Damascus nightclub raid fuels fears despite official condemnation
DAMASCUS - A violent armed raid on a Damascus nightclub last week has fuelled fears of a threat to nightlife in the Syrian capital, despite condemnation by the Islamist-led authorities.
The new rulers have pledged to rule inclusively for all Syria's diverse religious and ethnic groups, but the challenges are becoming more evident, most especially since the killing in March of hundreds of members of the Alawite Muslim sect.
The Interior Ministry said it had arrested "military elements" involved in the assault, partially captured on security camera footage, which shows people being hit with rifle butts outside the club. It was pursuing others.
Under Bashar al-Assad's rule, numerous bars operated in Damascus, though few were officially licensed to sell alcohol, their owners paying bribes to do so.
Since he was toppled as president last December by Islamist insurgents, many bars have continued operating.
But owners have told Reuters they have struggled to secure permission to import alcohol, and some have stopped serving it.
The owner of another Damascus venue, who declined to be identified for security reasons, said last week's incident, and an unexplained one in which a woman was killed at another club at the weekend, had led other bars to close.
"We are certainly afraid to open," he said.
The security camera footage shows around two dozen armed men walking down an alley towards the club, Layali al-Sharq.
People are then seen running away as armed men stand in the alley striking them. A woman in a red dress is shoved violently into a parked motorcycle.
Reuters was able to confirm the location of the footage from the signage, floor and shops, which matched archive images.
Although Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol, as an intoxicant, the new Islamist-led authorities have not issued any laws or orders pertaining to it.
Nevertheless, a temporary constitution approved in March upgraded the role of Islamic law in shaping legislation.
Asked in a BBC interview in December about his view on alcohol, interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa said there were many issues he did not have the right to talk about because they were of a legal nature.
Bashar Mekki, the bar's lawyer, said government officials had urged it to reopen. He said it would do so once damage was repaired, noting that it has an official licence.
In written answers to Reuters' questions, he thanked government officials for "sparing no effort" to resolve the incident, which he said occurred on April 29, and to recover stolen property.
The Interior Ministry said that "any transgression or assault against citizens or public facilities will be met with strict legal measures". REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
24 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump says China will supply rare earths, US to allow students
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures while he poses for a picture at the presidential box at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Trump says China will supply rare earths, US to allow students WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. deal with China is done, with Beijing to supply magnets and rare earth minerals while the U.S. will allow Chinese students in its colleges and universities. "WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT!" Trump wrote on Truth Social without elaborating. Trump said the deal is subject to final approval by him and President Xi Jinping. "FULL MAGNETS, AND ANY NECESSARY RARE EARTHS, WILL BE SUPPLIED, UP FRONT, BY CHINA. LIKEWISE, WE WILL PROVIDE TO CHINA WHAT WAS AGREED TO, INCLUDING CHINESE STUDENTS USING OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME!)," Trump said. U.S. and Chinese officials said on Tuesday they had agreed on a framework to get their trade truce back on track and remove China's export restrictions on rare earths while offering little sign of a durable resolution to longstanding trade tensions. At the end of two days of intense negotiations in London, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the framework deal puts "meat on the bones" of an agreement reached last month in Geneva to ease bilateral retaliatory tariffs that had reached crushing triple-digit levels The Geneva deal had faltered over China's curbs on critical minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls of its own preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, aircraft and other goods to China. Trump's shifting tariff policies have roiled global markets, sparked congestion and confusion in major ports, and cost companies tens of billions of dollars in lost sales and higher costs. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
37 minutes ago
- Straits Times
At G-7 summit, S. Korea's President Lee faces delicate balance in US-China rivalry
South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung and his wife Kim Hye-kyung (left) at the Seoul National Cemetery on June 6. PHOTO: REUTERS – As South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung gears up for his international diplomacy debut at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit next week, all eyes are on whether he will be made to pick sides in the Sino-American rivalry. Mr Lee has acknowledged that the South Korea-US alliance remains the foundation of South Korea's diplomacy and security, and has pledged to strengthen the alliance along with the trilateral partnership with Japan. But he has also said South Korea should not be made to choose between the United States and China and 'put all our eggs in one basket'. Mr Lee was elected with a 49.42 per cent mandate in a snap election on June 3 after his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid saw the former leader deposed by the country's Constitutional Court. Mr Lee's win under the liberal flag, which traditionally prioritises relations with China and engagement with North Korea, has Washington watching his foreign policy directions closely, said Dr Lee Seong-hyon, a senior fellow at the Washington-based George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations. The previous conservative administration under Yoon had antagonised Beijing by openly taking sides with the US, and also seeding rife speculation of Chinese espionage and interference in South Korean domestic politics. During his election campaign, Mr Lee had taken a more centrist stance by repeatedly emphasising a non-committal 'pragmatic diplomacy' to maximise South Korea's national interests. Amid growing rivalry between the two superpowers, however, Mr Lee's vision, which requires a delicate balancing act between its biggest security ally, the US, and its largest trading partner, China, will likely be put to the test. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had earlier cautioned allies against playing both sides by 'seeking both economic cooperation with China and defence cooperation with the United States', during his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual defence and security forum, on May 31 in Singapore. Mr Hegseth had also urged allies to increase their defence spending as regional deterrence against China. Seoul's share of the defence cost-sharing for US troops stationed in South Korea has been a major bugbear of US President Donald Trump, who has said that 'money machine' South Korea can afford to pay much more. Recent leaked plans about the possibility of the US redeploying its forces stationed in South Korea to other parts of the Pacific to exercise 'strategic flexibility' in its plans to contain China, also called into question the commitment of US security in the region. South Korea's participation as an observing country at the G-7 summit on June 15-17 in Vancouver is, thus, seen as important. Issues related to China, Russia and North Korea are expected to feature high on the meeting agenda. Besides the US, other members of the political and economic forum are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Seoul is also pushing hard for a face-to-face meeting between Mr Lee and Mr Trump on the sidelines of the meeting to ride on the momentum of the first phone call between the two leaders that took place on June 6. The 20-minute courtesy call had ended with an agreement to meet in person at the earliest possible opportunity for more in-depth talks. The call had taken place later than usual – three days after Mr Lee was elected – causing concern when it had not happened. Past South Korean presidents had traditionally spoken to their biggest ally either on the day of their election or the day after. A cryptic congratulatory message issued by the White House after the election had affirmed the 'ironclad alliance' between the US and South Korea , before going on to express concern over 'Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world'. That had fuelled speculation that the message was a hint for the new Lee administration to distance itself from Beijing. While Washington does not expect Mr Lee's administration to 'diverge significantly from the established US-South Korea alliance framework', it will, nevertheless, be keenly watching any potential policy reversals, such as weakening ties with Japan while gravitating towards China and resuming inter-Korean engagement, Dr Lee told The Straits Times. Research fellow Lee Dong-gyu, from the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said the broaching of the idea of a US troop drawdown could be a diplomatic signal to South Korea to step up and play 'an augmented role' to contain China. 'But if the new government under Mr Lee pursues a revitalisation of South Korea-China relations, then it may result in the erosion of the US' containment efforts,' he said. While it is clear that President Lee's priority is in forging ties with Mr Trump and to iron out tariff negotiations before the July 9 deadline, rising tensions over Chinese-built structures in the South Korea-China Provisional Maritime Zone in the West Sea will also be an immediate test of his diplomacy tight-rope act, said international politics professor Mason Richey from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He added that Seoul needs to be prepared to respond strategically, and 'to be clear with China that even though they are economic partners, South Korea will not be easily bullied'. After his first phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 10, Mr Lee has called China an important partner to South Korea 'in all aspects, including economy and security' and that he looks forward to developing relations between Seoul and Beijing. Mr Lee has also asked China to play a constructive role for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, to which Mr Xi replied that promoting peace and stability on the peninsula was a matter of mutual interest to both South Korea and China. Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology's non-resident fellow, Dr Troy Stangarone, told ST that while the new administration's repairing of relations with China is a priority after the deterioration of ties under the previous Yoon administration, it will need to 'take a realistic view of the relationship'. He believes that Mr Lee would likely have a bit more time before being made to pick sides between the US and China at the G-7 summit, as South Korea is ultimately not a member country but just an observer. However, he warns that 'geostrategic shifts and US-China rivalry may create limits to improving relations with China'. 'The Lee administration should focus its efforts on maintaining good economic ties while also working to bring China back as a constructive partner for dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue,' he said. Wendy Teo is The Straits Times' South Korea correspondent based in Seoul. She covers issues concerning the two Koreas. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
US pushes Mexico to prosecute politicians with ties to drug cartels
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of U.S. President Donald Trump and the Mexican flag are seen in this illustration taken January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo MEXICO CITY - The Trump administration is pressuring Mexico to investigate and prosecute politicians with suspected links to organized crime, and to extradite them to the United States if there are criminal charges to answer there, according to sources familiar with the matter. The requests - raised at least three times by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his team in bilateral meetings and conversations with Mexican officials - seek to push President Claudia Sheinbaum's government to investigate current elected officials and launch an unprecedented crackdown on narco corruption, four people familiar with the matter said. In their discussions, the U.S. officials have called for action against several politicians from Sheinbaum's own Morena party and threatened to levy further tariffs if Mexico did not take action, two of the sources said. The conversations have not been previously reported. President Donald Trump's administration has justified its declarations of tariffs on Mexico on the growing influence of the cartels over the government. A crackdown - potentially targeting high-ranking elected officials while they are in office - would mark a dramatic escalation of Mexico's efforts against drug corruption. But it carries political risks for Sheinbaum, as some of the allegations involve members of her own party, a member of her security cabinet told Reuters. The U.S. first raised the request at a meeting in Washington on February 27 led by Rubio and Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente, the four people familiar with the matter said. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and other officials from the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice as well as Treasury attended the meeting, the four people said. Mexico's Attorney General Alejandro Gertz and Secretary of Security Omar Garcia Harfuch were also at the meeting. The Mexican Presidency, foreign ministry, Attorney General's Office and Security Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the talks. The White House, State Department, Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security also did not reply to Reuters questions. Mexico sent 29 cartel figures to the U.S. in late February - the largest such handover in years - following Trump's threats to impose across-the-board tariffs on Mexican goods. The possibility of expediting the capture and/or deportation of priority DEA and FBI targets was also discussed, two of the sources said. As part of the discussions, two of the people familiar with the matter said, U.S. officials floated the idea of appointing a U.S. fentanyl czar to liaise directly with Sheinbaum on progress to combat the deadly synthetic opioid. Washington also pressed Mexico for more thorough inspections of U.S.-bound cargo and travelers at the U.S.-Mexico border. ALLEGED CARTEL LINKS Although Mexico's federal prosecutor's office is independent of Sheinbaum's administration under the country's constitution, Washington has long accused Mexico of protecting politicians alleged to have links to the cartels. Serving state governors and federal lawmakers are immune from prosecution for most crimes and can only be prosecuted for serious federal crimes like drug trafficking or racketeering if authorized by Mexico's Congress. Reuters could not determine if the U.S. provided Mexico with a list of politicians suspected of links to organized crime, or evidence against them. But two of the sources said five current Morena officials and one former senator were mentioned - including Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Avila. Avila announced on her social media accounts on May 11 that the U.S. had revoked her and her husband's tourist visas. She did not provide a reason and said canceling the visa was "an injustice." The State Department and U.S. embassy in Mexico City haven't commented on the case. Going after serving politicians has long been considered a red line in Mexico, five diplomatic officials said. While Mexican politicians have occasionally been arrested and prosecuted for corruption in the United States, this has only happened after they left office. In 2020, when former Mexican Defense Secretary Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested at Los Angeles Airport at the request of the DEA it sparked a diplomatic crisis and halted co-operation between the two nations on drug trafficking crimes. The U.S. dropped the charges and Cienfuegos returned to Mexico where he has not faced prosecution. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
