Region

KHARTOUM — Sudan's prime minister has invited his Egyptian and Ethiopian counterparts to a closed meeting to discuss the long-running dispute over Addis Ababa's mega-dam on the Blue Nile, his office said.

Last week, talks involving the three countries hosted by the African Union chair, Congo, failed to reach a binding agreement over the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the filling of its vast reservoir.

Ever since construction began in 2011, Egypt has regarded the dam as an existential threat to its water supplies, while Khartoum fears its own dams would be harmed if Ethiopia fills the reservoir without a deal.

"Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok invited his Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouli and Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed to a summit within 10 days to evaluate the negotiations regarding GERD," the premier's office said in a statement late Tuesday.

It said Hamdok expressed concern the dam's construction had reached an advanced stage, making "reaching a deal before the start of operation an urgent and pressing matter".

The statement said the planned summit will be held by videoconference.

Last week, Ethiopia offered to share data with Egypt and Sudan, but the proposal was rejected by Khartoum and Cairo which complained of “fallacies” in the figures and an “unacceptable tendency” by Addis Ababa to take unilateral steps.

Ethiopia insists the power produced by the huge hydro-electric project is indispensable for its development.

But Egypt and Sudan have been pushing for a binding agreement before Ethiopia completes the filling of the dam’s vast reservoir which it began last year.

The tensions over the dam come as Sudan’s relations with Egypt warm while its relations with Ethiopia have been hit by a dispute over the use of farmland near the common border.

BEIRUT — Visiting US envoy David Hale on Wednesday pressed Lebanese leaders to form a new government and implement reforms badly needed to stave off a spiralling economic crisis.

“America and its international partners are greatly concerned with the failure here to advance the critical reform agenda long demanded by the Lebanese people,” Hale said.

“Very little progress has been made,” he told a press conference after meeting parliament speaker Nabih Berri.

Hale arrived on Wednesday for a two-day trip during which he was expected to meet several top officials, including President Michel Aoun on Thursday.

This is Hale’s second visit to Lebanon since an enormous explosion at Beirut’s port on August 4 killed more than 200 people, laid waste to much of the capital and forced the Cabinet of outgoing premier Hassan Diab to resign.

The devastating blast compounded Lebanon’s worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, but political leaders have yet to agree on a new government despite mounting financial woes.

International donors have conditioned aid on the implementation of a spate of reforms, including budget cuts, changes in the banking and electricity sectors and the restructuring of the country’s debt pile.

“It is time now to call on Lebanese leaders to show sufficient flexibility to form a government that is willing and capable of true and fundamental reform,” Hale said.

“That’s the only path out of the crisis.”

Half of the population is now living below the poverty line and people have suffered amid rampant inflation.

The Lebanese pound, officially pegged to the dollar at 1,500 Lebanese pounds, sells for more than 12,000 to the greenback on the black market.

Hale described the crisis as “the culmination of decades of mismanagement, corruption and the failure of Lebanese leaders to put the interests of the country first”.

ANKARA — Turkey’s foreign minister hailed the start of “a new era” with Egypt as Ankara pushes ahead with normalising relations with Cairo, local media reported on Wednesday.

Turkey and Egypt broke off relations after the 2013 overthrow of ex-Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was supported by Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

That year Turkey and Egypt expelled each others’ ambassadors and froze their relations.

Turkish officials said last month Ankara had established the first diplomatic contacts with Cairo since 2013 as part of wider efforts to fix ties with other Middle Eastern rivals.

“A new era is beginning,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by NTV broadcaster.

He said there would be a meeting between the two countries’ deputy foreign ministers and diplomats but a date had not yet been set.

Cavusoglu told Turkish reporters that the appointment of ambassadors “will come up on the agenda” during those talks.

When asked, the minister also indicated there would be meetings between himself and his Egyptian counterpart.

“Why not. There can be reciprocal visits and meetings, too,” Cavusoglu said.

Last month, members of Egypt’s Istanbul-based opposition media said Turkish officials had asked them to “tone down” criticism of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.

The request appeared to be an attempt by Turkey to curry favour with Egypt in a bid to mend relations.

JAKARTA — Surging coronavirus cases in many parts of the world overshadowed the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Tuesday, with festivities curtailed by contagion fears.

Europe, the worst-hit continent, passed the threshold of one million coronavirus deaths, while South Asian countries battle a spiralling outbreak of the disease that has crippled the global economy.

Vaccination drives are giving hope to people fed up with restrictions that are well into a second year, and India — which is experiencing a record surge in cases — was given a boost as it authorised Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 drug.

The total number of virus deaths is approaching three million, according to an AFP tally of official data, as the World Health Organisation warned infections are rising exponentially despite efforts aimed at stopping them.

From Indonesia to Egypt, many Muslims around the world started Ramadan after religious leaders confirmed the month of fasting would begin on Tuesday, many facing virus restrictions.

‘I am so happy’ 

Jakarta’s newly renovated Istiqlal Mosque — southeast Asia’s largest — welcomed worshippers for the first time on Monday night after more than a year of closure because of the pandemic.

Mohamad Fathi, a resident of the Indonesian capital, told AFP this year’s Ramadan was happier than in 2020, when people were banned from taking part in tarawih (evening) prayers.

“Last year it was gloomy as we were not allowed to go to the mosque for tarawih prayers,” he said.

“But this year, I am so happy finally we can go to the mosque to perform tarawih prayers at the mosque although we are under strict health protocol during the prayer.”

The government of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation has imposed limits, with mosques only able to host people at a maximum of 50 per cent capacity. Worshippers are required to wear masks and bring their own prayer mats.

Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest shrines, announced that the holy fasting month was to start on Tuesday, though authorities said only people inoculated against COVID-19 will be allowed to perform the year-round umrah pilgrimage from the start of Ramadan.

In Egypt, restrictions were much less stringent than last year as people took to the streets to mark the start of the fasting month.

India gets Sputnik 

Pakistanis will only begin fasting on Wednesday after rival moon-sighting committees agreed to a nationally applied start of what is called “Ramazan” in the country.

With the country in the grip of a third wave of the coronavirus — the deadliest so far — the government urged mosques to only allow prayers in open courtyards and to strictly enforce social distancing to avoid the same spike in cases which followed last year’s Ramadan.

But shoppers thronged markets Tuesday ahead of fasting, sparking anxiety among some.

“We have been pleading with people to wear masks and keep their distance but it seems too much for them... people are still not ready to accept that there is a virus and we are going through a pandemic,” said Zubair Mehmood, a shopkeeper in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.

In neighbouring India — home to 1.3 billion people — health officials have been battling a huge surge in cases in recent weeks that has prompted night curfews and a clampdown on movement and activities.

The country on Monday reported more than 161,000 new cases — the seventh-consecutive day that more than 100,000 infections have been recorded.

BEIRUT — A coalition of Lebanese civil society groups and parties called Tuesday for a unified electoral bloc to try to defeat traditional leaders in 2022 polls.

The joint appeal by 16 groups, including the National Bloc, Beirut Madinati and Mintishreen, marks the most concerted effort yet towards forming an opposition umbrella to take on the ruling elite in parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2022.

"We are calling on all forces of change and the different revolutionary groups... to unify their ranks and work together towards forming the widest possible opposition bloc," spokesperson Nada Sehnaoui said.

"Together, we will develop a joint plan for our participation in parliamentary polls through joint opposition lists," she told a Beirut press conference held at the National Bloc's headquarters.

The groups taking part so far have mostly coalesced around a 2019 protest movement demanding the wholesale removal of political leaders widely deemed inept and corrupt.

They will run against established parties, many of which have been in power since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The coronavirus pandemic and last year’s monster explosion at Beirut port that killed more than 200 people drained much of Lebanon’s revolutionary momentum.

But anger is still rife over an economic crisis that has left more than 50 per cent of the population below the poverty line.

The Lebanese pound has lost more than 85 per cent of its value against the dollar in a devaluation that has eaten away at salaries and savings.

Consumer prices have skyrocketed and more people now depend on handouts and aid deliveries to survive.

“We don’t have time to waste,” Sehnaoui said.

“Hunger is stalking the vast majority of our people and the fate of our country is at stake.”

ISTANBUL — Turkey said on Tuesday it will host an international peace conference on Afghanistan from April 24 to May 4, in a bid to jump-start faltering negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan government.

The Istanbul meeting will come as the new US administration of President Joe Biden assesses its ability to meet his predecessor Donald Trump’s commitment to withdraw all foreign troops from the war-torn country by May 1.

However, the Taliban when contacted said the group had still not completed internal consultations over whether to attend the conference.

The US is trying to add urgency to long-stalled peace talks that could finally see it end a military involvement in Afghanistan that began in response to the 2001 terror attacks on Washington and New York.

“The overriding objective of the Istanbul Conference on the Afghanistan Peace Process is to accelerate and complement the ongoing intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha on the achievement of a just and durable political settlement,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The conference will focus on helping the negotiating parties reach a set of shared, foundational principles that reflect an agreed vision for a future Afghanistan, a roadmap to a future political settlement and an end to the conflict.”

The conference is being co-sponsored by the United Nations and Qatar.

The Turkish foreign ministry said the talks would be between representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban.

But Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told AFP: “We have not made a final decision in this regard.”

“The date cannot be set as long as we have not finalised our consultations [for the conference].”

Media reports had initially suggested the talks could begin on Friday.

A leaked US State Department report said Washington wanted the Turkey conference to approve a plan to replace the present leadership of President Ashraf Ghani with an interim government involving the Taliban.

‘Consequences’ 

The Islamist insurgents have already warned there would be “consequences” if Washington fails to meet the May 1 withdrawal deadline — a goal Biden described as “tough”.

Official Afghan sources said last week that Ghani intends to present a three-stage plan at the Istanbul talks.

The first step involves reaching a political settlement with the Taliban and announcing an internationally monitored ceasefire.

He then proposes holding an early presidential election in which the Taliban could take part to form a “government of peace”.

That would lead to a slew of development programmes across the war-scarred country and work on a new constitutional framework.

Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation — a separate negotiating body tasked with leading the overall peace process — is drafting its own proposal to be present at Istanbul after consulting different political parties and civil society members.

Even as diplomatic moves intensify ahead of the Turkey meeting, fighting between government forces and insurgents has surged, with both sides claiming to have inflicted heavy casualties.

ADEN — Some 160 Ethiopians stranded in war-torn Yemen were flown home Tuesday, after a spate of tragedies involving people from the Horn of Africa trying to travel to and from oil-rich Gulf countries.

In recent weeks, dozens of migrants have died in the Bab Al Mandeb Strait, which separates Djibouti from Yemen and is a key passage for international trade but also for trafficking and illegal migration.

“One hundred and sixty Ethiopian migrants have returned home safely from Yemen,” said the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which worked with authorities in the southern city of Aden to transport the group.

The UN agency said in a statement that more than 32,000 migrants, mainly from Ethiopia, were still stuck in the country.

“The conditions of migrants stranded in Yemen has become so tragic that many feel they have no option but to rely on smugglers to return home,” said Jeffrey Labovitz, the IOM’s director for operations and emergencies.

Since May 2020, more than 11,000 migrants have returned to the Horn of Africa “on dangerous boat journeys, aided by unscrupulous smugglers”, the UN agency said.

Migrants travel to Yemen in the hope of reaching Saudi Arabia and Gulf states, whose booming economies rely on the labour of millions of poor foreigners.

They often find themselves stuck in Yemen, a country engulfed in war and in the grip of what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

“Those travelling on the flight today are lucky that they had a safe option available to them,” said Olivia Headon, IOM spokeswoman for Yemen.

“We need governments to come together along this migrant route to help us increase the number of people who can get home safely,” she told AFP.

At least 42 migrants died off Djibouti on Monday after their boat capsized on its way from Yemen, according to an updated IOM toll.

In October 2020, at least eight Ethiopian migrants died in similar circumstances in an attempt to reach Djibouti.

And in early March, 20 migrants died while trying to reach Yemen and travel onto Gulf nations.

LIBREVILLE — Recent clashes between tribes in Sudan’s West Darfur region have sent more than 1,800 people fleeing across the border into Chad over the past week according to the UN refugee agency.

The majority of refugees are women, children and senior citizens who have fled villages near the border since violence erupted on April 3, said Babar Baloch, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Some refugees have been forced to relocate several times after similar clashes killed more than 200 people two weeks after a joint peace mission to the region by the UN and the African Union ended in January.

“The refugees arriving in Chad talk of the destruction of their homes and possessions and targeted attacks on refugee sites,” Baloch said in a statement, describing conditions in eastern Chad as “disastrous”.

“Families are living in the open air or are sheltering under trees or in makeshift huts,” he said.

“They have almost no protection against the elements in a region where temperatures regularly reach 40ºC during the day,” he said.

The vast Darfur region was previously ravaged by a civil war that erupted in 2003, leaving around 300,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced, according to the United Nations.

A UN spokesperson told reporters on Friday that the latest bout of violence erupted between Massalit and Arab tribes in the West Darfur state capital El Geneina when assailants shot dead two men of the Massalit tribe.

In response, armed elements from both sides mobilised.

The Massalit are mainly farmers, while the Arab tribes are mainly herders, with the violence and divisions rooted in disputes over land, pasture and water resources, according to the UN.

The UN said it was “appalled” by the resurgence of violence, saying all tribes responsible for the bloodshed must be disarmed, with the Human Rights Office calling for independent investigations.