This is Beirut

Macron Ready to Receive Syrian President Subject to Conditions

This is Beirut, 28/03 19:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Emmanuel Macron Joseph Aoun France Syria Ahmad el-Chareh

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he was ready to receive Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Chareh, provided that the Syrian government opens up to all segments of civil society and commits to ensuring security conditions necessary for the return of Syrian refugees. "A government that represents all components of ...

Syria Reverses Bar Closures in Damascus Christian Areas

This is Beirut, 28/03 17:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus Syria Christians

Syrian authorities have reversed a decision to shut bars and restaurants serving alcohol in Christian-majority areas of Damascus after public outcry, witnesses, and a Syrian news outlet said on Friday. After Islamist-led rebels ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, the new authorities had pledged to protect the country's ethnic and ...

Lebanon and Syria Sign Historic Border Demarcation Agreement Under Saudi Mediation

This is Beirut, 28/03 11:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Syria Saudi Arabia

The defense ministers of Lebanon and Syria signed an agreement in Jeddah "to address security and military threats" along their common border, the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday. The accord comes after frontier clashes this month that left 10 people dead. SPA, the saudi press agency, reported that Michel Menassa and his Syrian ...

Macron and Aoun to Hold a Video Meeting with al-Sharaa on Friday

This is Beirut, 27/03 23:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Emmanuel Macron Joseph Aoun Syria France Ahmad al-Sharaa

French President Emmanuel Macron, who will receive his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun in Paris on Friday, will also have a “trilateral meeting” with him and interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who will join them “remotely,” the Élysée Palace announced on Thursday. “This will be an opportunity for the three heads of state to ...

Joumblatt Accuses Israel of Using the Druze in Syria

This is Beirut, 27/03 17:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Syria Walid Joumblatt Ahmad el-Chareh

Druze leader Walid Joumblatt has accused Israel of using the Druze in Syria by increasing outreach to this minority as part of a broader plan, which, according to him, aims to attempt to divide the Middle East into sectarian states. "Israel continues to pursue its longstanding plan... of dividing the region into confessional entities and ...

Syrian State Media Says Israeli Strikes Hit Coastal Province

This is Beirut, 27/03 11:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Syria

Syrian state media said Israeli strikes targeted the coastal Latakia province on Thursday, with a war monitor saying munitions depots were hit. "In a number of air strikes, Israeli occupation aircraft targeted the vicinity of the Al-Abyad port and the city of Latakia," state news agency SANA reported. Authorities were working to ensure there ...

Syria Postpones Visit by Lebanese Security Delegation

This is Beirut, 26/03 14:19 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Syria security visit

A visit to Syria by a security delegation led by Minister of Defense General Michel Menassa has been postponed at the request of the Syrian authorities. The Lebanese delegation comprised the Director General of General Security, General Hassan Choucair (who had previously accompanied former Prime Minister Najib Mikati on his visit to Syria as ...

Washington Underscores Syria's Uncertain Future and Security Challenges

This is Beirut, 26/03 12:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Washington UN Security Council Damascus Syria

Three months after the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Washington underscored the persisting challenges facing the process of peaceful political transition in light of recurring security incidents, notably mass killings in the country’s western part. At a UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, US interim ...

Syria Slams 'Flagrant' Israeli Violation After Deadly Bombardment

This is Beirut, 26/03 09:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Syria United Nations

Syria slammed Israeli attacks as a "flagrant violation" of its sovereignty after a deadly bombardment Tuesday in the country's south, where Israel's military said it had responded to incoming fire. The violence near the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights followed Israeli air strikes in central Syria, the latest in a string of attacks ...

More Than 21,000 Syrians Flee to Lebanon in March (UNHCR)

This is Beirut, 25/03 20:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Syria Bachar el-Assad

More than 21,000 Syrians have fled to Lebanon during the month of March as the deadliest sectarian violence since Bashar al-Assad’s ousting has ravaged Syria’s Alawite heartland, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported Tuesday. The surge in refugees follows a wave of mass killings in Syria’s coastal region, particularly targeting the Alawite ...

Syria Committee Says Collected Dozens of Testimonies on Sectarian Violence

This is Beirut, 25/03 16:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus Syria Investigations

A committee investigating a wave of sectarian killings this month on Syria's coast said on Tuesday it had recorded dozens of reports into the worst bloodshed since Bashar al-Assad's ousting, with investigations ongoing. Spokesman Yasser al-Farhan told a press conference in Damascus that the committee had recorded "more than 95 testimonies" and ...

Israel Strikes Syria and Presses Gaza Offensive

This is Beirut, 25/03 13:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Palestine Gaza Al Jazeera Syria

Authorities in southern Syria reported that Israeli bombardment on Tuesday killed at least five people in Daraa province, while Israel's military said it carried out a strike in response to incoming fire. The violence in the south, near the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, followed Israeli air strikes in central Syria, the ...

Syria