Latest news with #Assad-era
Saudi Gazette
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
UK Foreign Secretary makes historic visit to Syria
DAMASCUS — British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has become the first UK minister to visit Syria since the civil uprising began 14 years ago, holding talks in Damascus with president Ahmad al-Sharaa amid the country's turbulent transition following the collapse of the Assad regime. Lammy's visit marks a major diplomatic milestone in Syria's international reintegration, coming eight months after rebel forces ousted Bashar Al-Assad, ending his 54-year family rule. The UK used the occasion to announce an additional £94.5 million in humanitarian and recovery aid for Syria and neighboring countries hosting refugees. Speaking to the BBC, Lammy said his discussions focused on encouraging Syria's new government to adopt transparent and inclusive governance practices. 'I'm here to speak to this new government, to urge them to continue to be inclusive, to ensure that there's transparency and accountability in the way that they govern,' Lammy said. 'But also to stand by the Syrian people as Syria makes this peaceful transition.' Al-Sharaa has led the transitional administration since Assad's fall in December. Despite international concerns over the group's past affiliations, Western powers including the US, UK, and France have begun re-engaging with Syria, signaling cautious recognition of the new government. In May, al-Sharaa met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and US President Donald Trump signed an executive order lifting longstanding sanctions on Damascus in June. The UK has also eased its own sanctions and pledged £2 million this year to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to dismantle Assad-era stockpiles. However, Lammy acknowledged widespread concerns over minority rights, democratic representation, and extremist influence within Syria's post-Assad leadership. 'It's important that the UK lean in to ensure the balance is tipped in the right direction—towards accountability, transparency, and inclusivity for all of the communities that make up this country,' Lammy said. Lammy reiterated that UK aid will be tied to benchmarks on inclusivity and governance, and said discussions with Syrian officials also covered counterterrorism, irregular migration, and the fate of British nationals detained in northwestern Syria. He also criticized Israel's continued military actions in Syria, calling on the Israeli government to reconsider its operations to avoid undermining the progress being made. Israel still occupies parts of Syrian territory and has carried out repeated airstrikes targeting both Iranian proxies and jihadist groups. Despite the challenges, Lammy said the UK remains committed to supporting a peaceful and stable Syria. 'We want Syria to move in the direction of peace, of prosperity, of stability for the people, and to be an inclusive country.' — BBC
Nahar Net
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Assad cousin arrested in Lebanon border ambush
Syrian authorities arrested Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, the interior ministry said Saturday, in one of the most high-profile arrests since the former president's ouster. Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia in December with only a handful of confidants, abandoning senior officials and security officers, some of whom have reportedly fled to neighboring countries or taken refuge in the coastal heartland of Assad's Alawite minority. An interior ministry statement said that intelligence services and other authorities managed to "lure the criminal Wassim al-Assad", carrying out a "well-planned ambush that resulted in his successful arrest". He is "considered among the most prominent drug traffickers and people involved in a number of crimes during the period of the former regime", the statement said, without elaborating on the other allegations against him. While Wassim al-Assad did not hold high office, he is the first prominent figure from the Assad family to be arrested since Islamist-led forces toppled the government on December 8, ending five decades of one-family rule. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned him in 2023, saying he had led a paramilitary unit and was "a key figure in the regional drug trafficking network". State news agency SANA, citing an unidentified security source in Homs province, said Wassim al-Assad was arrested on the Syria-Lebanon border. A security source, requesting anonymity, told AFP he was arrested Saturday in the Tal Kalakh area, in Homs province near the frontier. In recent years, Wassim al-Assad, who called himself a "customs broker", posted images of himself on social media near luxury cars, sometimes appearing in military clothing and bearing arms or shooting, at times alongside other armed men. Since taking power, the new authorities have occasionally announced the arrest of Assad-era security and other officials. In April, Syrian authorities said security forces had arrested Sultan al-Tinawi, a former officer in the feared air force intelligence, one of the Assad family's most trusted security agencies.
Kuwait Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Zionists hit Syria after projectiles fired, hold Al-Sharaa responsible
Zionists hit Syria after projectiles fired, hold Al-Sharaa responsible Violence coincides with efforts to ease tensions CAIRO: Zionist entity has carried out its first airstrikes in Syria in nearly a month, saying it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Zionist entity and holding interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa responsible. Damascus said Zionist airstrikes caused 'heavy human and material losses', reiterating that Syria does not pose a threat to any regional party and stressing the need to end the presence of armed groups and establish state control in the south. Zionist entity had not struck Syria since early May - a month marked by US President Donald Trump's meeting with Sharaa, the lifting of US sanctions, and direct Syrian-Zionist contacts to calm tensions, as reported by Reuters last week. Describing its new rulers as jihadists, Zionist entity has bombed Syria frequently this year. Zionist entity has also moved troops into areas of the southwest, where it has said it won't allow the new government's security forces to deploy. The projectiles Zionist entity reported fired from Syria were the first since longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Al-Assad was toppled. The military said the two projectiles fell in open areas. Defense Minister I Katz said he held the Syrian president 'directly responsible for any threat and fire toward the Zionist entity'. A Syrian foreign ministry statement said the accuracy of the reports of shelling towards Zionist entity had not yet been verified. 'We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilize the region to achieve their own interests,' the Syrian foreign ministry added, as reported by the state news agency. A Syrian official told Reuters such parties included 'remnants of Assad-era militias linked to Iran, which have long been active in the Quneitra area' and have 'a vested interest in provoking retaliation as a means of escalating tensions and undermining current stabilization efforts'. Several Arab and Palestinian media outlets circulated a claim of responsibility from a little-known group named 'Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades,' an apparent reference to Hamas' military leader who was killed in an airstrike in 2024. Reuters could not independently verify the statement. The Syrian state news agency and security sources reported strikes targeting sites in the Damascus countryside and Quneitra and Daraa provinces. Local residents contacted by Reuters said shelling targeted agricultural areas in the Wadi Yarmouk region. They described increased tensions in recent weeks, including reported incursions into villages, where residents have reportedly been barred from sowing their crops. A Zionist airstrike also hit a former Syrian army base near the city of Izraa, a Syrian source said. Zionist entity has said its goals in Syria include protecting the Druze, a religious minority with followers in both countries. Zionist entity, which has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Middle East war, bombed Syria frequently during the last decade of Assad's rule, targeting the sway of his Iranian allies. The newly-appointed US envoy to Syria said last week he believed peace between Syria and Zionist entity was achievable. Around the same time that Zionist entity reported the projectiles from Syria, the military said it intercepted a missile from Yemen. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they targeted Jaffa with a ballistic missile. The group says it has been launching attacks against Zionist entity in support of Palestinians during the war in Gaza. — Reuters
Dubai Eye
04-06-2025
- General
- Dubai Eye
Israel strikes Syria after projectiles fired, holds Sharaa responsible
Israel has carried out its first airstrikes in Syria in nearly a month, saying it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel and holding interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa responsible. Damascus said Israeli strikes caused "heavy human and material losses", reiterating that Syria does not pose a threat to any regional party and stressing the need to end the presence of armed groups and establish state control in the south. Israel had not struck Syria since early May - a month marked by U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with Sharaa, the lifting of U.S. sanctions, and direct Syrian-Israeli contacts to calm tensions, as reported by Reuters last week. Describing its new rulers as jihadists, Israel has bombed Syria frequently this year. Israel has also moved troops into areas of the southwest, where it has said it won't allow the new government's security forces to deploy. The projectiles Israel reported fired from Syria were the first since longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad was toppled. The Israeli military said the two projectiles fell in open areas. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he held the Syrian president "directly responsible for any threat and fire toward the State of Israel". A Syrian foreign ministry statement said the accuracy of the reports of shelling towards Israel had not yet been verified. "We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilize the region to achieve their own interests," the Syrian foreign ministry added, as reported by the state news agency. A Syrian official told Reuters such parties included "remnants of Assad-era militias linked to Iran, which have long been active in the Quneitra area" and have "a vested interest in provoking Israeli retaliation as a means of escalating tensions and undermining current stabilization efforts". Several Arab and Palestinian media outlets circulated a claim of responsibility from a little-known group named "Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades," an apparent reference to Hamas' military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024. Reuters could not independently verify the statement. The Syrian state news agency and security sources reported Israeli strikes targeting sites in the Damascus countryside and Quneitra and Daraa provinces. Local residents contacted by Reuters said Israeli shelling targeted agricultural areas in the Wadi Yarmouk region. They described increased tensions in recent weeks, including reported Israeli incursions into villages, where residents have reportedly been barred from sowing their crops. An Israeli strike also hit a former Syrian army base near the city of Izraa, a Syrian source said. Israel has said its goals in Syria include protecting the Druze, a religious minority with followers in both countries. Israel, which has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Middle East war, bombed Syria frequently during the last decade of Assad's rule, targeting the sway of his Iranian allies. The newly-appointed U.S. envoy to Syria said last week he believed peace between Syria and Israel was achievable. Around the same time that Israel reported the projectiles from Syria, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile from Yemen. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they targeted Israel's Jaffa with a ballistic missile. The group says it has been launching attacks against Israel in support of Palestinians during the Israeli war in Gaza.
Ya Libnan
03-06-2025
- General
- Ya Libnan
US gives nod to Syria to bring foreign ex-rebels into army, Reuters
A member of the former rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stands guard near an image of Syria's Bashar al-Assad at the fourth division headquarters in Damascus, Syria, January 23, 2025 REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar/File Photo By Timour Azhari and Suleiman Al-Khalidi he United States has given its blessing to a plan by Syria's new leadership to incorporate thousands of foreign jihadist former rebel fighters into the national army, provided that it does so transparently, President Donald Trump's envoy said. Three Syrian defence officials said that under the plan, some 3,500 foreign fighters, mainly Uyghurs from China and neighbouring countries, would join a newly-formed unit, the 84th Syrian army division, which would also include Syrians. Asked by Reuters in Damascus whether Washington approved the integration of foreign fighters into Syria's new military, Thomas Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey who was named Trump's special envoy to Syria last month, said: 'I would say there is an understanding, with transparency.' He said it was better to keep the fighters, many of whom are 'very loyal' to Syria's new administration, within a state project than to exclude them. The fate of foreigners who joined Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels during the 13-year war between rebel groups and President Bashar al-Assad has been one of the most fraught issues hindering a rapprochement with the West since HTS, aone-time offshoot of al Qaeda, toppled Assad and took power last year. At least until early May, the United States had been demanding the new leadership broadly exclude foreign fighters from the security forces. But Washington's approach to Syria has changed sharply since Trump toured the Middle East last month. Trump agreed to lift Assad-era sanctions on Syria, met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh and named Barrack, a close friend, as his special envoy. Two sources close to the Syrian defence ministry told Reuters that Sharaa and his circle had been arguing to Western interlocutors that bringing foreign fighters into the army would be less of a security risk than abandoning them, which could drive them into the orbit of al Qaeda or Islamic State. The U.S. State Department and a Syrian government spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. CHINESE CONCERNS Thousands of Sunni Muslim foreigners joined Syria's rebels early in the 13-year civil war to fight against Assad, who was himself aided by Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias. Some fighters formed their own factions, while others joined established groups such as Islamic State, which briefly declared a caliphate in swathes of Syria and Iraq before being routed by an array of forces backed both by the United States and Iran. Foreign fighters within HTS earned a reputation as loyal, disciplined and experienced militants, and formed the backbone of the group's elite so-called suicide units. They fought against Islamic State and against other wings of al Qaeda from 2016, when HTS broke away from the group founded by Osama bin Laden. The Uyghur fighters from China and Central Asia are members of the Turkistan Islamic Party, a group designated as terrorists by Beijing. A Syrian official and a foreign diplomat said China had sought to have the group's influence in Syria restricted. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said: 'China hopes that Syria will oppose all forms of terrorism and extremist forces in response to the concerns of the international community.' Osman Bughra, a TIP political official, told Reuters in a written statement that the group had officially dissolved and integrated into the Syrian army. 'At present, the group operates entirely under the authority of the Ministry of Defence, adheres to national policy, and maintains no affiliations with external entities or groups,' he said. In December , the appointment of a handful of foreign jihadists who were part of HTS's senior leadership to top military posts had alarmed Western governments, raising concerns over the direction of Syria's new Islamist leadership. Demands to freeze the appointments and expel rank-and-file foreign fighters became a key point of contention with Washington and other Western countries up until the week of Trump's landmark meeting with Sharaa. Sharaa has said that foreign fighters and their families may be granted Syrian citizenship due to their role in fighting Assad. Abbas Sharifa, a Damascus-based expert on jihadist groups, said the fighters being included in the army had shown loyalty to Syria's leadership and were 'ideologically filtered.' But 'if you abandon them they become prey to ISIS or other radical groups' he said. Reuters
