Sudan's military announced Wednesday it backed a surprise meeting held between the country's leader and Israel's premier in Uganda this week, saying the opening would help boost national security.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan's ruling sovereign council, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Entebbe on Monday in a meeting that was not pre-announced.

Israel remains technically at war with Sudan, which supported hardline Islamists -- including, for a period, Al-Qaeda -- during the rule of autocrat Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted during mass protests last year.

On Tuesday, Burhan briefed the sovereign council and key ministers about his meeting, saying he met Netanyahu "to protect the national security of Sudan".

The military's support for Burhan on the matter came after top officers met at army headquarters in Khartoum.

"There was a meeting at the army headquarters today, and those present... were briefed about the visit ... and its impact on Sudan's national security," military spokesman Brigadier Amir Mohamed Al-Hassan told AFP.

"The army is in favour of this (Burhan-Netanyahu) meeting as it is in the interest of Sudan's national security."

On Wednesday, Burhan met Sudanese editors to explain why he met Israel's premier.

Burhan told the editors "the main thing that pushed him to take the decision to meet ... (Netanyahu) was to secure some key benefits for Sudan," said Hassan, without elaborating.

"He said that brave decisions were needed in order to change the current situation in Sudan, to ease the economic pressures on Sudanese people, and also to change the internal and foreign policies of Sudan."

- 'Positive direction' -

Soon after Monday's meeting in Entebbe, Netanyahu's office said the Israeli premier believed that post-Bashir Sudan was headed "in a positive direction".

It said he and Burhan had "agreed to start cooperation leading to normalisation of the relationship between the two countries".

Sudan has long been part of a decades-old official Arab boycott of Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians and occupation of Arab lands.

In the wake of the Six-Day War of 1967 in which Israel occupied the Palestinian territories and seized the Golan Heights from Syria, Arab leaders held a historic meeting in Khartoum to announce what became known as the 'three nos' -- no peace, no recognition, no negotiations with Israel.

The Palestine Liberation Organization called Burhan and Netanyahu's meeting "a stab in the back of the Palestinian people".

In a statement carried on official news agency WAFA, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Netanyahu and his US allies of "trying to liquidate the Palestinian cause".

Bashir was ousted by the army last April after months of nationwide protests against his iron fisted three-decade rule.

Sudan is now ruled by a joint military-civilian sovereign council headed by Burhan, which is tasked with overseeing the country's transition to full civilian rule.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Nigeria to receive $308m stolen by ex-dictator: US
Washington (AFP) Feb 3, 2020
Nigeria is set to receive around $308 million seized from former military dictator Sani Abacha under a deal backed by the United States and the island of Jersey, US prosecutors said Monday. The sum is the latest to be recovered from the accounts of Abacha, an army officer who ruled Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998 aged 54, which sparked an ongoing search for hundreds of millions of dollars he stole and hid abroad. The repatriation of the money from Jersey, in the English Channel off the ... read more