Factbox-Who is Russia’s ‘General Armageddon’ Surovikin, missing since mutiny?

(Reuters) – Army General Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media for his reputed ruthlessness, is among senior generals who have disappeared from public view since Saturday’s failed mutiny aimed at toppling the top brass. The burly, shaven-headed 56-year-old was last seen on Saturday when he appeared in a video, looking uncomfortable and…

Read More

Europeans plan to keep ballistic missile sanctions on Iran

By John Irish, Arshad Mohammed and Parisa Hafezi PARIS/WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) -European diplomats have told Iran they plan to retain European Union ballistic missile sanctions set to expire in October under the defunct 2015 Iran nuclear deal, four sources said, a step that could provoke Iranian retaliation. The sources cited three reasons for keeping the sanctions:…

Read More

Air strikes and clashes puncture Eid truce pledges in Sudan’s capital

(Reuters) – Air strikes and anti-aircraft fire rattled parts of Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Wednesday, residents said, despite both the military factions that have been battling each other since mid-April declaring truces for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. War between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has caused a major humanitarian…

Read More

Blinken says West Bank unrest an impediment for Israel’s normalization hopes

By Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Turmoil in the occupied West Bank, where violence between Jewish settlers and Palestinians is spiraling, is making Israel’s goal of normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia “a lot tougher, if not impossible,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. The Biden administration earlier this week…

Read More

US asks what’s next for Russia’s Wagner in Middle East, Africa

By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is examining how the Wagner Group’s short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military establishment might affect the mercenaries’ operations in the Middle East and Africa, officials said. Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin startled the world by leading an armed revolt on Saturday that brought his fighters from the…

Read More

Exclusive-Islamists wield hidden hand in Sudan conflict, military sources say

By Khalid Abdelaziz DUBAI (Reuters) – Thousands of men who worked as intelligence operatives under former president Omar al-Bashir and have ties to his Islamist movement are fighting alongside the army in Sudan’s war, three military sources and one intelligence source said, complicating efforts to end the bloodshed. The army and a paramilitary force have…

Read More

US targets Wagner Group in curbs on gold firms suspected of funding mercenary force

By Daphne Psaledakis and Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States took aim at Russia’s Wagner Group and imposed sanctions on Tuesday on companies it accused of engaging in illicit gold dealings to fund the mercenary force. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it slapped sanctions on four companies in the United…

Read More