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Sudan Urges US to Designate RSF a Terrorist Group

RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo speaks during a press conference at RSF headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. (Reuters)
RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo speaks during a press conference at RSF headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. (Reuters)
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Sudan Urges US to Designate RSF a Terrorist Group

RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo speaks during a press conference at RSF headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. (Reuters)
RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo speaks during a press conference at RSF headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. (Reuters)

Sudan's foreign ministry said Tuesday that the United States should designate the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces a "terrorist organization", a day after Washington slapped the same designation on the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The US designation for the Brotherhood, which will come into effect next week, accused the Islamist group of receiving support from Iran.

Noting that decision, while stopping short of criticizing it, Sudan's foreign ministry said "all groups that violate international humanitarian law and commit terrorism, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Sudan should be designated as terrorist groups".

The US, it added, should therefore "designate the RSF militia as a terrorist group, given its proven crimes and documented violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and terrorism".

Since 2023, the RSF -- under paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo -- has been at war with the regular army, under Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Burhan has a complex relationship with Islamists, relying on them for political support and fighters, but facing pressure from the US and his allies to distance himself from them.

He has denied having Brotherhood members in his government.

The RSF has been widely accused of mass atrocities, and last month was found by a UN inquiry to have committed "acts of genocide" in Darfur.

Last year, the US issued a similar genocide determination.

The RSF has repeatedly characterized the war as a fight against Sudan's Islamists and the remnants of the ruling system of Islamist-military president Omar al-Bashir, whom Daglo and Burhan helped oust in 2019.

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Arab World

Syria to Join G7 Finance Talks in Paris in Sign of Growing Status

Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh - Reuters
Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh - Reuters
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Syria to Join G7 Finance Talks in Paris in Sign of Growing Status

Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh - Reuters
Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh - Reuters

Syria will take part in a closed-door session with G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in Paris on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said, in a sign of its growing status less than two years after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh is expected to attend the meeting, the person said, adding that the discussions will focus on Syria's sustainable recovery and reintegration into the global financial system, according to Reuters.

The two-day G7 finance chiefs' meeting is dominated by global economic imbalances, trade tensions and the fallout from conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Syria's economy remains deeply damaged by years of war and isolation. While most sanctions have been eased or lifted since former president Assad's removal, recovery has been slow, with investors and banks still wary of compliance risks and the practical difficulty of reconnecting Syria to the global financial system.

Syria and Ukraine are expected to be present in parts of the discussions, underscoring the G7's emphasis on stabilizing countries seen as central to regional and global security.

The person familiar with the matter said Syria's participation was part of preparations for the G7 leaders' summit in June and reflected a push to bring the administration of President Ahmed al-Sharaa closer to leading economies.

For Damascus, participation in the G7 finance track marks another step in efforts to return to the international system, attract support for reconstruction and show that it has become a pivotal state in the changes reshaping the region.

Arab World

EU Renews Restrictions on People Involved in former Syria Administration under Assad

FILE PHOTO: Guard standing near an image of Syria's Bashar al-Assad at the fourth division headquarters in Damascus, Syria, January 23, 2025 REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Guard standing near an image of Syria's Bashar al-Assad at the fourth division headquarters in Damascus, Syria, January 23, 2025 REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar/File Photo
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EU Renews Restrictions on People Involved in former Syria Administration under Assad

FILE PHOTO: Guard standing near an image of Syria's Bashar al-Assad at the fourth division headquarters in Damascus, Syria, January 23, 2025 REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Guard standing near an image of Syria's Bashar al-Assad at the fourth division headquarters in Damascus, Syria, January 23, 2025 REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar/File Photo

The European Union has decided to renew restrictions on individuals and entities linked to the former Syrian administration run by Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December 2024.

"The EU considers that networks linked to the former al-Assad regime continue to retain influence and pose a risk of undermining the transition process and hindering efforts towards national reconciliation and accountability," said a statement from the Council of the European Union on Monday, Reuters reported.

"Those designated are subject to an asset freeze and EU citizens and companies are prohibited from making funds available to them. Individuals are additionally subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through EU member states," it added.

The EU has, at the same time, increased ties with the new Syrian government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, which replaced Assad's administration.

Earlier this month, EU foreign ministers agreed to restore trade ties with Syria, reinstating a cooperation agreement that had been suspended in 2011.

Arab World

Lebanon President Says He Will Do the 'Impossible' to Stop War with Israel

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (AP - file photo)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (AP - file photo)
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Lebanon President Says He Will Do the 'Impossible' to Stop War with Israel

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (AP - file photo)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (AP - file photo)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that he would do the "impossible" in order to stop the war with Israel, after a ceasefire and direct talks between the countries failed to end the fighting.

Aoun's comments came as the Israeli army carried out a series of strikes in south Lebanon, while Hezbollah said it had struck a military target in northern Israel.

Since the start of the ceasefire on April 17, Israel has continued to launch strikes, carry out demolitions and issue evacuation orders in south Lebanon, saying it is targeting Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has also maintained its operations against Israeli forces in south Lebanon and northern Israel.

"The framework that Lebanon has set for the negotiations consists of an Israeli withdrawal, a ceasefire, the deployment of the army along the border, the return of the displaced, and economic aid," Aoun said in a statement Monday.

"My duty, based on my position and my responsibility, is to do the impossible, and to choose what is least costly, in order to stop the war against Lebanon and its people," he added.

Last week the truce was extended for 45 days following a third round of talks between Lebanese and Israeli representatives in Washington, discussions which Hezbollah is opposed to.

But the ceasefire has failed to stop the violence, with Hezbollah on Monday saying it had fired a drone at a military target in northern Israel.

The target was "an Iron Dome platform belonging to the Israeli enemy army" based in a military encampment in northern Israel, Hezbollah said, referring to Israel's air defencs system.

The attack was a response to Israeli "violations" of the ceasefire, it added.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported a series of Israeli strikes across the south.

The Israeli military also issued an evacuation warning for three southern Lebanese towns.

The attacks came a day after Israeli strikes killed seven people in Lebanon, including a member of the group Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the country's northeast, far from the Israel-Lebanon border.

Israeli soldiers have invaded and occupied a swathe of south Lebanon, operating inside an Israeli-declared "yellow line" that runs around 10 kilometres (six miles) north of the border. They have carried out large-scale demolitions in the area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday his country was "facing the challenge of neutralising FPV (first-person view) drones", as Hezbollah has increasingly made use of the tech to strike Israeli forces.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon since the start of the war, including more than 400 since the ceasefire took effect on April 17, according to Lebanese authorities.