Latest news with #Syrian-Lebanese
L'Orient-Le Jour
08-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Two killed in a series of Israeli strikes 'among the most intense since the cease-fire' on Nabatieh
The Israeli air force carried out a series of strikes on Thursday morning in the Nabatieh region of southern Lebanon, north of the Litani River, described as "among the most intense" bombardments since the cease-fire came into effect, according to two security sources contacted by the Reuters agency. These airstrikes killed at least two people, medical sources told L'Orient-Le Jour, while the Ministry of Health reported a preliminary toll of one dead and eight injured. Hezbollah later announced, in two separate statements, the deaths of two of its members, Ali Mohammed Shahrour and Bassem Ali Assaf, both from the town of Harouf (Nabatieh). According to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south, both were killed in the series of Israeli strikes on Nabatieh. These bombings targeted the hills and wooded heights of Kfar Tabnit and Nabatieh al-Fawqa, with at least 15 missiles. The detonations were heard throughout southern Lebanon, up to Sour. While Channel 14 in Israel, citing military sources, claimed they hit a "very important target" without giving further details, the Arabic-language spokesperson for the army, Avichay Adraee, quickly announced that these strikes targeted a site used by Hezbollah to "manage its firing and defense arrays" in the region of Shqif, a village about eight kilometers from Nabatieh. He stated that Hezbollah "saboteurs" and "combat means" were targeted. "This site was part of a strategic underground project, which has been put out of service," he added, while Hezbollah repeatedly published videos of a large network of tunnels during the last war. L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent said that among the injured are cases of slight injuries and fainting in homes close to the bombed sites. Cease-fire violations 'must stop' President Joseph Aoun stated he was "monitoring the security developments" in the south, according to a brief statement published on the presidency's X account. Aoun "received reports on the consequences" of these strikes on the targeted locations. "I affirm that all Israeli violations of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and the cease-fire agreement must stop and that the government has not spared and will not spare its efforts to expedite the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory," stated Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who was on tour in the Beqaa and at the Syrian-Lebanese border, also regularly bombarded by the Israeli army. According to witnesses contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the streets of Nabatieh filled with people after the strikes. A teacher at al-Moustapha school said that parents arrived to the school to pick up their children before the end of classes, while others rushed to universities to get the students out. Meanwhile, Haitham Abou Zeid, the president of the Kfar Ramman municipality, a village neighboring Nabatieh, stated that teams of municipal workers, accompanied by civil defense units and emergency services, "went to the strike site and are working to reopen the road that was blocked due to intense airstrikes by Israeli fighter jets." He added that many people, including students in local schools, panicked during the bombardments, which broke windows in the village. Hassan, who prefers to use just his first name because he also holds American nationality, is in Lebanon for his engagement and was in Kfar Joz to buy a gold set for his fiancée. "I had never heard such strikes before," he told L'Orient-Le Jour. "People didn't seem to react, even the children. They looked scared but weren't really screaming — it's become like a new normal. It seems that Israel won't stop on its own; it must be stopped." Meanwhile, Israeli fire targeted a civilian vehicle traveling on the road between Odaisseh and Kfar Kila (Marjayoun). The passengers survived the shootings, according to L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent. Israeli artillery targeted a farm in Bastara and the outskirts of Shebaa (Hasbaya) with two shells, while an Israeli drone dropped a bomb targeting workers conducting maintenance on the power grid in Houla (Marjayoun). No injuries were reported.
L'Orient-Le Jour
05-05-2025
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Lebanese Army dismantles captagon factory in Hermel
Lebanese Army announced on Monday that it had raided a captagon production facility in the Harf Sammaqa area, in Hermel (North Bekaa), near the Syrian-Lebanese border. They reported having dismantled the factory and seized a large quantity of pills already produced, as well as raw materials used in their manufacture. An investigation has been opened regarding this matter. Almost simultaneously, the official Syrian news agency SANA also announced a seizure at a "captagon pill manufacturing laboratory on the Syrian-Lebanese border," conducted by the anti-narcotics department of the Syrian security forces. The seized products and tools were confiscated to be "destroyed later." It was not immediately clear if these two operations are connected. Captagon is a cheap synthetic drug that was produced in artisanal factories primarily in Syria under the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December 2024. Artisanal factories had also proliferated along the Syrian-Lebanese border, some of which are evidently still operational.
Nahar Net
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Salam meets al-Sharaa in Syria, talks to tackle disappeared persons
by Naharnet Newsdesk 14 April 2025, 13:10 Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Monday in Damascus with Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, accompanied by a Lebanese ministerial delegation comprising the ministers of foreign affairs, defense and interior. The meeting was also attended by Syrian Defense Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. Governmental sources told the PSP's al-Anbaa news portal that 'the visit comes at a sensitive time to discuss a number of files, topped by the issue of those who disappeared in Syrian prisons, the file of agreements between the two countries, the issue of closing smuggling border crossings, the abolition of the Syrian-Lebanese council, the facilitation of the passage of trucks and exports from Lebanon to Arab countries, and the file of the displaced Syrians in Lebanon.' The two sides will also discuss the formation of special committees to study all files and find suitable solutions, the sources added. It is the first trip to Damascus by a senior Lebanese official since a new government was formed in Beirut in February, two months after an Islamist-led alliance ousted longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. This visit is "key to correcting the course of ties between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect," a Lebanese official told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media. Beirut and Damascus have been seeking to improve ties since the overthrow of Assad, whose family dynasty commanded a decades-long tutelage over Lebanon and is accused of assassinating numerous Lebanese officials who expressed opposition to its rule. The official said Monday's discussions were expected to include controlling and demarcating the porous, 330-kilometer shared border, as well as combatting smuggling. Last month during a visit to Saudi Arabia, the Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers signed an agreement to address security and military threats along the border, after clashes left 10 dead. Lebanon is expected to seek the new Syrian authorities' assistance on "the formation of a commission of inquiry into a large number of assassinations in Lebanon over which the former regime is accused," the official said. Salam is also expected to raise "the return of Syrian refugees," the official added. Lebanese authorities say the small, crisis-hit country hosts some 1.5 million Syrians who fled war in their country since 2011, while the U.N. refugee agency says it has registered some 750,000 of them. Salam said Sunday he would also raise the issue of Lebanese nationals who were detained and disappeared in Syria's notorious prisons under the Assad dynasty's iron-fisted rule. In January, former Lebanese premier Najib Mikati met with Sharaa, in the first visit by a Lebanese head of government to Damascus since Syria's civil war erupted. In December, Sharaa said his country would not negatively interfere in Lebanon and would respect its neighbor's sovereignty.
Jordan News
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Jordan News
Lebanese Army Announces Arrest of 3 Smugglers "Transporting Weapons from Syria" - Jordan News
The Lebanese army announced on Thursday the arrest of three smugglers on the outskirts of the town of Aihya in the Bekaa Governorate, in eastern Lebanon, for "transporting weapons from Syria." اضافة اعلان The Lebanese army command stated in a statement that "as part of efforts to combat smuggling across the Lebanese-Syrian border, a patrol from the Directorate of Intelligence arrested (W.H.) in the outskirts of the town of Aihya, Marj al-Tout – Rashaya, for smuggling weapons and ammunition from inside Syria, after he was injured during an exchange of gunfire with the patrol." Following this, "a raid operation was carried out by a military intelligence patrol, supported by an army unit, in the town, where two other citizens, (W.T.H.) and (Z.H.), were arrested, and military weapons, military gear, and a quantity of ammunition were seized," according to the statement. The command noted that "the seized items were handed over, and investigations with the detainees have begun under the supervision of the competent judiciary. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the remaining individuals involved (the number of whom was not mentioned)." The army did not provide further details regarding the party behind the weapons smuggling to Lebanon, and no comment has been made by Syrian authorities as of 11:00 (UTC). Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on December 8, 2024, the new Syrian administration has been working to restore security within the country and establish control over the borders with neighboring countries, particularly Lebanon. This includes cracking down on drug traffickers and remnants of the former regime who have caused security disturbances. This move has gained momentum in light of the security tensions witnessed along the Syrian-Lebanese border in mid-March, after the Syrian Ministry of Defense accused "Hezbollah" of kidnapping and killing three of its personnel, a claim that Hezbollah denied. The Lebanese-Syrian border is characterized by a complex geographical overlap, consisting of mountains, valleys, and plains, often lacking clear demarcations that define the boundary between the two countries, which are connected by six land crossings stretching approximately 375 kilometers.
Ya Libnan
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Lebanese officials discuss south Lebanon with visiting US envoy
Senior Lebanese officials said Saturday's talks with visiting US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus were positive, focusing on south Lebanon amid a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah. President Joseph Aoun and Ortagus discussed 'south Lebanon, the work of the international monitoring committee and the Israeli withdrawal' from Lebanese territory, a statement from the presidency said, characterising the talks as constructive. The United States chairs a committee, which also includes France, that is tasked with overseeing the ceasefire that ended more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's office, in a statement, also said the discussions with the envoy were 'positive'. Ortagus's second visit to Lebanon comes as Israel continues to carry out strikes in Lebanon despite a November 27 ceasefire with Hezbollah, and as its troops remain in several points in the country's south. Under the truce, Hezbollah was to redeploy its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south. Israel was due to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops in five places it deems 'strategic'. Lebanon's army has been deploying in areas the Israeli military has withdrawn from. Ortagus and Salam discussed the Lebanese army's work in implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and formed the basis of the November truce, his office said. The resolution says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and called for the disarmament of all non-state armed groups. – Economic issues – Prime Minister Nawaf Salam sis shown with visiting US envoy Morgan Ortagus Salam's office said the talks also addressed the Syrian-Lebanese border, where deadly clashes erupted last month, emphasising the importance of preventing 'any tensions or chaos, and all forms of smuggling', according to the premier's office. Hezbollah has long exerted influence over large parts of the Lebanese-Syrian border, and Israel has repeatedly struck the area. The Lebanese and Syrian defence ministers last month signed an agreement addressing security and military issues along the border, which has no official demarcation. Aoun and Ortagus also discussed economic reforms and 'combatting corruption', his office said, a day after Lebanon's new central bank governor Karim Souaid took office. Souaid has pledged to advance key reforms demanded by international creditors to unlock bailout funds amid a years-long economic crisis. Salam and Ortagus discussed 'the need to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund', his office said. Ortagus also met on Saturday with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally, discussing 'Israeli violations and attacks on Lebanon' as well as economic and administrative reforms, his office said in a statement. She also met with army chief Rodolphe Haykal. On her first visit in February, Ortagus sparked anger among Hezbollah supporters by saying the group had been 'defeated by Israel' and declaring 'the end of Hezbollah's reign of terror'. The Iran-backed group was heavily weakened during the war with Israel, but remains active. Last month, Ortagus told Lebanese TV channel Al-Jadeed that the US and France had set up working groups that would address issues including the border disputes between the two countries and Israel's continued presence south Lebanon. 'We want to get a political resolution, finally, to the border disputes,' Ortagus had said. Yahoo / AFP
