Latest news with #AlAssad
Qatar Tribune
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Syria confirms closure of civil war-era desert camp; displaced return home
The notorious Rukban displacement camp in the Syrian desert, a dark emblem of the country's civil war, has closed, with the last remaining families returning to their hometowns. Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said on Saturday on X that with the dismantlement of the camp, 'a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close'. 'Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert,' he added. The camp, established in 2014 at the height of the country's ruinous civil war, was built in a deconfliction zone controlled by the United States-led coalition forces fighting against ISIL (ISIS). The camp was used to house those fleeing ISIL fighters and bombardment by the then-government of President Bashar Al Assad, seeking refuge and hoping to eventually cross the border into Jordan. But Al Assad's regime rarely allowed aid to enter the camp as neighbouring countries also blocked access to the area, rendering Rukban isolated for years under a punishing siege. About 8,000 people lived in the camp, staying in mud-brick houses with food and basic goods smuggled in at high prices. But after Al Assad was toppled following a lightning offensive led by the current president of Syria's interim government, Ahmed Al Sharaa, in December, families began leaving the camp and returning home. Al Sharaa has promised to unite Syria following the fall of Al Assad and rebuild the country at home and rejoin the international fold abroad. Last month, Al Sharaa met with world leaders, including United States President Donald Trump, who announced that sanctions on Syria would be removed in a decision that would allow the country a 'chance at greatness'. The European Union followed suit and also lifted sanctions. Both moves have given Syria a critical lifeline to economic recovery after nearly 14 years of war and economic devastation. Syrian Minister for Emergency Situations and Disasters Raed Al Saleh said on X said the camp's closure marks 'the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people'. (Agencies)
The National
05-06-2025
- Health
- The National
Syria's government seizes all Captagon production labs
Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab on Wednesday said the government had seized control of all Captagon laboratories in the country. "We were able to stop their production and confiscate all production facilities, and we are in the process of uncovering hidden drugs,' Mr Khattab said in a TV interview with Alikhbaria. "There are now no more factories producing Captagon in Syria." Most of the factories, of which he said there were dozens, were "in the Damascus countryside and a large number in the Lebanese border area", and on the coast. The stimulant Captagon has been a major unofficial export for years, with producers in Syria earning large profits as it became a popular recreational drug in the Middle East and beyond. Since the toppling of former president Bashar Al Assad in December, the government in Damascus has vowed to work internally and with other countries in the region to crack down on the production and trafficking of Captagon. In April, Syrian authorities seized four million Captagon pills concealed inside thousands of metal bars in Latakia, the Interior Ministry said. In early May, the Lebanese military discovered and dismantled a laboratory used to produce the drugs in a raid near the border. 'Since the first day of liberation [from the Assad regime], we have co-ordinated with countries affected by drug trafficking, most notably Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and we have been able to seize numerous shipments and equipment used in drug production,' Mr Khattab said. He said a restructuring of the ministry aimed to "change the concept of security so that it becomes a source of safety for Syrians, not a source of anxiety".
The National
05-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Lebanon seizes Captagon haul in raid on lab near Syrian border
The Lebanese Army has seized a large quantity of Captagon pills and dismantled a laboratory used to produce the drugs in a raid near the border with Syria, it said. The production plant was found in Harf Al Samaka in the Hermel area, where last month the army intercepted a vehicle loaded with the equipment and raw materials needed to make Captagon. The often porous, demarcated Syria-Lebanon border has long been the site of rampant smuggling of people, weapons and drugs. Captagon was state-produced on a mass scale in Syria during the recent years of the Bashar Al Assad regime, providing a vital income source to help prop up the government during the prolonged civil war. The drug was often smuggled into Lebanon through border areas where Hezbollah – the Lebanese armed group and political party that supported the Assad regime – held sway. Mr Al Assad was overthrown in a rebel offensive in December. Syria's new rulers have sought to eliminate production networks and publicly destroyed seizures of vast amounts of the drug. Lebanon often seizes of vast amounts of Captagon and other drugs. In 2023, an estimated 10 million Captagon pills meant to be smuggled to Senegal then on to Saudi Arabia were intercepted. In April 2021, Riyadh suspended fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon after it said shipments were being used as cover for drug smuggling. It came amid a deterioration of relations between Lebanon and Gulf countries, and a perceived rise in Hezbollah and Iran's influence over Lebanese affairs. With a new Lebanese government and Hezbollah severely weakened, there have been signs of closer ties developing between Lebanon and Gulf countries. At the weekend, the UAE announced it was lifting a ban on its citizens travelling to Lebanon – days after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited the capital Abu Dhabi.
The National
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
At least 12 killed in militant attack on Druze suburb of Damascus
Militants killed at least 12 people and injured 15 others in a mainly Druze suburb of Damascus on Tuesday, residents and members of the community said. It was the latest in a string of attacks on minority groups in Syria since former president Bashar Al Assad was ousted in December last year. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack on the Jaramana suburb, which originated from surrounding districts controlled by militant brigades allied with Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a rebel group once affiliated with Al Qaeda that led the overthrow of Mr Al Assad. It came after a deepfake video was circulated on social media over the past two days that showed a Syrian Druze Sheikh, Marwan Kiwan, appearing to denounce the Prophet Mohammed. Druze spiritual leaders and Muslims across the country warned that the video was an attempt to ignite sectarian strife. The Syrian Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that the voice in the video was not Sheikh Kiwan's and that it was working to determine who altered the video and would mete out 'strict punishment'. Ahmad Al Zuaiter, a prominent resident of Jaramana, said militants from nearby areas of Ghouta fired mortar rounds into the district overnight and tried to enter through a checkpoint known as Al Nassem that is manned by Druze members of the newly established police. A government delegation entered Jaramana and met local Druze leaders at a police station in the district, he said. An Interior Ministry statement said the suburb had 'witnessed intermittent clashes' and a security cordon has been placed around Jaramana to prevent 'a repeat of similar incidents'. It did not identify the combatants but said 'elements of the security forces' were among an undisclosed number of dead and wounded. The Druze spiritual leadership, led by Sheikh Hikmat Al Hijri, said 'the authorities bear total responsibility for what has happened and for any subsequent developments and for any worsening of the crisis'. 'We call on officialdom to address public opinion and reveal the whole facts, and stop the campaign of provocation and [portraying the Druze as] traitors,' the leadership said. At least three people were killed in early March when troops loyal to HTS made incursions into Jaramana, near the road to Damascus airport, prompting the Druze to bring in reinforcements from the sect's heartland in the southern governorate of Suweida. Sectarian violence has been mounting in Syria since an estimated 1,300 civilians from the Alawite minority were killed in the community's coastal heartland on May 8-9. At least 20 members of the sect were reportedly killed by gunmen in Homs over the past two days. The attacks undermine attempts by the country's new President, HTS leader Ahmad Al Shara, to restore Syria's international legitimacy after about 14 years of civil war. The Druze sect is an offshoot of Islam with about 800,000 members among Syria's population of 20 million in 2010, a year before the anti-Assad protests that began with peaceful protests. Mr Al Hijri steered the community away from joining in Mr Al Assad's suppression of the protests, but supported a civil disobedience movement in Suweida against the former president's rule that began in August 2022 and continued until he was toppled. The Alawite minority dominated Sunni-majority Syria during more than five decades of Assad family rule. The Sunni political ascendancy following Mr Al Assad's overthrow has changed Middle Eastern power dynamics to the disadvantage of Shiite-majority Iran and Russia, the main backers of the former regime. Mr Al Hijri has criticised the new government as being led by 'extremists' and has opened channels with Israel, in a quest for protection. Over the past month, the government has recruited hundreds of Druze from Suweida, near Jordan, to its new security troops. Druze militias loyal to Mr Al Hijri have responded by raising their presence in the streets of Suweida, and patrolling the province's borders, residents say. The Druze are the smallest of Syria's many minorities and have struggled for the preservation of their sect since arriving from Lebanon two centuries ago.
The National
25-04-2025
- Business
- The National
Syria sanctions undermine stability and block economic recovery, says Foreign Minister
Syria's Foreign Minister said on Friday that while his country has opened its doors and encouraged the return of displaced people, continuing sanctions are undermining stability and blocking economic recovery. Asaad Al Shaibani - the first Syrian official to speak publicly in the US after the toppling of former president Bashar Al Assad in December - told the UN Security Council that expired sanctions, originally imposed on the previous regime, are deterring international organisations and companies from investing in Syria's reconstruction. These restrictions, he said, block capital and expertise while allowing illicit networks to thrive. 'In fact those who benefit from operating in the shadows, often linked to extremist or terrorist groups, are the real beneficiaries of these sanctions,' he said. He also noted that the sanctions force Syria to play the role of "an aid-dependent" country rather than a partner in global economic growth. Earlier, Mr Al Shibani raised Syria's new flag at UN headquarters in New York. The three-starred flag, once used by opposition groups, has replaced the two-starred banner of the Assad era as Syria's official emblem, symbolising the political shift following the fall of the long-time dictator. Damascus's new government has been seeking to mend ties with Washington, hoping for relief from debilitating sanctions imposed after Mr Al Assad's violent suppression of 2011 anti-government protests that sparked a devastating civil war. A Syrian delegation, which included the Foreign Minister, arrived in the US this week to attend World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington before heading to UN talks in New York, signalling a tentative re-engagement with international institutions. While in Washington, Syrian officials attended a round-table on reconstruction co-chaired by the Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan and the leaders of the World Bank and IMF. Mr Al Jadaan told reporters the gathering had given the international community a new sense of urgency to turn Syria into a stable country. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said initial priorities included building credible data capability and rebuilding the function of its central bank and tax policy. "The fabric of Syrian society is deeply wounded. It's going to take a lot of work by the Syrians themselves to rebuild it," she said. US President Donald Trump's administration has not formally recognised Syria's new government, led by Ahmad Al Shara, a former Islamist insurgent who commanded the offensive that led to Mr Al Assad's removal. Apart from providing limited sanctions relief, Washington has maintained most restrictions, complicating Damascus's efforts to reintegrate into the global economy. Washington has said the US will wait to see how the new authorities exercise their power and ensure human rights before lifting sanctions, opting instead for targeted and temporary exemptions. 'Almost all Syrians in and out of the country echo the call for sanctions easing to be at a larger scale and quicker pace," UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson told council members. "This is essential to reactivate Syria's economy, to realise concrete support from the region, and to enable many to actively participate in a national effort to rebuild their country." Mr Pedersen added that the complex intersection of sanctions "hampers peace dividends that we should be seeing from the suspensions already granted". "And the chilling effect of sanctions is long-lasting,' he said, calling on governments to engage with the private sector to ensure that sanctions suspensions granted so far in critical sectors such as energy and banking materialise. In a sign of shifting dynamics, two Republican politicians, Marlin Stutzman and Cory Mills, visited Damascus last week on an unofficial trip arranged by a Syrian-American non-profit. They met Mr Al Shara and other officials in a rare engagement between US politicians and Syria's new leadership. The US has warned that it will hold Syria's interim authorities accountable for taking concrete steps to combat terrorism, curb Iranian influence and address regional security concerns, the deputy US ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the Security Council. In particular, Ms Shea said Washington expects Syria's interim leadership to fully renounce and suppress terrorism, adopt a policy of non-aggression towards neighbouring states and bar foreign terrorist fighters from official roles. Meanwhile, the UK on Thursday lifted restrictions on a dozen Syrian entities, including government bodies and media outlets, while the EU has started rolling back its measures. The moves highlight diverging approaches between Washington and its allies on engaging with post-Assad Syria.
