The Minister of Information in charge of the disputed Abyei region on the border between Sudan and South Sudan, John Akol Ngor, said that at least 73 people were killed yesterday (Monday), after drones targeted a market in the region, accusing the Sudanese army of carrying out the attack.
The minister did not provide evidence to support his accusation. Abyei is an oil-rich region under joint administration between South Sudan and Sudan, and each of them claims sovereignty over it. The region witnesses regular waves of violence, and clashes often break out between competing ethnic groups or armed factions, according to the Reuters news agency.
Akol Ngor told the agency today (Tuesday): “About 73 people were killed, and 19 others were injured... The Sudanese Armed Forces launched a number of drones yesterday.”
Over the past year, the Bangladeshi army reported that at least six of its peacekeepers were killed and eight others were injured in a drone attack launched by armed separatist groups on a United Nations base in the Abyei region.
The South Sudan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, in a statement issued late yesterday (Monday), that drones targeted a market located north of the city of Abyei, without specifying the number of civilian casualties who fell as a result of the attack. The ministry added that it summoned the Sudanese ambassador to inform him of “the government’s strong protest and deep concern about the attack and its repercussions on the security of civilians and the stability of the Abyei region.”
Doctors Without Borders said in a statement that it was treating more than 20 wounded people at the nearby Amith Peak Hospital. Christian Lindauer, Director of Medical Activities at Doctors Without Borders at the hospital, explained: “So far, we have received more than 20 injured people, including critical cases, and we have also received burn patients.”
Since April 2023, Sudan has been suffering from the brunt of a war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The conflict, which attracted local armed groups and external forces, led to widespread destruction in large parts of the country, and caused what the United Nations described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
The Egyptian House of Representatives (Parliament) decided to extend discussions regarding President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s authorization to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia militarily until next week, which observers interpreted as “the desire for further clarification regarding the nature of the Egyptian move.”
Last Saturday, the Egyptian President asked Parliament to hold an emergency session to authorize the defense of the Gulf states “if Cairo is requested to do so,” stressing that his country “is ready to implement any measure requested by Saudi Arabia to protect its security.” This was followed by two sessions of the House of Representatives over the course of Sunday and Monday, to discuss the issue.
At the end of yesterday's session, Monday, Egyptian Parliament Speaker Hisham Badawi decided to adjourn the sessions until eleven o'clock next Monday, to complete discussions regarding authorizing President Sisi to take the necessary measures to support the Kingdom.
Parliamentary sources attributed the decision to extend the discussions to the large number of requests to speak from MPs. The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat, “The discussions over the two days witnessed broad support for the Kingdom, with several requests to clarify the nature of the support provided to Saudi Arabia, and the form of the Egyptian move to defend its security and stability.”
She added: “In light of hundreds of requests received from representatives to speak, and given the nature of the topic, it was decided to extend the discussions until next week to obtain further clarifications.”
This was confirmed by former Egyptian Senator Dr. Abdel Moneim Saeed, who told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Given the importance of the issue and the details it entails, it was natural for discussions on it to be extended in the House of Representatives.”
He added: “All aspects of the issue must be discussed, starting with the nature of the Egyptian move to support the Kingdom defensively, through to its repercussions and costs,” noting that “the issue enjoys broad Egyptian support; “Given the impact it poses on Egyptian national security, which cannot be separated from Gulf security.”
He explained: “Any move to support the Kingdom must meet the constitutional aspects, hence the demand for Parliament to discuss the issue and ratify it.”
Article 152 of the Egyptian Constitution stipulates that “The President of the Republic is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. He does not declare war, nor send the armed forces on a combat mission outside the borders of the state, except after taking the opinion of the National Defense Council and the approval of the House of Representatives by a two-thirds majority of the members.” It adds that “if the House of Representatives is not in place, the opinion of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces must be taken, and the approval of both the Council of Ministers and the National Defense Council must be taken.”
After a meeting chaired by Sisi on Sunday, the Egyptian National Defense Council decided to “stand fully and in full solidarity with Saudi Arabia, and provide all necessary and possible forms of support to the Kingdom to defend its security and stability, and to preserve its capabilities, the integrity of its lands, and Islamic holy sites.”
He stressed, according to an official statement by the Egyptian presidential spokesman, “continuing and intensifying the political and diplomatic efforts made, in coordination with the relevant regional and international parties, in a way that contributes to reducing the escalation in the entire region and settling the crises that the region is witnessing peacefully.”
Political parties and representatives interacted with the issue, affirming their support for the Kingdom. The Egyptian Wafd Party announced in a statement on Sunday evening its approval of President Sisi’s mandate to take the necessary measures to support and defend Saudi Arabia, and said, “The security of the Kingdom and the security of the Red Sea, as well as the security of the Arabia overlooking it, is closely linked to Egyptian and Arab national security.”
The Congress Party also announced, in a statement, that its parliamentary body in the House of Representatives was assigned to vote to approve President Sisi’s request regarding his authorization to take measures for military intervention and defense of the Kingdom if Saudi Arabia requests that, stressing that “protecting Egyptian national security, preserving the state’s capabilities, and preserving its stability, represent national constants that are not subject to bargaining.”
The Justice Party also directed its parliamentary body to vote to approve President Sisi’s request, “confirming the party’s position in support of Egyptian national security and preserving the strategic interests of the state,” according to a party statement.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi confirmed that the state “is waging a struggle against the attempt to destroy Egypt’s role,” stressing “the importance of awareness and confronting attempts to destroy national memory, especially on social media sites.”
Sisi’s words came during his opening, on Monday, of the work of the “Egypt 2026 Forum,” which the authorities say is to present the government’s statement of account and what it has achieved, and to receive citizens’ suggestions and questions, while observers are counting on the implementation of the recommendations that the forum will adopt at the conclusion of its sessions.
Al-Sisi said in the first session of the forum, which runs until October 24, that “preparing for this forum, the priority was to provide accurate and complete data on the part of the government, listen to all opinions and discuss them, and accept any criticism in this context,” reiterating “stressing the importance of awareness and confronting attempts to destroy national memory, especially on social media sites.”
Al-Sisi stressed that “these attempts were taking place in the period preceding 2014, and that attempts to influence a country with a large and pivotal population, and attempts to marginalize or destroy its role will not end,” describing it as “a conflict waged by the state and its people.”
According to a statement by the Egyptian Presidency, Al-Sisi stressed that “his repeated talk about the events of 2011 aims to summon memory and awareness, and to emphasize the importance of preserving the Egyptian state, especially for children and youth who did not live through this stage, and that differences in visions are permissible, but there is a line that cannot be crossed, which is preserving the state.”
At a time when the issue of education was the most prominent issue of the forum, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly spoke, saying that the forum includes government ministers, governors, heads of affiliated bodies and bodies, civil society, experts, academics, specialists, thinkers, public figures, politicians, opponents as well, and citizens of all sects and groups.
He added that the forum is an opportunity to present everything that was achieved over the course of 12 years - the period of Sisi’s rule - in the process of construction and development for Egypt in light of unprecedented circumstances and challenges that Egypt faced, and that the world went through and is currently going through.
He continued, saying: “When we talk about the process of construction and development, we do not only present achievements, of which many have been achieved, but we present them within the framework of listening and responding to the visions, concerns, criticisms and proposals of civil society and citizens.”
Advisor to the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Dr. Amr Hashim Rabie, believes that the forum is being held at a critical time when the Egyptian street is preoccupied with two issues: “Sisi’s talk about his successor in power, as well as Egypt’s military support for Saudi Arabia, which are the current topics in Egypt.”
He added: “But the president’s speech and then his sponsorship and attendance at a forum in which the government presents what resembles an account statement to the people is a positive thing. It is important that public opinion and the people be a watchdog on the government’s performance and not just Parliament.”
Two days ago, Al-Sisi confirmed on two different occasions that he would not remain in power after the end of his current term in 2030, announcing an initiative related to new conditions for who could run after him to succeed Egypt, and he said: “No biased or criminal will come to rule the country.”
According to Hashem Rabie’s interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, “the most important thing is that the recommendations that the forum comes out of are actually implemented.”
He pointed out “the importance of education and that it is good for it to take the lead in the forum, but people’s preoccupation with prices, economic crises, the future of the situation in the country and the challenges that threaten it must precede education directly.”
In his speech, Al-Sisi called on “all citizens to focus during the forum’s work on the details and data that will be presented due to their impact on them,” noting that “the government will present during the forum’s sessions what it did during the previous period, the situation in the event of not taking the measures and steps that have been taken, and what is expected in the future.”
Since Sisi announced the preparations for the forum last August, the government has launched its own online platform entitled “Egypt Forum 2026” to receive proposals and announce the terms of preparation and its agenda, but it did not include a field for requesting participation in it.
Egypt previously held the so-called National Dialogue, which is a political, social and economic initiative called for by Sisi on April 26, 2022. Its actual sessions began on May 3, 2023, under the supervision of the National Training Academy. The sessions extended intermittently for about two years, and the most prominent recommendations that came out of the National Dialogue and were implemented were the release of some prisoners of conscience.
