Arabic Media

December 4, 2022

Source: Addustour (Government-friendly, Jordanian daily enjoys wide circulation)
Headline: New Clashes between Chadian Army and Rebels

• Assembly of Forces for Change told news agencies that fighting between his group and government forces restarted in Biltin area in eastern Chad
• Meanwhile, French minister of defense denied any involvement in the clashes saying “border patrol is a task carried out by Chadian forces”
• The rebel group, however, accused the French forces of flying over its positions and providing information about its fighters positions so that the Chadian military could bomb them

Source: Al Riyadh (Government-friendly Saudi daily with wide circulation)
Headline: Tom Vraalsen Resigns as Head of Commission to Monitor Peace Agreement in Sudan
By: Baleegh Hasballah

• Tom Vraalsen submitted his resignation at the end of his mission and indicated that implementation of peace agreement between North and South Sudan was very slow and focused on “easy issues” only
• He told journalists that “a close look at the relationship between the two sides reveals that they are far from being a partners”
• He added “he is not worried about the slow progress of peace agreement implementation, but about the fact that the partners are not see eye to eye and that there is no mechanism to address this issue”
• Despite that Vraalsen indicated that he “does not think the two sides would return to war” even though control of oil-rich Abiye would be a serious challenge

Source: Al Khaleej (UAE daily, with over 80,000 in circulation)
Headline: UN Security Council Envoy: American and European Propaganda Exaggerate Situation in Darfur

• New York University law professor and UN Security Council envoy to investigate Darfur atrocities Dr. Yacin Al Baatuti, who is American of Egyptian origins, warned Egyptian parliament against territorial disintegration dangers for Iraq and Sudan
• He told Egyptian parliament members that American and European propaganda was downplaying Iraq’s situation while at the same time exaggerating Darfur tragedy
• He characterized genocide charges in Darfur against Sudan as fabricated lies
• As for Sudan’s opposition to international peacekeeping force deployment, he explained that Darfur tribes themselves were opposed to it
• He concluded by saying “we face two problems regarding Darfur and Sudan: US sanctions and international criminal court’s charges against Sudanese officials” and urged the Egyptian government to support Sudan in resisting this pressure

Source: Al Jazeera (Leading Arabic News Channel, headquartered in Qatar)
Headline: American Threat and UN Warning against Darfur Hybrid Force Delay

• UN envoy Jan Eliasson warned that delayed deployment of Darfur hybrid force would destroy efforts to achieve peace in the region, and stressed that Darfur was in urgent need of some level of military presence in order to improve the security situation and to monitor any ceasefire agreement
• As for the next round of peace talks, the envoy was optimistic that Darfur rebel groups would present a common negotiating strategy and agree on negotiating teams
• Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said that UN Security Council might need to meet in the next couple of weeks to impose new sanctions against Sudan unless it accepted Darfur hybrid force
• During a conference at Columbia University, Khalilzad accused the Sudanese government of stalling and using delaying tactics to prevent the deployment of the 26,000 troops of the hybrid force

Read the above in Arabic.