WASHINGTON: The White House announced Thursday that it will impose sanctions against key defense companies and people who “perpetuate violence” in Sudan as the warring sides failed to abide by a cease-fire agreement in the northeastern African nation.
New visa restrictions apply to officials from the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces and leaders from the former government led by Omar Al-Bashir who are “responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Sudan’s democratic transition,” according to the State Department.
President Joe Biden on May 4 laid the groundwork for the penalties when he issued an executive order that expanded US authorities to respond to the violence and help bring an end to the conflict.
“These measures are intended to hold accountable those responsible for undermining the peace, security, and stability of Sudan,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
The Treasury Department said in a statement that four companies were designated: Al Junaid Multi Activities Co. Ltd., which is controlled by RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and his brother, RSF Deputy Commander Abdul Rahim Dagalo; United Arab Emirates-based Tradive General Trading LLC, a front company controlled by RSF Major Algoney Hamdan Dagalo, who also is a brother of the RSF commander; Sudan’s largest defense company, Defense Industries System; and the arms company Sudan Master Technology, which is linked to the SAF.
Tradive has purchased vehicles for the RSF that have been retrofitted with machine guns and been used to patrol the streets of Sudan. Al Junaid, also known as Algunade, operates 11 subsidiaries across multiple economic sectors, including the gold industry and has been a vital source of revenue for the Dagalo family and the RFS.
The SAF-connected Defense Industries System has hundreds of subsidiaries that manufacture small arms, conventional weapons, ammunition, and military vehicles. The company uses a complex system to hide its ownership of these subsidiaries and to obtain favorable letters of credit from the Sudan Central Bank and frequently defaults on those loans, according to the Treasury Department.
“Through sanctions, we are cutting off key financial flows to both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, depriving them of resources needed to pay soldiers, rearm, resupply, and wage war in Sudan,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. “The United States stands on the side of civilians against those who perpetuate violence toward the people of Sudan.”
It remains unclear how the sanctions will impact either force’s financing or the trajectory of the conflict, now entering its seventh week. The Biden administration says it is coordinating with the African Union, Saudi Arabia and others in the region, trying to press both parties to end the conflict.
Kholood Khair, the founder and director of Confluence Advisory, a think tank in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, said the sanctions will need the support of other regional stakeholders.
“The US was likely motivated to act because repeat violations are undermining its clout, globally,” Khair said.
Late Thursday, the United States and Saudi Arabia suspended peace talks that had been taking place in the Saudi city of Jeddah since late May. In a joint statement, the two mediating countries said “the decision comes as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term cease-fire and recent cease-fire extension” on Monday.
Sudan’s military had suspended its participation in talks the previous day.
The fighting between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, broke out in mid-April. The violence has killed at least 866 civilians, according to a Sudanese doctors group, though the actual toll is likely much higher.
Washington and Riyadh brokered a cease-fire on May 21, to allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and restoration of vital services. There have been seven declared cease-fires since the conflict broke out and all have been violated.
The warring generals were the military wing of Sudan’s democratic transition following the ouster of Islamist leader Al-Bashir in 2019, before seizing complete power in a coup in 2021. After agreeing to restore the transition, the pair clashed over the terms of RSF’s merger into the army, a disagreement that exploded into open conflict.
According to the US — Saudi joint statement, the countries have told both sides what they need to do to “show a meaningful commitment to the Jeddah talks.” It also said the RSF and the military have privately informed each other of “confidence-building measures they want to see implemented” by the other force before resuming peace negotiations.
Earlier in the week, the US and Saudi Arabia called out both sides for cease-fire violations, accusing the military of continuing to carry out airstrikes and criticizing the RSF for occupying people’s homes and seizing properties.
The fighting has reduced Khartoum to an urban battlefield, with many districts lacking electricity and running water. The conflict has also stoked ethnic violence in the western Darfur region, killing hundreds there.
White House imposing sanctions as Sudan’s warring sides fail to abide by cease-fire deal
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White House imposing sanctions as Sudan’s warring sides fail to abide by cease-fire deal
- New visa restrictions apply to officials from the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces and leaders from the former government
- It’s unclear how the sanctions will impact either force’s financing or the trajectory of a conflict that’s entering its seventh week
Mideast faces prospect of ‘environmental catastrophe’: Iraqi PM
- Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani highlights Iraqi efforts to create regional group to tackle climate change
- Report by Ministry of Water Resources warns Tigris, Euphrates rivers could dry out completely by 2040
NEW YORK: The Middle East will be at the forefront of “environmental catastrophe” if the international community fails to get back on track with its efforts to curb climate change, Iraq’s prime minister said on Friday.
Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani told the UN General Assembly in New York that his country is already experiencing the detrimental effects of temperature rises, with low waters on the Tigris-Euphrates river system.
“The environmental catastrophe will be more severe for Iraq and the countries of the region, with an unprecedented rise in temperatures, which render normal forms of life extremely difficult, approaching impossible,” he said.
“Our two rivers are exposed to the brunt of the effects of drought resulting from climate change. We have an urgent need to preserve rights to water resources and international river basins.”
A report by Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources in 2021 warned that the Tigris and Euphrates rivers would dry out completely by 2040 due to the persistence of droughts and declining water levels that are being driven by climate change.
Al-Sudani highlighted Iraq’s efforts to engage with neighboring states to create a regional coordination mechanism for the management of transboundary water systems, and to tackle drought, dust storms and heatwaves.
“We call for the establishment of a regional grouping, which includes the countries of the Gulf shores, from Iraq and Iran, and the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council — those countries most exposed to rising temperatures,” he said.
“At the national level, we’ve taken necessary steps to reduce emissions and stop burning associated gases and polluting the environment.
“We’ve also initiated several projects in the field of waste recycling and encouraging the trend towards clean energy.”
Turkish police detain 10 accused of Daesh links, minister says
- Under judicial control rulings, the suspects may leave police detention but they have certain conditions and oversights imposed on them
ANKARA: Turkish police detained 10 people believed to be linked to Daesh and have arrested five of them, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday.
Yerlikaya said Turkiye’s MIT intelligence agency, police, and counter-terrorism squads carried out an operation in the western coastal city of Izmir after intelligence showed the suspects had hidden supplies in the city.
The authorities discovered explosive gels, materials used to make explosives, as well as weapons and ammunition hidden in the mountainous region of Izmir’s Bornova district, Yerlikaya added.
“As a result of the operation, 10 suspects were detained. Of these, five were arrested and judicial control rulings were made for five others,” the minister said on social media platform X.
Under judicial control rulings, the suspects may leave police detention but they have certain conditions and oversights imposed on them.
Footage from the operation, shared by Yerlikaya on X, showed several police cars in a mountainous area, with police searching inside of a small cave for the hidden materials. It also showed authorities searching a house and detaining the suspects. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.
Daesh has conducted numerous attacks across Turkiye, including on a nightclub in Istanbul on Jan. 1, 2017, in which 39 people were killed. Turkish police have carried out several operations targeting the militants.
US embassy in Lebanon ‘not intimidated’ by shots fired toward it — ambassador
- “We know that authorities are investigating this incident, whereby a gunman fired shots toward the US embassy the other night,” US ambassador Dorothy Shea said
- “Please know that we at the US embassy are not intimidated by this incident”
BEIRUT: US ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Friday said the embassy was “not intimidated” by a gunman’s shots toward its entrance earlier this week and that Lebanese authorities were investigating the incident.
Late Wednesday, shots were fired near the US embassy north of Beirut. Embassy spokesperson Jake Nelson said no one had been hurt and normal business operations were ongoing.
“We know that authorities are investigating this incident, whereby a gunman fired shots toward the US embassy the other night,” US ambassador Dorothy Shea said on Friday after meeting Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati.
“Please know that we at the US embassy are not intimidated by this incident, and our security protocols are very strong and our partnerships are ironclad,” she said.
Mikati also condemned what he described as an “attack on the American embassy.” There was no claim of responsibility for the gunfire and authorities have not provided details on the investigation.
The highly secured US embassy lies north of Beirut in the town of Awkar. Security incidents around it are rare. The embassy moved there from Beirut following a suicide attack in 1983 which killed more than 60 people.
Mideast ‘on cusp of historic peace’: Israeli PM
- Israel, Saudi Arabia close to ‘dramatic breakthrough’ that would ‘transform’ region
- Netanyahu: ‘Such a peace will go a long way to ending the Arab-Israeli conflict’
NEW YORK: The Middle East is “on the cusp of a historic peace,” Israel’s prime minister said on Friday, referring to US-brokered efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.
Addressing the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, Benjamin Netanyahu said he believes Israel and Saudi Arabia are close to a “dramatic breakthrough” that would not only secure peace between the two states but “transform” the entire region and create “a new Middle East.”
He added: “Such a peace will go a long way to ending the Arab-Israeli conflict, and will encourage other Arab states to normalize their relations with Israel while also enhancing the prospects of peace with the Palestinians.”
Should an agreement be finalized, it would build on the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 between Israel on one hand and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan on the other.
Speaking two days after meeting US President Joe Biden in New York, Netanyahu said he felt that the Biden administration could secure a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia in the same way that the Trump administration had facilitated the Abraham Accords.
“The Abraham Accords were a pivot of history and today we see the blessings, with trade and investment with our new peace partners booming as our nations cooperate in commerce, energy, water and agriculture, climate and many other fields,” Netanyahu added.
“In the G20 conference, President Biden, (Indian) Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, and European and Arab leaders announced plans for a visionary corridor that will stretch across the Arabian Peninsula and into Israel.
“It will connect India to Europe with maritime, railroads, energy pipelines, fiber optic cables. This corridor will bypass maritime checkpoints, or choke points rather, and dramatically lower the cost of goods, communication and energy for over 2 billion people.”
However, he warned that the progress made in recent years could be undone by a “fly in the ointment,” saying Iran continues to spend significant amounts on its military and has made efforts to extend its influence worldwide.
“Iran’s aggression is largely met by indifference in the international community, and despite Western powers pledging that they’d snap back sanctions if Iran violated the nuclear deal, that hasn’t been the case,” he added.
“Iran is violating the deal, but the sanctions intended to stop its nuclear ambitions haven’t been re-imposed.
“This policy must change, the sanctions must be snapped back, and above all, Iran must face a credible nuclear threat.”
Libya’s flood-hit Derna to host reconstruction conference: authorities
- The government invites the international community to participate in the conference planned for October 10 in Derna
- The conference is being held in “response to the demands of residents of the stricken city of Derna and other towns that suffered damage”
BENGHAZI, Libya: Libya’s eastern-based administration said on Friday that it would host an international conference next month in the flood-hit port city of Derna to aid reconstruction efforts.
A tsunami-sized flash flood broke through two aging dams upstream from Derna after a hurricane-strength storm lashed the area on September 10, razing entire neighborhoods and sweeping thousands of people into the sea.
“The government invites the international community to participate in the conference planned for October 10 in Derna to present modern, rapid projects for the reconstruction of the city,” the administration said in a statement.
It said the conference was being held in “response to the demands of residents of the stricken city of Derna and other towns that suffered damage” during the flooding.
Wracked by divisions since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed veteran dictator Muammar Qaddafi, Libya has for years been ruled by two administrations vying for power.
A UN-backed, internationally recognized administration in the capital Tripoli is run by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, while a rival administration in the east is backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
The official death toll from the flood stands at more than 3,300 — but the eventual count is expected to be far higher, with international aid groups giving estimates of up to 10,000 people missing.
The International Organization for Migration on Thursday said more than 43,000 people have been displaced by the flood.
