Syrian security forces detain cousin of toppled leader Assad
Wassim Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad's army and for trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon.
Bashar Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led rebel insurgency in December and fled to Moscow. Most of his family members and inner circle either fled Syria or went underground.
Syria's new security forces have been pursuing members of the former administration — mainly those involved in the feared security branches accused of rights abuses.
Rights groups have called for a fully-fledged transitional justice process to hold them to account.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
42 minutes ago
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A Record 383 Aid Workers Were Killed in Global Hotspots in 2024, Nearly Half in Gaza, UN Says
A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, the UN humanitarian office said Tuesday on the annual day honoring the thousands of people who step into crises to help others. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the record number of killings must be a wake-up call to protect civilians caught in conflict and all those trying to help them. 'Attacks on this scale, with zero accountability, are a shameful indictment of international inaction and apathy,' Fletcher said in a statement on World Humanitarian Day. 'As the humanitarian community, we demand — again — that those with power and influence act for humanity, protect civilians and aid workers and hold perpetrators to account.' The Aid Worker Security Database, which has compiled reports since 1997, said the number of killings rose from 293 in 2023 to 383 in 2024, including over 180 in Gaza. Most of the aid workers killed were national staff serving their communities who were attacked while on the job or in their homes, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA. So far this year, the figures show no sign of a reversal of the upward trend, OCHA said. There were 599 major attacks affecting aid workers last year, a sharp increase from 420 in 2023, the database's figures show. The attacks in 2024 also wounded 308 aid workers and saw 125 kidnapped and 45 detained. There have been 245 major attacks in the past seven plus months, and 265 aid workers have been killed, according to the database. One of the deadliest and most horrifying attacks this year took place in the southern Gaza city of Rafah when Israeli troops opened fire before dawn on March 23, killing 15 medics and emergency responders in clearly marked vehicles. Troops bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later. 'Even one attack against a humanitarian colleague is an attack on all of us and on the people we serve,' the UN's Fletcher said. 'Violence against aid workers is not inevitable. It must end.' According to the database, violence against aid workers increased in 21 countries in 2024 compared with the previous year, with government forces and affiliates the most common perpetrators. The highest number of major attacks last year were in the Palestinian territories with 194, followed by Sudan with 64, South Sudan with 47, Nigeria with 31 and Congo with 27, the database reported. As for killings, Sudan, where civil war is still raging, was second to Gaza and the West Bank with 60 aid workers losing their lives in 2024. That was more than double the 25 aid worker deaths in 2023. Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah fought a war last year, saw 20 aid workers killed compared with none in 2023. Ethiopia and Syria each had 14 killings, about double the number in 2023, and Ukraine had 13 aid workers killed in 2024, up from 6 in 2023, according to the database.
Arab News
42 minutes ago
- Arab News
A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half in Gaza, UN says
UNITED NATIONS: A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, the UN humanitarian office said Tuesday on the annual day honoring the thousands of people who step into crises to help others. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the record number of killings must be a wake-up call to protect civilians caught in conflict and all those trying to help them. 'Attacks on this scale, with zero accountability, are a shameful indictment of international inaction and apathy,' Fletcher said in a statement on World Humanitarian Day. 'As the humanitarian community, we demand – again – that those with power and influence act for humanity, protect civilians and aid workers and hold perpetrators to account.' The Aid Worker Security Database, which has compiled reports since 1997, said the number of killings rose from 293 in 2023 to 383 in 2024, including over 180 in Gaza. Most of the aid workers killed were national staff serving their communities who were attacked while on the job or in their homes, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA. So far this year, the figures show no sign of a reversal of the upward trend, OCHA said. There were 599 major attacks affecting aid workers last year, a sharp increase from the 420 in 2023, the database's figures show. The attacks in 2024 also wounded 308 aid workers and saw 125 kidnapped and 45 detained. There have been 245 major attacks in the past seven plus months, and 265 aid workers have been killed, according to the database. One of the deadliest and most horrifying attacks this year took place in the southern Gaza city of Rafah when Israeli troops opened fire before dawn on March 23, killing 15 medics and emergency responders in clearly marked vehicles. Troops bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later. 'Even one attack against a humanitarian colleague is an attack on all of us and on the people we serve,' the UN's Fletcher said. 'Violence against aid workers is not inevitable. It must end.' According to the database, violence against aid workers increased in 21 countries in 2024 compared with the previous year, with government forces and affiliates the most common perpetrators. The highest number of major attacks last year were in the Palestinian territories with 194, followed by Sudan with 64, South Sudan with 47, Nigeria with 31 and Congo with 27, the database reported. As for killings, Sudan, where civil war is still raging, was second to Gaza and the West Bank with 60 aid workers losing their lives in 2024. That was more than double the 25 aid worker deaths in 2023. Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah militants fought a war last year, saw 20 aid workers killed compared with none in 2023. Ethiopia and Syria each had 14 killings, about double the number in 2023, and Ukraine had 13 aid workers killed in 2024, up from 6 in 2023, according to the database.
Arab News
10 hours ago
- Arab News
Israel revokes visas for some Australian diplomats
SYDNEY: Israel's foreign minister said on Monday he had revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority, following a decision by Canberra to recognize a Palestinian state and cancel an Israeli lawmaker's visa. The Australian government said it had canceled the visa of a lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition who has advocated against Palestinian statehood and called for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Australia's ambassador to Israel had been informed that the visas of representatives to the Palestinian Authority had been revoked. Like many countries, Australia maintains an embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv and a representative office to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Ramallah. 'I also instructed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to Israel,' Saar wrote on X, describing Australia's refusal to grant visas to some Israelis as 'unjustifiable.' The Palestinian Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning Israel's decision as illegal and 'in violation of international law." Australia is set to recognize a Palestinian state next month, a move it says it hopes will contribute to international momentum toward a two-state solution, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of hostages held by militants in Gaza. Simcha Rothman, a parliamentarian from the Religious Zionism party led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, had been scheduled to visit Australia this month at the invitation of a conservative Jewish organization. Rothman said he was told his visa had been canceled over remarks the Australian government considered controversial and inflammatory, including his assertion that Palestinian statehood would lead to the destruction of the state of Israel and his call for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank. 'Nothing that I said personally has not been said over and over again by the vast majority of the public in Israel and the government of Israel,' Rothman said by phone. Rothman said he had been informed that his views would cause unrest among Australian Muslims. Asked about Canberra's decision on Palestinian statehood, Rothman said that would be a 'grave mistake and a huge reward for Hamas and terror.' Australia's Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, said in an emailed statement that the government takes a hard line on those who seek to spread division in Australia, and that anyone coming to promote a message of hate and division is not welcome. 'Under our government, Australia will be a country where everyone can be safe and feel safe,' he said. The Australian Jewish Association had invited Rothman to meet members of the Jewish community and show solidarity in the face of 'a wave of antisemitism,' AJA Chief Executive Robert Gregory said. In June, Australia and four other countries imposed sanctions on Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over accusations of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
