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Egyptian MP Rejects US Criticism of Cairo’s Dealing with Damascus

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad during their press conference in Damascus. (Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad during their press conference in Damascus. (Reuters)
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Egyptian MP Rejects US Criticism of Cairo’s Dealing with Damascus

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad during their press conference in Damascus. (Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad during their press conference in Damascus. (Reuters)

Egyptian MP Mustafa Bakri has rejected the criticism made by the US Department of State over Cairo’s dealing with the Syrian regime, against the backdrop of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s solidarity visit to Damascus.

Bakri described the demands by Congress members to impose sanctions on the countries that normalize ties with Syria as “nauseous” and “a blatant intervention in the region’s affairs”.

The MP stressed that no party has the right to impose its agenda on Egypt, saying “Syria is an Arab country and Egypt is the beating heart of the Arab world”.

“Our position on the Assad regime has not changed. Now is not the time for normalization. Now is not the time to upgrade relations with the Assad regime,” according to US State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

“Again, the statement that I saw from the foreign minister spoke to this as a humanitarian gesture. Our position on this has been longstanding. We do not believe that it is the time to upgrade or to normalize relations with the Assad regime," Price said in a press briefing this week.

"The goal of the visit is primarily humanitarian, and to pass on our solidarity," Shoukry told reporters during his visit to Damascus on Monday.

Shoukry did not respond to reporters' questions on the possibility of normalizing ties with Syria.

Following the Feb. 6 quake, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Egypt also dispatched rescue teams to Syria.

Moreover, some Egyptian institutions started gathering donations to support the Syrians.

Egypt's parliament speaker Hanafi Jabali was on a visit to Syria a day before Shoukry visited. “Syria will return to its normal position in the Arab League,” he said at the airport.

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Hemedti Issues Strict Orders to his Forces to Protect Sudanese People

People collect clean water provided by a charity organization to people in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
People collect clean water provided by a charity organization to people in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
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Hemedti Issues Strict Orders to his Forces to Protect Sudanese People

People collect clean water provided by a charity organization to people in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
People collect clean water provided by a charity organization to people in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on August 30, 2024. (AFP)

Commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti, issued on Saturday strict orders to his forces to protect civilians and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid in line with the commitments his delegation made at the recent peace talks in Geneva.

In a post on the X platform, he said he issued an “extraordinary administrative order to all the forces” to protect civilians and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

He called on all commanders to abide by the orders in line with international humanitarian law. Any violators will be held accountable.

The RSF has been accused of widespread violations against civilians in areas under their control. They have also been accused of committing massacres in Gezira state in central Sudan. The RSF have denied the accusations.

Hemedti announced in August the formation of a “civilian protection force” that immediately assumed its duties in the Khartoum and Gezira states.

According to head of the RSF delegation to the Geneva talks, Omar Hamdan, the force is formed of 27 combat vehicles, backed by forces that have experience in cracking down on insubordination.

Hemedti stressed last week his commitment to all the outcomes of the Geneva talks, starting with ensuring the delivery of aid to those in need.

The RSF and army agreed to open two safe routes for the deliveries and to protect civilians to ease their suffering after nearly a year and a half of war.

The mediators in Geneva received commitments from the RSF that it would order the fighters against committing any violations against civilians in areas under their control.

Meanwhile, aid deliveries continued through the Adre border crossing with Chad. They are headed to people in Darfur in western Sudan.

Fifty-nine aid trucks carrying aid supplies crossed from Chad to Darfur, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Saturday.

“The supplies are estimated to reach nearly 195,000 people in acute need in different parts of the country,” it added.

“About 128 aid trucks carrying supplies for an estimated 355,000 people are being prepared to cross into Sudan in the coming days and weeks to ensure a steady flow of supplies. Despite the surge of supplies through Adre, humanitarian partners have warned that ongoing rains and floods have damaged three major bridges in the region, limiting movements within Darfur,” it revealed.

“While progress has been made on the Adre border crossing, funding resources are depleting, and humanitarian funding is urgently required to sustain the supplies chain,” it urged.