AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.4%)
AIRLINK 129.53 Decreased By ▼ -2.20 (-1.67%)
BOP 6.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.15%)
CNERGY 4.63 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.58%)
DCL 8.94 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.36%)
DFML 41.69 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (2.66%)
DGKC 83.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.37%)
FCCL 32.77 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (1.33%)
FFBL 75.47 Increased By ▲ 6.86 (10%)
FFL 11.47 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.06%)
HUBC 110.55 Decreased By ▼ -1.21 (-1.08%)
HUMNL 14.56 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (1.75%)
KEL 5.39 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (3.26%)
KOSM 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-6.46%)
MLCF 39.79 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.91%)
NBP 60.29 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
OGDC 199.66 Increased By ▲ 4.72 (2.42%)
PAEL 26.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.15%)
PIBTL 7.66 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.41%)
PPL 157.92 Increased By ▲ 2.15 (1.38%)
PRL 26.73 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.19%)
PTC 18.46 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.87%)
SEARL 82.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-0.7%)
TELE 8.31 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.97%)
TOMCL 34.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.12%)
TPLP 9.06 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.84%)
TREET 17.47 Increased By ▲ 0.77 (4.61%)
TRG 61.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.13 (-1.81%)
UNITY 27.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.38 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (7.81%)
BR100 10,407 Increased By 220 (2.16%)
BR30 31,713 Increased By 377.1 (1.2%)
KSE100 97,328 Increased By 1781.9 (1.86%)
KSE30 30,192 Increased By 614.4 (2.08%)

A top Sudanese general vowed to back regional ally Saudi Arabia against "all threats and attacks" from Iran during talks with the kingdom's crown prince, Sudan's military council said Friday. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy chief of Sudan's transitional military council, met with Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, the official Saudi Press Agency reported earlier in the day.
"Sudan is standing with the kingdom against all threats and attacks from Iran and Huthi militias," Dagalo, widely known as Himeidti, told the crown prince during their meeting, the council said in a statement. A Saudi-led military coalition, which includes Sudan, backs an internationally recognised government against the Iran-aligned Huthi rebel group in Yemen's conflict. Himeidti also said the military council would continue deploying Sudanese troops to Yemen as part of the coalition.
It was Dagalo's first international trip since Sudan's army generals took power after they backed protesters in ousting longtime-president Omar al-Bashir last month. The statement, the council's first major foreign policy announcement, represents a continuation of the deposed leader's policy.
Bashir deployed troops to Yemen in 2015 as part of a major foreign policy shift that saw Khartoum break its decades-old ties with Iran and switch to supporting Tehran's main regional rival Saudi Arabia. "The Sudanese forces will remain in Yemen to defend the security of Saudi Arabia," Himeidti said, according to the statement.
Hundreds of Sudanese soldiers and officers are fighting in Yemen and have often suffered casualties, spurring calls at home for withdrawal. Sudanese media reports claim that many of the troops deployed in Yemen are from the Rapid Support Force (RSF) paramilitary group, which is led by Himeidti and is now part of the regular army.
Days after Bashir was ousted, oil-rich Gulf states Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged to inject $500 million into Sudan's central bank and $2.5 billion to help provide food, medicine and petroleum products. They said the move was aimed at shoring up the Sudanese pound.
In recent years Sudan has been hit by an acute lack of dollars, a key factor behind the nationwide protests that first erupted in December and led to Bashir's political demise. Both Gulf nations have voiced backing for Sudan's military rulers, who face calls from protesters and Western powers to cede power to a civilian transitional government.
Protesters remain camped outside the army headquarters in central Khartoum, demanding that the generals step down. "We will not give up any of our rights ... we do not care if he (Himeidti) follows the Saudi agenda or even the Egyptian agenda," protester Omar Ibrahim told AFP after offering Friday prayers at the sit-in. "We only want a civilian government and if they (the generals) refuse we will go for civil disobedience and a general strike."
Talks between protest leaders and generals have stalled over forming a new ruling body that would be tasked with installing a civilian government. The generals insist it should be led by a military officer and protest leaders demand it be headed by a civilian. On Thursday, protest leaders said they would seek advice from demonstrators on how to break the talks deadlock. They have also threatened a general strike, but no date for such a strike has been announced.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019

Comments

Comments are closed.