Egypt Says Foreign Troops Must Leave Libya

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with the Russian Security Council Secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, in Moscow (Egypt's Foreign Ministry)
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with the Russian Security Council Secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, in Moscow (Egypt's Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt Says Foreign Troops Must Leave Libya

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with the Russian Security Council Secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, in Moscow (Egypt's Foreign Ministry)
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with the Russian Security Council Secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, in Moscow (Egypt's Foreign Ministry)

Egypt reiterated that all foreign forces must leave Libyan territories, rejecting any foreign presence in the country.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed with the Russian Security Council Secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, in Moscow bilateral relations and international and regional developments.

Shoukry said Egypt supports the roadmap set by Libyans, reiterating the importance of the planned presidential and parliamentary elections.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said that Shoukry stressed the need for all foreign forces to leave Libya.

Shoukry also discussed with the Russian official recent Palestinian developments and Egypt's continuous efforts to revive the peace process.

They also addressed Cairo's current efforts to support reconstruction efforts in the Palestinian territories.

Cairo attaches great importance to the pullout of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, which President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has stressed in most of his meetings with foreign officials.

In a meeting of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) on Libya last week, Shoukry stressed that the presence of foreign forces and mercenaries in Libya has an impact on its national security and the security of its Arab neighbors.

He said that the international community had not taken firm measures to end the presence of foreign forces and mercenaries in country.

"Egypt warned more than a year ago of the consequences of the continuation of the armed conflict in Libya and that it may have to take measures to protect its national security and preserve the balance of power if it was disrupted," he added.

Shoukry reiterated Egypt's call for the "unconditional, simultaneous, and coordinated exit."



Syria: Nearly 300 Arrested in Crackdown on Assad Loyalists

This aerial picture shows fighters affiliated with Syria’s new administration gathering at Abbasid Square in the eastern part of the capital Damascus for a military parade on December 27, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial picture shows fighters affiliated with Syria’s new administration gathering at Abbasid Square in the eastern part of the capital Damascus for a military parade on December 27, 2024. (AFP)
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Syria: Nearly 300 Arrested in Crackdown on Assad Loyalists

This aerial picture shows fighters affiliated with Syria’s new administration gathering at Abbasid Square in the eastern part of the capital Damascus for a military parade on December 27, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial picture shows fighters affiliated with Syria’s new administration gathering at Abbasid Square in the eastern part of the capital Damascus for a military parade on December 27, 2024. (AFP)

Syria’s new authorities have arrested in less than a week nearly 300 people, including informants, pro-regime fighters and former soldiers, in a crackdown on loyalists to ousted former president Bashar Assad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the official Syrian news agency, SANA, reported arrests last Thursday and Saturday targeting “Assad militia members” in Hama and Latakia provinces, where weapons and ammunition were seized. It did not provide any figures.

“In less than a week, nearly 300 people have been detained in Damascus and its suburbs, as well as in Homs, Hama, Tartus, Latakia and even Deir Ezzor,” said Rami Abdel-Rahman, head of SOHR.

Among those arrested were former regime informants, pro-Iranian fighters and lower-ranking military officers accused of killings and torture, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

He said some individuals, found to have been involved in sending reports to the former regime, “were arrested and instantly executed.

“This is completely unacceptable,” Abdel-Rahman added.

He was referring to social media videos showing armed men abusing detainees and even carrying out summary executions.

The security forces of the new administration launched a large-scale operation on Thursday against Assad's militias in the suburbs of Damascus and in Latakia, Tartus and Homs.

Abdel-Rahman said that “the campaign is ongoing, but no prominent figures have been arrested” except for General Mohammed Kanjo Hassan, the former head of military justice under al-Assad, who reportedly oversaw thousands of death sentences following summary trials at Saydnaya prison.

The arrests were reportedly taking place “with the cooperation of local populations,” Abdel-Rahman added.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led a coalition of opposition groups that entered Damascus on December 8 after a rapid offensive, forcing Assad to flee to Russia.

The move marked an end to over 50 years of the Assad family rule in Syria.

Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch urged the armed factions to treat all individuals, including captured fighters and former members of the Assad government and security forces, humanely and in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law standards.

Anas Khattab, the new head of General Intelligence, has pledged to overhaul the security apparatus, denouncing “the injustice and tyranny of the former regime, whose agencies sowed corruption and inflicted suffering on the people.”