UNITED NATIONS: Russia has vetoed a US-sponsored UN resolution that would extend the work of inspectors seeking to determine who is responsible for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, accusing the United States of calling the vote “to show up and dishonor Russia.”
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia tried unsuccessfully to postpone the vote until next month, after the joint body comprising investigators from the UN and the chemical weapons watchdog issues a report on Oct. 26.
The resolution was then put to a vote Tuesday and received 11 “yes” votes, two “no” votes from Russia and Bolivia, and two abstentions.
Nebenzia said Russia has criticized the Joint Investigative Mechanism but doesn’t want it terminated. It wants its mandate amended.
Russia, a close ally of Syria, has criticized the Joint Investigative Mechanism program.
Russian Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov, who heads the country’s delegation to the General Assembly’s disarmament committee, told UN reporters on Oct. 13 that before making a decision, Russia wanted to wait for the inspectors’ report, expected Oct. 26, on the April 4th chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun that killed over 90 people.
US Ambassador Nikki Haley has pressed for a vote before the report.
She said Wednesday there was “overwhelming support” among Security Council members to extend the inspectors’ mandate. But she said Russia wants first to see if their report blames Syria for the Khan Sheikhoun attack. In that case, she said, Moscow will have no faith in the joint investigative body of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations.
Haley said Russia’s position was unacceptable. “We can’t work like that,” she said.
“We can’t go and pick and choose who we want to be at fault, who we don’t,” she said.
The attack in Khan Sheikhoun sparked outrage around the world as photos and video of the aftermath, including quivering children dying on camera, were widely broadcast.
The United States blamed the Syrian military for the attack and launched a punitive strike days later on the Shayrat air base where it said the attack was launched. Syrian President Bashar Assad has denied using chemical weapons
A fact-finding mission by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons reported on June 30 that sarin nerve gas was used in the Khan Sheikhoun attack. But the mission wasn’t authorized to determine responsibility. That job was given to the Joint Investigative Mechanism.
Russia has accused the United States and its Western allies of rushing to judgment and blaming the Syrian government for sarin use in Khan Sheikhoun. It has also criticized the June 30 report by the fact-finding mission as “very biased.”
The JIM inspectors determined last year that the Syrian government was behind at least three attacks involving chlorine gas and that the Islamic State extremist group was responsible for at least one involving mustard gas.
Russia vetoes extending Syria chemical weapons inspectors
Russia vetoes extending Syria chemical weapons inspectors
Sudan defense minister welcomes UN sanctions on RSF leaders as ‘long overdue’
- Yassin Ibrahim said charges against commanders who perpetuated “atrocities of a kind rarely seen across broad stretches of history” were a “step in the right direction”
- Among those targeted were RSF deputy commander Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, Brig. Gen. Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, known as “the butcher of El-Fasher,” deputy commander Gedo Hamdan Ahmed and field commander Tijani Ibrahim
LONDON: Sudan’s Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim on Wednesday called UN sanctions on Rapid Support Forces leaders “long overdue,” but a “step in the right direction.”
“Imposing sanctions on individuals or leaders of the Rapid Support Forces is long overdue. Nevertheless, it remains a step in the right direction,” he said.
“These crimes constitute war crimes, genocide and atrocities of a kind rarely seen across broad stretches of history. There should be far more charges brought forward, with arrest warrants issued not only against senior leadership but also against mid-level commanders operating on the ground — in addition to members of the ‘government of establishment,’ which serves as the political wing of the Rapid Support Forces.
“A new commander has recently joined their ranks within the ‘government of establishment,’ now operating in coordination with the Rapid Support Forces; the forces of Abdelaziz Al-Hilu and Joseph Tuka in Blue Nile.”
The UN Security Council imposed sanctions on four RSF leaders over atrocities in the western Sudanese city of El-Fasher. Among those targeted were RSF deputy commander Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo and Brig. Gen. Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, known as “the butcher of El-Fasher.” RSF deputy commander Gedo Hamdan Ahmed and field commander Tijani Ibrahim were also targeted.
The move, which followed recommendations by the US, UK and France, was submitted on Feb. 17 and aimed to include the leaders within the sanctions system established under Resolution 1591. The measures include travel bans and asset freezes to help curb the violence in Sudan.
The RSF’s capture of El-Fasher in October was one of the most brutal episodes of Sudan’s nearly three-year civil war. Last week, a UN fact-finding mission concluded that the takeover bore the hallmarks of genocide.
In a related move, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned three RSF commanders for actions in El-Fasher, accusing them of “perpetrating a horrific campaign of ethnic killings, torture, starvation and sexual violence.” Those targeted were Idris, Gedo and Tijani Ibrahim.
The sanctions followed a UN Security Council statement on Tuesday that “strongly condemned” the RSF’s assault and destabilization in the Kordofan region and “all forms of violations and abuses committed against the civilian population.”
The UN council called on the warring parties to “immediately halt the fighting,” warning that deliberate attacks on humanitarian personnel “may constitute war crimes.”
Members also expressed “grave concern” over conflict-induced famine and extreme food insecurity in parts of Sudan, warning the crisis risks spreading.
The RSF has acknowledged “violations” in El-Fasher and said that it is investigating, but insists the scale of atrocities has been exaggerated by its enemies.
