35 years after the Christians, the Shiites face the twilight of their domination
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Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Syria's al-Sharaa says unifying country 'should not be with blood'
by Naharnet Newsdesk 17 August 2025, 11:08 Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said the battle to unify his country after years of civil war "should not be with blood", rejecting any partition and accusing Israel of meddling in the south. His remarks, released by state TV on Sunday, came as hundreds demonstrated in south Syria's Sweida province, denouncing sectarian violence last month and calling for the right to self-determination for the Druze-majority province. "We still have another battle ahead of us to unify Syria, and it should not be with blood and military force... it should be through some kind of understanding because Syria is tired of war," Sharaa said during a dialogue session involving notables from the northwest province of Idlib and other senior officials. "I do not see Syria as at risk of division. Some people desire a process of dividing Syria and trying to establish cantons... this matter is impossible," he said according to a recording of the meeting, distributed overnight by state media. "Some parties seek to gain power through regional power, Israel or others. This is also extremely difficult and cannot be implemented," he said. At the protest in Sweida, some demonstrators waved the Israeli flag and called for self-determination for the region. A week of bloodshed in Sweida began on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin, but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces, with Israel also carrying out strikes. Syrian authorities have said their forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses, Druze factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have accused them of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses against the Druze, including summary executions. Sharaa said that Sweida "witnessed many violations from all sides... some members of the security forces and army in Syria also carried out some violations". The state is required "to hold all perpetrators of violations to account", whatever their affiliation, he added. "Israel is intervening directly in Sweida, seeking to implement policies aimed at weakening the state in general or finding excuses to interfere in ongoing policies in the southern region," Sharaa said. Israel, which has its own Druze community, has said it has acted to defend the minority group as well as enforce its demands for the demilitarization of southern Syria. Syria's new authorities are also in talks with a semi-autonomous Kurdish administration that runs swathes of the country's north and northeast and has called for decentralization, which Damascus has rejected. Implementation of a March 10 deal on integrating the Kurds' semi-autonomous civil and military institutions into the state has been held up by differences between the parties. "We are now discussing the mechanisms for implementation" of the deal, Sharaa said.
L'Orient-Le Jour
10 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
The mayor of a town on the southern Lebanese border comes under Israeli fire
The Israeli army opened fire toward the mayor of Mari, Salmane Abou al-Alaa, while he was inspecting the border area of Abbasieh, reports our correspondent in southern Lebanon, Muntasser Abdallah. 'During a tour I was conducting with members of the Southern Council to inspect the border village of Abbasieh, the Israelis deliberately fired near us, forcing us to halt our tour and leave the area,' the elected official told our publication. These shootings come as the Israeli army continues to violate the truce concluded nearly nine months ago between Israel and Hezbollah. In this context, an Israeli drone dropped a sonic bomb on the town of Kfar Kila in the Marjayoun district and on the village of Ramieh in the Bint Jbeil district on Saturday. Another Israeli drone targeted an excavator on the outskirts of Aitaroun, in the Bint Jbeil district, near the town of Blida. Katz confronts Aoun On another note, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz sent 'a direct message' to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday. 'We consider you, along with the Lebanese government, directly responsible for maintaining Lebanon's sovereignty and implementing the cease-fire agreement. We will not return to the situation that prevailed before Oct. 7 and will continue to act forcefully against any violation,' he emphasized, shortly after the Israeli army carried out strikes in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, the commander-in-chief of the Lebanese Army, General Rodolphe Haykal, inspected on Friday the site of last Saturday's explosion at a weapons depot in the Sour district, which had killed six soldiers. 'The army has no option but to continue fulfilling its duty in the face of repeated aggressions by the Israeli enemy, as safeguarding the homeland is a sacred mission for which sacrifices are required,' he stressed. Recently, the Lebanese authorities tasked the Lebanese Army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah, a decision strongly contested by the party.
L'Orient-Le Jour
17 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
New wave of condemnations after Qassem's speech
Reactions condemning the speech of the Hezbollah leader, who on Friday threatened confrontation if disarmament were imposed on his group, continued for the second consecutive day. These remarks were, however, supported by Iran's ambassador to Beirut, Mojtaba Amani, who said, 'American pressure will not break Lebanon.' The leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF), Samir Geagea, on Saturday called the statements of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem 'unacceptable.' Kassem had declared on Friday that his organization was ready for confrontation, especially after the government tasked the Lebanese Army with drafting a plan to disarm it. 'The speech delivered yesterday by Sheikh Naim Kassem is unacceptable in every respect, as it constitutes a direct threat, first and foremost, to the Lebanese government, then to the parliamentary majority that has placed its trust in this government, and finally to all of Lebanon's constitutional institutions, including the presidency of the Republic and the presidency of the Council of Ministers,' Geagea said in a statement. 'It is also a direct threat to all free Lebanese,' he added. 'Supporting constitutional institutions' 'If Sheikh Naïm assumes that there are no longer any free Lebanese in Lebanon, he is gravely mistaken. If he assumes that he can thereby impose his authority, which does not exist, on these free Lebanese, he is also gravely mistaken,' added the LF leader, of the Christian sovereignist party opposed to Hezbollah's arsenal. In a barely veiled threat directed at Hezbollah's secretary-general, Geagea also promised to 'redouble efforts to support constitutional institutions' and to do everything possible 'to prevent anyone from undermining support for constitutional institutions again,' considering that the current phase is 'foundational' for Lebanon. 'These institutions, represented by the heads of state and government, are striving, with all their patriotism, energy, and strength, to restore Lebanon to itself, to reestablish order in the state, to bring Lebanon's friends back to its side, and also to bring the international community back with it,' he concluded. After more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah, the party, which has lost much of its leadership—including its chief Hassan Nasrallah, eliminated by the Israeli army on Sep. 27, 2024— continues to refuse to hand over its arsenal to the Lebanese Army, despite pressure from authorities and the international community. Beirut MP Ibrahim Mneimneh (opposition) said that Hezbollah 'should clearly declare that it is handing over its weapons and limit discussion on this matter to the Council of Ministers.' 'But Hezbollah continues to break its promises and move in a vicious circle,' he added in a radio interview. He also noted: 'The main problem still lies in the lack of trust in a state that is trying to recover. Therefore, Hezbollah should no longer make all Lebanese bear the burden of its crisis.' 'Threatening official authorities' Metn MP Elias Hankache, a member of the parliamentary group of the Kataeb Party, said, 'We cannot let pass an opportunity to build a country worthy of our ambitions in the face of a regional Iranian agenda.' In an interview with the Lebanese channel al-Jadeed, he accused Naim Qassem of 'threatening official authorities in Lebanon, the entire country, and all Lebanese,' noting that this escalation coincided with the visit of Iranian official Ali Larijani to Beirut. Meanwhile, MP Hadi Abou el-Hosn of the Democratic Gathering bloc (aligned with Jumblatt) said Qassem's speech is 'condemnable and unacceptable,' questioning why he used language from a bygone era, referring to the civil war invoked by the Hezbollah chief. 'This escalatory speech, which traps us in the Israeli game, is in total contradiction with Hezbollah's participation in the government, in which we are all integrated and whose ministerial declaration we have all approved,' he said in a statement. 'American pressure will not break Lebanon' Iran's ambassador to Beirut, Mojtaba Amani, stated that 'American pressure will not break Lebanon and its resistance.' In an interview with Al-Alam, reported by various Lebanese media, the diplomat said that his 'country resists pressures, government and people united, and wishes the same for Lebanon.' 'Iran supports Lebanon and its people without distinction between different communities, and its support for Lebanon is not a slogan but a concrete reality,' he added. Amani also said, 'If houses belonging to Christians, Druze, or other communities are destroyed, Iran is ready to help them, as it does for the oppressed people of Gaza.' Meanwhile, Hezbollah's deputy head of the political council, Mahmoud Comati, said on Saturday that Hezbollah is not 'in an internal Lebanese confrontation.' Naïm Kassem 'did not threaten, but said that we are ready, if cornered, to wage a Battle of Karbala,' referring to the battle in which Imam Hussein and his men were killed in 680 AD.
