BRUSSELS: The European Union is setting up a dedicated sanctions framework for Sudan to eventually target key actors in the ongoing war with travel bans and asset and bank account freezes, diplomatic sources familiar with the matter said.
A proposal document was shared between member states late last week and the details will be discussed over the following weeks, diplomatic sources said. The aim is to finish the framework by September, after which it could be used to compile a list of banned individuals and companies, the sources said.
US President Joe Biden signed an executive order in early May laying groundwork for potential US sanctions.
The EU has already sanctioned entities and individuals linked to Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, including its operations in Sudan and two gold companies.
“Setting up the regime should serve as a deterrent to Sudanese warlords. It’s a last warning,” one of the sources said, adding that the framework would stick to individual targets rather than any sectoral moves.
War broke out in April this year between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, who ousted longtime autocrat Omar Al-Bashir in 2019, and a paramilitary force led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
Hemedti derived his wealth from gold mines in Darfur. Burhan’s army is supported by Islamist Bashir loyalists.
The UN’s special representative to Sudan, Volker Perthes, warned in July that the conflict showed no signs of a quick resolution and “risked morphing into an ethnicized civil war.” Diplomatic mediation efforts has so far failed and cease-fires have been used by both sides to regroup.
Earlier this month, the International Organization for Migration estimated 3 million people had been displaced by the fighting and more than 700,000 had fled to neighboring countries such as Egypt and Chad. A humanitarian crisis is meanwhile unfolding as aid fails to be disbursed or reach its destinations.
EU to toughen its stance on Sudan war with sanctions framework — sources
https://arab.news/64288
EU to toughen its stance on Sudan war with sanctions framework — sources
- US President Joe Biden signed an executive order in early May laying groundwork for potential US sanctions
- The UN’s special representative to Sudan, Volker Perthes, warned in July that the conflict showed no signs of a quick resolution
Trump seeks to strike back in crucial State of the Union
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will try to sell voters on the record of his first year back in power during his State of the Union address Tuesday, despite suffering a series of stinging blows ahead of November’s crucial midterm elections.
After a year of breakneck activity that has stunned America and the world, the 79-year-old Republican’s flagship speech to Congress — which he has largely sidelined — comes at a tense time.
Trump is fuming over a string of recent setbacks, including dismal approval ratings and the Supreme Court striking down his signature tariffs, a cornerstone of his economic agenda.
Adding to the drama, Trump will be speaking right in front of the same justices — including two of his own appointees — whom he branded “fools” over the stunning ruling.
If Democrats win back either the House or Senate in November, it could paralyze the rest of Trump’s second term — and put him at the risk of a possible third impeachment.
But Trump shows no signs of backing down in a speech that is likely to mix a defense of his first year with a launching pad for the midterms.
“It’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about,” Trump said at the White House on Monday.
The president also dismissed “fake” polls including a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll published on Sunday showing his approval rating at just 39 percent.
Democrat protests
Democrats are lining up responses including boycotts and silent protests for the address — mandated by the US Constitution which says that the president shall “from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union.”
Tina Smith, a Democratic senator from Minnesota, said she would skip it because Trump uses his speeches to “spread lies — not to mention they’re long and boring.”
The speech comes after a year in which Trump has asserted unprecedented executive power, targeted opponents and slapped his name on buildings at home, while upending the world order abroad.
Trump will be keen to tout what his administration says is its success on immigration, especially on cutting crossings over the Mexican border.
But polls show that while voters like his overall stance on immigration, they don’t like the harsh deportation raids in which two US citizens were shot dead in January.
On the economy, he will be selling what he claims is success in cutting inflation and restoring what he calls a “Golden Age” of America.
But billionaire Trump also faces a challenge to convince voters who are still worried about the cost of living — which many blame on the tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down.
Iran tensions
The world will meanwhile be watching for hints from Trump about possible military action against Iran, with a huge US military build-up pressing Tehran to make a nuclear deal.
The key speech has been used to advance foreign policy before — former president George W. Bush fashioned his 2003 State of the Union speech, for instance, to make the case for war with Iraq.
Adding to the interest will be the guests that both Republicans and Democrats bring to watch the address from the gallery, part of a long tradition.
