PARIS: Syrian President Bashar Assad defended President Donald Trump’s ban on Syrians entering the US, saying it targeted “terrorists” and not the Syrian people, in an interview broadcast Thursday.
Trump last month summarily denied entry to all refugees for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely. The highly controversial decree, which was suspended by a federal judge, also barred travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Syria, for 90 days.
In an interview with French media Assad expressed understanding for the ban.
“It’s not against the Syrian people... it’s against the terrorists that could infiltrate some of the immigrants to the West and that happened. It happened in Europe, mainly in Germany and could happen in the US,” he told Europe 1 radio and TF1 television channels in the interview in Damascus.
“For me, as president, I would not worry about that,” he said, accusing Trump’s critics of seizing on the ban “as the fuel for the conflict with Trump.”
Assad revealed that retaking the Daesh’s Syrian bastion of Raqqa — a key objective of the US-led coalition battling the terrorists — was not a priority for his forces.
“Raqqa is a symbol,” he said,
“You have Daesh close to Damascus, you have them everywhere,” Assad said. “For us it is all the same, Raqqa, Palmyra, Idlib, it’s all the same,” vowing to win back “every inch” of Syrian territory.
The French particularly have been pushing for an operation to flush Daesh out of Raqqa, as the suspected incubator of some of the attacks that have claimed 238 lives in France over the past two years.
Across the border, Iraqi forces are four months into a massive operation to drive Daesh out of the city of Mosul. In Syria, an Arab-Kurd rebel alliance has begun advancing on Raqqa with the aim of liberating the city.
Also in the interview, Assad categorically denied that his government practices torture and reiterated his rejection of recent allegations by Amnesty International of executions and atrocities perpetrated at a prison near Damascus.
Assad said Amnesty’s “childish report” contained “not a single fact (or) evidence” to support allegations that some 13,000 people were hanged at the Saydnaya prison between 2011 and 2015.
“They said they interviewed few witnesses, who are opposition and defected. So it’s biased,” the president said.
Regarding torture, he said, “We do not do this, it’s not our policy,” adding: “Torture for what? ... For sadism?... to get information? We have all the information.”
He argued: “If we commit such atrocities it’s going to play into the hands of the terrorists, they’re going to win. It’s about winning the hearts of the Syrian people, if we commit such atrocities... we would not have (popular) support (through) six years” of war.
He was also scathing of the West’s fruitless attempts to mediate in the six-year conflict that has claimed more than 300,000 lives.
The West, he said, “did not want to achieve peace in Syria.” Over the past year, Russia and Iran have helped turn the tables in Assad’s favor with their military backing, while Turkey supports the opposition fighting to oust the strongman.
Assad: US travel ban targeted ‘terrorists’ not Syrian people
Assad: US travel ban targeted ‘terrorists’ not Syrian people
Sudan defense minister dismisses ‘intelligence document’ as fabrication after convoy strike
- Gen. Hassan Kabroun tells Arab News claims that army hid weapons in aid convoy are “completely false”
RIYADH: Sudan’s defense minister has firmly denied reports attributed to Sudanese intelligence alleging that a convoy targeted in North Kordofan was secretly transporting weapons under the cover of humanitarian aid.
Gen. Hassan Kabroun described the claims as “false” and an attempt to distract from what he called a militia crime.
The controversy erupted after news reports emerged that a document attributed to Sudan’s General Intelligence Service claimed the convoy struck in Al-Rahad on Friday was not a purely humanitarian mission, but was instead carrying “high-quality weapons and ammunition” destined for Sudanese Armed Forces units operating in the state.
The report further alleged that the convoy had been outwardly classified as humanitarian in order to secure safe passage through conflict zones, and that the Rapid Support Forces had destroyed it after gathering intelligence on its route and cargo.
Kabroun categorically rejected the narrative.
“First of all, we would like to stress the fact that this news is false,” he told Arab News. “Even the headline that talks about the security of the regions, such as Al-Dabbah, is not a headline the army would use.”
He described the document as fabricated and politically motivated, saying it was designed to “cover up the heinous crime they committed.”
The minister affirmed that the area targeted by drones is under full control of the Sudanese Armed Forces and does not require any covert military transport.
“Second, we confirm that the region that was targeted by drones is controlled by the army and very safe,” Kabroun said. “It does not require transporting any military equipment using aid convoys as decoys because it is a safe area controlled by the army, which has significant capabilities to transport humanitarian aid.”
According to the minister, the Sudanese military has both the logistical capacity and secure routes necessary to move equipment openly when needed.
“The army is professional and does not need to deliver anything to Kadugli or Dalang on board aid convoys,” he said. “The road between Dalang and Kadugli is open. The Sudanese forces used that road to enter and take control of the region. The road is open and whenever military trucks need to deliver anything, they can do so without resorting to any form of camouflage.”
Kabroun further rejected any suggestion that the military uses humanitarian operations as cover.
“Aid is transported by dedicated relief vehicles to the areas in need of this assistance,” he said. “Aid is not transported by the army. The army and security apparatus do not interfere with relief efforts at all, and do not even accompany the convoys.”
He stressed that the Sudanese Armed Forces maintains a clear institutional separation between military operations and humanitarian work, particularly amid the country’s crisis.
“These are false claims,” he said. “This fake news wanted to cover up the heinous crime they committed.”
Sudan has been gripped by conflict since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, plunging the country into what the United Nations has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
The latest dispute over the convoy comes amid intensified fighting in South Kordofan, a strategically sensitive region linking central Sudan with the contested areas of Darfur and Blue Nile.
The false report suggested that intelligence monitoring had enabled the RSF to strike what it described as a military convoy disguised as humanitarian aid. But Kabroun dismissed that version outright.
“The intelligence agency is well aware of its duties,” he said. “The Sudanese Army has enough weapons and equipment to use in the areas of operations. These claims are completely false.”
He argued that the narrative being circulated seeks to shift blame for attacks on civilian infrastructure and humanitarian movements.
“This shows that they are trying to cover up the atrocities,” he added, referring to the militia.
Kabroun maintained that the army has regained momentum on multiple fronts and remains fully capable of sustaining its operations without resorting to deception.
“The region is secure, the roads are open, and the army does not need camouflage,” he said. “We are operating professionally and transparently.”
“These claims are completely false,” Kabroun said. “The Sudanese Army does not use humanitarian convoys for military purposes.”
