TRIPOLI/ANKARA -- Libya held official ceremonies on Saturday to receive the bodies of its late army chief of staff Mohammed al-Haddad and his companions, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye earlier this week.
The remains were flown to Tripoli International Airport, where they were received by senior Libyan officials including head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, the Libyan News Agency reported. (Libya-Türkiye-Plane Crash)
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KHARTOUM -- The Sudanese army on Saturday accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of carrying out a drone attack on the Al-Tina army base in Chad, killing two Chadian soldiers.
In a statement, the Sudanese Armed Forces General Command said it had followed "the targeting of the Al-Tina garrison inside sisterly Chad by a drone belonging to the militia," expressing condolences to the Chadian leadership, people, and the victims' families. (Sudan-Chad-Military Site Drone Attack)
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RAMALLAH/GAZA -- Israeli forces tightened restrictions on Palestinian villages in the West Bank on Saturday following a reported shooting, while Gaza health authorities updated the death toll in the enclave from the ongoing conflict to over 71,000.
In the central West Bank, Israeli forces closed the entrances to several villages near Ramallah, including Ni'lin, Bil'in and Kharbatha Bani Harith, after gunfire was reported near a military checkpoint, Palestinian security sources said, adding that the closures disrupted movement for residents of 13 villages. (West Bank-Gaza-Israeli Operation)
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RIYADH/ADEN -- Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud on Saturday warned the Southern Transitional Council (STC) to withdraw from military camps in two Yemeni governorates and hand them over to local authorities, a day after Saudi warplanes conducted warning airstrikes on STC-affiliated military sites.
It was time for the STC, at this sensitive stage, to prioritize reason, wisdom, the public interest and unity by responding to Saudi-Emirati mediation efforts, ending the escalation, withdrawing from military camps in the two governorates and handing them over peacefully to the National Shield Forces and the local authorities, the Saudi minister wrote on X. (Saudi Arabia-Yemen-Tensions) ■
