senior

Comments come days after PM Kamil Idris presented a plan to end the country’s nearly three-year war.

A senior official in Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) has ruled out any negotiations with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as fighting continues to devastate the country.

“There is no truce and no negotiation with an occupier, and that the just peace that Sudan desires will be achieved through the roadmap and vision of its people and government,” Malik Agar Ayyir, deputy chairman of TSC, said in a statement on Thursday posted by the Ministry of Culture, Media and Tourism.

Speaking to ministers and state officials in Port Sudan, the eastern city where the government is based, he dismissed the narrative that the war is aimed at achieving “democracy”. Instead, he described the war as a “conflict over resources and a desire to change Sudan’s demographics” and emphasised an opportunity to strengthen national unity.

This comes days after Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris presented a plan to end the country’s nearly three-year war before the United Nations Security Council.

Consistent with the Sudanese army and the government’s position, the plan stipulates that RSF fighters must withdraw from vast areas of land that they have taken by force in the western and central parts of Sudan.

They would then have to be placed in camps and disarmed, before those who are not implicated in war crimes can be reintegrated into society.

The RSF has repeatedly rejected the idea of giving up territory, with Al-Basha Tibiq, a top adviser to commander Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, describing it as “closer to fantasy than to politics”.

RSF reports gains

The war, which has forcibly displaced about 14 million people, shows no signs of stopping as the RSF consolidates its hold over captured territory and expands attacks.

RSF fighters have continued to commit mass killings, systematic sexual violence, and the burying and burning of bodies in Darfur to cover up the evidence of war crimes over the past several months, according to international aid agencies working on the ground.

The humanitarian situation on the ground has only turned more disastrous after the capture of el-Fasher, capital of North Darfur state, in October.

The RSF announced on Thursday that its forces established control over the Abu Qumra region in North Darfur.

They “have continued their successful advancement to the Um Buru area, where they have completely liberated these areas”, the group claimed in a statement.

Despite the mounting evidence of widespread atrocities committed in western Sudan, the RSF claimed that the primary duty of its fighters is to “protect civilians and end the presence of remnants of armed pockets and mercenary movements”.

The group also released footage of its armed fighters, who claimed they were making advances towards el-Obeid, a strategic city in North Kordofan state.

Interior Ministry says the raid killed Mohammed Shahadeh, describing him as one of ISIL’s senior commanders in Syria.

Syrian authorities say security forces have carried out a second operation against ISIL (ISIS) fighters near Damascus, killing a senior figure described as the group’s governor of Hauran.

In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Interior said the raid killed Mohammed Shahadeh, also known as Abu Omar Shaddad, calling him one of ISIL’s senior commanders in Syria and a direct threat to local security.

Officials said the operation followed verified intelligence and extensive surveillance and was carried out by specialised units, operating in the Damascus countryside, that conducted a targeted raid in the town of al-Buweida, near Qatana, southwest of the capital.

The operation also involved the General Intelligence Directorate and took place in coordination with international coalition forces, the ministry said.

‘Crippling blow’

The announcement came a day after Syrian internal security forces arrested another senior ISIL figure in a separate operation near Damascus, according to the state-run SANA news agency.

SANA reported that forces arrested Taha al-Zoubi during what it described as a “tightly executed security operation” in the Damascus countryside. The agency said officers seized “a suicide belt and a military weapon” during the arrest.

Brigadier General Ahmad al-Dalati, head of internal security in the Damascus countryside, told SANA that the raid targeted an ISIL hideout in Maadamiya, southwest of the capital.

ISIL, which considers the current authorities in Damascus illegitimate, has largely focused its remaining operations on Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria.

At the height of its power, the armed group controlled vast areas of Iraq and Syria, declaring Raqqa its capital.

Although ISIL suffered military defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, its cells continue to carry out attacks in the region and beyond, including in parts of Africa and Afghanistan.

It’s safe to say Tyler, the Creator caused an “Earfquake” at Hawthorne High School on Friday afternoon.

The graduating class at the South Bay High School gathered in the school’s auditorium for what they thought was a spirit rally. Little did they know rapper Tyler, the Creator was waiting, ready to surprise them with words of inspiration and iPad Pros.

Surrounded by screaming teenagers and a sea of recording phones, the rapper was taken back to when he was a student at the school from 2005 to 2006. He shared memories of doodling on his pants, rap battling in the courtyard and skating down El Segundo Boulevard with dreams of being famous.

“Being from this city, man — it’s kind of like a weird place, because it’s not Inglewood and it’s not Manhattan Beach, it’s just its own little world. I always would tell myself, ‘One day I’m really going to make it out of this place and make something of myself,” said the rapper from the center stage.

The event was hosted by with Apple Music, who had named the 34-year-old rapper as its artist of the year. Prior to Tyler’s appearance, the streamer brought together local vendors like Crenshaw Juice Co. and Happy Ice, a photo booth and a DJ for the seniors to enjoy.

Tyler, the Creator speaking to students at South Bay High School on Friday afternoon.

(Apple Music)

After Tyler finished his speech, senior Kennesha Sylester was one of the first students to get her iPad. She said that she knew someone was coming to surprise the class, but she had heard a rumor that it would be YouTuber Mr. Beast.

“To be honest, him revisiting the school that he attended shows he really cared for the school. Every time I look [at the iPad] I’m going to think about how I got it from Tyler, the Creator,” Sylvester said. “I admire him so much for how he expresses himself and really does whatever he wants.”

In light of Tyler’s hallmark year, he saw it fit to return to the halls where it all began and give back to the community that raised him. He attended both freshman and sophomore year at Hawthorne High School before founding the quirky hip-hop collective Odd Future. The group would be both Tyler’s introduction to the music industry and his ticket to global stardom.

Students at South Bay High School holding up iPads gifted to them by Tyler, the Creator.

(Apple Music)

Now nearly 20 years later, he’s one of rap’s biggest names. Within a year, he headlined music festivals including Governors Ball, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Osheaga, as well as his own festival Camp Flog Gnaw. He embarked on his biggest world tour yet for his eighth studio album, “Chromakopia.” While he was on the road, he simultaneously released his latest record, “Don’t Tap the Glass” over the summer, which yielded one of the biggest tracks of his career thus far, the funky earworm “Sugar on My Tongue.” Both of these projects have earned him five Grammy nominations.

Outside of music, he’s also established himself in the realm of fashion with both his streetwear brand, Golf Wang, and his luxury brand Le Fleur. This month, he’s also due to make his feature film debut in the upcoming “Marty Supreme.”

He left the senior class with one last piece of advice: “I know it sounds corny sometimes, but let me be the example. You could be whatever you want to be in this life. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Don’t let the version that you are today dictate the version that you plan on being. Rock this s—.”

Then he resumed pointing at members of the crowd, yelling, “You got an iPad,” referring to the forever viral clip of Oprah Winfrey giving out free cars.