Syria’s foreign minister raises nation’s new flag at UN, pleads for end to sanctions

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Updated 25 April 2025
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Syria’s foreign minister raises nation’s new flag at UN, pleads for end to sanctions

  • Asaad Al-Shaibani tells Security Council that the sanctions against his country threaten its stability and transition
  • UN’s special envoy Geir Pedersen joins him in condemning Israel’s ‘highly confrontational’ approach to new Syrian government

LONDON: Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad Al-Shaibani, helped raise his nation’s new flag at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday, before pleading with the international community to remove the punishing sanctions imposed on his country.

Al-Shaibani’s trip to the US is his first official visit since opposition forces seized control of Damascus from President Bashar Assad in December after nearly 14 years of civil war.

Addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council, he said the sanctions, imposed by the US and EU, among others, were introduced to target the Assad regime but could now derail Syria’s political transition.

“The burden of sanctions continues to threaten our stability,” Al-Shaibani said. “The lifting of sanctions could be a crucial step in transforming Syria from a country known for its dark past to an active and powerful partner in peace, prosperity and the international economy.”

Many of the international sanctions were imposed in response to the Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters in 2011 that sparked the war.




Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani holds the Syrian flag during a ceremony adding it to the 100 flags flying in line at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday. (AP)

The UK on Thursday said it had withdrawn asset freezes on a number of Syrian government organizations, including the defense and interior ministries. The EU and US have also removed some sanctions but many remain in place, imposing severe restrictions on Syria’s crippled economy.

Al-Shaibani said these restrictions prevent international organizations from investing in Syria, and capital and expertise from entering the country.

Syria’s interim president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who led the opposition Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham that swept Assad from power, has made similar repeated calls for sanctions to be lifted.

Al-Shaibani’s visit to the US is part of a push to gain support from the Trump administration, and to lobby for the removal of the restrictions. US authorities have been cautious so far, opting to wait and see the direction in which Syria’s new rulers will lead the country.

During Friday’s Security Council meeting, the US ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, said Washington would “continue to observe the actions of the interim authorities and will determine our actions based on a pattern of behavior.”




Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday. (AFP)

She said the Syrian government would be held accountable in a number of areas, including the actions it takes to combat terrorism, its record of nonaggression against neighboring states, and efforts to ensure the security and freedoms of all Syrians.

The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called for the easing of sanctions on Syria “at a larger scale and quicker pace.”

He continued: “This is essential to reactivate Syria’s economy, to realize concrete support from the region, and to enable many to actively participate in a national effort to rebuild their country.”

Pedersen warned that while a lot had been achieved since Assad’s downfall, the challenges facing the country’s “extremely fragile” political transition were huge but the government could be successful if there was greater inclusion within the political process, and much-needed economic stability.

“With a sea change on both these elements, the political transition in Syria can succeed,” he added. “Without both, it likely will not and the consequences would be grave.”




Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani stands next to the Syrian flag during a ceremony outside the UN headquarters on Friday. (AP)

Al-Sharaa last month formed a new Cabinet to replace the caretaker government installed after his forces captured Damascus. However, he faces international pressure to ensure the political process includes greater representation across Syria’s wide array of ethnic and religious groups.

The fragile nature of Syria’s political transition was illustrated last month when violence erupted in its coastal region. Pro-Assad groups attacked government security forces there, sparking revenge killings against the Alawite community in which hundreds of civilians were killed.

The new Syrian government has also been undermined by Israeli attacks on the country, including clashes in Deraa and airstrikes on Damascus, Hama and Homs. In addition, Israeli troops remain stationed inside Syrian territory after seizing positions there in December.

“The ongoing aggression undermines our reconstruction efforts and undermines the peace and security we seek,” Al-Shaibani said.

“We have repeatedly stated our commitment that Syria will not pose a threat to any country in the region or the world, including Israel.”

Pedersen described Israel’s approach to Syria as “highly confrontational” and “unwarranted,” given that there is clearly scope for diplomacy.

In a symbolic break from the Assad regime, Syria’s new rulers have replaced the nation’s previous flag, which featured two stars, with a three-star flag used by opposition forces during the conflict.

Al-Shaibani held the new flag as it began to rise into the New York sky, alongside the flags of dozens of other countries, during a ceremony at the UN building on Friday morning.

“This flag is not just a symbol, it is a declaration of a new existence born of suffering, embodying a future born of steadfastness and a promise of change after years of pain,” he said.


Israel to send delegation to Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks

Updated 10 sec ago
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Israel to send delegation to Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks

  • The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, Israeli official says
  • Hamas earlier said it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit”

Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost
21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s retaliatory military assault on the enclave has killed over 57,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, displaced Gaza’s entire population internally and prompted accusations of genocide and war crimes. Israel denies the accusations.


Syrian president, Lebanon’s grand mufti hold ‘frank’ talks in Damascus

Updated 05 July 2025
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Syrian president, Lebanon’s grand mufti hold ‘frank’ talks in Damascus

  • Ahmad Al-Sharaa, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian discuss nations’ shared aspirations
  • ‘Syrians will not be defeated by terrorism,’ Derian says

BEIRUT: Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian had an hour-long meeting at the People’s Palace in Damascus on Saturday.

Derian’s visit was the first by a Lebanese Sunni religious leader to Syria in more than 20 years, signaling a thaw in relations between the two nations that had been strained since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the start of the Syrian war in 2011.

Described as “frank,” the meeting addressed past estrangements and shared aspirations for renewal.

Derian, accompanied by a delegation of religious leaders, including Sheikh Mohammed Assaf, head of the Sunni Shariah courts, emphasized the importance of reconciliation and cooperation.

“After a long absence we come to reform the present and build a prosperous future,” he said, acknowledging the suffering of millions of Syrians and praising their resilience in the face of extremism and displacement.

He lauded the Syrian Arab Republic’s path toward free elections under Al-Sharaa — the first for more than 60 years — and expressed hope for its revival as a pillar of the Arab world and ability to overcome challenges like the recent Damascus church bombing, which he cited as evidence of ongoing conspiracies.

“Syrians will not be defeated by terrorism,” he said, praising Al-Sharaa’s navigation of a “difficult and arduous” road.

Derian underscored a renewed Lebanese-Syrian partnership founded on mutual support and Arab unity, and highlighted the promise of Lebanon’s own trajectory under a new government committed to the Taif Agreement.

“The hopes of the Lebanese are pinned on what was contained in the ministerial statement and the presidential oath, which are the beginning of the road to rebuilding a strong and just state, striving to serve all the Lebanese,” he said.

“Lebanon’s rise can only be achieved through the efforts of its best and loyal sons, both residents and expatriates, and the support of his Arab brothers and friends.”

He said there could be no salvation for Lebanon except through “sincere and constructive cooperation” with other Arab nations, which he described as the “guarantee of Lebanon’s security, stability, sovereignty, national unity and civilized Arabism which believes in the commitment to the Taif Agreement document … sponsored by Saudi Arabia.”

As a symbol of the strong ties between Lebanon and Syria, Derian presented Al-Sharaa with the Dar Al-Fatwa Gold Medal.

“We will stand with you in every calamity and joy,” he said.

The visit, coordinated with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, began with prayers at the Umayyad Mosque and a stop at Mount Qasioun.

In a separate meeting with Syrian Minister of Endowments Mohammed Abu Al-Khair, Derian emphasized Dar Al-Fatwa’s role in promoting moderate Islam, citizenship and coexistence amid regional challenges.

A Lebanese political observer framed the visit as a pivotal shift, not just religious but political, signaling Lebanese Sunnis’ readiness to forge a “new and normal” relationship with Syria’s emerging leadership.

The visit underscores Lebanon’s reaffirmation of its Arab identity and commitment to moderation, moving beyond decades of tension marked by assassinations and conflict.

Hezbollah, through its activists on social media, reacted cautiously to Derian’s visit to Damascus and his meeting with Al-Sharaa, with some accusing him of “stabbing the party in the back.”


What new research reveals about Gaza’s real death toll — and why it’s far higher than official figures

Updated 05 July 2025
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What new research reveals about Gaza’s real death toll — and why it’s far higher than official figures

  • Israel claims Gaza’s health ministry inflates civilian deaths, but a new survey suggests it may be undercounting them
  • Independent researchers estimate 83,740 people have died in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 — far more than official reports

LONDON: Since October 2023, Israel has been waging two parallel wars in Gaza: One, to destroy Hamas and rescue its hostages; the other, a propaganda campaign designed to discredit the tally of civilian fatalities issued by the Gaza Ministry of Health.

However, as new independent research suggests, far from exaggerating the number of deaths since Israel began its retaliation for the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, the Gaza Ministry of Health appears to have been significantly underestimating them.

According to the latest tally from the Ministry of Health, the total number of Palestinians killed since the war began is now approaching 55,000, with a further 126,000 injured.

A Palestinian man carries a child pulled from the rubble of the Shaheen family home that was targetted in an Israeli strike in the Saftawi neighborhood, Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on June 9, 2025. (AFP)

A paper published by a team of researchers in the US, UK, Norway and Belgium, working in collaboration with the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Gaza, shows the death toll is likely far higher.

As of January 5 this year, it found the total number of violent deaths over the course of the conflict had already reached 75,200.

This figure, derived independently of the Ministry of Health, is based on an exhaustive household survey, which revealed another disturbing statistic about the war in Gaza.

In addition to the 75,200 violent deaths, the survey highlighted a further 8,540 non-violent deaths caused by indirect factors, including disease, hunger, and loss of access to medical treatment and medication.

Palestinian men, wounded in gunfire as people were receiving humanitarian aid in Rafah, arrive for treatment at congested Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 3, 2025. (AFP)

That brings the total number of deaths resulting from the war in Gaza since October 2023 to 83,740.

“Our estimate for the number of violent deaths far exceeds the figures from the Ministry of Health,” said Michael Spagat, a professor of economics at Royal Holloway College, University of London, the lead author of the study and chairman of the board of trustees of the UK charity Every Casualty Counts.

“The implication of this is that the ministry has not been exaggerating the number of violent deaths.”

IN NUMBERS

75,200 Violent deaths resulting from the war in Gaza.

8,540 Non-violent deaths caused by indirect factors.

83,740 Total number of deaths since October 2023.

(Source: Gaza Mortality Survey)

The ministry has also been accused of falsifying the number of children killed in Israeli attacks. But “the demographics of the ministry’s figures seem to be about right,” said Spagat.

“The proportion of women, elderly, and children among the dead in its figures is consistent with what we found.”

The new research estimates that 56 percent of those killed between October 2023 and January this year — 42,200 of the total 75,200 victims — were either women, children, or those aged over 65.


Palestinian civil defense first responders and other people inspect the remains of a burnt-down classroom following an Israeli strike at the UNRWA's Osama bin Zaid school in the Saftawi district of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on June 27, 2025. (AFP)

More than half of these (22,800) were children under the age of 18, meaning that almost one in three of those killed in Gaza up to January this year was a child.

The Gaza Mortality Survey, which in line with standard academic procedure received ethical pre-approval from the University of London and obtained informed consent from each respondent, was conducted between Dec. 30, 2024, and Jan. 5, 2025.

Ten two-person teams from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, tracked by GPS and real-time monitoring, conducted face-to-face questionnaire-based interviews, which were recorded on tablets and phones, and uploaded data instantly to a secure central server.

The survey teams visited a sample of 2,000 households, representative of prewar Gaza, and collected information about the “vital status” of 9,729 household members and their newborn children ­­— including whether they were alive or dead and, if dead, how they had died.

The survey, said Spagat, “would have been impossible without the support of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.

Economics professor Michael Spagat of Royal Holloway College, University of London. (Supplied)

“First of all, we would not have been let into Gaza, but our partner was already there. They have experienced survey researchers in Gaza, and they were the ones who conducted the interviews.

“Also crucial was that this organization has been tracking population movements since the war began. If we were doing a survey in Gaza under stable conditions, we would have a list of where people are, based on the last census. But there has been so much displacement the census-based list was of limited value.”

Instead, because it has been tracking population movements throughout the war, the PCPSR was able to identify 200 sample sites sheltering internally displaced people which reflected the distribution of pre-2023 populations, including in the now inaccessible areas of northern Gaza, Gaza City, and Rafah.


Palestinian civil defense first responders and other people inspect the remains of a burnt-down classroom following an Israeli strike at the UNRWA's Osama bin Zaid school in the Saftawi district of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on June 27, 2025. (AFP)

As with all such research, all the numbers come with a cautionary “confidence interval” — a margin of error that shows the possible range of figures, allowing for under- and overestimation. For the total number of violent deaths estimated by the survey, this gives a range of between 63,600 and 86,800.

“Even the lowest figure is a big number, and about 16,000 above the comparable Ministry of Health figure at the time of the survey,” said Spagat.

“We have tried to draw conclusions that we are quite confident won’t get overturned by further research, and one of our conclusions is that the Ministry of Health is not capturing all of the deaths in Gaza and that there is a substantial degree of undercount there.”

He added: “Our estimate for the number of children killed (22,800) is shockingly high, and well above the Ministry of Health figure.”

A Health Ministry rescue team is seen at work in the Zarqa neighborhood in northern Gaza City following an Israeli strike on October 26, 2024. (AFP/File)

Taking into account the survey’s confidence interval, the number of child deaths could range from a low of 16,700 to as many as 28,800. And at either end of that scale, said Spagat, “that is an awful lot of children.”

It is, he said, “possible that the true number of total violent deaths is even below the bottom of our confidence interval, but it’s extremely unlikely to be so far below it that it would overturn our conclusion that the Ministry of Health is not capturing all of the deaths.”

He is anxious that the survey’s conclusions should in no way be seen as a criticism of the Ministry of Health, “which has had a lot on its plate.”

In fact, although the ministry’s tally is not fully comprehensive — it has, for instance, yet to compile or release figures for non-violent war-related deaths, which this survey has revealed for the first time — Spagat said its work should be highly commended.

A man reacts as others gather to watch the burial of some of the 88 bodies in a mass grave in Khan Yunis on September 26, 2024. The bodies were recovered after Israeli strikes on civilian homes. (AFP/File)

Despite the constant criticism by Israel and its supporters, the work it is doing, under extreme conditions, “is exceptionally transparent,” he said.

“For each person they’re saying is dead, they’re listing a name and they’re listing a national ID number, a sex, and age.”

The first list of the dead was released by the ministry in October last year, in response to accusations that it was making up the numbers killed by Israel.

One factor that has been widely overlooked by critics of the ministry’s figures is the significance of the ID numbers.

Based on 2,000 household interviews, researchers say many deaths in Gaza have gone uncounted due to displacement. (AFP)

“It’s the Israelis who maintain the population register for the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, so at a minimum, they can take that list and they can check to verify that everyone listed on it is a real person,” said Spagat.

“They must have done some checking like this, and I’ve got to believe that if the Ministry of Health was just making up names Israel would have made that known.”

Ultimately, Spagat believes, the lists being compiled by Gaza’s Ministry of Health “will serve as a memorial for the people who are killed in a way that just recording a number can’t. By listing people individually, you are recording some semblance of who they were as human beings.”

The model for this, he said, was the Kosovo Memory Book, an exhaustive record of all those killed, missing, or disappeared in the fighting between 1998 and 2000, compiled by the Humanitarian Law Center in Kosovo.

A view of the wall plaques at a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Racak massacre, in the village of Racak, Kosovo. (AFP)

This record, say its authors, “calls everyone to pause in front of it, to read each name and find out who these people were and how they died. It urges people to remember people.”

In time, it adds, “when the data on the fate of those who are still missing are finally obtained …  the Kosovo Memory Book will have become the most reliable witness to our recent past.”

When peace finally comes to Gaza, said Spagat, “I hope there will be funding for research on this scale (based) on the really good foundations being laid by the Ministry of Health.”
 

 


UN calls for inquiry into Libyan activist’s death after being detained

Updated 05 July 2025
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UN calls for inquiry into Libyan activist’s death after being detained

  • Abdel Monem Al-Marimi was a well-known government critic and took part in regular protests
  • The activist died Friday night at a clinic in Tripoli from injuries sustained in a fall

TRIPOLI: The UN mission in Libya urged authorities on Saturday to open an investigation into the death of a prominent activist who prosecutors say threw himself down a stairwell after being detained.

Abdel Monem Al-Marimi was a well-known government critic and took part in regular protests demanding the removal of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.

In a statement, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said Marimi “was reportedly abducted by the Internal Security Agency in Surman (west of Tripoli) on 30 June and referred to the Attorney General’s office on 3 July,” adding he later died under “circumstances that are yet to be clarified.”


According to local media, the activist died Friday night at a clinic in Tripoli from injuries sustained in a fall at the attorney general’s office.

The office has said that Marimi was taken to hospital after jumping down a stairwell.

The government has so far offered no further comment on Marimi’s death.

UNSMIL called for a “transparent and independent investigation into his arbitrary detention, allegations of torture during his detention, and circumstances surrounding his death.”

The attorney general’s office said that before the incident in the stairwell, Marimi had been released from an interview, adding it was reviewing surveillance camera footage.

UNSMIL went on to condemn “threats, harassment, and arbitrary arrests targeting politically active Libyans,” and urged the authorities “to uphold free speech and end unlawful detentions.”


French writer Sansal jailed in Algeria still hopeful of pardon, supporters say

This file photo taken on September 4, 2015 in Paris shows Algerian writer Boualem Sansal. (AFP file photo)
Updated 05 July 2025
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French writer Sansal jailed in Algeria still hopeful of pardon, supporters say

  • France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said earlier this week that he hoped Algeria would pardon the author, whose family has highlighted his treatment for prostate cancer

PARIS: French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal will not appeal his five-year prison sentence to Algeria’s Supreme Court, sources close to the author said on Saturday, adding that they remain hopeful for a pardon.
The 80-year-old dual-national writer was sentenced to five years behind bars on March 27 on charges related to undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity over comments made to a French media outlet.
“According to our information, he will not appeal to the Supreme Court,” the president of the author’s support committee, Noelle Lenoir, told broadcaster France Inter on Saturday.
“Moreover, given the state of the justice system in Algeria ... he has no chance of having his offense reclassified on appeal,” the former European affairs minister said.
“This means that the sentence is final.”
Sources close to Sansal said that the writer had “given up his right to appeal.”
His French lawyer, Pierre Cornut-Gentille, declined to comment.
France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said earlier this week that he hoped Algeria would pardon the author, whose family has highlighted his treatment for prostate cancer.
However, Sansal was not among the thousands pardoned by Algeria’s president on Friday, the eve of the country’s Independence Day.
“We believe he will be released. It is impossible for Algeria to take responsibility for his death in prison,” Lenoir said, adding she was “remaining hopeful.”
A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities.
The case against him arose after he told the far-right outlet Frontieres that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial period, from 1830 to 1962 — a claim that Algeria views as a challenge to its sovereignty and aligns with longstanding Moroccan territorial assertions.
Sansal was detained in November 2024 upon arrival at Algiers airport. 
On March 27, a court in Dar El Beida sentenced him to a five-year prison term and fined him 500,000 Algerian dinars ($3,730).
Appearing in court without legal counsel on June 24, Sansal stated that the case against him “makes no sense,” as “the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience.”
The writer’s conviction has further strained tense France-Algeria relations, which have been complicated by issues such as migration and France’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.