PARIS: Syria’s foreign minister will attend an international conference in Paris on Thursday as regional and Western powers seek to shield the country during its fragile transition amid ongoing instability across the region.
Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani is leading a delegation for a first trip to the European Union since the overthrow of Bashar Assad and days after President Emmanuel Macron invited Syria’s UN-sanctioned President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to France.
“This Paris meeting in a way is to help create a protective bubble around the Syria crisis to give them time to resolve it by dissuading the bad losers from destabilising the country,” a French official said.
Regional ministers, including from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Lebanon, will be joined with Western partners, although the United States will only have a low level diplomatic presence.
The meeting aims to coordinate efforts to bring a peaceful transition ensuring the country’s sovereignty and security, mobilize Syria’s main neighbors and partners to coordinate aid and economic support, the French foreign ministry said.
It will also discuss transitional justice and the fight against impunity.
The conference does not aim to raise funds, which will be left to an annual pledging conference in Brussels in March, but issues such as the lifting of sanctions would be discussed.
The EU has moved forward in lifting some sanctions, although that still remains blocked amid opposition from Cyprus and Greece amid concerns over maritime delimitation talks between Syria and Turkiye and assurances that sanctions could be restored quickly, two diplomats said.
They said they were hopeful a compromise could be reached this month.
Ahead of the meeting, main international donors will also take stock of the humanitarian situation, notably in northeastern Syria, where the impact of US aid cuts has had a “terrifying” impact, according to a European official.
Officials also said the subject of Western-backed Kurdish Syrian forces, the central government and Turkiye, which deems part of those forces as terrorist groups, would also be discussed.
A Turkish diplomatic source said Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz, who will attend the meeting, would “draw attention to the threats Syria is facing, namely the separatist terrorist organization and emphasize our country’s determination regarding the total clearance of the country from terror elements.”
Syrian minister makes first trip to EU as powers look to aid transition
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Syrian minister makes first trip to EU as powers look to aid transition
Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday
GAZA CITY: A Gaza civil defense official said that 91 people were killed in strikes and attacks throughout Monday as Israel steps up an offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The deaths had been recorded since the early hours of Monday, according to Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, an official in the civil defense agency of the Hamas-run territory. The department had earlier given a toll of 52 dead.
Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port
SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis said Monday that they would target Haifa port in Israel as part of a “naval blockade” in response to Israeli escalation in the Gaza war.
The Houthis would “begin working to enforce a naval blockade of the port of Haifa,” said military spokesman Yehya Saree.
“All companies with ships present in or heading to this port are hereby notified that, as of the time of this announcement, the aforementioned port has been included in the target bank,” the Houthi spokesman added.
The move was “in response to the Israeli enemy’s escalation of its brutal aggression against our people and in Gaza,” he said, adding their attacks on Israel would “cease once the aggression on Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.”
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will “take control” of the whole of Gaza, as rescuers reported dozens killed in a newly intensified offensive.
One SDF fighter killed in attack by Daesh in eastern Syria
- SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government
- Syria’s new authorities have clashed with Daesh fighters, particularly in the east
CAIRO: The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a militia group led by Kurdish fighters, said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by Daesh in Syria’s eastern Deir el-Zor region.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Daesh in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government, now led by former militants who toppled President Bashar Assad last year.
Syria’s new authorities have clashed with Daesh fighters, particularly in the east. Last month, Daesh killed five SDF fighters in one of the deadliest recent attacks against the group.
Egypt rejects all Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, El-Sisi tells Aoun
- During a meeting in Cairo, Egyptian president pledges support for stability in Lebanon and reconstruction of his counterpart’s country
- Lebanese president says Lebanon needs ‘stability and lasting peace in our region, built on justice’ and his nation cannot be excluded from this just peace
BEIRUT: Egypt rejects repeated Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and its occupation of parts of the country, and supports Lebanon’s reconstruction efforts, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Monday as he received a visit in Cairo from his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun.
The two leaders discussed ways in which bilateral relations might be strengthened and Egypt can support stability in Lebanon, as well as broader challenges to regional peace.
During a joint press conference following their talks, El-Sisi said that his country remains firm in its support of Lebanon’s internal stability and efforts to safeguard its full sovereignty.
He said Egypt continues to call on Israeli authorities to withdraw their forces immediately and unconditionally from Lebanese territory, respect the 1949 Armistice Agreements with Arab states, and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Resolution 1701 was adopted in 2006 with the aim of resolving the conflict that year between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
El-Sisi said his country will not interfere in internal Lebanese affairs but is keen to have a strong relationship with the nation. The president added that he wants Egypt to support reconstruction efforts in Lebanon, called on the wider international community also to assume its responsibilities in this process, and affirmed the need to enhance the nation’s internal stability and preserve its full sovereignty.
“On the political level, there should be a voice that supports Lebanon and its president, namely when it comes to calling for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the five occupied hills, and addressing the remaining issues calmly and regularly in accordance with the Lebanese president’s wish in order to preserve the country’s security and stability,” El-Sisi said.
Turning to the situation in Palestine, he stressed the need to end Israeli hostilities in Gaza immediately. He called for the mobilization of the international community to implement a Gaza reconstruction plan without any displacement of the population, and to enable Palestinian authorities to carry out their role in fully managing the territory.
Aoun praised the depth of the Lebanese-Egyptian relationship, saying it is built on “freedom and openness.” He affirmed the commitment of his nation to Resolution 1701, which he said preserves his country’s sovereignty and territorial unity, and emphasizes the importance of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s role in the south of the country.
He called for a halt to Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and said: “We affirm the necessity to put an end to Israeli hostilities, and adhere to the provisions of the 1949 Armistice Agreement in a way that ensures security and stability in southern Lebanon and the whole region.”
The Lebanese president urged the international community to “fulfill its responsibilities, particularly in compelling Israel to adhere to the ceasefire agreement, reached under US and French sponsorship, in order to maintain security and stability in Lebanon and the region, withdraw from all Lebanese territories up to our internationally recognized and demarcated borders, and facilitate the return of Lebanese prisoners.”
Aoun also emphasized his nation’s “commitment to establishing the best possible relations” with neighboring Syria, and highlighted the importance of “coordination and cooperation between the two countries to address shared challenges, particularly concerning the issue of Syrian refugees.”
He underscored “the necessity of ensuring the safe and dignified return of the refugees to their homeland,” and urged the governments of Syria and Lebanon “to act swiftly through joint committees that have been agreed upon to achieve this, thereby safeguarding the interests of both nations and their peoples.”
He affirmed Lebanon’s support for all efforts to preserve Syrian unity and sovereignty and address the aspirations of its people. He welcomed recent decisions to lift international sanctions against the country, following the fall of the Assad regime, and expressed hopes that this will contribute to its recovery and wider regional stability.
Returning to the situation in his own country, Aoun said Lebanon needs “stability and lasting peace in our region, built on justice by granting all rights to their rightful owners. This is what the Arab countries approved in the Beirut Peace Initiative in 2002 and this is what we look forward to embodying as soon as possible.”
This peace would include “the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state,” he added, and a battle against “extremism and terrorism, poverty and hunger, ideas of elimination and desires of exclusion,” to “achieve development and prosperity for our people.
“I affirm that Lebanon cannot be outside such an equation. It is not in the interest of any Lebanese person, nor any country or people in our region, to exclude itself from the path of a comprehensive and just peace.”
Aoun called for “the establishment of a system for common Arab interests, one of the first pillars of which would be a body regulating the common interests of our countries and peoples, as a prelude to establishing a common regional market that would begin between two countries and gradually expand across sectors and geographies.”
Aoun’s office said that during his talks with El-Sisi the two leaders agreed to convene a joint high-level committee meeting, chaired by the countries’ prime ministers in Cairo on a date to be announced, to examine Lebanon’s needs and establish a working mechanism to help achieve them.
El-Sisi said he wishes to see Egyptian companies operating in Lebanon and providing assistance, as the Lebanese market represents a promising destination for trade and investment.
The Egyptian minister of electricity and renewable energy, Mahmoud Esmat, highlighted the cooperation between the two countries in the electricity sector, and El-Sisi said Lebanon “must be assisted in repairing its (power) grid and in everything that can help secure electricity.” This will be discussed further during the upcoming high-level ministerial committee meeting, he added.
Aoun’s visit to Egypt formed part of his strategic Arab outreach following his election as president in January. The trip to Cairo followed visits to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in what Lebanese presidential sources described as a concerted effort to “forge a new chapter in Lebanon-Arab world relations.”
Tripoli-based govt ‘pursuing permanent truce after clashes’
- UN mission welcomes creation of ceasefire committee, calls for protection of all civilians
TRIPOLI: Libya’s UN-recognized government said on Monday it was pressing efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire after days of deadly clashes in the capital and protests demanding the prime minister’s resignation.
The fighting last week pitted an armed group aligned with the Tripoli-based government against factions it has sought to dismantle, resulting in at least eight dead, according to the UN.
The Libyan Defense Ministry said in a statement that “the efforts toward a ceasefire remain ongoing” and that it was “directly” overseeing the process to ensure stability.
The fighting had largely ended by late on Thursday, according to an Interior Ministry official and the UN mission in Libya, but without any formal ceasefire agreement.
The UN mission, UNSMIL, welcomed on Sunday the creation of a “truce committee building on the fragile peace reached last week” after the violence that saw heavy artillery used in central Tripoli.
UNSMIL said the committee “is focused on facilitating a permanent ceasefire with emphasis on the protection of all civilians, and to agree on security arrangements for Tripoli.”
Tripoli saw a return to relative calm late last week as flights resumed, shops reopened, and people returned to work, but the situation remained volatile as calls for Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s resignation grew.
The clashes were sparked by the killing of an armed faction leader by a group aligned with Dbeibah’s government — the 444 Brigade, which later fought a third group, the Radaa force that controls parts of eastern Tripoli and the city’s airport.
It came after Dbeibah announced a string of executive orders seeking to dismantle Radaa and dissolve other Tripoli-based armed groups, but excluding the 444 Brigade.
The 444 Brigade said on Monday it had uncovered a mass grave with 10 bodies in Abu Salim, a district of Tripoli that before last week was controlled by the group of Abdelghani Al-Kikli, whose killing sparked the clashes.
Dbeibah had accused Al-Kikli’s group, the Support and Stability Apparatus, of multiple abuses, including “cold-blooded” executions and forced disappearance of critics.
In an address on Saturday after securing the public support of several dignitaries, Dbeibah called on armed groups in Tripoli to align themselves with “state institutions.”
“Our goal is a Libya free of militias and corruption,” he said.
