AL DABBAH: Sudanese paramilitary forces on Thursday launched several drone strikes on the northern town of Merowe, targeting a major dam in army-held territory, the army and other sources said.
Drones “targeted the army headquarters, the airport and the Merowe Dam,” an army statement said, adding that it had intercepted the attacks that it blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
A source from the intelligence service said seven projectiles had been fired, while an AFP journalist in the area heard 10 explosions.
Witnesses meanwhile counted more than two dozen explosions between midnight and dawn, adding that the town, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of Khartoum, was plunged into darkness after a full power cut.
The RSF has increasingly resorted to drones over the past months as its war with the army grinds on.
The paramilitaries have repeatedly targeted both military and civilian facilities, intensifying its attacks on the capital Khartoum in October and the wartime seat of government in Port Sudan during the spring.
In late October, the RSF captured El-Fasher, the last army stronghold in the vast western Darfur region, consolidating its hold over the area.
Since the fall of El-Fasher, fighting has shifted to the neighboring Kordofan region, a strategic area bridging the west of the country with the capital.
According to the International Organization for Migration, 90,000 civilians have fled El-Fasher since it fell into paramilitary control.
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Paramilitary drone attacks target town in northern Sudan: army
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Paramilitary drone attacks target town in northern Sudan: army
- The RSF has increasingly resorted to drones over the past months as its war with the army grinds on
Trump tells Hamas to proceed with ‘full and immediate’ disarmament
WEST PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Hamas to move forward with disarmament under his plan for postwar Gaza, and said members of his so-called “Board of Peace” had pledged $5 billion to the Palestinian territory’s reconstruction.
“Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarization,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, ahead of a February 19 meeting of the board in Washington.
Disarmament is a key part in the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire plan sealed in October between Israel and the Palestinian militant group to end the war triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
The United Nations endorsed the plan in November.
The second phase stipulates that Israeli forces gradually withdraw from Gaza and Hamas should disarm, with an international stabilization force deployed to ensure security.
Hamas has repeatedly said that disarmament is a red line, although it has indicated it could consider handing over its weapons to a future Palestinian governing authority.
Both sides accuse each other daily of ceasefire violations.
Although originally intended to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the charter for the “Board of Peace” does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.
“The Board of Peace has unlimited potential,” Trump said Sunday in his post.
After an initial meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, the board is due to meet Thursday in the US capital.
Countries have been asked to pay $1 billion for permanent membership of the board, and the invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country invaded Ukraine in 2022, has drawn criticism.
Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed doubts.
Trump said the $5 billion in pledges by member states would be formally announced then, and that members also “have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police to maintain Security and Peace for Gazans.”
Trump has said the organization will work “in conjunction” with the United Nations.
“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History,” he said.
Under the ceasefire plan, a Palestinian technocratic committee has also been set up with a goal of taking over governance in the battered Gaza Strip.
“Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarization,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, ahead of a February 19 meeting of the board in Washington.
Disarmament is a key part in the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire plan sealed in October between Israel and the Palestinian militant group to end the war triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
The United Nations endorsed the plan in November.
The second phase stipulates that Israeli forces gradually withdraw from Gaza and Hamas should disarm, with an international stabilization force deployed to ensure security.
Hamas has repeatedly said that disarmament is a red line, although it has indicated it could consider handing over its weapons to a future Palestinian governing authority.
Both sides accuse each other daily of ceasefire violations.
Although originally intended to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the charter for the “Board of Peace” does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.
“The Board of Peace has unlimited potential,” Trump said Sunday in his post.
After an initial meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, the board is due to meet Thursday in the US capital.
Countries have been asked to pay $1 billion for permanent membership of the board, and the invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country invaded Ukraine in 2022, has drawn criticism.
Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed doubts.
Trump said the $5 billion in pledges by member states would be formally announced then, and that members also “have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police to maintain Security and Peace for Gazans.”
Trump has said the organization will work “in conjunction” with the United Nations.
“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History,” he said.
Under the ceasefire plan, a Palestinian technocratic committee has also been set up with a goal of taking over governance in the battered Gaza Strip.
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