The hustle and bustle of buyers and sellers has returned to Khartoum's central market, but "it's nothing like before", fruit vendor Hashim Mohamed told AFP, streets away from where war first broke out nearly three years ago.

On April 15, 2023, central Khartoum awoke to battles between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who had been allies since 2021, when they ousted civilians from a short-lived transitional government.

Their war has since killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.

By Tamara Vaal

ASTANA, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will join the "Board of Peace" proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump after accepting an invitation to do so and wants to contribute to bringing about a stable Middle East peace, his spokesperson said on Monday.

The board would be chaired for life by Trump and would start by addressing the Gaza conflict and then be expanded to deal with other conflicts, according to a copy of the letter and draft charter seen by Reuters.

Thousands in the United States staged large demonstrations Sunday denouncing the Iranian government's deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters in the Islamic Republic.

Several thousand people marched in Los Angeles, home to the world's largest Iranian diaspora, while several hundred others gathered in New York, AFP journalists in both cities reported.

US protesters could be seen carrying signs condemning a "New Holocaust," a "genocide in the making," and the "terror" of the Iranian government.

BERLIN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa has cancelled his visit to Berlin on Monday and Tuesday, a German government spokesperson told Reuters.

Al-Sharaa had been scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Talks with German business leaders were also planned.

A ceasefire was agreed on Sunday after days of fierce clashes between Syrian government troops and U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Alexander Smith)

NEW DELHI, Jan 18 (Reuters) - India has received an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to join his "Board of Peace" initiative that is aimed at resolving global conflicts, beginning with Gaza, a senior Indian government official said on Sunday.

It was not clear whether India would join the initiative. Its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CAIRO, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The Syrian government and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have agreed on an immediate ceasefire on all fronts, Syrian state media reported on Sunday, after days of fighting as the army advanced into Kurdish-held territories in the northeast.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Ahmed Tolba, Editing by Louise Heavens)

By John Irish and Andreas Rinke

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Governments reacted cautiously on Sunday to U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation to join his "Board of Peace" initiative aimed at resolving conflicts globally, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations.

Only Hungary, whose leader is a close Trump ally, gave an unequivocal acceptance in response to the invitations, which have been addressed to some 60 nations and began arriving in European capitals on Saturday, according to diplomats.

By Mahmoud Hasano and Khalil Ashawi

TABQA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Syrian government troops are pushing towards Raqqa and Hasakah in the northeast of the country, the last strongholds of the U.S.-backed autonomous Kurdish-led administration, government officials and security sources said on Sunday.

They had earlier taken control of the Deir al-Zor's main oil and gas fields east of the Euphrates River — a key source of revenue for the Kurdish-led forces — dealing a major blow to the group.

By Feras Dalatey

DAMASCUS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. should intervene more forcefully to end a Syrian offensive that has gained key territory from Kurdish fighters in recent days, the head of the main Kurdish forces told Reuters.

Government troops launched an offensive on Saturday into territory run for the last decade by semi-autonomous Kurdish authorities in the northeast of Syria, capturing towns on both sides of the Euphrates River as well asthe country's largest oilfield and a gas field, officials and security sources said.