Syria leader in Qatar for first time since Assad's fall
DOHA: Syria's new president arrived in Qatar on Tuesday, state media said, for his first official visit to the Gulf state, a key backer of the new administration after longtime ruler Bashar Assad's ouster.
The official Qatar News Agency reported Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani met Syria's interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on his arrival at Doha's Hamad International Airport.
Earlier, Syria's foreign minister posted on X that he was accompanying Sharaa on his 'first presidential visit to the country that has stood by Syrians from day one and has never abandoned them.'
Sharaa and Shaibani's Qatar trip comes on the heels of a Sunday visit to the United Arab Emirates, where they met Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who expressed his country's support for Syria's reconstruction.
Sharaa's Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham led the alliance that ousted Assad from power on December 8.
His new administration has received support from several countries including key backers Turkiye and Qatar, as well as multiple Arab states.
Qatar was one of the first Arab countries to back the armed rebellion that erupted after Assad's government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011. Unlike other Arab nations, Doha did not restore diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad.
The new authorities have engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity since taking power, and Sharaa has visited several Arab countries as well as Turkiye.
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun departed Beirut on Tuesday for Doha, his office said, on his first visit to the Gulf country since his January election.
'The visit will continue until tomorrow afternoon, Wednesday, and will include a bilateral meeting between President Aoun and the Emir of Qatar, as well as expanded talks involving both the Qatari and Lebanese delegations,' Aoun's presidential office said.
A day earlier, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met with Sharaa in Damascus in an effort to reboot ties between the two neighbors.
Beirut and Damascus have been seeking to improve relations since the overthrow of Assad, whose family dynasty exercised control over Lebanese affairs for decades and has been accused of assassinating numerous officials in Lebanon who expressed opposition to its rule.
Middle East analyst Andreas Krieg said since the fall of the Assad government, Qatar had emerged as 'the most important interlocutor with the Al-Sharaa government in the Arab world, at least after Turkiye.'
He said the gas-rich Gulf emirate was a 'diplomatic force multiplier to the Al-Sharaa government in Syria' and would be able to connect Syrians back to Lebanon 'which is, for both countries, extremely important.'
Sheikh Tamim visited Damascus in January, becoming the first head of state to visit since Assad's ouster.
Doha has pledged to support the rehabilitation of Syria's infrastructure, and in January announced an agreement to provide Syria with 200 megawatts of power, gradually increasing production.
Syrian authorities are seeking assistance including from wealthy Gulf states for reconstruction after nearly 14 years of war.
Qatar is one of the providers of financial and in-kind support to the Lebanese army and pledged support for reconstruction in February after the recent confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
3 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Israel attacks suburbs of Beirut, targeting alleged Hezbollah ‘drone factories'
BEIRUT — The Israeli military carried out strikes on Hezbollah 'drone factories' in southern Lebanon and suburbs of Beirut on Thursday, as large plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the Lebanese capital. The Israeli attack marked its biggest escalation in Lebanon since the US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in November. The Israel Defense Forces said it was striking 'terror targets of the Hezbollah Aerial Unit (127)' in the southern suburb of Dahieh, Beirut. NNA news reported strikes from Israeli drones, saying that a 'series of warning strikes, numbering more than seven' had targeted the city's southern suburbs. The news outlet also said that Israeli drones carried out an airstrike on the town of Ain Qana in Lebanon's Iklim Tuffah region. There were no initial reports of casualties related to the strikes, the spokesperson for Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health told CNN early on Friday morning. The Israeli military had previously warned of a coming strike in the area, intended to target alleged 'underground UAV production facilities' controlled by Hezbollah. IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued an 'urgent warning' via social media earlier on Thursday, urging residents of 'Al-Hadath, Haret Hreik, and Burj Al-Barajneh,' neighborhoods to immediately evacuate buildings marked in red on attached maps and adjacent structures, and to stay at least '300 meters away' for safety. A second 'urgent warning' was issued by the Israeli military via a post on X accompanied by a satellite photo of Lebanon with highlighted zones they said showed the locations of Hezbollah sites. The warning urged residents to evacuate nearby buildings 'immediately and stay at least 500 meters away from them.' The announcement prompted widespread panic and evacuations, according to NNA. Social media video captured Thursday night showed dozens of cars leaving neighborhoods in the city's south. The strikes were carried out as Muslims in Lebanon prepared to celebrate Eid al-Adha, known as the Feast of Sacrifice, on Friday. Most Muslims in Lebanon usually celebrate the eve of Eid which fell on Thursday evening local time. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam both condemned the Israeli strikes, with Auon saying that it was a 'blatant violation of an international agreement, as well as the basic tenets of international and humanitarian laws and resolutions' on the eve of an important religious occasion. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz posted on X shortly after the strikes were carried out, saying that the country holds the Lebanese government 'directly responsible for preventing violations of the ceasefire and all terrorist activity against the State of Israel.' 'We will continue to enforce the ceasefire rules without any compromises,' Katz added. Israel previously struck the same neighborhood, a Hezbollah stronghold, in late March. A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon had been brokered in November 2024, but strikes on southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah militants and facilities have continued. — CNN
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
After Decades in Assad Jails, Political Prisoner Wants Justice
Syrian fighter pilot Ragheed Tatari was 26 when he was arrested. Now 70, the country's longest-serving political prisoner is finally free after Bashar al-Assad's fall, seeking justice and accountability. Tatari, arrested in 1981 and sentenced to life behind bars, was among scores of prisoners who walked free when longtime ruler Assad was overthrown on December 8 in an offensive led by opposition factions. He has made it out alive after 43 years in jail, but tens of thousands of Syrian families are still searching for their loved ones who disappeared long ago in Syria's hellish prison system. "I came close to death under torture," Tatari told AFP in his small Damascus apartment. Since a military field court gave him a life sentence for "collaborating with foreign countries" -- an accusation he denies -- Tatari was moved from one prison to another, first under late president Hafez al-Assad and then his son Bashar who succeeded him in 2000. Showing old pictures of him in his pilot uniform, Tatari said he was not seeking revenge, but stressed that "everyone must be held accountable for their crimes". "We do not want anyone to be imprisoned" without due process, said Tatari. More than two million Syrians were jailed under the Assad dynasty's rule, half of them after anti-government protests in 2011 escalated into civil war, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. The Britain-based monitor says around 200,000 died in custody. Diab Serriya, co-founder of the Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Saydnaya Prison, said that Tatari was "the longest-serving political prisoner in Syria and the Middle East". Rights group Amnesty International has called the notorious Saydnaya prison outside Damascus a "human slaughterhouse". Tatari had been detained there, but he said his 15 years in the Palmyra prison in the Syrian desert were the most difficult. 'Wished for death' The Palmyra facility operated "without any discipline, any laws and any humanity", Tatari said. Detainees were "not afraid of torture -- we wished for death", he added. "Everything that has been said about torture in Palmyra... is an understatement." "A guard could kill a prisoner if he was displeased with him," Tatari said, adding that inmates were forced under torture to say phrases like "Hafez al-Assad is your god", although he refused to do so. In 1980, Palmyra witnessed a massacre of hundreds of mostly Islamist detainees, gunned down by helicopters or executed in their cells after a failed assassination attempt on Hafez al-Assad. Tatari said he was completely disconnected from the outside world there, only learning of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union through a prisoner who had returned from a hospital visit. In Sweida prison in the south, where Tatari was transferred after the 2011 revolt began, some inmates had phones that they would keep hidden from the guards. "The cell phone gets you out of prison, it makes you feel alive," he said, recalling how he used to conceal his device in a hole dug in his cell. But after his phone was discovered, he was transferred to a prison in Tartus -- his final detention facility before gaining freedom. Dreams of escape Tatari was one of several military officers who were opposed to Syria's intervention in Lebanon in 1976, and to the violent repression in the early 1980s of the Muslim Brotherhood, Syria's main opposition force at the time. "Many of us were against involving the army in political operations," he said. After two of his fellow pilots defected and fled to Jordan in 1980, he escaped to Egypt and then on to Jordan. But he returned when security forces began harassing his family and was arrested on arrival. His wife was pregnant at the time with their first and only son. For years, the family assumed Tatari was dead, before receiving a proof of life in 1997 after paying bribes, a common practice under the Assads' rule. It was then that Tatari was finally able to meet his son, then aged 16, under the watchful eye of guards during the family's first authorized prison visit that year. "I was afraid... I ended the meeting after 15 minutes," Tatari said. His wife has since died and their son left Syria, having received threats at the start of the protest movement, which had spiraled into war and eventually led to Assad's overthrow. During his time behind bars, Tatari said he "used to escape prison with my thoughts, daydreams and drawing". "The regime getting toppled overnight was beyond my dreams... No one expected it to happen so quickly."
Leaders
4 days ago
- Leaders
Israeli Military Strikes Syria in Response to Fired Projectiles
The Israeli military said it launched strikes on targets in Syria on Tuesday, responding to projectile launched from Syrian territory, with Defense Minister Israel Katz explicitly holding Syria's leader directly responsible for these provocative actions. However, Syria's foreign affairs ministry vehemently denied any involvement in the projectile launches, asserting that Syria has never posed and will never pose a threat to regional stability. Israeli media reported that these strikes marked the first instance of projectiles fired from Syria into Israeli territory since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December, with no reports of casualties or damage on the Israeli side. The projectiles triggered air raid sirens in parts of the southern Golan Heights, a region Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981. Statements from Key Figures Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, issued a statement through his office, emphasizing that they view the Syrian president as directly responsible for any threats or attacks directed at Israel. Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the Islamist group that overthrew Assad, now faces the consequences of these actions. The Israeli military confirmed that two projectiles crossed from Syria into Israeli territory, landing in open areas. In response, Israeli artillery struck targets in southern Syria. Syria's official news agency, SANA, reported shelling targeting the Yarmuk Basin in the west of Daraa province. The Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, noted that the bombardments hit farmland without reporting any casualties. Regional Impact and International Reactions Violent explosions shook southern Syria, particularly the town of Quneitra and the Daraa region, following Israeli aerial strikes overnight. Syria condemned the Israeli shelling as a blatant violation of its sovereignty, which further aggravates regional tensions. The foreign ministry reiterated that Syria has never been a threat to anyone in the region. The ministry denied responsibility for the strikes but acknowledged that numerous parties are attempting to destabilize the region for their own interests. They emphasized the priority of extending state authority in southern Syria and ending the presence of unauthorized weapons. Following Assad's overthrow, Israel moved its forces into the UN-patrolled demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights and has conducted hundreds of strikes against military targets in Syria. Ongoing Military Operations Israel asserts that these strikes aim to prevent advanced weapons from reaching Syria's new authorities, whom they consider jihadists. The Israeli military stated that its troops continue defensive operations in southern Syria to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and protect residents of the Golan Heights. Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948. US President Donald Trump announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria last month and expressed hope for normalized relations with Israel. However, experts believe that this prospect remains far from reality since the situation continues to evolve, with both nations on high alert and international observers closely monitoring the developments. The recent exchange of fire between Israel and Syria underscores the volatile nature of their relationship. As both countries navigate this complex geopolitical landscape, the international community watches with bated breath, hoping for a de-escalation of tensions and a path towards lasting peace in the region. Short link : Post Views: 41
