Sudanese Opposition Pushes for Constitutional Declaration that Removes Army's Control

Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) during their meeting with the head of UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes (Twitter Account of Perthes)
Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) during their meeting with the head of UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes (Twitter Account of Perthes)
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Sudanese Opposition Pushes for Constitutional Declaration that Removes Army's Control

Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) during their meeting with the head of UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes (Twitter Account of Perthes)
Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) during their meeting with the head of UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes (Twitter Account of Perthes)

Sudan's opposition Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) stressed the need to exclude the army from any future political arrangements, saying military leaders used the remnants of the former regime against the United Nations initiative to solve the crisis in the country.

The Forces handed its vision to resolve the crisis to the head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes.

Perthes met with the FCC as part of UN-facilitated consultations for a political process for Sudan, which will continue engaging Sudanese stakeholders in the next few days.

The vision is based on ending the military coup, restoring the democratic transition, and defining a clear role for the traditional agencies during the transitional period.

The leader of the Forces, Khaled Omar Youssef, said: "We met with the UN Special Envoy for Sudan, based on his invitation to consult on the political process in the country."

He added that the Forces announced that they will deal positively with the initiative provided that it ends the coup and restores the path of civil and democratic transition in the country.

Youssef pointed out that the insurgents welcomed the initiative, but they aligned with the remnants of the ousted regime and continued to kill the peaceful protesters.

The leader explained that the meeting with the UN mission discussed some of the issues related to a constitutional establishment based on a fully civilian state that will lead the transitional phase.

He pointed out that the coalition's vision is to establish a new constitutional declaration that stipulates an entirely civilian transitional authority.

The new constitutional declaration should explicitly redefine the relationship between the civilian component and the military institution to avoid repeating the previous partnership, said Youssef.

The official believes it is crucial to establish healthy relations between civilians and the army based on the military establishment's disassociation from politics, adding that the army must perform its tasks in a democratic society.

The Forces suggested that the transition period should not exceed two years, ending with free and fair elections.

The Forces also stressed the need to include a roadmap for reforming the security and military agencies in the constitutional declaration, with a unified national army.

The Forces also wanted the revolutionary forces to agree on a prime minister and a cabinet to lead the transitional period, providing that consultations on the formation of the transitional state institutions would begin immediately after the military coup was overthrown.

The declaration wants to ensure justice is established in all the crimes committed in the country and all officials are held accountable for their involvement in the dispersal of the sit-in of the General Command and violence against the protests.

The spokesman of the FCC Central Council, Jaafar Hassan, said the Forces agreed on a clear vision to end the current situation and establish the next transitional phase.

The opposition alliance identified the parties to the political process, including the Forces of Freedom and Change, the Resistance Committees, the armed struggle forces that signed and did not sign the Juba Agreement.

The Forces proposed establishing a high-level mechanism in which international and regional parties would be represented by influential figures from the Troika countries, the European Union, and African and Arab countries.



Syria President Says Wants France to Be 'Primary Partner'

France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa attend a meeting at the People's Palace in Damascus on July 7, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa attend a meeting at the People's Palace in Damascus on July 7, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)
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Syria President Says Wants France to Be 'Primary Partner'

France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa attend a meeting at the People's Palace in Damascus on July 7, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa attend a meeting at the People's Palace in Damascus on July 7, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Tuesday that he wants France to be a primary partner for Damascus, which he said has regained its role as a transit hub after the Strait of Hormuz closure.

"After the Strait of Hormuz crisis, the world realized the value of safe and stable corridors... here the importance of Syrian geography is highlighted, which today has regained its vital role as an indispensable link in the global corridors market, and we want France to be our primary partner in this path," Sharaa said in an economic forum with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and representatives from both countries.


Explosions Rock Damascus, Wounding 18, as French President Macron Visits Syria

An ambulance drives past the site where explosive devices blew up near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was meant to be staying, in Damascus, Syria, July 7, 2026. (Reuters)
An ambulance drives past the site where explosive devices blew up near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was meant to be staying, in Damascus, Syria, July 7, 2026. (Reuters)
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Explosions Rock Damascus, Wounding 18, as French President Macron Visits Syria

An ambulance drives past the site where explosive devices blew up near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was meant to be staying, in Damascus, Syria, July 7, 2026. (Reuters)
An ambulance drives past the site where explosive devices blew up near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was meant to be staying, in Damascus, Syria, July 7, 2026. (Reuters)

Two bombs exploded near a hotel in Damascus where French President Emmanuel Macron had spent the night, but his office said he did not hear the explosions and he met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa soon afterwards on Tuesday.  

Syrian authorities said 18 people were wounded by the blasts, overshadowing the first visit to Syria by a European Union head of state since Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad in 2024, and underlining continued security threats in the country.  

The explosions struck a busy area between the Syrian Tourism Ministry and the national museum across the street from the Four Seasons hotel, where a source in Macron's delegation and Syrian security sources ‌said he had ‌spent the night and had met civil society groups on Tuesday morning.  

In a post ‌on ⁠X, Macron said ⁠his visit to Syria continues.  

"Nothing can undermine the desire of Syrians to live in a fully sovereign and secure Syria," he posted. "This morning I met Syria in all its diversity, and I saw dignity, courage and determination." 

FLAMES AND SMOKE BILLOW FROM TRASH CAN  

The first blast hit soon after Macron's motorcade left for the presidential palace.  

Reuters footage showed flames and smoke billowing from the site, when a second explosion was caught on camera a few meters (yards) away. The second blast went off next to an ambulance parked at the scene, where some two dozen people had gathered.  

Emergency personnel worked to extinguish the blaze, with smoke and flames close to ⁠the shops behind. 

Reuters video showed Macron's motorcade heading along a highway towards the presidential ‌palace before the blasts.  

A video published by Syrian state media then showed ‌him standing alongside Sharaa and meeting other Syrian officials and military officers.  

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. 

Sharaa has been working to stabilize and rebuild Syria since leading opposition forces that toppled Assad after ‌more than 13 years of civil war, building close ties to Western and Middle Eastern states that opposed Assad. 

ISIS, an adversary of Sharaa during the civil war, has claimed a series of attacks on government forces in Syria since February, when the extremist group announced what it described as a new phase of operations against his government. 

DAMASCUS CAFE BOMBED LAST WEEK  

The Syrian Interior Ministry said security forces ‌had identified two bombs planted near the Tourism Ministry and had been preparing to defuse them when they went off, describing the devices as crudely made.  

The bombs — one of them ⁠placed in a car ⁠parked on the roadside and the other in a trash can — were planted outside a security cordon around Macron's place of residence, and posed no threat to his visit, the ministry said.  

Internal security forces have launched search operations to identify those responsible, it said.  

The French Presidency said the blasts were not audible from the presidential motorcade and a Reuters journalist with the press group accompanying Macron did not hear the blast or see any commotion during the French president's morning events.  

Last week, a bomb at a Damascus cafe killed nine people and wounded 20 others. There was no claim of responsibility.  

Macron's visit was intended to highlight Syria's political transformation under Sharaa. During the Syrian conflict, a range of militant groups including ISIS gained a foothold in the country. Sharaa has pledged to build an inclusive new order in Syria since ending more than five decades of iron-fisted rule by the Assad family.  


Iraq Seizes More Cash and Gold in Oil Ministry Corruption Probe

Bundles of cash newly seized from the Deputy Oil Minister (Iraqi News Agency) 
Bundles of cash newly seized from the Deputy Oil Minister (Iraqi News Agency) 
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Iraq Seizes More Cash and Gold in Oil Ministry Corruption Probe

Bundles of cash newly seized from the Deputy Oil Minister (Iraqi News Agency) 
Bundles of cash newly seized from the Deputy Oil Minister (Iraqi News Agency) 

Iraqi authorities announced Monday the seizure of an additional 25 billion Iraqi dinars, $1 million in cash, and about five kilograms of gold in the corruption case involving detained Deputy Oil Minister for Refining Affairs Adnan Al-Jumaili and other suspects linked to the investigation.

Diaa Jaafar, the investigating judge at Iraq’s Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court, said in a statement that total assets seized so far have risen to 127 billion Iraqi dinars and $24 million, in addition to real estate, vehicles, and gold jewelry confiscated during the investigation.

He said inquiries and efforts to track down other suspects were continuing until all legal procedures are completed.

Sources at Iraq’s Integrity Commission told Asharq Al-Awsat that the total value of assets seized from Al-Jumaili so far — including cash and 70 properties — exceeds 250 billion Iraqi dinars (about $191 million).

The Interior Ministry also announced Monday the arrest of another suspect connected to Al-Jumaili’s alleged corruption network in Salahuddin province. According to the ministry, intelligence officers seized more than $3 million, over 750 million Iraqi dinars, a cache of light weapons, modern vehicles, and government contracts from the suspect’s residence.

Iraqi authorities last week arrested 15 people, including lawmakers, heads of political blocs, and former governors, on corruption charges based on confessions allegedly made by Al-Jumaili. Security sources said the latest detainee serves as contracts director at the Baiji Refinery, where authorities discovered the cash during a raid on his home.

Despite broad public support for the government’s anti-corruption campaign, skepticism remains over whether Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s administration will sustain the drive rather than limiting it to a single wave of arrests. Public doubts have been fueled by Al-Zaidi’s earlier remarks suggesting the possibility of settlements under which suspects could regain their freedom after returning embezzled public funds.

Sources familiar with deliberations inside the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework told Asharq Al-Awsat that some coalition leaders have grown increasingly dissatisfied with the recent crackdown, with some urging the prime minister to halt the campaign for fear that arrests could reach figures affiliated with their factions. Although most Framework parties have publicly endorsed the anti-corruption drive, the sources said their private positions differ from their public statements.

Ghalib Al-Daami of the Iraqi Academy for Combating Corruption said investigations were proceeding on parallel domestic and international tracks, targeting suspects inside Iraq as well as fugitives abroad. He added that authorities are preparing action against businessmen accused of defaulting on billions of dollars in loans from Iraqi banks.

Al-Daami ruled out the prospect of releasing current detainees through financial settlements and said judicial and oversight authorities are pursuing 954 cases involving the recovery of assets smuggled abroad, in addition to 262 legal requests related to recovering funds transferred overseas by imprisoned corruption suspects.