Concerns Mount as Tensions Rise among Muslim Brotherhood Leaders

Muslim Brotherhood members on trial in Egypt (AFP)
Muslim Brotherhood members on trial in Egypt (AFP)
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Concerns Mount as Tensions Rise among Muslim Brotherhood Leaders

Muslim Brotherhood members on trial in Egypt (AFP)
Muslim Brotherhood members on trial in Egypt (AFP)

Muslim Brotherhood youth are concerned over the organization's future after tensions rose between the leaders living abroad.

Conflicts increased within the organization after the acting General Guide in Egypt, Ibrahim Mounir, decided to dismiss the former Secretary-General Mahmoud Hussein and several other leaders.

Mounir also referred the dismissed leader for investigation.

A researcher in fundamentalist movements in Egypt, Amr Abdel Moneim, said that the recent period had witnessed divisions between Mounir and Hussein's office, referred to as the "old office" and the "new office" of Mohammad Sharaf.

Abdel Moneim told Asharq Al-Awsat that controversy erupted in Turkey's office after Mounir's office dismissed Hussein's office and approved the new elections.

He explained that the administrative office in Turkey is important and receives financial aid of about $1,700,000 per month.

Abdel Moneim suggested that major disagreements erupted within the youth group after the young members abroad broke their silence and accused the leaders of both offices of creating chaos, failing the Shura council, disrupting administrative regulations for organizing, and siding with one group against another.



Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stated that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is unwilling to pursue peace in Syria and warned that Israel’s efforts to spread war across the Middle East are undermining the environment fostered by the Astana Process.

Fidan emphasized the importance of Russian and Iranian efforts within the framework of the Astana Process to maintain calm on the ground, pointing to ongoing consultations with the US regarding the Syrian crisis.

Speaking during a parliamentary session discussing the 2025 budget of the Foreign Ministry, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s expectation that the dialogue proposed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be approached strategically by the Syrian government, with priority given to the interests of the Syrian people.

Regarding Erdogan’s invitation to Assad for a meeting to discuss the normalization of ties between Ankara and Damascus, Fidan remarked that the matter depends on political will, stressing that the Turkish president has demonstrated his readiness at the highest level.

Last week, Erdogan reiterated the possibility of a meeting with Assad, but Russia, which mediates the normalization talks between Ankara and Damascus, ruled out such a meeting or high-level engagements in the near future.

Russian Presidential Envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev attributed the impasse to Türkiye’s refusal to meet Damascus’ demand for a withdrawal from northern Syria, accusing Ankara of acting as an “occupying state”.

Although Türkiye has not officially responded to Lavrentiev’s comments, which reflect a shift in Russia’s stance, Fidan stated in a televised interview last week that Russia remains “somewhat neutral” regarding the normalization process. He also urged the Syrian government to create conditions for the return of 10 million Syrian refugees.

Türkiye maintains that its military presence in northern Syria prevents the country’s division, blocks the establishment of a “terror corridor” along its southern border, and deters new waves of refugees from entering its territory.

Fidan outlined his country’s key objectives in Syria, which include eradicating terrorist groups (such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Syrian Democratic Forces), preserving Syria’s territorial unity, advancing the political process, and ensuring the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile, Turkish artillery targeted villages and positions controlled by the Manbij Military Council, affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), whose main component is the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

On Friday, fierce clashes erupted between the Syrian National Army factions and the SDF in western Tel Abyad, northern Raqqa. Simultaneously, Turkish artillery strikes reportedly killed two SDF members and injured others, with reports of captives and missing personnel.

In retaliation, the SDF shelled Turkish bases in the Ain Issa countryside. Turkish forces responded by deploying military reinforcements amid heightened alert at their bases in Raqqa’s countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).