Latest news with #Assad
L'Orient-Le Jour
35 minutes ago
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
French court upholds warrant for Bashar al-Assad over chemical weapons
A French appeals court on Wednesday upheld an arrest warrant issued for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians. The warrant approved by French judges in November 2023 refers to charges of complicity in crimes against humanity and complicity in war crimes. It followed a French investigation into chemical attacks in Douma and the district of Eastern Ghouta in August 2013 that killed more than 1,000 people. Assad's government has denied using chemical weapons against its opponents in the civil war, which broke out in March 2011. Syrian authorities did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the Court of Appeal ruling. Prosecutors, who would be responsible for asking the police to carry out the warrant, had challenged its validity, arguing that, as a sitting head of state, Assad was immune from trial and prosecution in France. The Paris Court of Appeal said in a statement confirming the validity of the arrest warrant: "Prohibiting the use of chemical weapons is part of customary international law as a mandatory rule, and the international crimes that the judges are looking at cannot be considered as being part of the official duties of a head of state. They can thus be separated from the sovereignty naturally attached to these duties." Mazen Darwish, head of the Syrian Center for Media & Freedom of the Press and one of the lawyers who lodged the initial case, welcomed the court's decision. "Today is a very special day and this is a historic victory, not only for the Syrian victims, but for all the victims around the world," he said. "The court's decision confirms what we have always said – that when the issue concerns crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the use of chemical weapons, immunity should never be relied upon." Arrest warrants for sitting heads of state are rare because they generally have immunity from prosecution. However, international law has exceptions to that immunity when a head of state is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity or genocide. France is among the countries that allows the filing of crimes-against-humanity cases in its courts. "This decision makes clear that international rules on immunity cannot be synonymous with impunity, particularly for the most serious international crimes," Steve Kostas, senior legal officer at Open Society Justice initiative, said in reaction to the verdict.
Dubai Eye
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Dubai Eye
Syrian committee reports 1,426 killed in March violence
A Syrian government fact-finding committee said on Tuesday that 1,426 people had died in March in attacks on security forces and subsequent mass killings of Alawites, but concluded that commanders had not given orders for the revenge attacks. The incidents in the coastal region were the worst violence to hit Syria since the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad last year. The fact-finding committee's work is seen as an important test of the new leadership who are facing new unrest this month involving other minority groups in the southwest. The committee concluded that Syrian commanders did not give orders to commit violations and, in fact, gave orders to halt them. It came up with a list of 298 suspects involved in violations against Alawites and 265 involved in the initial attack on security forces, committee head Jumaa Al-Anzi said. The names are not being released publicly for now and have been referred to courts for further investigations, spokesperson Yasser Farhan said. He added that 31 people who committed violations against civilians had been arrested, as well as six people he referred to as "remnants" of the former regime. The Supreme Alawite Council condemned the committee's findings, describing it in a statement on Tuesday as an "impudent play." It said it rejects the findings of the committee, blaming the attacks in March on the "de facto authority" represented by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his government. They called for an international and independent investigation under the direct supervision of the United Nations. A Reuters investigation last month identified 1,479 Syrian Alawites killed and dozens who were missing from 40 distinct sites of revenge killings and found a chain of command leading from the attackers directly to men who serve alongside Syria's new leaders in Damascus. Syria's new leadership, led by Sunni Muslim groups against Assad, a member of the Alawite minority sect, has long sought to reassure minorities they will be safe. Safety of minorities has become a major issue again this month with hundreds of people killed in clashes between government security forces, Bedouin fighters and fighters from the Druze sect in the southern province of Sweida. The authorities have set up a new fact-finding committee in response. The violence began on March 6 with attacks on Syrian security forces stationed in the region. It put hospitals and other state institutions out of operation and caused large areas to fall out of government control, Farhan said. The committee found that 238 members of the security forces were killed in these attacks, perpetrated by forces aligned with the former Assad government, Farhan said. In response, around 200,000 armed men mobilised from across Syria, pouring into the coastal region, he said. This led to violations including killings, theft and sectarian incitement that the committee found were "widespread but not organised," Farhan said. He said the committee members had full cooperation from government forces as they carried out months of work and it was now up to Sharaa whether to release their report in full. Diana Semaan, Syria researcher at Amnesty International, called for the full findings to be released and for perpetrators to face prosecution. "In terms of the fact-finding committee, acknowledging that atrocities against Alawite civilians happened is an important step towards justice," she told Reuters. "[But] without the proper prosecution of perpetrators, then we have impunity. It won't be the justice and accountability that the victims deserve."
ARN News Center
7 hours ago
- Politics
- ARN News Center
Syrian committee reports 1,426 killed in March violence
A Syrian government fact-finding committee said on Tuesday that 1,426 people had died in March in attacks on security forces and subsequent mass killings of Alawites, but concluded that commanders had not given orders for the revenge attacks. The incidents in the coastal region were the worst violence to hit Syria since the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad last year. The fact-finding committee's work is seen as an important test of the new leadership who are facing new unrest this month involving other minority groups in the southwest. The committee concluded that Syrian commanders did not give orders to commit violations and, in fact, gave orders to halt them. It came up with a list of 298 suspects involved in violations against Alawites and 265 involved in the initial attack on security forces, committee head Jumaa Al-Anzi said. The names are not being released publicly for now and have been referred to courts for further investigations, spokesperson Yasser Farhan said. He added that 31 people who committed violations against civilians had been arrested, as well as six people he referred to as "remnants" of the former regime. The Supreme Alawite Council condemned the committee's findings, describing it in a statement on Tuesday as an "impudent play." It said it rejects the findings of the committee, blaming the attacks in March on the "de facto authority" represented by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his government. They called for an international and independent investigation under the direct supervision of the United Nations. A Reuters investigation last month identified 1,479 Syrian Alawites killed and dozens who were missing from 40 distinct sites of revenge killings and found a chain of command leading from the attackers directly to men who serve alongside Syria's new leaders in Damascus. Syria's new leadership, led by Sunni Muslim groups against Assad, a member of the Alawite minority sect, has long sought to reassure minorities they will be safe. Safety of minorities has become a major issue again this month with hundreds of people killed in clashes between government security forces, Bedouin fighters and fighters from the Druze sect in the southern province of Sweida. The authorities have set up a new fact-finding committee in response. The violence began on March 6 with attacks on Syrian security forces stationed in the region. It put hospitals and other state institutions out of operation and caused large areas to fall out of government control, Farhan said. The committee found that 238 members of the security forces were killed in these attacks, perpetrated by forces aligned with the former Assad government, Farhan said. In response, around 200,000 armed men mobilised from across Syria, pouring into the coastal region, he said. This led to violations including killings, theft and sectarian incitement that the committee found were "widespread but not organised," Farhan said. He said the committee members had full cooperation from government forces as they carried out months of work and it was now up to Sharaa whether to release their report in full. Diana Semaan, Syria researcher at Amnesty International, called for the full findings to be released and for perpetrators to face prosecution. "In terms of the fact-finding committee, acknowledging that atrocities against Alawite civilians happened is an important step towards justice," she told Reuters. "[But] without the proper prosecution of perpetrators, then we have impunity. It won't be the justice and accountability that the victims deserve."
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
What part did Druze leader al-Hijri play in Syria violence?
What part did Druze leader al-Hijri play in Syria violence? Over the last ten days or so, as deadly violence broke out in the southern Syrian province of Sweida, there was one name that kept coming up: Hikmat al-Hijri. The 60-year-old spiritual leader of Syria's Druze community played a major role in events that saw over 500 people killed and threatened to overturn Syria's fragile transition, after decades ruled by a dictatorship. Al-Hijri's critics have blamed his belligerent attitude towards the new Syrian government for what happened as violence escalated. They describe him as an "unhinged warlord," a power-hungry traitor to his country and a drug smuggler with ties to remnants of the ousted Syrian dictatorship's military. But his fans say the Druze spiritual leader is a "symbol of dignity and nobility," who was right to defend his community against the overbearing new Syrian government and their potentially dangerous followers. Inherited power The position of Druze spiritual leader is inherited and after his older brother, Ahmad, died in an unexplained car accident in 2012 — the Assad regime was suspected — the younger al-Hijri, born June 1965 in Venezuela, was given the post. He is one of the three main religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria. The others are Yousef Jarbou and Hammoud al-Hanawi. The spiritual leaders are seen as a reference point on social, moral and religious matters and for any major decisions, there is supposed to be consensus between all three. While the Assad regime was in power, and during the Syrian civil war, which started 2011 and ended 2024, al-Hijri's position might best be described as one of politically expediency. At times he openly supported the Assad regime, urging young Druze to fight for Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. But by 2023, he was speaking for Druze protestors and against the regime. He was not alone in this though. The other two Druze spiritual leaders also supported the Assad regime at times. There has also been squabbling among the three over who is the primary leader of the Druze community in Syria and who speaks for it. Reports suggest that Jarbou and al-Hanawi split from al-Hijri because of this. Villain or hero? Since the ouster of the Assad regime and the formation of a new, interim government, headed by Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of an Islamist rebel group that headed the December offensive against Assad, al-Hijri has become even more controversial. The Druze mainly live in the southern Syrian province of Sweida and just like Syria's Kurds, the community has been negotiating its involvement in the new Syria. Syria is a Sunni-majority country — Sunni Muslims make up about 70% of the country's population — and the various Syrian religious and ethnic minorities have been concerned about their future in it. Some, like the Kurds, have suggested they be allowed to run their own areas, which has sparked fears the country could be split into different zones. There have also been ongoing talks on how to integrate armed militias around the country into a central military and whether the state should have a monopoly over arms. These are the kinds of negotiations that al-Hijri has been involved in. He is considered the most belligerent when it comes to cooperating with the country's new leaders, with an absolutist attitude that differs to that of Jarbou and al-Hanawi, who have generally been more conciliatory and advocated finding ways to come to terms with al-Sharaa's government. For example, in March a handwritten memorandum of understanding between the government and Druze authorities was circulated, saying the Druze and the central government had come to an agreement about their mutual future. Al-Hijri was at the meeting where it was drafted but didn't sign it and then later said he disagreed with it. The interim government doesn't have total control of national security and recent outbreaks of violence (in which some government soldiers may well have been involved) haven't done much to assure minority communities they'll be safe. This is why some believe that al-Hijri's attitude is the correct one. What did al-Hijri do during recent violence? Since July 13, after tit-for-tat kidnapping between the Druze and Bedouin communities blew up into major fighting, several ceasefires were negotiated and even agreed to, including by other Druze leaders. However, after first agreeing, al-Hijri rejected them. Some observers say he was right to do so. British-Iraqi researcher and analyst Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi says he spoke to leaders of Druze fighters in Sweida, who had previously disagreed with al-Hijri's anti-government stance. But they told him, "at the same time, discussions were taking place on initiatives such as forming joint patrols between local [Sweida] factions and the internal [Syrian government] security forces, violations were being committed by the government forces," al-Tamimi wrote on his Substack page this week. During this month's violence, every side has been accused of atrocities — the Druze fighters, the Sunni fighters and the government forces. Online disinformation has been rampant and until the violence has been investigated, it will be difficult to know exactly who was responsible for what. Al-Hijri's views on the new government are allegedly supported by a body called the Sweida Military Council, which was created shortly after the Assad regime fell. Critics accuse the council of protecting military remnants of the Assad regime and say it may be involved in drug smuggling and other crimes. Traitor to Syria? Syrian Sunni fighters elsewhere in the country responded to the violence, saying they would travel to fight the Druze in Sweida. Al-Hijri called on the international community, including the US and Israel, to protect the Druze. Later that same day, July 16, Israel bombed central Damascus. This is what led to al-Hijri being called a traitor to his country. That anger about Israel — the two countries are still considered to be at war — was also mistakenly extended to the Druze community in general, with other Syrians saying they must all be traitors. Fast-moving events, entrenched attitudes and long-simmering prejudices make it almost impossible to tell who are the villains or heroes of recent events. Possibly what al-Hijri currently represents most of all is the lack of consensus in the Druze community. There's no doubt that recent events, in which al-Hijri's attitude and opinions likely escalated violence, have deepened sectarian tensions in a Syria scarred by communal insecurity. A ceasefire seems to be holding but after the violence of the past week, one thing is becoming clearer: Even as other Druze leaders in Lebanon continue to urge diplomacy, the Syrian Druze community's feelings towards their new central government appear to be hardening.
North Wales Chronicle
10 hours ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
1,400 killed in sectarian violence in coastal Syria in March, committee says
The violence was the first major incident to emerge after the ousting of long-time President Bashar Assad in December. It said there was no evidence that Syria's new military leaders ordered attacks on the Alawite community there, to which Mr Assad belonged. Nearly 300 people suspected of committing crimes including murder, robbery, torture and looting and burning of homes and businesses were identified during the four-month investigation and referred for prosecution, and 37 people have been arrested, officials told journalists. They did not say how many suspects were members of security forces. The committee's report came as Syria reels from a new round of sectarian violence in the south, which again has threatened to upend the country's fragile recovery from nearly 14 years of civil war. The violence on the coast began on March 6 when armed groups loyal to Mr Assad attacked security forces of the new government, killing 238 of them, the committee said. In response, security forces descended on the coast from other areas of the country, joined by thousands of armed civilians. In total, some 200,000 armed men mobilised, the committee said. As they entered neighbourhoods and villages, some – including members of military factions – committed 'widespread, serious violations against civilians', committee spokesperson Yasser al-Farhan said. In some cases, armed men asked civilians whether they belonged to the Alawite sect and 'committed violations based on this', the spokesperson said. The committee, however, found that the 'sectarian motives were mostly based on revenge, not ideology', he said. Judge Jumaa al-Anzi, the committee's chairman, said that 'we have no evidence that the (military) leaders gave orders to commit violations'. He also said investigators had not received reports of girls or women being kidnapped. Some rights groups, including a United Nations commission, have documented cases of Alawite women being kidnapped in the months since the violence. There have been ongoing, although scattered, reports of Alawites being killed, robbed and extorted since the violence. Tens of thousands of members of the minority sect have fled to neighbouring Lebanon. There have been echoes of the coastal violence in the new clashes in the southern province of Sweida over the past two weeks. Those clashes broke out between Sunni Muslim Bedouin clans and armed groups of the Druze religious minority, and government security forces who intervened to restore order ended up siding with the Bedouins. Members of the security forces allegedly killed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes. Druze armed groups launched revenge attacks on Bedouin communities. Hundreds have been killed, and the UN says more than 128,500 people have been displaced. The violence has largely stopped as a ceasefire takes told. The committee chairman said the violence in Sweida is 'painful for all Syrians' but 'beyond the jurisdiction' of his committee. 'Time will reveal what happened and who is responsible for it,' he said.
