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BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
The Documentary Podcast Assignment: What future for Assad's army?
The former rebels who now rule Syria dismantled the old regime's security forces as soon as they came to power last December. Overnight, half a million soldiers, police and intelligence officers, and some civil defence workers lost their jobs and income. Many of those sacked were guilty of atrocities. But the majority probably were not. Tim Whewell reports on the reconciliation process which deprived servicemen of their jobs – but delayed justice. He talks to a variety of former junior members of the security forces – a civil defence worker, a policeman and an officer of the elite Republican Guard – to ask how and why they originally became servants of the regime – and find out how they are living now. War crimes investigator Kilman Abu Hawa says only 10-15% of former servicemen are guilty of crimes: the guilty should be prosecuted, and the innocent reinstated. Nanar Hawach of the International Crisis Group draws a parallel with Iraq, where the security forces were dismantled after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Many discontented former officers in Iraq eventually joined the jihadi group, ISIS. Do the mass dismissals in Syria risk provoking a similar insurgency?
16-05-2025
- Politics
Overthrown Gabon President Bongo and his family arrive in Angola, officials say
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The former president of Gabon, who was ousted in a 2023 coup, has been allowed to leave the country and has flown to Angola with his family, the Angolan leader's office said Friday. The Angolan presidency posted photos on its official Facebook page of Ali Bongo Ondimba arriving in the Angolan capital, Luanda. It said the release of Bongo, his wife and their son came after an agreement between Angolan President Joao Lourenco and new Gabon leader Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, who overthrew Bongo nearly two years ago and was declared the winner of an election last month. Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, the former prime minister of Gabon and a spokesperson for Bongo, said the Bongo family had been detained illegally and were released after 'international demands." The African Union had called for the Bongo family's release and Angola's Lourenco was acting in his capacity as the chairperson of the AU when he facilitated the agreement, his office said. Bongo was placed under house arrest after the coup in August 2023, but was freed a week later due to health concerns, according to Gabon authorities. His supporters denied he was free and said his movements were still being restricted. His wife Sylvia Bongo and son Noureddin Bongo Valentin had been detained in a prison in the capital, Libreville since 2023 on money laundering and corruption charges. Ali Bongo himself was not charged. The coup by Oligui Nguema, the former head of the country's Republican Guard, ended 54 years of Bongo family rule in Gabon, a nation of 2.3 million people on the Atlantic coast in central Africa. Ali Bongo's father Omar Bongo Ondimba was president from 1967 until his death in 2009. Ali Bongo succeeded him.
Jordan News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Jordan News
Syria: Arrest of Former Colonel Involved in "Coastal Events" - Jordan News
Syrian security forces in the Tartus Governorate, in the west of the country, arrested former Colonel Salem Iskander Taraf on Tuesday. He is accused of "crimes and violations" during the rule of the ousted regime and of being involved in the events on the coast last month. اضافة اعلان This was reported by the Syrian Ministry of Interior in a statement on its Telegram account. The statement said: "The Tartus Security Directorate was able to arrest the criminal Colonel Salem Iskander Taraf after a precise surveillance and monitoring operation." It added: "Taraf held several leadership positions, most notably commanding Brigade 123 of the Republican Guard in Aleppo (North), and prior to that, he led the Republican Guard in Deir ez-Zor (East)." The statement further explained that Taraf "was associated with a number of violations and crimes, alongside the criminal Issam Zahreddine." It continued: "During his tenure as head of the State Security Branch in the town of Sanamin in Daraa Governorate (South), he facilitated the entry of Hezbollah militia members into the region, maintaining direct and close relations with these groups." Additionally, the statement noted that "Taraf also recruited and managed a group of remnants of the ousted regime, who were involved in the attack that occurred in March of last year."
The Star
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Flight of a Syrian despot
AS his regime crumbled, Bashar al-Assad made a hasty exit, using a private jet to move cash, valuables and confidential documents from Damascus to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a covert four-flight operation. The Embraer Legacy 600 jet – tail number C5-SKY and registered in Gambia – was arranged by Assad's top economic aide, Yasar Ibrahim. The aircraft shuttled key aides, relatives and materials critical to Assad's corporate empire out of Syria in the final 48 hours before the regime's collapse. Sources – ranging from ex-intelligence officers to insiders in Assad's business network – confirmed that each flight ferried black bags of cash (each containing at least US$500,000), electronic devices and documents outlining the structure of 'The Group', a web of entities controlling sectors from telecoms to energy. Yasar was sanctioned for facilitating the regime's economic survival through shell companies and financial fronts. The fourth and final flight departed on Dec 8 from the Russian-operated Hmeimim military base in Latakia, on Syria's Mediterranean coast. Assad himself left from the same base for Russia, where he was granted asylum. Personal souvenirs belonging to the former president strewn about one of the palace's rooms. — Reuters Reuters spoke to 14 Syrian sources and examined satellite images, WhatsApp chats between Yasar's associates and global aviation records to reconstruct the secretive operation. On Dec 6, as rebels neared Damascus, the 13-seat jet arrived at the capital's international airport. Air Force intelligence officers sealed off the VIP terminal. According to sources on-site, a convoy of Republican Guard vehicles escorted passengers and cargo to the jet. The head of airport security, Brig-Gen Ghadeer Ali, reportedly told ground staff, 'This plane is coming to land and we will deal with it. You have not seen this plane.' Assad's direct involvement was not officially confirmed, but the presence of the Republican Guard – a unit loyal only to Assad or his cousin Gen Talal Makhlouf – left little doubt. 'Bashar gave the orders,' said a former Guard officer. Flight data shows the C5-SKY jet flew to Abu Dhabi's Al Bateen Executive Airport on each trip. It first arrived in Damascus just after midday on Dec 6, then returned to Abu Dhabi the same evening. Each time the jet landed, cars rushed to meet it. Witnesses say palace staff, relatives and even teenagers boarded the first two flights, along with bags of cash and artworks. The third flight on Dec 7 carried hard drives and documents detailing financial records, company ownerships and offshore transfers linked to Assad's empire. UAE embassy vehicles were reportedly seen near the plane before take-off, suggesting that the Gulf state was aware. With rebels at the gates on Dec 8, Assad fled to Latakia under Russian protection. People waving flags adopted by the new Syrian government during celebrations in Damascus after Assad's ousting. — Reuters That same day, the C5-SKY plane vanished from tracking radar after passing Homs, only to reappear hours later, flying back to Abu Dhabi. Satellite imagery confirmed the jet had landed at Hmeimim air base. Aboard was Ahmed Khalil Khalil, a sanctioned associate of Yasar, who arrived in an Emirati embassy armoured vehicle and carried US$500,000 in cash. The funds had been withdrawn two days earlier from Syria International Islamic Bank, via an account linked to Al-Burj Investments – a company half-owned by Yasar. Sources said the aircraft was leased under a 'dry lease' – providing only the plane, without crew or operations. The jet was leased from Lebanese businessman Mohamad Wehbe, who referred to it in a WhatsApp chat as 'the Lebanese plane'. It was registered in Gambia under Flying Airline Company, which is majority-owned by an Iraqi national and partly by a Lebanese man named Oussama Wehbe – believed to be Mohamad's son. C5-SKY had flown frequently to Russia before Assad's fall, including during a period when Western aviation sanctions were in place against Moscow. The government of new Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa is determined to recover assets smuggled abroad. A senior official confirmed that money was taken before Assad's fall but offered no details. While it's unclear if Assad personally directed the operation, insiders said such a sensitive mission could not have proceeded without his consent. — Reuters
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gabon swears in ex-military chief Oligui as president
Brice Oligui Nguema, who led a coup in Gabon ending decades of Bongo family rule and swept the election last month with nearly 95 percent of the vote, has been sworn in as the country's president. The general and former military government leader, who toppled Ali Bongo in August 2023, officially took the presidential reins on Saturday after leading a 19-month transition government. The inauguration at Angondje Stadium in the north of capital Libreville drew some 40,000 supporters and was attended by more than 20 African heads of state, including The Gambia's Adama Barrow, Senegal's Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Djibouti's Ismail Omar Guelleh, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, the AFP news agency reported. The Democratic Republic of the Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi also attended. Libreville's streets were gridlocked as thousands converged on the venue, with artistic performances and a military parade planned along the Libreville waterfront in the evening, state media reported. 'All citizens of Greater Libreville are asked to extend a warm welcome to these distinguished guests,' the Ministry of Interior and Security said in a 50, rose to power after deposing Ali Bongo, whose family had ruled Gabon for 55 years. The Bongo era was characterised by a tightly controlled patronage system that enriched elites while leaving most citizens excluded from Gabon's oil-fuelled prosperity. Oligui faces serious challenges in leading the oil-rich country, which needs to revamp crucial infrastructure and diversify its economy, but is heavily indebted. A former head of the elite Republican Guard, Oligui has promised a departure from the dynastic politics of the past. In his first international news interview since the election, Oligui told Al Jazeera he was determined to 'restore dignity to the Gabonese people'. 'I will give back to the people what they have given me today. And everything that has been stolen from the people, I want to return to them,' he vast reserves of oil, gold, and manganese, and its role as a key part of the Congo Basin rainforest, the country struggles with widespread poverty. According to the World Bank's 2024 data (PDF), about 40 percent of young people are unemployed and roughly a third of the overall population lives below the poverty line. During the transitional period, Oligui sought to portray himself as a reformer and 'builder,' launching high-profile construction projects while pledging to tackle endemic corruption. His campaign slogan, 'We Build Together', was prominently displayed during rallies in the run-up to the election. However, Oligui's own record has drawn scrutiny. A 2020 investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project revealed that he allegedly owned properties in the United States worth more than $1m and had previously helped expand the Bongos' overseas business ventures. When questioned about these ties, Oligui said they were a 'private affair'. But early signs from the World Bank's latest report indicate that Gabon's economy grew by 2.9 percent in 2024, driven by increased output of oil, timber and manganese, as well as public infrastructure spending. As Oligui begins his official term, investors and international observers are watching closely to see whether Gabon and its population of 2.2 million people can turn the page on decades of dynastic rule.
