US Says Will Continue to Support a Civilian Government in Sudan

Sudanese army touring a Khartoum neighborhood (AFP)
Sudanese army touring a Khartoum neighborhood (AFP)
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US Says Will Continue to Support a Civilian Government in Sudan

Sudanese army touring a Khartoum neighborhood (AFP)
Sudanese army touring a Khartoum neighborhood (AFP)

The United States affirmed its support of the Sudanese people's demand for a civilian government and the resumption of Sudan's disrupted democratic transition.

Washington warned that the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) threatened the people of Sudan with the prospect of a protracted conflict and widespread suffering.

The US Embassy in Khartoum issued a statement asserting that Washington will continue to hold the belligerent parties accountable for their unconscionable violence and blatant disregard for the will of the Sudanese people.

The statement added that every day hostilities continue, the parties hinder the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those who need it most, destroy key infrastructure, and deny the aspirations of the Sudanese people for freedom, peace, and justice.

Meanwhile, violent clashes erupted in Khartoum as people commemorated the fourth anniversary of the forceful dispersal of the sit-in on June 3, 2019, during which the army general command killed hundreds and injured thousands of others.

It marks the second day in a row of clashes with heavy weapons, after the collapse of the Jeddah cease-fire agreement signed by the two warring parties, with Saudi-US mediation, amid the deterioration of the humanitarian situation and the increasing number of displaced people.

Clashes renewed in the old Omdurman and south of Khartoum, and explosions were heard in the cities and around vital and strategic locations.

 

 

 

Residents of Khartoum reported that the army's warplanes had bombed areas in the south of Khartoum, and the RSF units responded using ground anti-aircraft missiles.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Red Crescent announced the burial of 180 unidentified persons after the bodies piled up in the streets and people's inability to go out to bury them.

 

 



US to Appoint Türkiye Ambassador as Special Envoy for Syria

US Ambassador to Türkiye Thomas Barrack (L) shakes hands with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan within an informal meeting of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers in Antalya, on May 15, 2025. (AFP)
US Ambassador to Türkiye Thomas Barrack (L) shakes hands with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan within an informal meeting of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers in Antalya, on May 15, 2025. (AFP)
TT

US to Appoint Türkiye Ambassador as Special Envoy for Syria

US Ambassador to Türkiye Thomas Barrack (L) shakes hands with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan within an informal meeting of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers in Antalya, on May 15, 2025. (AFP)
US Ambassador to Türkiye Thomas Barrack (L) shakes hands with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan within an informal meeting of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers in Antalya, on May 15, 2025. (AFP)

The United States will appoint President Donald Trump's longtime advisor and current US ambassador to Türkiye, Thomas Barrack, as a special envoy for Syria, a person with direct knowledge of the matter and a diplomat in Türkiye said.

The decision follows Trump's landmark announcement last week that US sanctions on Syria would be lifted. It also suggests US acknowledgement that Türkiye has emerged with key regional influence on Damascus since Bashar al-Assad's ouster by opposition factions in December, which ended 14 years of civil war, said Reuters.

Trump met with Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on May 14 and urged him to normalize ties with longtime foe Israel following his surprise sanctions announcement.

"There is no announcement at this time," a US State Department spokesperson said when asked for comment about Barrack's Syria role.

Barrack, a private equity executive who has long advised Trump and chaired his inaugural presidential committee in 2016, is expected to continue as US envoy to Türkiye, the sources said.

Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was allowing Turkish embassy staff, including Barrack, to work with local officials in Syria to understand what aid they need.

"We want to help that government succeed, because the alternative is full-scale civil war and chaos, which would, of course, destabilize the entire region," Rubio said.

A US-Turkish meeting focused on Syria was also held in Washington on Tuesday, which Barrack attended according to Türkiye’s foreign ministry, where sanctions relief and efforts to counter terrorism were discussed.

Removing US sanctions would clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organizations working in Syria, and ease foreign investment and trade as the country tries to rebuild.

Barrack has been busy since his arrival in Ankara earlier this month, dining with Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on his second evening in the capital, according to people familiar with the event.

He joined Rubio for several high-profile meetings last week, including one with Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani in Antalya hosted by Fidan.

He and Rubio also met with Turkish and Ukrainian government ministers ahead of the latter's talks with Russian officials, the first direct ceasefire discussions in three years between the warring sides.