Muslim Brotherhood Announces ‘Overcoming Power Struggle,’ Denies Concluding Deal with Cairo

Acting leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “London Front” Ibrahim Munir (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Acting leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “London Front” Ibrahim Munir (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Muslim Brotherhood Announces ‘Overcoming Power Struggle,’ Denies Concluding Deal with Cairo

Acting leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “London Front” Ibrahim Munir (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Acting leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “London Front” Ibrahim Munir (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Muslim Brotherhood’s “London Front,” led by acting leader Ibrahim Munir, published on Saturday the so-called “political document,” in which it announced overcoming the struggle for power.

The Front denied concluding any “political deals” with the authorities in Egypt in exchange for releasing the convicts and those jailed on charges related to violence and terrorism.

The Front affirmed that the Muslim Brotherhood was not seeking power in the north African country, according to the document dated September 18 and published on Saturday.

The document identified three political priorities the front seeks to implement to address what it described as a “critical moment” in Egypt’s history.

These include ending the issue of what it called “political prisoners,” achieving societal reconciliation, and building a broad national partnership that eventually achieves Egyptians’ aspirations for political and economic reform.

It stressed that these priorities require “overcoming the power struggle,” pointing out that it has adopted an approach that includes “various options and paths.”

According to the document, “the Brotherhood’s political role and presence in all public affairs has been, and will remain, a focus of its reform project.”

However, the organization views politics much broader than partisan work and competition for power, the document read.

It stated that “its political responsibility requires it to continue working with national action partners without excluding any party, through a broad national coalition to achieve the goals of living, freedom, social justice and human dignity.”

Conflict has recently risen between the “Istanbul Front” led by former Sec-Gen Mahmoud Hussein and the “London Front” following the emergence of a third front called the “Change Front,” which represented an attempt by the youth to resolve differences among between the Muslim’s foreign fronts.

The majority of Brotherhood leaders lie in jail in Egypt on charges of violence and murder. They were charged after the ouster of president Mohammed Morsi, of the Brotherhood, in July 2013, amid popular protests. The group was shortly banned in Egypt and death and life sentences against its top leaders soon followed.

The Brotherhood has been excluded from the national dialogue called for by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi earlier this year because of its violent past.

The expert in Islamic movements, Amr Abdul Moneim, said the document preempted the Change Front’s conference, which indicates major differences between the two fronts.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Abdul Moneim pointed out that the London Front announced in the document overcoming the struggle for power, and Munir announced in July his full withdrawal from political life.

He pointed to ongoing discussions within the Front during the past three months to issue a document related to political action, those jailed on terrorism charges, and violence.

He stressed that this is “a war between the organization’s two fronts.”

He referred to the Change Front’s document, which was issued after the London Front published its document.



UNHCR Chief Calls for ‘Urgent’ Support to Lebanon During War

Displaced children queue to get toys at a shelter in Tyre, south Lebanon, April 14, 2026. (Reuters)
Displaced children queue to get toys at a shelter in Tyre, south Lebanon, April 14, 2026. (Reuters)
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UNHCR Chief Calls for ‘Urgent’ Support to Lebanon During War

Displaced children queue to get toys at a shelter in Tyre, south Lebanon, April 14, 2026. (Reuters)
Displaced children queue to get toys at a shelter in Tyre, south Lebanon, April 14, 2026. (Reuters)

United Nations refugee chief Barham Salih on Wednesday called on the international community to provide urgent support to Lebanon, with a fifth of the country's population displaced by the Israel-Hezbollah war.

"I call upon the international community to provide urgent support and relief to Lebanon," he said after meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

"The humanitarian consequences of this war are immense, and I emphasize the need to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure from the ravages of attack. Lebanon does not deserve to be trapped in a recurring cycle of violence, it deserves support and stability."

He added that UNHCR has received "a portion" of the $61 million it had appealed for during the war to support Lebanon in its "unprecedented" displacement crisis, as more than a million people, or a fifth of the Lebanese population, are displaced by the conflict.

Of them, more than 140,000 are in government shelters.

The $61 million is part of the Lebanon Flash Appeal, launched by UN chief Antonio Guterres last month to gather $308 million to help the country.

War-ravaged Lebanon has been dealing with an unprecedented financial crisis since 2019 and was still reeling from the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war when the Iran-backed group drew it into the Middle East conflict last month.


Israeli Army Strikes South of Beirut as Hezbollah Launches Rockets at Israel

First responders and security forces work at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle the Lebanese town of Jiyyeh, south of Beirut, on April 15, 2026. (AFP)
First responders and security forces work at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle the Lebanese town of Jiyyeh, south of Beirut, on April 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Army Strikes South of Beirut as Hezbollah Launches Rockets at Israel

First responders and security forces work at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle the Lebanese town of Jiyyeh, south of Beirut, on April 15, 2026. (AFP)
First responders and security forces work at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle the Lebanese town of Jiyyeh, south of Beirut, on April 15, 2026. (AFP)

Two Israeli strikes on Wednesday hit vehicles south of Beirut, state media reported, while Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel, hours after Lebanon and Israel agreed to hold direct negotiations.

Israel is continuing its strikes on southern Lebanon in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, but has not targeted the Lebanese capital since a series of attacks across the country on April 8 that killed more than 350 people.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported two separate Israeli strikes on two vehicles, one in the seafront town of Saadiyat and another on a coastal highway in neighboring Jiyyeh, around 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Beirut and outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.

NNA also reported several other strikes across southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military meanwhile said it had detected "approximately 30 launches" by Hezbollah towards Israel since the early hours, a spokesman told AFP.

Hezbollah said it launched rockets at 10 northern Israeli areas.

The attacks come a day after Lebanon and Israel's ambassadors to the United States held their first direct talks in decades in Washington and agreed to hold further direct negotiations, with the Lebanese envoy calling for a ceasefire.

Hezbollah strongly rejected the talks.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than a million since March 2, according to Lebanese authorities.


Damascus to Take Over Prisons under SDF Control

People gather as prisoners from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive after being released under an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government, in Hasakeh, Syria, April 11, 2026. (Reuters)
People gather as prisoners from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive after being released under an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government, in Hasakeh, Syria, April 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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Damascus to Take Over Prisons under SDF Control

People gather as prisoners from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive after being released under an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government, in Hasakeh, Syria, April 11, 2026. (Reuters)
People gather as prisoners from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive after being released under an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government, in Hasakeh, Syria, April 11, 2026. (Reuters)

Syrian authorities are set to take control of prisons run by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a government official said, as part of efforts to resolve the detainee issue under an agreement reached on January 29.

Ahmad al-Hilali, spokesman for the presidential team overseeing implementation of the deal, said all SDF-run prisons would be handed over to the justice and interior ministries.

He noted that detainees held by the SDF are being released without conditions, with a new batch expected next week.

“The SDF is committed to the full release of detainees linked to the uprising,” Hilali said, adding that the Justice Ministry would review the cases of those accused of criminal offenses.

He revealed that about 1,500 detainees had already been released, while around 500 others would have their cases examined.

Hilali said the transfer of prisons, particularly in Hasakeh province, would ensure that no detentions remain outside state oversight. He described the issue as humanitarian and said the SDF is moving toward integration into state institutions.

The presidential team, headed by Brig. Gen. Ziad al-Ayesh, arrived on Saturday at the Melbiya Regiment base in the Hasakeh countryside to oversee the release of a third batch of detainees under the agreement. The process included releases by both sides.

On Monday, the SDF freed a fourth group of detainees, according to Hasakeh’s media directorate, in a move carried out under the supervision of the presidential team, Syria TV reported.

Hilali said the government is moving to take over management of SDF-run prisons to end what he described as unregulated and ad hoc releases in recent months.

In a separate development, Hilali said a convoy carrying 800 families displaced from the Afrin region set off from Hasakeh province on Wednesday toward their home areas.

He described it as the largest organized return so far, reflecting progress in preparing conditions and basic services for returns, and underscoring what he said was the state’s commitment to addressing displacement.