: Palestinians in Rafah said on Saturday they were living in “constant terror” as Israel vows to push ahead with its planned assault on the south Gaza city flooded with displaced civilians.

The Israeli military has massed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles in southern Israel close to Rafah and hit locations in the city in near-daily airstrikes.

“We live in constant terror and fear of repeated displacement and invasion,” said Nidaa Safi, 30, who fled Israeli strikes in the north and came to Rafah with her husband and children.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 34,388 people have been killed in the besieged territory during more than six months of war between Israel and Hamas militants.

The tally includes at least 32 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 77,437 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war broke out when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Mourners stand near corpses of an adult and a child killed in overnight Israeli bombardment, in the front of the morgue of a hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on April 27, 2024. (AFP)

Early Saturday, an airstrike hit a house in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood, killing a man, his wife and their sons, ages 12, 10 and 8, according to records of the Abu Yousef Al-Najjar hospital’s morgue. A neighbor’s 4-month-old girl was also killed.

Ahmed Omar rushed with other neighbors after the 1:30 a.m. strike to look for survivors, but said they only found bodies and body parts. “It’s a tragedy,” he said.

An Israeli airstrike later Saturday on a building in Rafah killed seven people, including six members of the Ashour family, according to the morgue.

Five people were killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza overnight when an Israeli strike hit a house, according to officials at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian men at a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the military said. It said the men had opened fire at troops stationed at Salem checkpoint near the city of Jenin.

Violence in the West Bank has flared since the war. The Ramallah-based Health Ministry says 491 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.

Israel's counterproposal

Hamas said it was studying Israel’s latest counterproposal for a ceasefire, a day after reports said a delegation from mediator Egypt was in Israel trying to jump-start stalled negotiations.

Israel’s foreign minister said that the Rafah incursion could be suspended should there be a deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages.

Palestinian children walk amid the debris of a house destroyed by overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah on April 27, 2024. (AFP)

“The release of the hostages is the top priority for us,” said Israel Katz. “If there will be a deal, we will suspend the operation.” 

The Egyptian delegation discussed a “new vision” for a prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, according to an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the developments.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Israel’s proposal was directly related to the visit.

Khalil Al-Hayya, deputy head of Hamas’s political arm in Gaza, said it had “received the official Zionist occupation response to the movement’s position, which was delivered to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators on April 13.”

Negotiations earlier this month centered on a six-week ceasefire proposal and the release of 40 civilian and sick hostages in exchange for freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

A separate Hamas statement said leaders from the three main militant groups active in Gaza discussed attempts to end the war. It didn’t mention the Israeli proposal.

The armed wing of Hamas also released video footage of two men held hostage in Gaza, identified by Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum as Keith Siegel and Omri Miran.

Mediators are working on a compromise that will answer most of both parties’ main demands, which could pave the way to continued negotiations with the goal of a deal to end the war, the official said.

Israeli police stand by as protestors take part in a demonstration by Israeli and American Rabbis near Erez crossing between Israel and the Gaza strip on the Israeli side on April 26, 2024. (REUTERS)

Hamas has said it won’t back down from demands for a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli troops. 

Israel has rejected both and said it will continue military operations until Hamas is defeated and that it will retain a security presence in Gaza.

There is growing international pressure for Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire deal and avert an Israeli attack on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought refuge.

Israel has insisted for months it plans a ground offensive into Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where it says many remaining Hamas militants remain, despite calls for restraint including from Israel’s staunchest ally, the United States.

Egypt has cautioned an offensive into Rafah could have “catastrophic consequences” on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where famine is feared, and on regional peace and security.

Tolerating Israeli abuses

Washington has been critical of Israeli policies in the West Bank. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is expected in Israel on Tuesday, recently determined an army unit committed rights abuses there before the war in Gaza.

But Blinken said in an undated letter to US House Speaker Mike Johnson, obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, that he’s postponing a decision on blocking aid to the unit to give Israel more time to right the wrongdoing. Blinken stressed that overall US military support for Israel’s defense wouldn’t be affected.

The US has also been building a pier to deliver aid to Gaza through a new port. Israel’s military confirmed Saturday that it would be operational by early May.

The BBC reported the UK government was considering deploying troops to drive the trucks to carry the aid to shore, citing unidentified government sources. British officials declined to comment.

Another aid effort, a three-ship flotilla coming from Turkiye, was prevented from sailing, organizers said.

Student protests over the war and its effect on Palestinians are growing on college campuses in the US, while demonstrations continue in many countries.

Hamas sparked the war by attacking southern Israel on Oct. 7, with militants killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. Israel says the militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Topics: War on Gaza Hamas-Israel rafah Hamas

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Sudan demands emergency UN meeting on UAE ‘aggression’

Updated 28 April 2024
AFP
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Sudan demands emergency UN meeting on UAE ‘aggression’

  • For months the regular army has accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting the RSF, a charge the UAE denies
Updated 28 April 2024
AFP

PORT SUDAN, Sudan: Sudan has requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting on what it calls UAE “aggression” for allegedly supporting paramilitaries battling the army, a diplomatic source said Saturday.
The fighting broke out in April last year between the regular army, headed by Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
For months the regular army has accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting the RSF, a charge the UAE denies.
“Yesterday, our permanent representative to the United Nations submitted a request for an urgent session of the Security Council to discuss the UAE’s aggression against the Sudanese people, and the provision of weapons and equipment to the terrorist militia,” the source told AFP.
The country’s official SUNA news agency confirmed that Sudan’s UN representative, Al-Harith Idriss, had submitted the request.
SUNA cited Idriss as saying this was “in response to the UAE representative’s memorandum to the Council,” and that “the UAE’s support for the criminal Rapid Support militia that waged war on the state makes the UAE an accomplice in all its crimes.”
In a letter to the Security Council last week, the UAE foreign ministry rejected Sudan’s accusations that it backs the RSF.
The letter said the allegations were “spurious (and) unfounded, and lack any credible evidence to support them.”
Separately on Saturday, the UN Security Council expressed “deep concern” over escalating fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur region and warned against the possibility of an imminent offensive by the RSF and allied militias on El Fasher.
The city is the last Darfur state capital not under RSF control and hosts a large number of refugees.
United Nations officials put out similar warnings Friday, with the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk expressing his “grave concern.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson’s office said an attack on El Fasher “would have devastating consequences for the civilian population... in an area already on the brink of famine.”
The Sudan war has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than 8.5 million people to flee their homes in what the United Nations has called the “largest displacement crisis in the world.”
In December, Khartoum demanded that 15 Emirati diplomats leave the country after an army commander accused Abu Dhabi of supporting the RSF, and protests in Port Sudan demanded the expulsion of the UAE ambassador.
The Wall Street Journal, citing Ugandan officials, reported last August that weapons had been found in a UAE cargo plane transporting humanitarian aid to Sudanese refugees in Chad, prompting a denial from Abu Dhabi.

Topics: Sudan UN Security Council UAE

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