CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi expressed full support on Wednesday for visiting Lebanese Prime Minister-Designate Saad Al-Hariri in his efforts to form a cabinet and resolve a crippling economic and political crisis.
Lebanon is battling an economic meltdown dubbed by the World Bank as one of the deepest depressions in modern history.
The financial crisis, which has propelled more than half of the population into poverty and seen the value of the currency drop by more than 90 percent in nearly two years, has been deepened by political deadlock.
Egypt holds diplomatic weight in the region and has provided some aid to Lebanon during the crisis. It is allied with Sunni Gulf powers that long channelled funds into Lebanon but have recently become alarmed by the rising influence of the Iran-backed armed Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.
Under a sectarian power-sharing system, Lebanon’s president must be a Maronite Christian and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim.
Veteran Sunni politician Hariri has been at loggerheads for months with President Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, over forming a new government. He is due to meet Aoun at the Baabda presidential palace on his return from Cairo.
Earlier on Wednesday, Aoun said he hoped he hoped Hariri would carry “positive indications” to the meeting, adding that efforts were still under way to form a cabinet.
In Egypt, El-Sisi welcomed Hariri, “reaffirming Egypt’s full support for Hariri’s political path which aims at restoring stability to Lebanon,” and for his attempts to deal with challenges including the formation of a government, a presidency statement said.
Amid speculation that Hariri would stand down this week, Egypt urged him not to give up on forming a cabinet, Saudi Arabian state-owned broadcaster Al Hadath said, citing unnamed sources.
Cairo would coordinate Arab efforts to help chart a way out of the crisis, the channel reported.
Hariri also met Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who stated Egypt’s support for Lebanon’s “exit from the current situation, and the necessity for all Lebanese parties to prioritize Lebanon’s highest interest over any narrow interests,” according to tweets from Hariri and the Egyptian foreign ministry.
Egypt’s El-Sisi offers support as Lebanon’s Hariri visits Cairo
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Egypt’s El-Sisi offers support as Lebanon’s Hariri visits Cairo
- El-Sisi reaffirmed Egypt’s full support for Hariri’s political path which aims at restoring stability to Lebanon
- Egypt urged him not to give up on forming a cabinet
Drone attack by paramilitary group in Sudan kills 24, including 8 children, doctors’ group says
- Saturday’s attack by RSF occurred close to the city of Rahad in North Kordofan province, said the Sudan Doctors Network
- The vehicle was transporting displaced people who fled fighting in the Dubeiker area
CAIRO: A drone attack by a notorious paramilitary group hit a vehicle carrying displaced families in central Sudan Saturday, killing at least 24 people, including eight children, a doctors’ group said, a day after a World Food Program aid convoy was targeted.
Saturday’s attack by the Rapid Support Forces occurred close to the city of Rahad in North Kordofan province, said the Sudan Doctors Network, which tracks the country’s ongoing war.
The vehicle was transporting displaced people who fled fighting in the Dubeiker area, the group said in a statement. Among the dead children were two infants.
Several others were wounded and taken for treatment in Rahad, which suffers severe medical supplies shortages, like many areas in the Kordofan region, the statement said.
The doctors’ group urged the international community and rights organizations to “take immediate action to protect civilians and hold the RSF leadership directly accountable for these violations.”
There was no immediate comment from the RSF, which has been at war against the Sudanese military for control of the country for about three years.
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country, leaving tens of thousands dead and millions displaced.
