Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia: Which civilian airports could be rehabilitated in Syria?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
L'Orient-Le Jour
4 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Investments in Syria: Grand announcements to mask the regime's failures?
For a country still reeling from 14 years of war, sectarian violence, and territorial fragmentation, the figure is striking: Syria's government just announced nearly $14 billion in foreign projects, focused on infrastructure, transportation, and real estate, were unveiled Wednesday during a ceremony at the presidential palace. 'These projects will cover the entire Syrian territory and represent a turning point in the country's economic life,' said Talal al-Hilali, head of the Syrian Investment Authority. He called the wave of deals 'a qualitative change' meant to open a new era of development. But can these announcements truly launch reconstruction and move Syria past recent episodes of chaos and insecurity?The list of initiatives suggests ambition: a $4 billion futuristic renovation of Damascus International Airport...
L'Orient-Le Jour
4 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
What remains of Hezbollah's weapons arsenal?
Hezbollah, which Lebanon plans to disarm by year end, had a formidable arsenal before war with Israel severely weakened the Iran-backed militant group last year. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in June that the Lebanese Army had dismantled more than 500 Hezbollah military positions and weapons depots in the south, after a November cease-fire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between the foes. As the Israeli military keeps up its strikes on Hezbollah targets more than eight months after the truce, AFP looks at what remains of Hezbollah's weapons, supply routes and other capabilities. Rockets and missiles When Hezbollah opened hostilities with Israel in October 2023, its arsenal was reputedly larger than the Lebanese Army's, and experts estimated it included ballistic missiles, as well as rockets, anti-aircraft, anti-tank and anti-ship missiles. Hezbollah was the only group to keep its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, doing so in the name of "resistance" against Israel, which occupied the south until 2000. Military expert Riad Kahwaji said the group's arsenal was "degraded considerably as a result of the [latest] war and continued frequent strikes by the Israelis against its arms depots." Intelligence reports indicate that the group "has lost a lot of its heavy arsenal – the heavy long-range missiles," Kahwaji told AFP, with estimates it has lost "about 70 percent" of its capabilities. Supply routes The December ouster of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, a close Hezbollah ally, dealt a further blow to the group, with chief Naim Qassem admitting it lost a military supply line. Syria's new authorities have since made several announcements of thwarting weapons shipments to Lebanon. Kahwaji said the closure of Hezbollah's Syria supply route "has impacted its ability to rebuild its capabilities." "However, Hezbollah has been trying to build some weapons domestically. It has workshops locally to build things like Katyusha missiles," he said. Experts previously said Hezbollah had around 150,000 rockets before the latest round of fighting and an underground tunnel network in south Lebanon, as well as in the eastern Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border. Officials have said the Lebanese Army has sealed off Hezbollah tunnels since the cease-fire, while Israel has said it targeted the militant group's tunnel infrastructure in recent months. Drones Former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike last September, said domestic production contributed to his group's large stockpile of drones, which it used extensively during the recent hostilities. Kahwaji said the group has the know-how and "ability to assemble drones" and clearly "is trying to build its drone capability." An official close to the disarmament negotiations said Hezbollah had not dismissed the possibility of giving up its heavy weapons but was insisting on keeping its drones and Kornet anti-tank missiles. Fighters Nasrallah said his group could count on more than 100,000 fighters, twice as many as estimated by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. In September, an Israeli operation detonated hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, with Lebanese authorities reporting that the attack killed several dozen people and wounded thousands. The year-long hostilities killed more than 4,000 people, Lebanese authorities have said, most of them during the two months of full-blown war that preceded the ceasefire. Among the dead were hundreds of Hezbollah fighters and a slew of senior commanders. According to Hezbollah television channel Al-Manar, Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the cease-fire have killed at least 230 people and wounded 477. Israel has vowed to keep up its attacks on Hezbollah targets until the group is disarmed.
L'Orient-Le Jour
4 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Turkey, Syria vow to deepen ties
Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after a visit to Damascus on Thursday that the neighbors wanted to deepen ties as he praised Syria's efforts since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. Turkey has forged close ties with Syria's new authorities, who have worked to attract investment for the reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed in the country's devastating civil war. Fidan, who made his third trip to Damascus since December, met with interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday. "In our talks with Mr. Sharaa today, we had the opportunity to address numerous issues such as trade, investment, transportation, and energy," Fidan wrote on X. Under the leadership of the two countries' presidents, "we are determined to deepen cooperation between Turkey and Syria in every field," he added. Fidan said they also discussed Israel's operations in Syria. "The Syrian government is ... tackling many challenges to make the country safer, more stable, and prosperous. The international community, particularly the United States and European countries, is providing significant support," the minister said. "Israel, on the other hand, is pursuing a policy of destabilising our region," he said, adding that thwarting Israel's policies was "a shared responsibility of the international community." Israel launched hundreds of strikes on military sites following Assad's overthrow, saying at the time it wanted to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities it considers jihadists. In July, Israel bombed Syrian government forces in the capital Damascus and in Sweida province to force their withdrawal from the southern region amid a wave of sectarian violence. Israel said it was defending the Druze community, but some diplomats and analysts say its goal is to weaken the Syrian military and keep the new government's forces away from the frontier.
