ANKARA — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on Saturday that Türkiye has decided to relocate its embassy in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, to Port Sudan, in response to an earlier incident where the Turkish ambassador’s vehicle was targeted by gunfire.

“For the safety of our embassy and our colleagues, we decided to move our embassy to Port Sudan,” Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the semi-official Anadolu Agency.

Turkish Ambassador Ismail Cobanoglu had discussed the issue with both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and informed them about the relocation plans, the Turkish minister added.

The decision was made after the official vehicle of the Turkish ambassador was under gunfire hit on Saturday, while no one was wounded in the accident and the vehicle sustained damage. (Türkiye-Embassy-Sudan-Relocation)

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KHARTOUM — Commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Saturday called for a ceasefire to facilitate the opening of humanitarian passages.

“We praise the regional and international efforts, and we hope to reach a cease-fire that facilitates the opening of humanitarian corridors to enable the citizens to obtain basic services,” Dagalo tweeted on Saturday.

“We welcome the joint statement by Saudi Arabia and the United States regarding the beginning of talks between the Sudanese parties in Jeddah city,” he said.

The commander stressed his adherence to the establishment of a civilian transitional government for instituting a sustainable democratic transition that would achieve the people’s aspiration for security, stability, and development. (RSF-Sudan-Ceasefire)

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CAIRO — Fitch Ratings has downgraded Egypt’s sovereign credit rating to B from B+, its outlook for the most populous Arab country remains negative.

Fitch’s rating is now on par with S&P Global Ratings, which lowered Egypt’s credit outlook to “negative” last month.

The move, according to Fitch in its statement on Friday, comes against a background of high uncertainty on the exchange-rate trajectory and reduced external liquidity buffer.

Egypt has been struggling to contain rising inflation over the past year, amid a shortage of foreign currency caused by the global economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. (Egypt-Fitch-Rating-Downgrade)

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ADEN, Yemen — Clashes broke out on Saturday between government forces and Houthi militia in Yemen’s southwestern governorate of Taiz, resulting in multiple casualties, a government military official said to Xinhua.

The conflict, which lasted for several hours, was triggered by an attempted infiltration by Houthi fighters into positions held by Yemeni government forces on the eastern outskirts of Taiz province, stated the local military source, who requested anonymity.

The government forces successfully repelled the Houthi assault, resulting in the death of four Houthi fighters and injuries to five others, the official confirmed, adding that two soldiers from the government side lost their lives during the fighting.

The Houthi group has yet to respond to the conflict. (Yemen-Houthis-Conflicts)