Russia's Top Diplomat Says Dividing Syria Is A Serious Threat

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the UN Human Rights Council on February 28, 2018 in Geneva (Fabrice Coffrini, AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the UN Human Rights Council on February 28, 2018 in Geneva (Fabrice Coffrini, AFP)
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Russia's Top Diplomat Says Dividing Syria Is A Serious Threat

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the UN Human Rights Council on February 28, 2018 in Geneva (Fabrice Coffrini, AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the UN Human Rights Council on February 28, 2018 in Geneva (Fabrice Coffrini, AFP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Wednesday of the consequences of dividing Syria if Washington continues to encourage separatism in the war-torn country.

Speaking at a special session of the Valdai International Discussion Club’s Middle East Conference, Lavrov said the frozen state of the Syrian conflict is fraught with a breakup of the country, stressing that Russia is exerting efforts to avert this issue.

"It is fraught with a collapse of the country, which would be particularly tragic not just because of the Kurdish factor that will immediately acquire regional dimension. There could be unpredictable consequences," said Lavrov.

"We are making every effort to avoid it, but it does look like a frozen conflict," he said when asked about the state of the conflict in Syria.

Lavrov also strongly lashed out at the US, accusing Washington of exploiting Syria’s resources and using ISIS terror group to hinder settlement in the country.

"ISIS was actively used and continues to be used by the US to hinder the processes that will lead to a settlement in Syria with the full participation of the current government,” the FM said.

He accused the US of exploiting the hydrocarbons and grain that is produced in Syria.

“They make business to pay for the separatist actions of some Kurdish organizations to block dialogue between Kurds and Damascus.”

The Russian top diplomat reiterated the need to resolve the Syrian crisis by implementing the UNSC Resolution 2254.



Sudan Army Says Recaptures Key State Capital

Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
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Sudan Army Says Recaptures Key State Capital

Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP

The Sudanese army said Saturday it had retaken a key state capital south of Khartoum from rival Rapid Support Forces who had held it for the past five months.

The Sennar state capital of Sinja is a strategic prize in the 19-month-old war between the regular army and the RSF as it lies on a key road linking army-controlled areas of eastern and central Sudan.

It posted footage on social media that it said had been filmed inside the main base in the city.

"Sinja has returned to the embrace of the nation," the information minister of the army-backed government, Khaled al-Aiser, said in a statement.

Aiser's office said armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had travelled to the city of Sennar, 60 kilometres (40 miles) to the north, on Saturday to "inspect the operation and celebrate the liberation of Sinja", AFP reported.

The RSF had taken the two cities in a lightning offensive in June that saw nearly 726,000 civilians flee, according to UN figures.

Human rights groups have said that those who were unwilling or unable to leave have faced months of arbitrary violence by RSF fighters.

Sinja teacher Abdullah al-Hassan spoke of his "indescribable joy" at seeing the army enter the city after "months of terror".

"At any moment, you were waiting for militia fighters to barge in and beat you or loot you," the 53-year-old told AFP by telephone.

Both sides in the Sudanese conflict have been accused of war crimes, including indiscriminately shelling homes, markets and hospitals.

The RSF has also been accused of summary executions, systematic sexual violence and rampant looting.

The RSF control nearly all of the vast western region of Darfur as well as large swathes of Kordofan in the south. They also hold much of the capital Khartoum and the key farming state of Al-Jazira to its south.

Since April 2023, the war has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 11 million -- creating what the UN says is the world's largest displacement crisis.

From the eastern state of Gedaref -- where more than 1.1 million displaced people have sought refuge -- Asia Khedr, 46, said she hoped her family's ordeal might soon be at an end.

"We'll finally go home and say goodbye to this life of displacement and suffering," she told AFP.