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Europe Court Condemns Cyprus Over Return of Syrian Refugees to Lebanon

The headquarters of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)/ Reuters
The headquarters of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)/ Reuters
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Europe Court Condemns Cyprus Over Return of Syrian Refugees to Lebanon

The headquarters of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)/ Reuters
The headquarters of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)/ Reuters

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday condemned Cyprus for returning to Lebanon two Syrian refugees who had arrived on a small boat, without examining their asylum claim.

According to AFP, the pair, born in 1983, fled the Syrian city of Idlib and the civil war in their home country in 2016, staying in refugee camps in Lebanon.

On September 6, 2020, they boarded a boat for Cyprus, along with a group of approximately 30 Syrian and Lebanese people including
unaccompanied minors.
The following day, on arrival in the territorial waters of Cyprus, their boat was intercepted by the Cypriot coastguard.

Cypriot maritime authorities said the boat passengers had entered Cypriot territorial waters without permission and swiftly returned them to Lebanon where they still remain.

The two Syrians referred to the ECHR, underling that they were returned at the border without individual identification or procedure.

In response to their application, the European court issued a verdict on Tuesday stating that Cyprus had violated Article 3 of ECHR and the UN Refugee convention.

Also, it said collective expulsions of migrants are prohibited under Article 4 of Protocol 4 to the ECHR and as such, cannot be tolerated.

The Cypriot authorities had essentially returned the pair to Lebanon “without processing their asylum claims and without all the steps required under the refugee law,” said the verdict.

Cyprus failed to conduct “any assessment of the risk of lack of access to an effective asylum process in Lebanon or the living conditions of asylum-seekers there,” it added.

The court ordered Cyprus to pay each applicant 22,000 euros ($24,150) for damages and another 4,700 euros ($5,160) jointly for costs and expenses.

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Arab World

Al-Wadiah Border Security Foils Attempt to Smuggle Thousands of Captagon Pills from Yemen 

Members of the Al-Wadiah battalion boast extensive experience allowing them to thwart ongoing smuggling attempts. (Al-Wadiah battalion) 
Members of the Al-Wadiah battalion boast extensive experience allowing them to thwart ongoing smuggling attempts. (Al-Wadiah battalion) 
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Al-Wadiah Border Security Foils Attempt to Smuggle Thousands of Captagon Pills from Yemen 

Members of the Al-Wadiah battalion boast extensive experience allowing them to thwart ongoing smuggling attempts. (Al-Wadiah battalion) 
Members of the Al-Wadiah battalion boast extensive experience allowing them to thwart ongoing smuggling attempts. (Al-Wadiah battalion) 

The “Al-Wadiah Port Security and Protection Battalion” thwarted an attempt to smuggle 4,925 Captagon pills bound for Saudi Arabia from areas under Houthi control in Yemen.

Col. Osama Al-Assad, commander of the battalion, said the seizure was made during routine inspection procedures at the land crossing.

Security personnel grew suspicious of an incoming vehicle and, after a thorough search, discovered the pills professionally concealed in an apparent attempt to evade detection.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Assad said the confiscated drugs were documented in line with legal procedures and the suspects were referred to the competent authorities for further investigation.

He stressed that coordination with the Saudi side remains strong and ongoing at the highest levels, expressing appreciation to the Kingdom for its continued support to Yemen in general and to the battalion in particular, helping bolster border security between the two neighbors.

In a recent interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Assad revealed that most drug smuggling networks operating from Yemen into Saudi territory are directly linked to the Houthi militants.

He noted that the battalion had previously arrested a Houthi leader attempting to enter Saudi Arabia using a forged passport and Umrah visa, suggesting the motives were security-related rather than religious.

Regarding the latest operation, Al-Assad said preliminary investigations indicate that most drug shipments intercepted at the crossing originate from Houthi-controlled areas.

He accused the group of relying on drug trafficking as a source of funding for its activities, posing a threat to Yemen’s national security, neighboring countries, and regional stability.

The battalion’s mission includes securing and protecting the Al-Wadiah crossing, combating various forms of smuggling, including drugs, human trafficking, forged documents, and unidentified individuals, and arresting wanted suspects, including members of al-Qaeda and fugitives evading court rulings.

Arab World

Sudan Government Condemns Ugandan President’s Talks with Hemedti

Hemedti at the presidential palace in Entebbe on Feb. 20, 2026 (President Museveni’s page on X).
Hemedti at the presidential palace in Entebbe on Feb. 20, 2026 (President Museveni’s page on X).
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Sudan Government Condemns Ugandan President’s Talks with Hemedti

Hemedti at the presidential palace in Entebbe on Feb. 20, 2026 (President Museveni’s page on X).
Hemedti at the presidential palace in Entebbe on Feb. 20, 2026 (President Museveni’s page on X).

The Sudanese government has condemned “in the strongest terms” Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s meeting with Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo calling the move “unprecedented” and an affront to humanity and the Sudanese people.

In a statement issued Sunday, Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ceremonial welcome accorded to Dagalo, known as Hemedti, in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, mocked “the souls of innocent citizens killed in the war, whose dignity was violated and whose property was looted” by the RSF.

The Ministry added that Uganda’s action “contravenes the principles governing member states of regional and international organizations,” particularly the obligation not to offer support to armed groups rebelling against a legitimate government recognized internationally.

Museveni met Hemedti on Friday at the presidential palace in Entebbe, where the two discussed efforts to end the ongoing war in Sudan. The talks also addressed regional and international initiatives aimed at reaching a political settlement to the conflict.

The meeting marked Hemedti’s first prominent regional appearance in several months. According to Dagalo, the discussions included what he described as a “Ugandan vision” for ending the war.

In its statement, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry acknowledged Uganda’s sovereign right to host whomever it chooses in accordance with its national interests. However, it expressed “deep concern” that the meeting could signal a shift in Kampala’s policy toward Sudan.

The Ministry urged the Ugandan government, in the interest of bilateral relations, good neighborliness, and non-interference in internal affairs, to distance itself from the RSF commander and not allow him to use Ugandan territory for political purposes.

Speaking to members of the Sudanese community in Entebbe, Hemedti said his visit came at the invitation of Museveni, who, he claimed, had been asked by Sudan’s government to intervene in efforts to help end the war.

In a post on the social media platform X, Museveni confirmed that he had received the RSF commander at the presidential residence in Entebbe and had listened to a detailed briefing on developments in Sudan.

He stressed that dialogue and a peaceful political settlement remain the only viable path to stability in Sudan and to ensuring security across the region.

Hemedti’s visit to Uganda came just one week after Museveni hosted Malik Agar, Vice Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, allegedly as part of regional and international efforts to secure a ceasefire and lay the groundwork for a comprehensive political solution to Sudan’s ongoing conflict.

Arab World

ISIS Lashes Out at Syria's Sharaa, Announces ‘New Phase of Operations’

A Syrian government soldier outside Al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa, which holds ISIS detainees (AFP)
A Syrian government soldier outside Al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa, which holds ISIS detainees (AFP)
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ISIS Lashes Out at Syria's Sharaa, Announces ‘New Phase of Operations’

A Syrian government soldier outside Al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa, which holds ISIS detainees (AFP)
A Syrian government soldier outside Al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa, which holds ISIS detainees (AFP)

Syria’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that a Syrian army soldier and a ‌civilian were killed a day earlier by “unknown assailants” in the northern city of Raqqa.

ISIS claimed ‌responsibility for two attacks targeting Syrian army personnel in northern and eastern Syria.

The militant group said on its Dabiq news agency that it had targeted “an individual of the apostate Syrian regime” in the city of Mayadin in Deir Ezzor province using a pistol, and attacked two other personnel with machine guns in Raqqa.

The attacks came after ISIS blasted Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, calling him a “puppet without a soul” controlled by Western countries, adding that his fate eventually will be similar to that of ousted leader Bashar Assad.

In an audio message released late Saturday by the group’s spokesman, who identifies himself as Abu Huzaifa al-Ansari, he called on ISIS followers around the world to attack Jewish and Western targets as they have in past years.

The ‌group also said it had begun a “new phase of operations” in Syria.

Al-Ansari sent greetings to ISIS militants from the group’s leader Abu Hafs al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi who was named as the head of the group three years ago.

The audio is the first to be released by the group in months and comes after ISIS was blamed for attacks that left dozens dead or wounded in recent months in Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and other parts of the world.

The latest incidents come two days after ISIS claimed responsibility for another attack in Deir Ezzor that killed a member of the Interior Ministry’s internal security forces and wounded another.

In December, the group was blamed for an attack in central Syria that left three Americans dead and triggered intense US airstrikes on the extremists’ suspected hideouts in the country.