This is Beirut

Syria Commission Says More Than 300,000 May Have Gone Missing Since 1970s

This is Beirut, 18/08 23:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Bashar al-Assad Hafez al-Assad Syria Commission for Missing Persons

The head of Syria's commission for missing persons said Monday the number of people who went missing during decades of Assad family rule and the civil war may have exceeded 300,000. Mohammed Reda Jalkhi, head of the commission created in May, said the body's mandate ranged from 1970, the year Hafez al-Assad took power, to the present day and had ...

Lebanon’s Sovereignty Tested at the Syrian Border

Mario Chartouni, 18/08 17:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Syria Lebanon Borders Demarcation

Since mid-August, a viral social media video has shown a man claiming to represent “Syrian tribes” issuing a stark warning to Lebanon: “We will invade Lebanon within 48 hours if Syrian detainees are not released,” referring to Syrians held at Roumieh prison. The threat follows the death of a Syrian inmate on August 14, which sparked ...

Lebanon, a Transit Hub for Iraqi Oil

Liliane Mokbel, 18/08 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Gulf Turkey lebanon iraq syria

Will Iraqi oil once again flow through Tripoli, capital of North Lebanon? The project is back on the table, but its outcome remains uncertain. Baghdad is signaling determination. Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani confirmed that the option is under serious study. To show goodwill, he also mentioned the possible rehabilitation of Kirkuk-Baniyas ...

Terrorists' Brinkmanship

Charles Chartouni, 18/08 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Gaza Syria Hamas Hezbollah Israel

The riddled negotiations taking place in Lebanon and Gaza and the equivocations of the Syrian transition are quite compelling since they convey the ambiguities undermining political stability in these different environments. Nonetheless, they illustrate the difficulties of political transitioning in countries partially or totally controlled by ...

Protesters in Syria Druze Heartland Demand Right to Self-Determination

This is Beirut, 16/08 15:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Sweida SOHR Druze

Hundreds demonstrated in Syria's Sweida on Saturday, denouncing last month's sectarian violence and calling for the right to self-determination for the Druze-majority province, an AFP correspondent reported. A week of bloodshed began on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin but rapidly escalated, drawing in government ...

PSP Calls for International Probe into Sweida's Violence

This is Beirut, 15/08 17:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria Sweida Aid Druze PSP Walid Jumblatt

The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) called on Friday for an international investigation into the recent violence in Sweida, the Druze heartland of southern Syria, where hundreds were killed. Rejecting what it described as “rumors and claims” about its stance, the PSP reiterated its demands for justice, urgent relief for the embattled city ...

Turkey Reports Mass Return by Syrians

This is Beirut, 14/08 18:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkey United Nations Syria Refugees

More than 410,00 Syrians who fled to Turkey during the rule of Bashar al-Assad have returned home since he was overthrown in December, the government announced Thursday. Turkey's interior ministry said 411,649 Syrians had so far returned, the rate picking up in recent weeks, with the immigration service recording 140,000 returns since ...

LAF Arrest Suspect in Pascal Suleiman Kidnapping Case

This is Beirut, 14/08 15:55 - Reading : less than a minute

Lebanese Army Lebanese Forces lebanon Pascal Sleiman Syria

The Lebanese Army (LAF) Intelligence Directorate arrested B.J., a suspect implicated in the 2024 kidnapping and killing of Pascal Sleiman. In a press release issued Thursday, LAF described the operation as “precision-targeted,” noting that B.J. was among the most wanted individuals, with dozens of arrest warrants for kidnapping, theft, ...

Blast Kills Four in Northwest Syria: State Media

This is Beirut, 14/08 13:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria explosion

A blast rocked Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Thursday, state media said, reporting four dead and without identifying its cause. Residents told AFP they heard the sound of explosions in the western outskirts of the provincial capital. State news agency SANA reported "an explosion whose cause is unknown in the vicinity of the ...

Ankara and Damascus Top Diplomats Warn Israel over Syria Action

This is Beirut, 13/08 16:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Israel Turkey Asaad al-Shaibani Hakan Fidan

Turkey's foreign minister and his Syrian counterpart on Wednesday warned Israel not to stir up chaos in Syria and demanded an end to all external interventions aimed at destabilizing the war-torn country. "Certain actors are bothered by the positive developments in Syria," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after talks with Syria's Asaad ...

Syria, Kurdish Officials Meet after Paris Talks Canned

This is Beirut, 12/08 16:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Kurds Syrian Democratic Forces Ahmad al-Sharaa

Syria's foreign minister and a senior official in the country's Kurdish administration have met in Damascus, sources from both sides told AFP on Tuesday, days after the government boycotted talks in France. Damascus had said it would not participate in the Paris talks after the Kurds hosted a meeting last week involving Syria's Druze and Alawite ...

Assad Is Gone. The Syrian Problem Persists

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 12/08 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Syria Hezbollah Ahmad el Sharaa

Nine months after Bashar al-Assad's fall and Ahmad al-Sharaa's rise to power, the UN Security Council met to address Syria’s ongoing crisis. The Council urged Damascus to establish a government “of the Syrians, by the Syrians, for the Syrians.” Despite the change in leadership, the Security Council views Syria as a failing state. Damascus ...

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