Moscow Acts to Unravel South Syria’s ‘Knots’

Moscow is exerting efforts resolve disputes over Iran's presence in southern Syria. (AFP)
Moscow is exerting efforts resolve disputes over Iran's presence in southern Syria. (AFP)
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Moscow Acts to Unravel South Syria’s ‘Knots’

Moscow is exerting efforts resolve disputes over Iran's presence in southern Syria. (AFP)
Moscow is exerting efforts resolve disputes over Iran's presence in southern Syria. (AFP)

Moscow intensified its contacts with American, Jordanian, Israeli and Iranian partners on Tuesday to solve the knot of south Syria’s truce.

It suggested that Russian police deploy in the area, Syrian opposition forces hand over their heavy arms and Iran keep away from the Jordanian borders and disengagement line with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Russian Sputnik news agency quoted on Tuesday a source familiar to the situation as saying that control over the southern borders of Syria, including the al-Tanf area, will be handed over to the Syrian regime forces after the Paris talks.

All areas on the (southern) border will be transferred to the regime and an agreement on the UN Zone for Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) will be reactivated in the Golan Heights. Iranian forces should not be present in the border area, the source told Sputnik.

It said a tripartite meeting between Russia, the US and Jordan is expected to be held next week to discuss the issue.

The Hmeimim military base said on its Facebook page Tuesday that the complications in the ongoing talks on the de-escalation deal in the South are related to Tel Aviv and Washington’s rejection of any Iranian or Lebanese “Hezbollah” forces in the regime lineups in the area.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman plans to travel to Moscow to meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on May 31.

Lieberman and Shoigu are likely to discuss the situation in Syria and emptying of the country from any Iranian military presence, whether through its Revolutionary Guards or militias.



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.