Latest news with #Syrian-Lebanese
Shafaq News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Macron urges inclusive settlement in Syria
Shafaq News – Paris/Damascus On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a comprehensive political solution in Syria that includes local actors and upholds national sovereignty. In a phone conversation with transitional Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Macron stressed the need to protect civilians and pursue accountability, pointing to the findings of an independent commission as a foundation for legal action against those responsible for recent clashes in Suwayda province. Macron welcomed the ceasefire announced in the province, describing it as a positive step that should pave the way for dialogue focused on national unity and citizens' rights. He underscored the importance of involving local stakeholders in building a political framework that ensures effective governance and long-term stability. The French president also emphasized the need for continued negotiations between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus, urging both sides to engage constructively. He noted that recent tripartite talks had clarified the next phase of the process, reaffirming his country's commitment to Syria's territorial integrity. The conversation also addressed regional coordination with Israel, particularly efforts to stabilize the Syrian-Lebanese border, where "France stands ready to support de-escalation initiatives." أجريتُ محادثة مع الرئيس السوري المؤقت، السيد الشرع. تُذكّر أعمال العنف الأخيرة في سوريا بالهشاشة الشديدة التي تمرّ بها مرحلة الانتقال. من الضروري حماية السكان المدنيين.من الملحّ تفادي تكرار مشاهد العنف، ومن الضروري محاسبة المسؤولين عنها.… — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 26, 2025
LBCI
7 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Disputed borders and denied towers: Israel pushes back on monitoring plan
Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi Israel has continued efforts to legitimize its hold over five disputed sites along the Lebanese border, releasing a "wide-ranging intelligence report' on Lebanon and the Syrian-Lebanese frontier. The report claims that Hezbollah is strengthening its presence in South Lebanon. Meanwhile, the Israeli border town of Shlomi has seen a spike in military drills and readiness for potential surprise escalations, including scenarios involving infiltration. Along the tense frontier, elite commando units, explosive experts, assault teams, surveillance personnel, and drone squads have been deployed to prevent a repeat of the October 7 incident. In parallel, the head of research at the Alma Research and Education Center revealed that Israel recently turned down a British proposal to fund the installation of more than 29 surveillance towers in Lebanon. According to the center's head, the UK has been increasing efforts to finance the construction of observation posts and monitoring systems for use by the Lebanese Army along the border with Israel. The center argued in its report that such infrastructure could compromise Israel's security and be exploited by Hezbollah. It concluded that surveillance towers would not serve as an adequate substitute for a continued Israeli military presence along the border and within the five contested sites.
Shafaq News
05-06-2025
- Shafaq News
Syria seizes missile cache bound for Lebanon
Shafaq News/ The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday that security forces in the city of Al-Qusayr, in the western countryside of Homs, thwarted an arms smuggling attempt aimed at transporting weaponry into neighboring Lebanon. According to an official statement, internal security units intercepted a vehicle carrying a cache of military-grade weapons, including anti-tank guided missiles and 30mm caliber ammunition. The driver of the vehicle was apprehended, and the weapons were seized. The detainee has since been referred to the judiciary for appropriate legal action. Neither Hezbollah nor Lebanese authorities have issued any comments regarding the incident. This development comes amid ongoing tensions and intermittent clashes along the Syrian-Lebanese border — a region that has witnessed increased volatility following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. Border areas, particularly in and around Al-Qusayr, have long been strategic corridors for arms smuggling, often linked to Hezbollah.
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.
