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☆ Egypt pushing Israel and Hamas to prevent escalation -Egyptian sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the Israeli side of the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCAIRO, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Egypt has been in close contact with Israel and Hamas to try to prevent further escalation in fighting between them and ensure the protection of Israelis taken hostage by Palestinian militants, two Egyptian security sources said on Monday. Some 7,000 Israeli tourists have returned from Sinai to Israel since the fighting erupted, the Egyptian security sources said. On Sunday, two Israeli tourists and an Egyptian guide were shot dead at an archaeological site in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria. The Egyptian policeman accused of carrying out the killing has been referred to a military court, one of the security sources said.

Persons: Amir Cohen, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Abdelnasser, Aidan Lewis, Hugh Lawson, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, Gaza, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rights CAIRO, Egypt, Palestinian, Israeli, Cairo, Sinai, Rafah, Egyptian, Alexandria, Tel Aviv, South, Sharm

☆ Egypt's cratering economy drives many to risky migrant route
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Mariam Rizk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The surge in numbers leaving Egypt in recent years coincides with Egypt's worsening economy. The pandemic hit Egypt's vital tourist industry and the Ukraine war made investors more risk averse, driving them away from Egyptian markets. MINIBUS TO LIBYAThe Egyptian authorities have largely stopped migrant boat departures from Egypt's north coast since 2016. More migrant boats now leave from eastern Libya, close to Egypt, than from the west in the divided nation. 'COUNTRIES IN CRISIS'President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and other Egyptian officials say Egypt is doing what it can to halt the migrant flow.

Persons: Fatma, MIT SUHAYL, Waleed el, Degwy, Mohamed el, Muammar Gaddafi, you'd, Adel Ghannam, Mit Suhayl, Mohamed, Abdel Fattah al, Naela Gabr, Mostafa Abdel Salam, Hala, Nafisa Eltahir, Aidan Lewis, Edmund Blair Organizations: REUTERS, MIT, Reuters, European, Thomson Locations: Suhayl, Greece, Sharqia governorate, Egypt, Libya, Italy, Nile Delta, Europe, Ukraine, LIBYA, Egypt's, Libyan, Sudan

☆ Forced to flee war, Sudanese band spreads musical message
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( El Tayeb Siddig | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] General Kidi, a member of the Nuba Mountain Sound band, trains children to dance, in Port Sudan, in Sudan, September 26, 2023. One day they hope to tour the whole country to spread their message, said General Kidi, 29. "We want to deliver the voice of the people of the Nuba Mountains to the rest of the people in Sudan, through music," he said. "We show the world that this is Sudan, Sudan is not just war, Sudan has diverse traditions and music. Reporting by El Tayeb Siddig; Writing by Mai Shams El-Din; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kidi, El Tayeb, General Kidi, Ganja Farmer, Omar al, Bashir, Mai Shams El, Aidan Lewis, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Rapid Support Forces, Ganja Farmer, Thomson Locations: Port Sudan, Sudan, El, PORT SUDAN, Red Sea, Ganja, South Kordofan, Khartoum

☆ Sudan medics warn that cholera and dengue fever are spreading
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, visited the hospital, in Adre, Chad, on the border with Sudan, September 6, 2023. The federal health ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday that 18 people had died and 265 infected with cholera in al-Qadarif state. A doctors' syndicate in Sudan said 3,398 cases of dengue fever were recorded across al-Qadarif, Red Sea, North Kordofan and Khartoum states between mid-April and mid-September. Last week the United Nations said more than 1,200 children had died of suspected measles and malnutrition in refugee camps in Sudan's White Nile state, and that cholera, dengue fever and malaria posed a risk across the country. Dengue fever is endemic in Sudan.

Persons: Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Michelle Nichols, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Anil D'Silva Organizations: MSF, United Nations, REUTERS, Health, Rapid Support Forces, Thomson Locations: Adre, Chad, Sudan, al, Red Sea, North Kordofan, Khartoum, Ethiopia, Sudan's White Nile

☆ Sudan's Army Chief Says He Favours Negotiated Settlement to War
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

War between the army and the RSF broke out in mid-April over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the army, four years after long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a popular uprising. Burhan has made a series of foreign visits in recent weeks after remaining in Sudan for the first months of the war. The RSF has denied it is behind the violence in Darfur, and will hold its men accountable for abuses. Burhan said that army deployment in El Geneina, which suffered the worst mass killings in Darfur, has been limited, hindering their ability to respond. Burhan said he told the governor to seek protection at a military camp, but the governor had rejected that.

Persons: Daphne Psaledakis, Khalid Abdelaziz NEW, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Omar al, Bashir, RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Grant McCool Organizations: Khalid Abdelaziz NEW YORK, Reuters, Rapid Support Forces, United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly Locations: CAIRO, New York, Saudi Arabia, United States, Jeddah, Sudan, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, Cairoa

War between the army and the RSF broke out in mid-April over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the army, four years after long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a popular uprising. Burhan has made a series of foreign visits in recent weeks after remaining in Sudan for the first months of the war. The purpose was to seek solutions, not military support, though he had asked other states to block external backing that he asserts the RSF is receiving, he said. The RSF has denied it is behind the violence in Darfur, and will hold its men accountable for abuses. Burhan said he told the governor to seek protection at a military camp, but the governor had rejected that.

Persons: Abdel, Fattah Al, Burhan Abdelrahman Al, Burhan, Eduardo Munoz, Abdel Fattah al, Omar al, Bashir, RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Daphne Psaledakis, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Grant McCool Organizations: Transitional Sovereign, General Assembly, REUTERS, NEW YORK, Reuters, Rapid Support Forces, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, West Darfur, CAIRO, New York, Saudi Arabia, United States, Jeddah, Sudan, Darfur, El Geneina, Cairoa

Summary Egypt seeking cheaper wheat amid dollar crunchRussia blocked deal that undercut price floor- tradersCAIRO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Egypt is in talks with an Abu Dhabi-based bank for a loan facility that would finance wheat purchases from Kazakhstan, three traders told Reuters. The move could give Egypt a cheap alternative to grain from Russia, which has supplied an increasing share of Egypt's wheat since last year but recently blocked a deal for a purchase below an unofficial price floor for wheat purchases, traders say. Russia's agriculture ministry recently prevented the private sale of 480,000 tons of Russian wheat to Egypt, apparently because it was sold below the price floor, traders told Reuters. Kazakhstan is already an approved wheat import origin for Egypt, but purchases from the Central Asian country are rare. The Egyptian government recently signed a $500 million loan agreement with the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) to buy imported wheat from UAE-based agribusiness Al Dahra.

Persons: Abu, GASC, Sarah El Safty, Michael Hogan, Aidan Lewis, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, General Authority for Supply Commodities, Central, Abu, Abu Dhabi Exports Office, Thomson Locations: Egypt, Russia, CAIRO, Abu Dhabi, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Bulgaria, UAE

☆ Sudan's Rapid Support Forces Fully Ready for Ceasefire and Political Talks -Hemedti
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO (Reuters) - Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are fully prepared for a ceasefire and to engage in comprehensive political talks for an end to its civil conflict with the army, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said in a rare video appearance on Thursday. Dagalo, known as Hemedti, made the comments in a recorded video message addressed to the U.N. General Assembly and released by the RSF shortly before army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was due to give a speech to the assembly in New York. Most of Hemedti's recent communications have been audio messages, and his whereabouts have been a source of speculation since war between the army and the RSF erupted in mid-April. In the video released on Thursday he appeared in military uniform, seated behind a desk with a Sudanese national flag behind him as he read out his speech. (Reporting by Khalid Abdeaziz, Yomna Ehab and Enas Alashray; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Persons: Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Dagalo, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Khalid Abdeaziz, Yomna, Aidan Lewis, Leslie Adler Organizations: Support Forces, General Assembly, Sudanese Locations: CAIRO, New York, Sudan

☆ Prominent Egyptian activist and govt critic jailed for six months
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hisham Kassem, a former newspaper publisher publisher and political activist, speaks during an interview with Reuters TV at his family's cemetery, in Cairo, Egypt, June 13, 2023. Kassem is a leader of al-Tayar al-Hurr, or Free Current, a newly formed liberal group. No serious challenge is expected against Sisi, a former army chief who has continued backing from the security forces. Kassem, a former publisher of Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, had started then suspended a hunger strike while in detention. Sisi has presided over a far-reaching crackdown on political dissent that has swept up critics from across the political spectrum.

Persons: Hisham Kassem, Ahmed Fahmy, Abdel Fattah al, Kassem, Nasser Amin, Amin, Sisi, Masry, Aidan Lewis, Omar Abdel, Nick Macfie Organizations: Reuters TV, REUTERS, Rights, Saturday, Sisi, Authorities, U.S, Thomson Locations: Cairo, Egypt, Rights CAIRO, United States

A three-storey building standing opposite had been swept 60 metres (200 feet) down the road by the floodwaters, Hasadi said. "The situation is very, very tragic," said Qais, a rescue worker from Tunisia at the seafront who only gave his first name. [1/4]A view shows the destruction, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya September 16, 2023. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-fetori Acquire Licensing Rights"The work is ongoing and is very, very, very complicated," he told Reuters. Libya's continuing political divisions, with rival administrations and parliaments in the east and west, could hamper the aid effort.

Persons: Tarek Faheem al, Hasadi, Qais, Kamal Al, Omran, Storm Daniel, Hayder Al, Muammar Gaddafi, Khalifa Haftar's, Derna, Ayman al, Ahmed Elumami, Omar Abdel, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Alex Richardson Organizations: Organization for, REUTERS, Reuters, Health Organization, Italy's, United Nations, Libya's National, for Disease, NATO, Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, Thomson Locations: DERNA, Libya, Derna, Derna's, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Italian, Italy's Embassy, Infrastructure, Razek, Cairo, Geneva

☆ Morocco's king keeps regal distance even in earthquake crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Aidan Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Analysts and rights groups say the political class has been largely co-opted, while real power rests with the king and his "Makhzen", or Morocco's old political establishment. The tremor has, however, shown the unevenness of Morocco's economic development. Meanwhile, Forbes ranked the king in 2015 among Africa's richest men, with personal wealth valued at more than $5 billion. The king ordered Almada to donate 1 billion dirhams ($100 million) to an earthquake response fund. While the king has made few appearances since the earthquake, government officials have also kept a low profile.

Persons: King Mohammed VI, Hassan II, isn't, Aboubakr Jamai, Mohammed, Almada, Manar, Aidan Lewis, Edmund Blair Organizations: Royal Armed Forces, American College of, Forbes, Africa's, Thomson Locations: Rabat, Marrakech, Morocco, Africa, France, Tunisia, Egypt, Moroccan, Tangier, Casablanca, Almada, London

☆ US Sanctions Deputy Leader of Sudan's RSF Over Abuses
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

By Michelle NicholsN'DJAMENA (Reuters) - The United States is imposing sanctions on the deputy leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over human rights abuses, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations will announce during a trip to Chad's border with Sudan on Wednesday. Previous sanctions, levied on companies, also targeted the army. While the sanctions carry political weight, it is unclear that they would have any impact on the course of the current conflict. In June, the U.S. imposed sanctions on companies it accused of fuelling the conflict in Sudan. The U.S. Treasury Department targeted two companies affiliated with Sudan's army and two companies affiliated with the RSF, accusing them of generating revenue from the conflict and contributing to the fighting.

Persons: Michelle Nichols N'DJAMENA, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, RSF, Dagalo, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Washington, Omar al, Bashir, Abdelrahim Dagalo, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Nafisa Eltahir, Daphne Psaledakis, Aidan Lewis, William Maclean Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, United Nations, Reuters, Thomas, SAF, United Arab, The U.S . Treasury Department Locations: United States, U.S, Sudan, West Darfur, Sudan's Darfur, Darfur, Chad, Khartoum, Hemedti, United Arab Emirates, Russia, The U.S

☆ Sudan 'spiralling out of control' as 1 million flee country, UN warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the capital Khartoum and sparked ethnically driven attacks in Darfur, threatening to plunge Sudan into a protracted civil war and destabilise the region. "Time is running out for farmers to plant the crops that will feed them and their neighbours. The situation is spiralling out of control," U.N. agencies said in a joint statement. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsReports of sexual assaults have increased by 50%, said U.N. population fund official Laila Baker. Efforts led by Saudi Arabia and the United States to negotiate a ceasefire in the current conflict have stalled, and humanitarian agencies have struggled to provide relief because of insecurity, looting and bureaucratic hurdles.

Persons: Malik Agar, Elizabeth Throssell, Chad August, Zohra, Laila Baker, Agar, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Omar al, Bashir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Aidan Lewis, Alexandra Hudson, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: United Nations, Rapid Support Forces, Sovereign, IOM, Human Rights, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Sudan, Khartoum, Darfur, Kordofan, Geneva, Chadian, Chad, Adre, Saudi Arabia, United States, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo

☆ Rights groups appeal for justice over 2013 Egypt sit-in killings
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A general view of Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, the site of a sit-in ending in clashes in 2013, in Cairo August 10, 2014. The clearing of the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in in Cairo on Aug. 14, 2013 marked the escalation of a crackdown against supporters of overthrown Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mursi. Rights groups say more than 800 people were killed as security forces stormed Rabaa al-Adawiya, one of two squares in the capital where protesters had been camped out for weeks. Amnesty International said: "States with influence on Egypt must echo the demands of survivors, victims' families and human rights defenders for truth, justice and reparation." Supporters of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led Mursi's ouster as army chief and became president in 2014, say security measures taken at the time were needed to stabilise Egypt.

Persons: Rabaa, Mohamed Abd El Ghany, Mohamed Mursi, Abdel Fattah al, Mursi's, EIPR, Hossam Bahgat, Aidan Lewis, Sharon Singleton, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, Muslim, Rights Watch, Amnesty, Egyptian, Personal Rights, Thomson Locations: Cairo, CAIRO, Egypt

☆ Blaze engulfs historic ministry building in central Cairo
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Smoke rises as Egyptian firefighters extinguish a fire that broke out in the historic neo-Islamic ministry in central Cairo, Egypt, August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Patrick WerrCAIRO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A historic neo-Islamic ministry in central Cairo was engulfed in flames on Saturday, only days after its employees had moved to premises in a new capital city under construction in the desert 45km east of Cairo. The main part of the building was built in 1898, with wings added on either side in 1912 and 1927. Most of the ministry's employees moved to the new capital, away from the clutter and chaos of Cairo, in late July. Some former ministry buildings are to be repurposed under Egypt's Sovereign Fund, a process the government hopes will draw badly needed investment and help regenerate central Cairo.

Persons: Patrick Werr CAIRO, Patrick Werr, Moamen Saeed Atallah, Aidan Lewis, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Religious Endowments, Reuters, Sovereign Fund, Thomson Locations: Cairo, Egypt

☆ Exclusive: Islamists wield hidden hand in Sudan conflict, military sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Yet the three military sources and an intelligence source said thousands of Islamists were battling alongside the army. Reuters spoke to 10 sources for this article, including military and intelligence sources and several Islamists. The army accused the RSF of promoting Islamists and former regime loyalists in their top ranks, a charge the RSF denied. Nowadays, former NISS officers also help the military by collecting intelligence on its enemies in the latest conflict. The NISS was replaced by the General Intelligence Service (GIS) after Bashir was toppled, and stripped of its armed "operations" unit, according to a constitutional agreement.

Persons: General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Umit, Bashir, Omar al, Osama bin Laden, Mohammed al, Fadl, Ali Karti, Abdel Fattah Burhan, Burhan, Reuters Graphics BASHIR, Hemedti, Bashir loyalists, Michael Georgy, Aidan Lewis, William Maclean Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, Army, DUBAI, West, Reuters, Sudanese, National Intelligence and Security Service, National, Party, United Arab Emirates, General Intelligence Service, Reuters Graphics, Central Reserve Police, Publicly, Thomson Locations: Aprag, Khartoum, Sudan, Darfur, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahri

☆ Sudanese in Israel watch in anguish as Darfur violence unfolds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Hannah Confino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Suad Fissa, 40, an asylum seeker and factory worker from Darfur in Sudan cries as she speaks about her children who are missing there, in a playground in southern Tel Aviv, Israel June 24, 2023. "There's no internet there but we still have connections to people who are telling us what is happening in El Geneina now," Usumain Baraka, head of the Masalit tribe in Israel, told Reuters. Going from home to home asking, 'Are you from the Masalit tribe?'" Just over 5,000 Sudanese people live in Israel, mainly in Tel Aviv, dating to when brutal conflict escalated in Darfur from 2003. Baraka said the community in Israel is collecting money to send to refugees in Chad so they can buy food, water and medicine.

Persons: Fissa, Amir Cohen TEL, Sudan's, Usumain Baraka, Masalit, Baraka, Hannah Confino, Aidan Lewis, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Nations, Thomson Locations: Darfur, Sudan, Tel Aviv, Israel, Amir Cohen TEL AVIV, Sudan's Darfur, Chad, El, Khartoum, El Geneina

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police base as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. Khartoum and El Geneina have been worst affected by the war, although last week tensions and clashes escalated in other parts of Darfur and in Kordofan, in the south. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, U.N, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood, Mark Porter Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police camp as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the footage or the RSF statement. Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: RSF, Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ Egypt and India bolster ties as Modi makes first trip to Cairo
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt June 25, 2023. The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERSCAIRO, June 25 (Reuters) - Egypt and India discussed strengthening ties in areas including trade, food security and defence during a state visit to Cairo by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two countries said on Sunday. On his first trip to Egypt, Modi met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Egyptian ministers appointed to an "India unit" after a state visit by Sisi to India in January during which a "strategic partnership" was announced. India is seen as keen to boost ties with Egypt partly to secure trade through the Suez Canal. Modi, a Hindu nationalist, has rarely made public visits to mosques as prime minister.

Persons: Abdel Fattah El, Narendra Modi, Modi, Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Al Hakim, Mohamed Waly, Rajesh, Jyoti Narayan, Shivani, Aidan Lewis, Ros Russell Organizations: Indian, REUTERS, Global, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Cairo, Egypt, REUTERS CAIRO, India, Sisi, Suez, Gujarat

☆ Fighting surges in Sudan's capital as three-day ceasefire expires
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, June 21 (Reuters) - Heavy clashes broke out between rival military factions in several parts of Sudan's capital on Wednesday as a 72-hour ceasefire that saw several reports of violations expired, witnesses said. Shortly before the truce ended at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) fighting was reported in all three of the cities that make up the wider capital around the confluence of the Nile: Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman. They reported artillery fire and heavy clashes in Omdurman and ground fighting in southern Khartoum. Residents also reported clashes near an army camp in South Kordofan State, where a large rebel force that is not clearly aligned with either of the factions fighting in Khartoum has been mobilising. The ceasefire was the latest of several truce deals brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States at talks in Jeddah.

Persons: Witnesses, autocrat Omar al, Bashir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Gerry Doyle, Alex Richardson Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Residents, U.S ., Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Nile, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Sudan's, Darfur, South Kordofan State, Saudi Arabia, United States, Jeddah, U.S, Sudan

"It was a collective decision of the people of El Geneina to leave", one resident told MSF from Chad. "Most of them fled on foot heading northeast of El Geneina but many of them were killed on this route." RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said on Tuesday his force would investigate events in El Geneina. Sultan Saad Bahreldin, leader of the Masalit tribe, the largest bloc of El Geneina residents, said there had been "systematic" killing in recent days. Villages on the road from El Geneina to Adre used to be Masalit, but had been settled by Arab tribes since 2003, Ibrahim said.

Persons: El Geneina, Ibrahim, El, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Sultan Saad Bahreldin, Adre, Al Hadath, Eyewitnesses, Abdel Nasser Abdullah, Black, Nafisa Eltahir, Maggie Michael, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Medical, MSF, Sunday, Thomson Locations: El Geneina, CAIRO, Darfur, Chad, Khartoum, Adre, El, West Darfur, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Cairo, Dubai

"Without strong international support, Sudan could quickly become a locus of lawlessness, radiating insecurity across the region," Guterres told a fundraising conference hosted by Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations. "I appeal to you all today to provide funding to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid and support to people living in the most difficult and dangerous conditions," Guterres said. Germany announced on Monday that it was pledging 200 million euros to Sudan and the region until 2024, the United States pledged $171 million, and Qatar pledged $50 million. Before the donor conference, a U.N. appeal for $2.57 billion for humanitarian support within Sudan this year was about 17% funded, a U.N. website showed. More than half of that came from the United States, with the European Commission in second place with about 10% of the total.

Persons: Saba Kareem, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Volker Turk, Turk, Geneva Hassan Hamid Hassan, Filippo Grandi, Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher Organizations: Baghdad International, REUTERS, GENEVA, United Nations, United, Rapid Support Forces, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Sudan, Iraqi, Baghdad, Iraq, Khartoum, Darfur, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, United States, Jeddah, West Darfur, Geneva, Kuwait, Dubai

☆ Bulldozers tear into Cairo's historic Islamic cemeteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Hatem Maher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A view shows the City of the Dead, where tombs and historic cemeteries have been demolished due to a new construction project underway on the Salah Salem road, in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt, June 13, 2023. Known as the City of the Dead, the cemeteries along the eastern edge of Historic Cairo have been a resting place for Egypt's deceased since the arrival of Islam in the seventh century A.D. Some tomb owners who want to transfer the bodies of their family members say they are given little time beforehand. But only 102 sites among more than 2.5 million tombs in the area have received this designation, conservationists say. "I imagine that in five years' time, we won't find anything except maybe 20% of the current City of the Dead," Lafi said.

Persons: Salah, Hadeer Mahmoud, Sisi, Egypt's, Hisham Kassem, Abdel Fattah al, Ahmed Urabi, Hossam Abdel Azeem, Amr ibn, Moaaz, Lafi, Patrick Werr, Aidan Lewis, Emma Rumney Organizations: REUTERS, UNESCO, Thomson Locations: Salah Salem, Cairo, Egypt, CAIRO, Historic Cairo, el

☆ Start of truce period brings lull in fighting to Sudan's capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Several previous truces have failed to stop the fighting. In the hours before the truce period began witnesses reported clashes and air strikes in several areas of Khartoum and Omdurman, one of two adjoining cities that make up the wider capital at the confluence of the River Nile. It has also appealed for nearly $500 million for the refugee crisis caused by the conflict. More than 500,000 people have fled into countries neighbouring Sudan, in addition to nearly 1.7 million who have been internally displaced. Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Salaheldin Ahmed, autocrat Omar al, Bashir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Monday DUBAI, Rapid Support Forces, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Khartoum, Saudi, U.S, Darfur, Sudan, Omdurman, Saudi Arabia, United States, Jeddah, Germany, Qatar, Egypt

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