Syria's minorities demand decentralized state and a constitution that guarantees pluralism
The declaration came at the conclusion of a one-day conference where some 400 representatives of Syria's ethnic and religious minorities gathered in an attempt to assert the rights of their communities in the country's evolving political framework following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad last December.
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Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Mistrust and fear: The complex story behind strained Syria-Lebanon relations
Recent skirmishes along the border have killed and wounded several people, both fighters and civilians, including a four-year-old Lebanese girl. Beirut and Damascus have somewhat coordinated on border security, but attempts to reset political relations have been slow. Despite visits to Syria by two heads of Lebanon's government, no Syrian official has visited Lebanon. Here is what's behind the complicated relations. Advertisement A coldness that goes way back Many Syrians have resented Hezbollah for wading into Syria's civil war in defense of Assad's government. Assad's fall sent them home, but many Lebanese now fear cross-border attacks by Syria's Islamic militants. There are new restrictions on Lebanese entering Syria, and Lebanon has maintained tough restrictions on Syrians entering Lebanon. The Lebanese also fear that Damascus could try to bring Lebanon under a new Syrian tutelage. Syrians have long seen Lebanon as a staging ground for anti-Syria activities, including hosting opposition figures before Hafez Assad — Bashar Assad's father — ascended to power in a bloodless 1970 coup. Advertisement In 1976, Assad senior sent his troops to Lebanon, allegedly to bring peace as Lebanon was hurtling into a civil war that lasted until 1990. Once that ended, Syrian forces — much like a colonial power — remained in Lebanon for another 15 years. A signature of the Assad family rule, Syria's dreaded security agents disappeared and tortured dissidents to keep the country under their control. They did the same in Lebanon. 'Syrians feel that Lebanon is the main gateway for conspiracies against them,' says Lebanese political analyst Ali Hamadeh. Turbulent times It took until 2008 for the two countries to agree to open diplomatic missions, marking Syria's first official recognition of Lebanon as an independent state since it gained independence from France in 1943. The move came after the 2005 truck-bombing assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that many blamed on Damascus. Two months later, Syria pulled its troops out of Lebanon under international pressure, ending 29 years of near-complete domination of its neighbor. When Syria's own civil war erupted in 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled across the border, making crisis-hit Lebanon the host of the highest per capita population of refugees in the world. Once in Lebanon, the refugees complained about discrimination, including curfews for Syrian citizens in some areas. Hezbollah, meanwhile, rushed thousands of its fighters into Syria in 2013 to shore up Assad, worried that its supply lines from Iran could dry up. And as much as the Lebanese are divided over their country's internal politics, Syria's war divided them further into those supporting Assad's government and those opposing it. Advertisement Distrust and deadlock A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus is asking Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials say Beirut won't release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately. In July, family members of the detainees rallied along a border crossing, demanding their relatives be freed. The protest came amid reports that Syrian troops could deploy foreign fighters in Lebanon, which Damascus officials denied. Another obstacle is Lebanon's demand that Syrian refugees go back home now that Assad is gone. About 716,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the U.N. refugee agency, while hundreds of thousands more are unregistered in Lebanon, which has a population of about 5 million. Syria is also demanding the return of billions of dollars worth of deposits of Syrians trapped in Lebanese banks since Lebanon's historic financial meltdown in 2019. The worst post-Assad border skirmishes came in mid-March, when Syrian authorities said Hezbollah members crossed the border and kidnapped and killed three Syrian soldiers. The Lebanese government and army said the clash was between smugglers and that Hezbollah wasn't involved. Days later, Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers flew to Saudi Arabia and signed an agreement on border demarcation and boosting their coordination. In July, rumors spread in Lebanon, claiming the northern city of Tripoli would be given to Syria in return for Syria giving up the Golan Heights to Israel. And though officials dismissed the rumors, they illustrate the level of distrust between the neighbors. Advertisement Beirut was also angered by Syria's appointment this year of a Lebanese army officer — Abdullah Shehadeh, who defected in 2014 from Lebanon to join Syrian insurgents — as the head of security in Syria's central province of Homs that borders northeastern Lebanon. In Syria, few were aware of Shehadeh's real name — he was simply known by his nom de guerre, Abu Youssef the Lebanese. Syrian security officials confirmed the appointment. What's ahead Analysts say an important step would be for the two neighbors to work jointly to boost security against cross-border smuggling. A U.S.-backed plan that was recently adopted by the Lebanese government calls for moving toward full demarcation of the border. Radwan Ziadeh, a senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, says the best way forward would be for Syria and Lebanon to address each problem between them individually — not as a package deal. That way, tensions would be reduced gradually, he said and downplayed recent comments by prominent Syrian anti-Assad figures who claimed Lebanon is part of Syria and should return to it. 'These are individual voices that do not represent the Syrian state,' Zaideh said. Associated Press writer Ghaith Alsayed in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Mistrust and fear: The complex story behind strained Syria-Lebanon relations
BEIRUT (AP) — A lot has happened in just a year on both sides of the Lebanon-Syria border. A lightning offensive by Islamist insurgents in Syria toppled longtime autocrat Bashar Assad and brought a new government in place in Damascus. In Lebanon, a bruising war with Israel dealt a serious blow to Hezbollah — the Iran-backed and Assad-allied Shiite Lebanese militant group that had until recently been a powerful force in the Middle East — and a U.S.-negotiated deal has brought a fragile ceasefire. Still, even after the fall of the 54-year Assad family rule, relations between Beirut and Damascus remain tense — as they have been for decades past, with Syria long failing to treat its smaller neighbor as a sovereign nation. Recent skirmishes along the border have killed and wounded several people, both fighters and civilians, including a four-year-old Lebanese girl. Beirut and Damascus have somewhat coordinated on border security, but attempts to reset political relations have been slow. Despite visits to Syria by two heads of Lebanon's government, no Syrian official has visited Lebanon. Here is what's behind the complicated relations. A coldness that goes way back Many Syrians have resented Hezbollah for wading into Syria's civil war in defense of Assad's government. Assad's fall sent them home, but many Lebanese now fear cross-border attacks by Syria's Islamic militants. There are new restrictions on Lebanese entering Syria, and Lebanon has maintained tough restrictions on Syrians entering Lebanon. The Lebanese also fear that Damascus could try to bring Lebanon under a new Syrian tutelage. Syrians have long seen Lebanon as a staging ground for anti-Syria activities, including hosting opposition figures before Hafez Assad — Bashar Assad's father — ascended to power in a bloodless 1970 coup. In 1976, Assad senior sent his troops to Lebanon, allegedly to bring peace as Lebanon was hurtling into a civil war that lasted until 1990. Once that ended, Syrian forces — much like a colonial power — remained in Lebanon for another 15 years. A signature of the Assad family rule, Syria's dreaded security agents disappeared and tortured dissidents to keep the country under their control. They did the same in Lebanon. 'Syrians feel that Lebanon is the main gateway for conspiracies against them,' says Lebanese political analyst Ali Hamadeh. Turbulent times It took until 2008 for the two countries to agree to open diplomatic missions, marking Syria's first official recognition of Lebanon as an independent state since it gained independence from France in 1943. The move came after the 2005 truck-bombing assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that many blamed on Damascus. Two months later, Syria pulled its troops out of Lebanon under international pressure, ending 29 years of near-complete domination of its neighbor. When Syria's own civil war erupted in 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled across the border, making crisis-hit Lebanon the host of the highest per capita population of refugees in the world. Once in Lebanon, the refugees complained about discrimination, including curfews for Syrian citizens in some areas. Hezbollah, meanwhile, rushed thousands of its fighters into Syria in 2013 to shore up Assad, worried that its supply lines from Iran could dry up. And as much as the Lebanese are divided over their country's internal politics, Syria's war divided them further into those supporting Assad's government and those opposing it. Distrust and deadlock A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus is asking Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials say Beirut won't release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately. In July, family members of the detainees rallied along a border crossing, demanding their relatives be freed. The protest came amid reports that Syrian troops could deploy foreign fighters in Lebanon, which Damascus officials denied. Another obstacle is Lebanon's demand that Syrian refugees go back home now that Assad is gone. About 716,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the U.N. refugee agency, while hundreds of thousands more are unregistered in Lebanon, which has a population of about 5 million. Syria is also demanding the return of billions of dollars worth of deposits of Syrians trapped in Lebanese banks since Lebanon's historic financial meltdown in 2019. The worst post-Assad border skirmishes came in mid-March, when Syrian authorities said Hezbollah members crossed the border and kidnapped and killed three Syrian soldiers. The Lebanese government and army said the clash was between smugglers and that Hezbollah wasn't involved. Days later, Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers flew to Saudi Arabia and signed an agreement on border demarcation and boosting their coordination. In July, rumors spread in Lebanon, claiming the northern city of Tripoli would be given to Syria in return for Syria giving up the Golan Heights to Israel. And though officials dismissed the rumors, they illustrate the level of distrust between the neighbors. Beirut was also angered by Syria's appointment this year of a Lebanese army officer — Abdullah Shehadeh, who defected in 2014 from Lebanon to join Syrian insurgents — as the head of security in Syria's central province of Homs that borders northeastern Lebanon. In Syria, few were aware of Shehadeh's real name — he was simply known by his nom de guerre, Abu Youssef the Lebanese. Syrian security officials confirmed the appointment. What's ahead Analysts say an important step would be for the two neighbors to work jointly to boost security against cross-border smuggling. A U.S.-backed plan that was recently adopted by the Lebanese government calls for moving toward full demarcation of the border. Radwan Ziadeh, a senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, says the best way forward would be for Syria and Lebanon to address each problem between them individually — not as a package deal. That way, tensions would be reduced gradually, he said and downplayed recent comments by prominent Syrian anti-Assad figures who claimed Lebanon is part of Syria and should return to it. 'These are individual voices that do not represent the Syrian state,' Zaideh said. ___ Associated Press writer Ghaith Alsayed in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Suleiman Obeid – Answering Mohamed Salah's questions about the death of the ‘Palestinian Pele'
On August 6, Suleiman Obeid travelled to the city of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, to retrieve aid for his family. He did not want to go, having described 'bullets whizzing past his head like rain' to his wife on previous trips. But with five children waiting in his tent, Obeid felt he had no choice. Advertisement Obeid had played football professionally, representing Palestine in international matches on 24 occasions. He was considered one of the greatest players to ever emerge from the Gaza Strip. Yet now, like other Gaza inhabitants, he was at risk of starvation. The New York Times reported this month that a U.N.-backed food security group found famine was widespread across Gaza due to months of severe aid restrictions imposed by Israel as part of its military operation against Hamas. At the aid site, his friends say Obeid was killed by armaments dropped by an Israeli quadcopter. He was 43 years old, and according to his friends and family, was a civilian who only wanted peace. According to the UN's latest figures, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed since May 27 while seeking food. Posting on social media after Obeid's death, UEFA stated: 'Farewell to Suleiman al-Obaid, the 'Palestinian Pele'. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.' Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool and Egypt forward who is one of the world's most famous footballers, replied: 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' Can you tell us how he died, where, and why? — Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) August 9, 2025 It appeared to be a latent criticism of UEFA, European football's governing body, for omitting Israel's role in Obeid's death. Salah's post was shared hundreds of thousands of times and represented a rare public statement from one of the game's leading names about the conflict. The Athletic has spoken to Obeid's friends, family, team-mates, and witnesses about his death in an attempt to answer those questions and tell of his life. 'The world needs to be asked, 'Why was Suleiman killed in this monstrous way, and taken away from his five children?',' his wife, Doaa, tells The Athletic, exchanging voice messages from the family's tent in Gaza. 'What did his children do to be orphaned at this young age? You can't imagine how life was before his death — and how it became after. 'I wish that you save these orphan children (from this war). He was our caregiver and our backbone. After Suleiman's death, no one can help us. Our life is ruined.' Suleiman Obeid jumps, and for a moment, everything is still. It is the 2010 West Asian Football Federation Championship in Amman, Jordan's capital. Palestine are 2-0 down to Yemen. The cross was sprayed towards the back post, an inswinger, but Obeid had already read its trajectory and taken four quick shuffle steps backwards. The defender has turned away. Obeid is alone. Advertisement He is midair as the ball passes the penalty spot, and horizontal when it arrives. With the laces of his right foot, he bends it around the covering defender and into the far corner. A scissor kick — the first goal Palestine had scored in the competition for six years. 'That goal was probably the greatest goal scored by the Palestine team,' says Ramzi Saleh, the goalkeeper on that day. 'He's always close to my heart,' he adds. 'Not only mine, he beats close to everyone's heart.' Saleh knows his friend is dead, but has not switched to the past tense. Few who know him in Gaza have. Obeid, all those involved in Palestinian football agree, is one of their iconic players. Capable of playing any position across the front three, the willowy forward began his career at hometown club Shabab Al Shati before moving to play for Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari, where he spent four seasons and won the West Bank Premier League title in 2011. From then, however, he remained in Gaza, becoming a legend at Gaza Sports Club and Shabab Al Shati, and topping the goalscorer charts in three successive seasons. 'I am not thinking of retirement,' Obeid said in September 2023, at the age of 42, less than a month before Gazan football was suspended following Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel. In total, 1,195 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage in those attacks, according to Israeli officials via the New York Times. Israel launched counter-strikes into Gaza. One of those killed by Hamas was Lior Asulin, a former striker in the Israeli Premier League who had retired in 2017. That day, Obeid and Shabab Al-Shati had been preparing for a crucial game against Khadamat Rafah. It was cancelled when team members heard explosions on their way into training. He would never play another professional match. 'Everybody loved and appreciated him,' said Obeid's former team-mate Mohammed Ali Mohana, whose best friend, former Palestine coach Hani Al-Masdar, was killed by an Israeli airstrike last January. 'He was a talented player. His goals were so distinctive — and so beautiful.' As well as the 'Palestinian Pele', another nickname was 'Henry', after the former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry, a forward whose style he most closely mimicked. Ibrahim Al-Amur was a long-time team-mate of Obeid's at Gaza Sports Club. A left-back, he describes his fellow footballer as his best friend. Advertisement 'He was one of the best 10 players in Palestine's history,' Al-Amur says. 'He had pace, talent and athleticism to the extent that he played until 43 while not dropping his level — he was special even at that age. He treated his friends with all the love and respect. He supported the poor and the weak, a trait that not everyone has. 'My house was demolished in the war, but even then, I didn't cry like I cried when Suleiman passed away. This was the biggest shock of my life.' Obeid said his own home was hit and demolished by a bombing just one week into the conflict. The only piece of memorabilia he took with him was an old pair of club shorts — after his death, his wife Doaa cradled the blue kit. 'His main concern was to provide his children with a blessed life and to educate them to reach the highest level,' she says. 'In the last two years, life has been very tough. His dream was to take his children and go abroad.' In January, the forward posted on Facebook, uploading a picture of him sitting in the ruins of his house. 'I wish I hadn't gone to Gaza,' he captioned the photograph. At this point, the family were living in a refugee camp in the Al-Karama Towers area of Gaza. 'In the name of God, today we drowned in the tent,' he wrote. 'It's only the beginning and the rain hasn't been that strong. This is war, and how it can be.' Obeid tried to find the good where he could. He managed to open a small cafe that broadcast European matches, while a group of former professional footballers played together twice a week on old five-a-side pitches amid the ruins. 'It relieved our stress,' says Mohana, a regular at the sessions. 'We'd forget the worries of war and our living conditions, we escaped the water lines, the shelters, the challenges of life. It was about who would win, who would lose, to enjoy ourselves for a few moments, before returning to our difficult life once again.' Advertisement On one occasion, according to his friends, a missile strike barely missed Obeid while he sheltered in Deir al-Balah. They say he was buried in sand and debris, while those he sat with broke bones, and barely survived. The biggest issue for Obeid, however, was finding food. Obeid had responsibility for more than just his immediate family, made up of Doaa and five children. His brother, Hossam, has been missing for more than a year, and is presumed dead. His family were also cared for by Obeid. 'There's no problem dying through bombing,' Obeid wrote online in the weeks before his death. 'But starving us? In God's name, that's forbidden.' According to Doaa, Obeid was ashamed to go to the aid centres, wearing a cap to hide his face. In total, he had already made three trips, and described them to her as getting more dangerous on each occasion. A few days before his death, he met Mohana, and told his team-mate of his intention to return for a fourth time. 'I will never go to one,' says Mohana. 'These are killing centres, not aid distribution centres. There are always injuries, bullets fill the place. But he said he had children in need of food, and that he was forced to provide it from anywhere, even if it was dangerous.' 'No one knows if they are coming back (dead) on the shoulders, or coming back alive with aid,' adds Al-Amur. 'Every time Suleiman went to the aid centre, he couldn't believe that he came back in one piece, because people were dying next to him there. Every time he came back, he was happy that he wasn't injured or dead.' In its statement about the 1,373 deaths recorded of Palestinians seeking food since May 27, the UN human rights office said 'most of the killings were committed by the Israeli military'. Obeid made his last journey to an aid site on August 6. 'He didn't want to go,' says Doaa. 'But he didn't know it would be the last day of his life.' According to friends, Obeid left his tent at 6am to head towards Khan Yunis. From there, he took a car towards the United States and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution centre, which the Israeli army would open at 9am. 'At 8.15am, Suleiman was on the floor, him and his friends, who were waiting for the centre to open,' says Al-Amur. 'He was peaceful, sitting in the right way, and waiting. He was surprised by a quadcopter (a small drone) dropping a bomb towards him, and he was badly injured. Advertisement 'People there tried to resuscitate him, but they couldn't.' Other family members and friends have relayed accounts to The Athletic that match Al-Amur's story. Replying to Salah's tweet, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) international spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said: 'After an initial review, we found no records of any incidents involving Suleiman al-Obeid. In order to take a closer look, we need more details.' Subsequently, another IDF statement on August 10 added: 'From an initial and thorough examination, no casualties are known to have resulted from IDF fire in the distribution centre areas in the Gaza Strip on August 6.' Doaa, however, spent that evening in the morgue, with her husband. 'I can't believe the pain I felt when I saw him dead,' she told Middle East Eye on August 11. The IDF did not respond when contacted by The Athletic. In writing about Obeid's death, Salah's intervention was rare. The situation in Gaza is a difficult subject for footballers to speak openly about, with trauma experienced by both sides leaving them open to allegations of bias from the other party. Anwar El Ghazi was sacked by Bundesliga club Mainz in 2023 after posting the phrase, 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,' though a German court subsequently found in July 2024 that the Egyptian international had been 'unfairly dismissed'. Fortuna Dusseldorf pulled out of a deal to sign striker Shon Weissman this month, saying that prior comments from the Israel international about the war on social media were 'not compatible' with their values. Pep Guardiola was arguably the first high-profile Premier League figure to engage extensively with the topic, giving a speech about the suffering in Gaza after receiving an honorary degree from the University of Manchester in June. 'It's so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts all my body,' said the Manchester City manager. 'Let me be clear — it's not about ideology. It's not about I'm right and you're wrong. Come on, it's just about the love of life. About the care of your neighbour. Maybe we think that we can see the boys and girls of four years old being killed with a bomb or being killed at the hospital — which is not a hospital anymore — and think it's not our business. Advertisement 'Yeah, fine. We can think about that. It's not our business, but be careful. The next one will be ours. The next four-, five-year-old kids will be ours. Sorry that I see my kids Maria, Marius and Valentina every morning since the nightmare started in Gaza, and I'm so scared.' Following Salah's criticism, UEFA displayed a banner at the European Super Cup final that read: 'Stop killing children, stop killing civilians'. Two refugee children from Gaza were also involved in the medal ceremony. UEFA received further criticism after this display, with Amnesty International accusing the body of 'naming the crime but not the perpetrator'. The Campaign Against Antisemitism said that the organisation had not commented on the deaths of Jewish children in the conflict. It demonstrates the difficulty many in the game feel about engaging. However, The Athletic has been told that a collective of more than 50 athletes, including high-profile footballers, are planning to take a stand on the issue. Despite the comments from Salah, the Premier League's reigning player of the season, the Premier League is not set to mark the conflict in any way over the first weeks of the season. In February 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Premier League displayed the Ukrainian flag on big screens, while club captains wore special armbands expressing their support. 'We don't have any plans to make any statements about the situation,' Richard Masters, the Premier League's chief executive, told The Athletic on Thursday. Before their game against Sligo Rovers on Friday evening, players from the League of Ireland side Bohemians wore T-shirts in tribute to Obeid. Asked whether players would be sanctioned if they expressed support for Gaza or wore a Palestinian flag — especially following the UK government's announcement it would recognise a Palestinian state from September unless Israel meets certain conditions — a Premier League spokesperson stated this was a matter for the English Football Association (FA). Advertisement The FA's kit and equipment regulations state that 'any political or religious message is prohibited', though players are allowed to mark 'places of personal significance' on their boots. For the Premier League, it is business as usual on its opening weekend. According to the Palestinian Football Association, 339 members of its community, including players, coaches and officials, have been killed since October 2023. 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' were the questions asked by Salah in his post. Obeid's family and friends say he died in an Israeli strike while waiting for food at an aid station near Khan Yunis. The why? 'I don't have the answer,' says Al-Amur. 'The answer is with the Israeli army.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
