This is Beirut - Damascus

Hezbollah-Linked Cell Foiled in Damascus Plot Targeting Religious Figure

This is Beirut, 14:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syrian authorities said Saturday they foiled a planned attack in Damascus, arresting a five-member cell allegedly linked to Hezbollah that was preparing to target a religious figure near a church in the capital. In a statement, the Syrian Interior Ministry said its Counter-Terrorism Department, in coordination with security forces in the ...

Lebanon on Edge: Mass Displacement and Hezbollah Threats Stir Tensions

Samar El Kadi, 25/03 11:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah Damascus Israel

The threat of civil unrest looms over conflict-stricken Lebanon as a deepening displacement crisis fuels rising tensions between host communities and predominantly Shia refugees, many of whom come from Hezbollah's support base. “This is a volatile environment and it could lead to serious internal problems,” former MP and political activist ...

Weapons Smuggling to Hezbollah Persists Along Syria-Lebanon Border

This is Beirut, 23/03 10:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Damascus Hezbollah

Attempts to smuggle weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon have continued unabated since the group joined the war on March 2, despite repeated interdictions, according to a report by Alma Research Center. Recent incidents underscore the ongoing trend. On March 14, Syrian authorities seized five Konkurs anti-tank missiles reportedly destined ...

Syrian President Says Working to Keep Country out of Regional War

This is Beirut, 20/03 10:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Damascus Gulf Hezbollah Israel

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Friday he is working to keep his country away from conflict, against the backdrop of the Middle East war, stressing that his government is on good terms with all regional countries. In a speech delivered after the Eid al-Fitr prayer in the presidential palace in Damascus, Sharaa said: "We are calculating our ...

A New Flashpoint? Lebanon and Syria's Uneasy Border

Samar El Kadi, 14/03 14:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Emmanuel Macron Lebanese Army Baalbeck Damascus

As fighting escalates on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, the country’s frontier with Syria is emerging as a potential flashpoint. Along the 350-kilometer northeastern border in the Bekaa Valley, Syrian forces have reinforced their positions while Hezbollah has reportedly deployed its fighters, raising concerns in ...

The Lebanese Army Goes Rogue

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 09/03 14:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanese Army Lebanon Damascus Hezbollah Israel

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), under its commander Rodolphe Haykal, has defied the state it is sworn to serve, effectively siding with Hezbollah at a moment when Lebanon teeters on the edge of the abyss. After Hezbollah drew Lebanon back into war on March 2, the Lebanese cabinet rushed into an emergency meeting and banned the militia’s ...

Detainee Swap in Sweida Following Deadly Clashes

This is Beirut, 26/02 13:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus United States Syria Druze Sweida ICRC Red Cross SOHR Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

Syria's government and Druze factions conducted an exchange of 86 detainees held since the two sides fought a deadly battle last year, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday. Druze factions battled Bedouin fighters in the southern Syrian province of Sweida last July, in some of the worst internecine violence the country ...

Syria Confirms Mass Escape from Al-Hol Camp for Relatives of Jihadists

This is Beirut, 25/02 14:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus European Union USA

Syria's interior ministry confirmed on Wednesday the mass escape of relatives of suspected Islamic State group jihadists from the Al-Hol camp last month following the withdrawal of Kurdish forces who had overseen the facility. "When our forces arrived, they found cases of collective escapes due to the camp having been opened up in a ...

Israeli Druze Leader Says Syrian Community 'Besieged' Months After Clashes

This is Beirut, 20/02 09:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Damascus Israel Middle East United Nations

Seven months after deadly clashes between Syria's Druze minority and government‑backed forces, the spiritual leader of Druze in neighbouring Israel said members of the community across the border remained in peril. "They're still besieged -- completely encircled. They aren't allowed to bring in any humanitarian aid, including the aid we're ...

From Strategic Depth to Strategic Disruption: Hezbollah’s Next Move in Syria

Samar El-Kadi, 18/02 15:15 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Damascus Israel LAU

Hezbollah is seeking to disrupt Syria’s security, according to the country’s authorities. They accused the Iran-backed group, which fought alongside Bashar Assad’s ousted regime, of providing weapons to a cell that conducted rocket attacks on Damascus’s Mazzeh district. The authorities said they seized weapons, including several drones ...

Syria Starts Evacuating IS-Linked Al-Hol Camp: Officials to AFP

This is Beirut, 17/02 14:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus United Nations USA

Syria began evacuating remaining residents of Al-Hol camp, which long housed relatives of suspected Islamic State group fighters, as it empties the formerly Kurdish-controlled facility, two officials told AFP. Al-Hol, located in a desert region of Hasakeh province, had been Syria's largest camp housing relatives of suspected IS ...

Israeli Report: Damascus Does Not Rule Out Military Action Against Hezbollah

This is Beirut, 16/02 15:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Damascus Hezbollah Israel

Israel’s Kan News reported that the Syrian government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, is not ruling out potential military action against Hezbollah, as tensions escalate between the two sides despite a relative improvement in official relations between Damascus and Beirut. The report cited a Syrian security source as saying that ...

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