Sudan’s Lt. Gen. Yasser Al-Atta: RSF Recruits Mercenaries

The Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Yasser Al-Atta (SUNA)
The Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Yasser Al-Atta (SUNA)
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Sudan’s Lt. Gen. Yasser Al-Atta: RSF Recruits Mercenaries

The Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Yasser Al-Atta (SUNA)
The Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Yasser Al-Atta (SUNA)

The Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Yasser Al-Atta, declared that “80% of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been destroyed.”

Nevertheless, Al-Atta noted that the RSF continues to recruit mercenaries weekly from certain neighboring Western countries to fight alongside them.

According to the prominent army leader, these mercenaries lack experience.

Al-Atta further explained that last week, the RSF introduced 6,000 fighters, “whom the army repelled.”

RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to as Hemedti, wanted to become the ruler of Sudan and diligently pursued that goal, noted Al-Atta.

While within the military institution, we discussed with him the modernization of the Sudanese state in line with the aspirations of the Sudanese people during the glorious December revolution, revealed Al-Atta.

However, Hemedti’s affiliations with malevolent international entities and suspicious agendas nurtured the idea in him that he could govern Sudan.

Al-Atta, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, pointed out that there are countries that provide weapons to the RSF, with all relevant information available to the military.

He emphasized that attaining power in the country should come through free and fair elections, allowing the people to choose their leaders.

Regarding the battlefield situation in the war that erupted between the army and the RSF in mid-April, Lt. Gen. Al-Atta stated that “the army has full control over operations on the ground, and its morale is exceptionally high due to the people's support.”

He noted that the RSF had transitioned to a phase of repelling attacks from the army.

He affirmed that the army achieved significant victories against the RSF in the recent battle of Omdurman, which encompassed five main fronts, dealing them substantial losses.

The army had recently issued a statement confirming a wide-ranging sweep operation in Omdurman city that inflicted major losses on the RSF.



Lebanon Hopes for Neighborly Relations in First Message to New Syria Government

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
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Lebanon Hopes for Neighborly Relations in First Message to New Syria Government

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)

Lebanon said on Thursday it was looking forward to having the best neighborly relations with Syria, in its first official message to the new administration in Damascus.

Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib passed the message to his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, in a phone call, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said on X.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah played a major part propping up Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad through years of war, before bringing its fighters back to Lebanon over the last year to fight in a bruising war with Israel - a redeployment which weakened Syrian government lines.

Under Assad, Hezbollah used Syria to bring in weapons and other military equipment from Iran, through Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon. But on Dec. 6, anti-Assad fighters seized the border with Iraq and cut off that route, and two days later, opposition factions captured the capital Damascus.

Syria's new de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is seeking to establish relations with Arab and Western leaders after toppling Assad.