Sudan's RSF Enters Wad Madani Where Many Were Displaced https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/4735291-sudans-rsf-enters-wad-madani-where-many-were-displaced
Sudan's RSF Enters Wad Madani Where Many Were Displaced
Displaced people fleeing from Wad Madani in Sudan's Jazira state arrive in Gedaref in the country's east on December 18, 2023. (AFP)
Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Monday entered Wad Madani, a city southeast of the capital that had taken in many displaced people and served as an aid hub over eight months of war, witnesses and RSF fighters said.
The RSF has been advancing through western and central areas in its eight-month-old war against Sudan's army and its approach on Wad Madani has caused thousands of people to flee. The city lies in an important agricultural region in a country facing worsening hunger.
There was no immediate comment from the army.
Videos posted by the RSF showed fighters in pick-up trucks driving along city streets and over a bridge across the Blue Nile.
The war between the army and the RSF has displaced nearly 7 million people, left the capital in ruins, caused a major humanitarian crisis and triggered waves of ethnically driven killings in Darfur.
The two forces had shared power with civilians after the 2019 overthrow of former leader Omar al-Bashir before staging a coup together in 2021 then coming to blows over an internationally backed political transition plan.
The International Organization for Migration says that clashes between the RSF and the army around Wad Madani have led to widespread displacement in recent days.
Nearly 1.5 million have fled Sudan and more than 5.4 million have been forced from their homes internally, according to the IOM, making Sudan the country with the highest number of displaced people in the world.
UK Foreign Secretary Visits Syria, Renewing Ties After 14 Years of Conflicthttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5161786-uk-foreign-secretary-visits-syria-renewing-ties-after-14-years-conflict
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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UK Foreign Secretary Visits Syria, Renewing Ties After 14 Years of Conflict
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met in Damascus on Saturday with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the restoration of relations after 14 years of tension during Syria's conflict and Assad family rule.
Syria has been improving relations with Western countries following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December in an offensive led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group.
Al-Sharaa’s office said Lammy and the president discussed mutual relations and ways of boosting cooperation and the latest regional and international developments. Lammy later met his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, state media reported.
A statement issued by Britain's foreign office said the visit showed London's commitment to support Syria as the new government seeks to rebuild the country's economy, deliver an inclusive political transition and forge a path to justice for the victims of the Assad government.
It added that there will be new UK funding to assist with the removal of Assad-era chemical weapons and provide urgent humanitarian assistance in Syria, to bolster UK and Middle East security and tackle irregular migration. The statement said the British government wants to ensure that the ISIS group's territorial defeat “endures, and they can never resurge.”
ISIS once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, where it planned attacks worldwide. It was defeated in Syria in March 2019 when the extremists lost the last sliver of land they once controlled.
The statement said Britain's support for Syria is set to continue, with the additional 94.5 million pounds ($129 million) package announced Saturday. It will provide urgent humanitarian aid to Syrians, support Syria’s longer-term recovery through education and livelihoods, and support countries hosting Syrian refugees in the region.
This handout photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office on July 5, 2025 shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) receiving British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the presidential palace in Baabda. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
In April, the British government lifted sanctions against a dozen Syrian entities, including government departments and media outlets, to help the country rebuild after Assad's ouster. Weeks earlier, the UK had dropped sanctions against two dozen Syrian businesses, mostly banks and oil companies.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending many American economic sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise he made to al-Sharaa.
Syria’s new leaders have been struggling to rebuild the country’s decimated economy and infrastructure after nearly 14 years of civil war that has killed half a million people. In recent months, al-Sharaa visited oil-rich regional countries and France in May in his first visit to the Europe Union.
Also on Saturday, Lammy met in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and they discussed the situation along the Lebanon-Israel border following the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.
A statement issued by Aoun's office, quoted the Lebanese leader as telling Lammy that Beirut plans to raise the number of Lebanese troops along the border with Israel to 10,000. Aoun added that the only armed sides on the Lebanese side of the border will be Lebanon's national army and UN peacekeepers.