The United Nations Security Council has renewed the mandate of its mission in the Darfur region of Sudan for another 12 months.
Council members made the decision Friday, a day before the current mandate was due to end.
They demanded that the parties involved in the conflict immediately end the fighting as well as attacks on civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel.
The Security Council heard a report earlier this week from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that fighting has intensified between rebel groups and the Sudanese government.
May was the most fatal month in Darfur since the U.N. mission deployed there three years ago, and violent incidents in recent months have surpassed the bloodshed in the same period last year, members said.
Egyptair has announced it will launch a new route to south Sudan next month, as the state-owned airline seeks to expand its African network, Reuters has reported. The airline will fly twice a week to the southern capital Juba starting August 6, adding to its 26 flights a week to Khartoum. "We have ambitious expansion plans and we will continue to seek new destinations in Africa and increase the frequency of flights," Captain Alaa Ashour, chairman of the airline said.
When Transnational Bank, a local financial institution, instructed an international bank to process payment for a sugar consignment from Sudan, the global institution raised the red flag effectively stopping the payment.
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