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Japan Times
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
U.N. report sees no active Syrian state links to al-Qaida
United Nations sanctions monitors have seen no "active ties" this year between al-Qaida and the Islamist group leading Syria's interim government, an unpublished U.N. report said, a finding that could strengthen an expected U.S. push for removing U.N. sanctions on Syria. The report, seen on Thursday, is likely to be published this month. Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham is al-Qaida's former branch in Syria but broke ties in 2016. The group, previously known as al-Nusra Front, led the rebellion that toppled President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive in December, and HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's interim president. The report comes as diplomats expect the United States to seek the removal of U.N. sanctions on HTS and Sharaa, who has said he wants to build an inclusive Syria with equal rights for all. "Many tactical-level individuals hold more extreme views than ... Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab, who are generally regarded as more pragmatic than ideological," the U.N. report said. It covered the six months to June 22 and relied on contributions and assessments from U.N. member states. Since May 2014, HTS has been subject to U.N. sanctions including a global assets freeze and arms embargo. A number of HTS members also face sanctions like a travel ban and asset freeze — including Sharaa, who has been listed since July 2013. The U.N. monitors wrote in their report to the Security Council: "Some member states raised concerns that several HTS and aligned members, especially those in tactical roles or integrated into the new Syrian army, remained ideologically tied to Al Qaeda." U.S. President Donald Trump announced a major U.S. policy shift in May when he said he would lift U.S. sanctions on Syria. He signed an executive order enacting this at the end of June, and Washington revoked its foreign terrorist organization designation of HTS this week. The U.S. said then that revoking the designation was a step towards Trump's vision of a peaceful and unified Syria. The U.S. is "reviewing our remaining terrorist designations related to HTS and Syria and their placement on the U.N. sanctions list," a State Department spokesperson said. Diplomats, humanitarian organizations and regional analysts have said lifting sanctions would help rebuild Syria's shattered economy, steer the country away from authoritarianism and reduce the appeal of radical groups. Trump and his advisers have argued that doing so would also serve U.S. interests by opening opportunities for American businesses, countering Iranian and Russian influence and potentially limiting the call for U.S. military involvement in the region. But Washington faces diplomatic obstacles to get Security Council backing for removing the sanctions. The U.S. will also need to win support from Russia — which was an ally to Assad — and China for any Syria sanctions relief at the U.N., diplomats said. Both are particularly concerned about foreigners who joined HTS during the 13-year war between rebel groups and Assad. The U.N. experts said there were estimated to be more than 5,000 foreign fighters in Syria. The status of foreign fighters has been one of the most fraught issues hindering Syria's rapprochement with the West. But the U.S. has given its blessing to a plan by Syria's new leaders to integrate foreign fighters into the army. "China is gravely concerned about such developments. The Syrian interim authorities should earnestly fulfill their counter-terrorism obligations," China's U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong told the Security Council last month. He said Syria must combat terrorist organizations including "the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party.' Uyghur fighters from China and Central Asia are members of the Turkistan Islamic Party. Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of the mainly Muslim ethnic minority. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council last month that it was essential Syria's "army and police are staffed exclusively by professional personnel with untainted track records," an apparent reference to irregular fighters like militants. The U.N. monitors said some foreign fighters rejected the move to integrate them into the military. "Defections occurred among those who see Sharaa as a sell-out, raising the risk of internal conflict and making Sharaa a potential target," the U.N. experts said.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Photo shows quake-hit building in Myanmar, not proof of corruption in Bangladesh
"The contractor says the funds for construction ran out after everyone took their bribes. I thought about it today after seeing this government building," reads part of the Bengali-language caption of a Facebook video posted on May 28, 2025. "Bribe-taking officials are getting frustrated as the avenues for corruption are narrowing." The video shows a partially collapsed fire station, with the building crushing fire engines that were parked underneath. The short video was also shared in similar Facebook posts ahead of the one year anniversary of student-launched protests that culminated weeks later in the overthrow of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's government (archived link). Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina's government launched a brutal campaign to silence the protesters, according to the United Nations (archived link). The country has started trials of senior figures from Hasina's government -- a key demand of several political parties now jostling for power as the South Asian nation awaits elections that the interim government has vowed will take place before June 2026. A tribunal in Dhaka has issued arrest warrants for Hasina, and the interim government has formally requested her extradition from India -- where she fled after being toppled -- several times. The video circulating online, however, was not filmed in Bangladesh and is unrelated to allegations of graft under Hasina's rule. A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared clip led to a YouTube video posted on May 24 by a channel called "2025 Sagaing Earthquake Archive" (archived link). The video is titled, "Damage To Sagaing Fire Station, Sagaing, Myanmar". The city of Sagaing was less than 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the epicentre of a devastating 7.7-magnitude quake that struck Myanmar on March 28, killing nearly 3,800 people and destroying swathes of homes and businesses (archived link). A subsequent keyword search found a similar image of the quake-damaged fire station in articles from Myanmar news outlet Irrawaddy and the BBC that were published in March (archived here and here). An official Facebook page for the Sagaing fire district also posted the same photo on April 15 (archived link). The falsely shared clip also matches a Google Maps photo of the Sagaing fire station taken in December 2020 (archived link). AFP has debunked other false claims stemming from the unrest in Bangladesh here.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Top Asian News 4:23 a.m. GMT
Bangladesh's interim government bans the former ruling party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The interim government in Bangladesh on Saturday banned all activities of the former ruling Awami League party headed by former influential Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted last year in a mass uprising. Asif Nazrul, the country's law affairs adviser, said late Saturday the interim Cabinet headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus decided to ban the party's activities online and elsewhere under the country's Anti-Terrorism Act. The ban would stay in place until a special tribunal completes a trial of the party and its leaders over the deaths of hundreds of students and other protesters during an anti-government uprising in July and August last year.
