Border and prisoner repatriation: Beirut and Damascus resume discussions
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Ya Libnan
an hour ago
- Ya Libnan
After more than 40 years in jail in France, Lebanese militant Georges Abdallah returns home
Lebanese pro-Palestinian militant Georges Abdallah speaks to supporters upon his arrival at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, July 25, 2025. He is a hero for some but not for others © Hussein Malla, AP After more than four decades behind bars in France, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah – the Lebanese leftist militant imprisoned since 1984 – landed in Beirut after leaving his prison early Friday. His release, authorised by a Paris appeals court July 17 on the condition that he leave France immediately, brings to a close one of the longest political detentions in modern European history. Pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah arrived in Beirut Friday following his release after more than 40 years in detention in France. Upon his arrival, he was transferred into Lebanese custody. For his supporters, Abdallah's release brings long-overdue justice. For others, his name is simply reminiscent of a distant and complex chapter in history. But his return has symbolic weight in his country of origin. 'This moment isn't about sentimentality – it's about the long wait, 40 years of it. It's about resilience in the face of delays, appeals, discrimination. This is not a time for nostalgia, but rather a culmination of time and justice,' said his brother, Robert Abdallah. Abdallah was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for the assassinations of US military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov. While he has always denied direct involvement, Abdallah never distanced himself from the resistance movement he co-founded, the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions, a Marxist group aligned with Palestinian and pan-Arab causes that also sought to evict foreign forces – notably Israel – from Lebanese soil. Despite multiple court rulings over the years recommending his release, Abdallah remained in prison due to political pressure – particularly from the United States and Israel. He ultimately served four decades in France's Lannemezan prison, steadfastly refusing to express remorse. Although he completed the minimum sentence in 1999 he remained behind bars, multiple requests for parole having been denied . Preparations to welcome him have been under way ever since, according to Catherine Daher, a journalist and activist for Lebanon's National Campaign to Free Georges Abdallah. 'We can say that preparations to welcome comrade Georges have been ongoing since 1999, when his sentence officially ended,' Daher said. 'Since then, we've faced repeated release orders – in 2003, 2013 and 2024 – that were blocked for political reasons,' she said, making him 'the longest-held political prisoner in Europe'. Now, at 74, Abdallah returns to his hometown of Qoubaiyat in northern Lebanon – not just as a free man resuming civilian life, but as a deeply symbolic figure. Daher said plans are under way for a series of public events upon his return to Lebanon. 'His welcome will include state officials, political leaders, his family, and the national campaign that fought for his release – as well as student groups, media figures, trade unionists, human rights advocates, cultural voices, and activists from France and beyond who played a key role in keeping up the pressure,' she said. One of the first political forces to welcome his release was the Lebanese Communist Party, which hailed Abdallah as a principled 'resistance fighter' who refused to compromise even after four decades behind bars. Hezbollah described Abdallah as a 'hero of resistance' and 'a symbol for every prisoner, fighter and honourable person who raised the banner of dignity in the face of tyrants'. Hezbollah was a newly emergent group at the time of his arrest in 1984. But other major parties have stayed quiet. The Lebanese Forces and Kataeb, two prominent Christian factions with roots in Lebanon's civil war era, have not issued any public comment. 'It's understandable that many Lebanese political factions – especially Christian parties like the Kataeb and Lebanese Forces – have not issued any public statement welcoming Georges Abdallah's return,' said political and social psychologist Ramzi Abou Ismail. 'Although he is a Christian by background, Abdallah never embodied the in-group identity typically promoted by these parties.' 'His alignment with Palestinian armed factions during the civil war, and his rejection of sectarian politics, positioned him as a challenge to the identity they claimed – that of protectors of the Christian community,' he added. Charbel Jabbour, head of communications for the Lebanese Forces, said Abdallah's release symbolically helps close the chapter on Lebanon's civil conflict. 'The war era is over – completely over. Abdallah served his sentence and is being released,' he told FRANCE 24. 'The civil war chapter must be permanently closed. Anything else is unacceptable.' Outside of ideological and political circles, Abdallah's return has generated limited buzz among Lebanon's younger population. For many, his name is unfamiliar – a symbol of a different era, eclipsed by today's crises: economic collapse, political gridlock and mass emigration. Still, his face now adorns posters and social media feeds once again, and he is often depicted not as a militant but as a man who stood by his convictions – regardless of the consequences. 'He's a hero for some, yes. But to others he is not, and to many he is from a time they never lived through,' said one historian, who requested anonymity.
L'Orient-Le Jour
2 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
US forces kill an Islamic State group leader in Syria raid
American forces killed an Islamic State group leader in a raid in Syria's Aleppo province on Friday, the U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said. The raid resulted "in the death of senior ISIS leader, Dhiya Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, and his two adult ISIS-affiliated sons," CENTCOM said in a statement, using an acronym for the jihadist group. "These ISIS individuals posed a threat to U.S. and Coalition forces, as well as the new Syrian government," it said, adding that three women and three children were at the location that was raided and were unharmed in the operation. The Islamic State group rose out of the chaos of the Syrian civil war to seize swaths of territory there and in neighboring Iraq over a decade ago. It has since suffered major defeats in both countries, but the United States still periodically targets the jihadist group's remnants with raids or strikes to prevent it from resurging.
L'Orient-Le Jour
2 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Paris to host Syria talks on integrating Kurds
Syria, France and the United States said they agreed Friday to convene "as soon as possible" talks in Paris to integrate the autonomous Kurdish administration into the Syrian state. The Kurds, who control large swathes of northeast Syria, are negotiating with the central government in Damascus on the integration of their civil and military institutions into the state. Those include the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The three countries "agreed on the need... to host as soon as possible the next round of consultations in Paris between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces regarding the full implementation of the March 10 agreement," according to a joint statement. The statement was issued after a Friday meeting in Paris between French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack and Damascus's top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani. In March, SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa signed an agreement aimed at incorporating Kurdish institutions into the Syrian state. Several rounds of talks have been held, but the process has stalled, with Kurdish officials criticising a constitutional declaration announced by the new authorities, saying it failed to reflect Syria's diversity. The Islamist authorities in Damascus, who took power after ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, have repeatedly rejected calls for a "decentralized" government that would let the Kurds and other groups maintain some level of autonomy. A meeting was set to take place in Paris on Thursday between Kurdish representatives and a Syrian government delegation, but it was postponed. Barrot held a phone call on Friday with the SDF's Abdi, Paris said, to "confirm the upcoming negotiations session." Damascus insists on reunifying the country at any cost and demands that the Kurds hand over their weapons. But on Wednesday, SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami told Al-Yaum TV that disarmament is a "red line." "No one is surrendering in Syria. Those betting on our capitulation will lose; the tragic events have made that clear," he added, referring to recent sectarian violence in the southern Druze heartland of Sweida, which left nearly 1,400 dead according to a monitor. A Syrian government source told state broadcaster Al-Ikhbariya that "talking about refusing to hand over weapons or maintaining an autonomous military force is completely unacceptable." Friday's joint statement stressed the need to "ensure the success of Syria's transition" and the importance of "efforts aimed at national reconciliation and cohesion, especially in northeastern Syria and Sweida."
