
Syrian Information Minister: We hope outlaw groups will not obstruct aid convoys to reach Sweida
'Since the beginning of tragic events, humanitarian aid convoys have been trying to reach Sweida province for all those waiting for support during this difficult time', minister al-Mustafa said in a tweet on X.
Al-Mustafa added: 'we sincerely hope that these convoys will not be obstructed by outlaws seeking to exploit our people's suffering for their own purposes'.
He went on sating 'The state remains committed to its ethical responsibility toward the people of Sweida and every citizen in need', adding 'We will spare no effort to alleviate their suffering and deliver support to those who deserve it'.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


L'Orient-Le Jour
15 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
During a visit with Michel Aoun, Hezbollah insists Israeli withdrawal should be 'priority'
A Hezbollah delegation, led by MP Ali Fayad, was met Monday morning in Rabieh by former President Michel Aoun, where they discussed the cease-fire with Israel and disarmament, emphasizing the party's condition that Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory must precede any other discussion, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA) and al-Manar. During their meeting, the delegation and the former president discussed the "latest developments," at a time when the question of Hezbollah's arsenal is dividing Lebanon's political scene. A Cabinet meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, in Baabda to discuss this issue, which has hardened the positions of the various parties in recent days. According to the NNA, those who took part in the meeting discussed "views on the implementation of the cease-fire agreement provisions," which came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, after 13 months of war between Hezbollah and Israel. The agreement, which notably calls for the group's disarmament, its total withdrawal from south of the Litani and a halt to Israeli violations, is breached daily by Israel, which conducts attacks in Lebanon and continues to occupy five positions along the border. The parties agreed on the importance of "national cohesion" in order to achieve solutions that will maintain the country's stability and security. Fayad calls for a 'unified Lebanese position' At the end of the meeting, Fayad stated, according to al-Manar, that he was "open to a resolution through the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701," which serves as the basis for the truce agreement. "We must respect the sequence of measures as established in the ministerial statement, the inaugural speech, and the Lebanese document submitted to American mediator Tom Barrack," argued the Hezbollah MP, who said that "the first step must be Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territories, cessation of hostilities, and release of prisoners — steps that are imperative before addressing any other issues." Denouncing an attempt to "bypass" the truce agreement, he called for a "unified and firm Lebanese position regarding Israeli withdrawal." President Joseph Aoun has in recent months favored dialogue with Hezbollah over the weapons issue. He raised his tone last week in a speech calling on the party and its base to "place their trust in the state," while calling on the party's critics, notably the Lebanese Forces, to avoid "provocations." The Lebanese Forces and their allies, as well as the United States, call for the establishment of a specific timetable for disarmament. Michel Aoun was allied with the party during his term (2016-2022) before ties grew strained between the Free Patriotic Movement – which was founded by the former president – and Hezbollah. The FPM notably strongly criticized Hezbollah's decision to open a "support front" for Hamas in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, following the deadly attack by the Palestinian movement in Israel and the start of the Israeli army's violent offensive on the enclave. Relations between the two former allies, who solidified their understanding on Feb. 6, 2006, also became tense due to Hezbollah's support for a presidential bid by Sleiman Frangieh, a well-known opponent of FPM leader and Michel Aoun's son-in-law, Gebran Bassil. After more than two years with the presidency vacant, it was finally Joseph Aoun who was elected in January 2025.


Ya Libnan
a day ago
- Ya Libnan
Lebanon awaits justice 5 years after Beirut port explosion
File photo: Smoke rises on Aug. 5, 2020, after an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, the day before. The blast, caused by the detonation of a stockpile of explosive chemicals that had been illegally imported and improperly stored, killed more than 220 people, injured 7000 and destroyed entire neighborhoods of the capital. The Iran backed Hezbollah militant group has been for years trying to get Judge Tarek Bitar who is investigating the blast fired , reportedly because it is concerned about exposing its role in supplying the Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad with the explosive chemical for use in its barrel bombs against civilians AP Photo/Hussein Malla Five years after the Beirut port explosion, families of victims are still seeking justice By Kareem Chehayeb and Ali Sharafeddine | AP BSALIM, Lebanon — George Bezdjian remembers searching for his daughter, Jessica , after a massive explosion at Beirut's port five years ago. He found her at the St. Georges Hospital where she worked as a nurse The hospital was in the path of the blast and was heavily damaged. He found his daughter lying on the floor as her colleagues tried to revive her. They weren't able to save her. She was one of four medical staff killed there. 'I started telling God that living for 60 years is more than enough. If you're going to take someone from the family, take me and leave her alive,' he told The Associated Press from his home in Bsalim, some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away from the port. He sat in a corner where he put up portraits of Jessica next to burning incense to honor her. 'I begged him, but he didn't reply to me.' The Aug. 4, 2020 blast in Beirut's port tore through the Lebanese capital after hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in a warehouse. The gigantic explosion killed at least 218 people, according to an AP count, wounded more than 6,000 others and devastated large swathes of Beirut, causing billions of dollars in damages. It further angered the nation, already in economic free-fall after decades of corruption and financial crimes. Many family members of the victims pinned their hopes on Judge Tarek Bitar, who was tasked with investigating the explosion. The maverick judge shook the country's ruling elite, pursuing top officials, who for years obstructed his investigation . But five years after the blast, no official has been convicted as the probe stalled. And the widespread rage over the explosion and years of apparent negligence from a web of political, security and judicial officials has faded as Lebanon's economy further crumbled and conflict rocked the country. Judge Bitar had aimed to release the indictment last year but it was stalled by months of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group that decimated large swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon, killing some 4,000 people. In early 2025, Lebanon elected President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and a Cabinet that came to power on reformist platforms. They vowed that completing the port probe and holding the perpetrators to account would be a priority. 'There will be no settlement in the port case before there is accountability,' Salam said Sunday. Bitar, apparently galvanized by these developments, summoned a handful of senior political and security officials in July, as well as three judges in a new push for the case, but was unable to release an indictment over the summer as had been widely expected. However, the judge has been working on an additional phase of his investigation — now some 1,200 pages in length — aiming for the indictment to be out by the end of the year, according to four judicial officials and two security officials. They all spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Before completing his own report, he is waiting to receive a fourth and final report from France , which has conducted its own probe into the blast given that several of those killed are citizens of the European country. Bitar since 2021 had received three technical reports, while the fourth will be the French investigation's conclusion, which also looks at the cause of the explosion, the officials added. Bitar is also looking to hear the testimonies of some 15 witnesses, and is reaching out to European and Arab countries for legal cooperation, the officials said. He hopes that some European suspects can be questioned about the shipment of ammonium nitrate and the vessel carrying them that ended up in the Beirut Port. Despite the malaise across much of the troubled country, Kayan Tlais, brother of port supervisor Mohammad Tlais who was killed in the blast, is hopeful that the indictment will see the light of day. He says he's encouraged by Bitar's tenacity and Lebanon's new leadership. 'We do have judges with integrity,' he said. 'The president, prime minister, and all those who came and were voted in do give us hope … they are all the right people in the right place.' The port and the surrounding Beirut neighborhoods that were leveled in the deadly blast appear functional again, but there are still scars. The most visible are what's left standing of the mammoth grain silos at the port, which withstood the force of the blast but later partly collapsed in 2022 after a series of fires. Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh Sunday classified them as historical monuments. There was no centralized effort by the cash-strapped Lebanese government to rebuild the surrounding neighborhoods. An initiative by the World Bank, Europe and United Nations to fund recovery projects was slow to kick off, while larger reconstruction projects were contingent on reforms that never came. Many family and business owners fixed their damaged property out of pocket or reached out to charities and grassroots initiatives. A 2022 survey by the Beirut Urban Lab, a research center at the American University of Beirut, found that 60% to 80% of apartments and businesses damaged in the blast had been repaired. 'This was a reconstruction primarily driven by nonprofits and funded by diaspora streams,' said Mona Harb, a professor of urban studies and politics at AUB and co-founder of the research center. But regardless of how much of the city is rebuilt and through what means, Aug. 4 will always be a 'dark day of sadness,' says Bezdjian. All that matters to him is the indictment and to find who the perpetrators are. He tries to stay calm, but struggles to control how he feels. 'We will do to them what every mother and father would do if someone killed their child, and if they knew who killed their son or daughter,' he said. 'What do you think they would do?' The Washington Post


Ya Libnan
a day ago
- Ya Libnan
Renewed clashes in Sweida between the Druze and government security forces. Four killed
A file photo showing a Druze militiaman guarding a checkpoint following July's sectarian clashes in the Druze-majority town of Sweida, Syria, Friday, July 25, 2025. © AP – Omar Sanadiki, AP Three Syrian security personnel and a member of a Druze militia were killed in renewed clashes in the southern province of Sweida, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday. More than 1,400 people were killed in an outbreak of sectarian violence in July between members of the Druze religious group and Sunni Bedouins, reportedly supported by government troops. Sweida- Renewed sectarian clashes in southern Syria 's Druze-majority Sweida province killed at least four people on Sunday, a war monitor said, as Damascus accused local groups of violating last month's ceasefire . The province witnessed deadly clashes between Druze fighters and tribal Sunni Bedouins in July that drew the intervention of government forces who came to support the Bedouins A ceasefire put an end to the week of bloodshed – which killed 1,400 people, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – but the situation remained tense, flaring into violence again on Sunday. Humanitarian needs escalate in Sweida as truce frays The Syrian government under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has been struggling to consolidate control since he led a shock insurgency that ousted former president Bashar al-Assad in December, ending the Assad family's decades-long autocratic rule. Political opponents and ethnic and religious minorities have been suspicious of Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule and cooperation with affiliated fighters that come from militant groups. Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule and cooperation with affiliated fighters that come from militant groups. State state television said clashes between government forces and Druze militias rocked the southern province of Sweida on Saturday after Druze factions attacked Syrian security forces, killing at least one member. The state-run Alikhbaria channel cited an anonymous security official who said the ceasefire has been broken. The Defense Ministry has not issued any formal statement. The Observatory said three Syrian security forces personnel were killed 'as clashes erupted with local factions around Tal Hadid in the western Sweida countryside'. The Observatory also reported the death of a 'local fighter'. Tal Hadid, controlled by government security forces, is a 'key control point' at a relatively high altitude, according to the monitor, allowing whoever holds it to overlook neighbouring areas. Fighting also erupted around the city of Thaala, the Observatory said, 'following bombardment of the area with shells and heavy weapons launched from areas under the control of government forces, while the sound of explosions and gunfire was heard in various parts of Sweida city'. Syrian state-run news agency SANA accused Druze groups loyal to influential spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri of breaching the ceasefire by attacking government troops in Tal Hadid, killing one security forces officer and injuring others. In a statement, the Syrian interior ministry accused local groups of 'launching treacherous attacks against internal security forces in several locations and striking some villages with rockets and mortars, resulting in the killing and wounding of a number of security personnel'. A security source told Syrian state television that government forces regained control of Tal Hadid and other areas that were attacked on Sunday. 'Force inhabitants to comply' According to the monitor and Sweida locals, Damascus has been imposing a siege on the province, with the Observatory saying the government wants to 'force inhabitants to comply'. On Friday, Sweida residents held protests across the province to demand the withdrawal of government forces and the opening of an aid corridor from neighbouring Jordan . The road linking Sweida to Damascus has been cut off since July 20. Damascus accuses Druze groups of cutting it, but the Observatory says armed groups allied with the government took control of the area and have been blocking travel. The United Nations was able to send some aid convoys to the province, but an interior ministry source told Syrian state television on Sunday that the humanitarian corridor was temporarily closed 'until the area is secured after outlaw groups violated the ceasefire'. FRANCE 24 report in Sweida: Tens of thousands displaced since clashes began