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Blinken: Sudanese Want the Military Back in the Barracks

The US and British foreign ministers at the G7 meeting on Monday. (Reuters)
The US and British foreign ministers at the G7 meeting on Monday. (Reuters)
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Blinken: Sudanese Want the Military Back in the Barracks

The US and British foreign ministers at the G7 meeting on Monday. (Reuters)
The US and British foreign ministers at the G7 meeting on Monday. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has underscored the urgency of reaching a ceasefire after dozens of civilians were killed in the clashes between the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Blinken, speaking on the sidelines of a Group of Seven Foreign Ministers meeting in Japan, "shared deep concern" among allies about the fighting in Sudan.

There was "a strongly held view, again, across all of our partners on the need for an immediate ceasefire and return to talks — talks that were very promising in putting Sudan on the path to a full transition to civilian-led government," he said.

Blinken said the Sudanese "want the military back in the barracks. They want democracy. They want the civilian-led government, Sudan needs to return to that path."

"There is a shared deep concern about the fighting, violence that's going on in Sudan. The threat that that poses to civilians, that it poses to the Sudanese nation and potentially poses even to the region," Blinken added.

Earlier, he said during a press conference in Vietnam on Saturday that "the major parties in Khartoum some weeks ago reached a very important framework agreement on how to proceed with a transition to civilian government."

"There are other actors that may be pushing against that progress. But this is a real opportunity to finally carry forward the civilian-led transition."

Blinken's views were echoed by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

"We call upon them to put peace first, to bring an end to the fighting, to get back to negotiations," Cleverly said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted the developments in Sudan before delivering his speech during a meeting at the UN headquarters.

"Fighting in Sudan has already led to horrendous loss of life. Any further escalation could be devastating for the country and the region," he tweeted.

He further urged "those with influence over the situation" to "use it to support efforts to end the violence, restore order and return to the path of transition."

"I condemn the deaths and injuries to civilians and humanitarian workers and the targeting and looting of premises. I remind all parties of the need to respect international law, including ensuring the safety and security of all United Nations and associated personnel and humanitarian aid workers," said Guterres.

"I have spoken during the weekend with the two Sudanese leaders, and I am actively engaging with the AU, the Arab League, and leaders across the region."

He further reaffirmed that "the United Nations stands with the people of Sudan at this very difficult time, with full support for their efforts to restore the democratic transition and build a peaceful, secure future."

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Arab World

Houthi Network Recruits Hundreds of Yemenis to Fight in Ukraine

Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)
Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)
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Houthi Network Recruits Hundreds of Yemenis to Fight in Ukraine

Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)
Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)

In a nearly one-minute video, a young Yemeni man tells how he and his colleagues traveled to Russia on the promise of lucrative employment in fields such as “security” and “engineering”, but ended up fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
The young man, whose face was covered, expressed with his colleagues their desire to return to Yemen. They said they did not wish to suffer the same fate as their friends and get killed.
Last Sunday, The Financial Times said in a report that Russia’s armed forces have recruited hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in Ukraine, brought by a shadowy trafficking operation that highlights the growing links between Moscow and the Houthi militant group.
Later in video recordings, young Yemeni men spoke about the practice of Houthi smugglers who take advantage of the difficult economic conditions of Yemenis to recruit hundreds of them, and send them to fight alongside Russian troops.
The network of traffickers operate from Yemen and other Arab countries, and coordinate with others within Russian territory.
The Houthi network recruited hundreds of Yemenis and sent them to fight in Russia, according to sources close to their families and others in the Yemeni government.
In one of the videos, a group of Yemeni recruits said they worked in Oman, when a medical equipment company founded by a Houthi politician, Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri, lured them by promises of lucrative employment in fields such as “security” and “engineering” in Russia.
They said they were promised a salary of $2,500 per month. But arriving in Moscow, they were received by a representative from the Russian Defense Ministry who told them they will work as security guards at Russian facilities.
Two days after their arrival, the recruits were sent to camps, where they trained for combat and received a salary of between $185 and $232 a month. They are now calling on the Yemeni government to intervene to return them to their country.
But another Yemeni, Ahmed, who is familiar with a group of recruits, explains that he and his friends had warned these young men not to go to Russia where they risk getting involved in the ongoing war.
The recruits told him that they could escape to Europe and seek asylum as hundreds of Yemenis did before.
However, after arriving with the help of a Houthi-linked medical company, many have apparently been coerced into the Russian military, forced to sign fighting contracts at gunpoint and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.
A member of the Yemeni community in Russia told Asharq Al-Awsat that smugglers are luring Yemeni young men to go to Russia to work for salaries of up to $2,500 per month and are then transferred to Arab capitals, including Muscat, Beirut and Damascus, to be then transferred to Russian territory.
After their arrival, he said, the recruits are taken to weapons training camps, allegedly as employees of a security company. But they are later sent to fight on the front lines with Ukraine along with mercenaries from other nationalities.
Activists and members of the Yemeni community in Russia estimate that there are about 300 young Yemenis who refuse to join the fighting in Ukraine and want to return to their country.
“Those men were tempted by the dire economic conditions in Yemen due to the ongoing war,” the activists said.
A Yemeni recruit of the shadowy trafficking operation said that Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri, a prominent Houthi politician, is one of the main recruiters. He is assisted by his brother Abdul Waheed, who was appointed by the group as director of Al-Masrakh districts in Taiz Province.
The recruit said that the group of traffickers includes Hani al-Zarriqi, who has been living in Russia for years, and Mohammed al-Iyani, who lives in a Yemeni neighboring country.
Two relatives of the recruits accuse al-Jabri and his aides of arranging the transfer of the young men from Yemen to a neighboring country, and from there to Moscow, on the pretext of working for private security companies. The traffickers receive a commission of between $10 and $15 thousand per person.