Latest news with #militaryCoup
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sudan's Prime Minister Dissolves Government
Sudan's new Prime Minister Kamil Idris has dissolved the country's caretaker government, state news agency SUNA reported late on Sunday. SUNA did not specify when a new government, the first since war broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, would be announced. Idris was appointed by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan's head of state. The RSF has said since earlier this year that it would form its own parallel government with allied parties. Idris took the oath of office on Saturday as the country's first prime minister since a military-led coup in 2021. In a speech on Sunday, he vowed to remain at equal distance from all political parties and to prioritize stability, security, and reconstruction in Sudan.
Free Malaysia Today
26-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Prolonged Myanmar crisis spurs drugs, weapons trade, warns Thai official
Dusit Manapan, adviser to the Thai foreign minister, speaking during an interview on the sidelines of the 46th Asean Summit and related summits in Kuala Lumpur. KUALA LUMPUR : Thailand has warned that transnational crime could worsen if the instability in Myanmar continues. Dusit Manapan, an adviser to Thailand's foreign minister, said that while international attention has largely focused on scam syndicates, Myanmar's political instability brings risks of an uptick in other crimes such as drug trafficking and weapons trading. He said these criminal activities along the Myanmar border stem from the government's limitation to enforce law and order along the border. 'We have tried to stop these criminal activities by not providing some resources, electricity, fuel, and internet,' Dusit told FMT on the sidelines of the 46th Asean Summit and related summits here. 'But our measures, our harsh measures, are partly successful. At the end of the day, they can find a way to replace what they lost from other sources.' According to Dusit, aerial surveillance through drones has also been hindered by advanced counter-technology. 'When you cut electricity and the internet, they resort to Starlink and solar cells,' he added. The political crisis in Myanmar began with the February 2021 military coup, which ousted the elected government and triggered widespread armed resistance. As the conflict escalated, large parts of the country, especially border areas, have become lawless zones exploited to operate scam centres, drug routes, and arms trafficking networks with little interference. Dusit said addressing the root cause of scam centres is crucial, as they generate substantial revenue for organised crime. 'Otherwise, we will continue to have this kind of problem. After online scams, you will have drug trafficking. You have weapons trade,' Dusit said. According to the United Nations, East and Southeast Asia collectively lost up to US$37 billion to cyber-enabled fraud, underscoring the scale of these operations. Myanmar has become a key hub, not only for online scams but also as the world's largest opium producer, surpassing Afghanistan. 'There are many ethnic armed groups involved. This is a business that makes a lot of money for the groups, so they have money to buy weapons. 'They need to earn some income, so that they can have resources to fight the government,' he said. The 46th Asean Summit is being held here today and will likely address transnational crimes like online scams at the highest level. Malaysia, as Asean chair, has called for enhanced legal harmonisation and information-sharing mechanisms among member states to counter growing transnational threats, according to foreign minister Mohamad Hasan's address to the 29th Asean Political-Security Council Meeting.
Al Jazeera
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Malaysia wants Myanmar ceasefire extended amid ASEAN ban on coup leaders
Malaysia has urged for the extension and expansion of a post-earthquake ceasefire in Myanmar due to run out by the end of May, as ongoing fighting calls into question its effectiveness. Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan issued the call in a meeting with fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, a day before the leaders' summit. The regional bloc has so far led fruitless diplomatic efforts to end Myanmar's conflict since the military staged a coup and deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Myanmar's failure to implement a five-point peace deal reached in April 2021 has led ASEAN to exclude the coup leaders from attending its annual meeting. 'We call on the stakeholders in Myanmar to cease hostilities, and to extend and expand the ceasefire, to facilitate the long and difficult path towards recovery, and ease the suffering of the people of Myanmar,' Mohamad said in his opening remarks. He proposed that the ceasefire be extended and expanded 'beyond the currently affected zones'. Malaysia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN. Mohamad earlier said the bloc has to step up efforts as Myanmar's problems had spilled over borders, with a growing number of refugees fleeing to neighbouring ASEAN nations and rising trans-border crime. Malaysia's efforts now focus on de-escalation of violence and greater access to humanitarian aid, but he said plans for political dialogue between the conflicting parties would be challenging due to a 'trust deficit'. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing-led military government initially declared a truce in the many-sided civil war after a massive earthquake in late March killed nearly 3,800 people and left tens of thousands homeless. The truce has been extended before, although conflict monitors say fighting has continued, including regular military government air attacks. In April, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok and urged him to respect the truce. Anwar said after the meeting that ASEAN had expressed 'concern' and wanted to slowly build consensus to ensure 'fair and free elections' – something analysts have said will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. ASEAN's longstanding policy of noninterference in the domestic affairs of its member states has also hampered it from helping resolve the conflict. The United Nations and independent conflict monitors say the military government has continued its deadly campaign of aerial bombardment despite the armistice. In mid-May, witnesses said, a military air attack hit a school near the earthquake's epicentre in Sagaing region, killing 22 people, including 20 children. Numerous anti-coup and ethnic armed groups have made their own pledges to pause hostilities. However, some residents in eastern Myanmar said they have been displaced as anti-coup forces have also besieged military-held towns on a lucrative trade route towards neighbouring Thailand. Myanmar's military government has announced plans to hold an election around the end of the year. But the opposition 'National Unity Government' has urged the public and political parties to boycott any poll organised by the military government.
