Republican congress members pay an unofficial visit to Syria as US mulls sanctions relief

Republican congress members pay an unofficial visit to Syria as US mulls sanctions relief
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US congressmen Cory Mills (let) and Martin Stutzman (second from right), meet Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, a Syrian-American Christian prelate serving as the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Damascus on April 18, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 19 April 2025
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Republican congress members pay an unofficial visit to Syria as US mulls sanctions relief

Republican congress members pay an unofficial visit to Syria as US mulls sanctions relief
  • Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana and Rep. Cory Mills of Florida visited the Damascus suburb of Jobar and met with Christian religious leaders
  • They were toured around by Syrian Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat, the only woman and only Christian serving in the transitional government

DAMASCUS, Syria: Two Republican members of the US Congress were in the Syrian capital Friday on an unofficial visit organized by a Syrian-American nonprofit, the first by US legislators since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December.
Also Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa in his first visit since Assad’s fall and since the beginning of the Syrian uprising-turned-civil-war in 2011.
Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana and Rep. Cory Mills of Florida visited the Damascus suburb of Jobar, the site of a historic synagogue that was heavily damaged and looted in the civil war, and the Christian neighborhood of Bab Touma, where they met with Christian religious leaders. They also were set to meet Al-Sharaa and other government officials.

 

The Trump administration has yet to officially recognize the current Syrian government, led by Al-Sharaa, an Islamist former insurgent who led a lightning offensive that toppled Assad. Washington has not yet lifted harsh sanctions that were imposed during Assad’s rule.
Mills, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Associated Press that it was “very important to come here to be able to see it for myself, to be with various governmental bodies, to look at the needs of the Syrian people, to look at the needs for the nation for stability.”
Mills said he expected discussions with Al-Sharaa to include the issue of sanctions, as well as the government’s priorities and the need for the transitional administration to move toward a “democratically elected society.”
“Ultimately, it’s going to be the president’s decision” to lift sanctions or not, he said, although “Congress can advise.”
The Congress members came at the invitation of the Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity, a nonprofit based in Indiana that describes its mission as fostering “a sustainable political, economic, and social partnership between the people of Syria and the United States.”
Syrian Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat, the only woman and only Christian serving in the transitional government, joined the congressional team on a visit to Bab Touma, which she said was “very important” to Syrians.




US Congressman Cory Mills, Syrian Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat, and others walk on a street during a visit to Bab Touma, a geographic landmark of Christianity, in the Old city of Damascus on April 18, 2025. (Reuters photo)

The US State Department, meanwhile, issued a statement Friday reiterating its warning against US citizens visiting Syria. The statement said the State Department “is tracking credible information related to potential imminent attacks, including locations frequented by tourists.”
Palestinian leader visits as Israeli troops remain in Syria
The Palestinian official news agency Wafa said that Abbas’s visit, his first since 2007, was “aimed at strengthening Palestinian-Syrian relations and discussing pressing regional developments.”
Abbas and Al-Sharaa discussed the ongoing war in Gaza and international efforts to move forward long-stalled efforts to reach a two-state solution to the to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and “agreed to form joint committees aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors,” it said.
Syria has a population of about 450,000 Palestinian refugees. The Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus was once widely considered the capital of the Palestinian diaspora before it was largely destroyed in the war.




Accompanied by unidentified members of the delegation, US congressman Cory Mills, second from right, walks in the Old City of Damascus on April 18, 2025. (AP Photo)

Palestinian refugees in Syria have never been given citizenship, ostensibly to preserve their right to go back to the homes they fled or were forced from during the 1948 creation of the state of Israel. But in contrast to neighboring Lebanon, where Palestinians are banned from owning property or working in many professions, in Syria, Palestinians historically had all the rights of citizens except the right to vote and run for office.
Syria does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. While the new Syrian authorities have said publicly that they are not interested in entering a conflict with Israel, the Israeli government regards the Islamist former insurgents now in power in Damascus with suspicion.
Israeli forces seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone inside Syria after the rebels toppled Assad and have launched an extensive series of airstrikes on military facilities in Syria. Israeli officials have said that they will not allow the new Syrian military south of Damascus.
Abbas’ arrival in Damascus was delayed after Israeli authorities denied permission for a helicopter to land in Ramallah that was supposed to arrive from Jordan to take the Palestinian president, said a Palestinian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. Israeli officials did not respond to a request for comment on the incident.
 


First Jordanian passenger plane lands in Syria’s Aleppo after 14-year hiatus

First Jordanian passenger plane lands in Syria’s Aleppo after 14-year hiatus
Updated 11 sec ago
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First Jordanian passenger plane lands in Syria’s Aleppo after 14-year hiatus

First Jordanian passenger plane lands in Syria’s Aleppo after 14-year hiatus

CAIRO: The first Royal Jordanian Airlines passenger plane has landed in Aleppo for the first time in nearly 14 years.

The Jordanian airline had scheduled flight from Amman to Aleppo International Airport on Tuesday, according to the Syrian News Agency (SANA) 


Top Hamas official says Gaza truce talks no longer of interest

Top Hamas official says Gaza truce talks no longer of interest
Updated 06 May 2025
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Top Hamas official says Gaza truce talks no longer of interest

Top Hamas official says Gaza truce talks no longer of interest
  • A senior Hamas official said Tuesday the group was no longer interested in truce talks with Israel and urged the international community to halt Israel’s “hunger war” against Gaza

GAZA: A senior Hamas official said Tuesday the group was no longer interested in truce talks with Israel and urged the international community to halt Israel's "hunger war" against Gaza.
"There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip," Basem Naim told AFP.
He said the world must pressure the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the "crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings" in Gaza.
The comments by Naim, a Hamas political bureau member and former Gaza health minister, come a day after Israel's military said expanded operations in Gaza would include displacing "most" of its residents.
On Monday Israel's security cabinet approved the military's plan for expanded operations, which an Israeli official said would entail "the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories".
Nearly all of the territory's residents inhabitants have been displaced, often multiple times, since the start of the war sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Gaza has been under total Israeli blockade since March 2 and faces a severe humanitarian crisis.
Israel's military resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in a radio interview on Tuesday called Israel's plan for a Gaza offensive "unacceptable", and said its government was "in violation of humanitarian law".


Sudan’s paramilitary unleashes drones on key targets in Port Sudan

Sudan’s paramilitary unleashes drones on key targets in Port Sudan
Updated 06 May 2025
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Sudan’s paramilitary unleashes drones on key targets in Port Sudan

Sudan’s paramilitary unleashes drones on key targets in Port Sudan
  • The barrage was the second such attack this week on a city that had been a hub for people fleeing Sudan’s two-year war
  • Local media reported loud sound of explosions and fires at the port and the airport

CAIRO: Sudan’s paramilitary unleashed drones on the Red Sea city of Port Sudan early Tuesday, hitting key targets there, including the airport, the port and a hotel, military officials said. The barrage was the second such attack this week on a city that had been a hub for people fleeing Sudan’s two-year war.
There was no immediate word on any casualties or the extent of the damage. Local media reported loud sound of explosions and fires at the port and the airport. Footage circulating online showed thick smoke rising over the area.
The attack on Port Sudan, which also serves as an interim seat for Sudan’s military-allied government, underscores that after two years of fighting, the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are still capable of threatening each other’s territory.
The RSF drones struck early in the morning, said two Sudanese military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Abdel-Rahman Al-Nour, a Port Sudan resident, said he woke up to strong explosions, and saw fires and plumes of black smoke rising over the port. Msha’ashir Ahmed, a local journalist living in Port Sudan, said fires were still burning late Tuesday morning in the southern vicinity of the maritime port.
The attack apparently disrupted air traffic at the airport, with Cairo airport data in neighboring Egypt showing that three Port Sudan-bound flights were canceled on Tuesday.
The RSF did not release any statements on the attack. On Sunday, the paramilitary force struck Port Sudan for the first time in the war, disrupting air traffic in the city’s airport, which has been the main entry point for the county in the last two years.
A military ammunition warehouse in the Othman Daqna air base in the city was also hit, setting off a fire that burned for two days.
When the fighting in Sudan broke out, the focus of the battles initially was the country’s capital, Khartoum, which turned into a war zone. Withing weeks, Port Sudan, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) to the east of Khartoum, turned into a safe haven for the displaced and those fleeing the war. Many aid missions and UN agencies moved their offices there.
The attacks on Port Sudan are also seen as retaliation after the Sudanese military earlier this month struck the Nyala airport in South Darfur, which the paramilitary RSF has turned into a base and where it gets shipments of arms, including drones.
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in Khartoum. From there, the fighting spread to other parts of the country.
Since then, at least 24,000 people have been killed, though the number is likely far higher. The war has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including four million crossed into neighboring countries. It also pushed parts of the country into famine.
The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western Darfur region, according to the United Natios. and international rights groups.


Syrian president expected to visit France soon

Syrian president expected to visit France soon
Updated 06 May 2025
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Syrian president expected to visit France soon

Syrian president expected to visit France soon
  • Sharaa in February received an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to visit France in the ‘coming weeks’

Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is expected to visit France soon, a statement by the Syrian president’s office said, without specifying a date.
Sharaa in February received an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to visit France in the “coming weeks.”


Trump, asked about Israel’s Gaza plans, says US will help on food

President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, May 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, May 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Updated 05 May 2025
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Trump, asked about Israel’s Gaza plans, says US will help on food

President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, May 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
  • UN and aid organizations have warned of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground, with famine again looming after two months of Israeli blockade

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump repeated a US pledge to help get food to Palestinians in Gaza when he was asked at the White House on Monday about Israeli plans for an expanded offensive in the territory.
Trump did not offer his views on Israel’s operations. He made the comments to reporters in the Oval Office.

Israel’s security cabinet approved the expansion of military operations in Gaza including the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory, an official said Monday, after the army called up tens of thousands of reservists for the offensive.
It comes as the United Nations and aid organizations have repeatedly warned of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground, with famine again looming after more than two months of a total Israeli blockade.
The Israeli official said the expanded operations “will include, among other things, the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories, moving the Gaza population south for their protection.”
A different senior security official said “a central component of the plan is a large-scale evacuation of the entire Gazan population from the fighting zones... to areas in southern Gaza.”
The plan, approved by the cabinet overnight, comes amid a push by Israel for Palestinians to leave the territory.
A “voluntary transfer program for Gaza residents... will be part of the operation’s goals,” the senior security official added.
The European Union voiced concern and urged restraint from Israel, saying the plan “will result in further casualties and suffering for the Palestinian people.”
Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted the war with Hamas, which was sparked by the militants’ October 2023 attack.
Israel has since carried out intensive aerial bombardments and expanded ground operations across the Palestinian territory.
Gaza rescuers on Monday said Israeli air strikes killed at least 19 people.