Latest news with #Bahaa
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Shot in the head, as if executed': four days of violence end with hundreds dead in southern Syria
Bahaa* had no choice but to keep on working as patient after patient came through the doors of the Sweida National hospital in southern Syria. Almost all bore similar injuries: gunshot wounds and bodies shredded by shrapnel from nearby exploding artillery. 'There were hundreds of wounded, no less than 200 bodies in the hospital. Many of them shot in the head, as if executed,' said Bahaa, a surgeon speaking of the events of this week in Sweida under a pseudonym for fear of retribution. Videos filmed inside the hospital showed hallways lined with corpses, rooms stacked with body bags and corpses piled up outside. A second doctor from the intensive care unit said bodies had to be placed outside the morgue for lack of space. The casualties, both civilian and military, were some of at least 516 civilians and fighters killed in four days of clashes in the Druze-majority province, according to figures given by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). At least 86 of those killed were field executions of Druze civilians by government fighters or allied militias, as well as three Bedouin civilians killed by Druze fighters, SOHR said. The fighting, begun by a local dispute between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters, quickly escalated and prompted Syrian government forces to intervene. Druze fighters resisted their entry into the province and clashes began with Syrian government forces. Residents described four days of terror as fighting quickly took on a sectarian flavour – the violence was the most serious threat to Syria's stability since March, when 1,500 mostly Alawite civilians were killed after a failed attack on government forces. Syria's president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has pledged to protect the country's minorities since the toppling of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December. He now leads a country riven by sectarian divisions after 14 years of civil war, without the resources to engage in the transitional justice needed to heal it. The president, a former al-Qaida leader turned statesman, has been welcomed on to the international stage but there are deep misgivings about him among Syria's minorities back home. As the Syrian military withdrew from the city on Wednesday, people began to emerge from their houses and take stock of their losses. At least 15 unarmed people were killed at a reception hall belonging to the prominent Radwan family in Sweida city on Tuesday, three members of the family told the Guardian. SOHR also reported the killings, though put the number of dead at 12. 'They were sitting there drinking coffee when gunmen came in and just started shooting. There are no weapons allowed in the hall, it's not like it's a military base,' said Maan Radwan, a 46-year-old London resident whose relatives were killed in the shooting. Sweida residents blamed government-affiliated forces for the killings but witnesses said it was impossible to distinguish between state security forces and rogue militias. The Guardian could not independently verify who was responsible for the killings. An eyewitness said the attackers were wearing army fatigues but could not tell if they were from government-affiliated forces or a militia. 'It's impossible to tell who is killing us,' a 52-year-old teacher and relative of the Radwan family in Sweida told the Guardian by phone. Video of the aftermath of the shooting showed unarmed men strewn across a room lying in pools of blood. Family members said men in army fatigues prevented ambulances from reaching the reception hall, which they thought was meant to ensure the wounded died from blood loss. Bahaa received the bodies of those killed in the Radwan shooting at the hospital, some of whom he knew personally, and said that their bodies bore close-range gunshot wounds. He would recognise many more of the corpses that would later come through the hospital doors. Conditions in the hospital itself became desperate as fighters besieged the facility. Doctors hid in the hallways as bullets and artillery flew by, and the hospital itself was hit at least once. They began to ration medicine and other basic supplies. 'We were trying to limit each wounded person to 2 or 3CCs of Tramadol and we would dilute it so it would last for everyone,' the doctor from the intensive care unit said. Al-Sharaa gave a speech on Thursday condemning the abuses against civilians and said there would be accountability. The Syrian defence ministry also said it was 'adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents'. 'We are determined to hold accountable anyone who wronged or harmed our Druze brethren. They are under the protection and responsibility of the state, and the law and justice guarantee the rights of all without exception,' the Syrian president said. On their private social media seen by the Guardian, two government forces members posted sectarian hate speech against Druze. One posted a video of him and two other soldiers driving through Sweida laughing as he said: 'We are on our way to distribute aid,' while brandishing a machete to the camera. He filmed himself inside a house in Sweida ripping a picture of Druze spiritual leaders off a wall and trampling it with his boots. 'If God grants you victory, none can defeat you … On behalf of the tribes, oh Druze and Alawites, we are coming for you with sectarianism,' he continued. Another fighter posted a video of him driving through the town of Sahwa Blata in Sweida province, pausing to gloat over two dead bodies on the sidewalk as he filmed. 'These are your dogs, al-Hijri. Anyone who stands against the state this is what will happen to them,' he said, referring to the most staunchly anti-government of the three Druze spiritual leaders, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri. Yousef* recognised the two men in the video as his cousin and his cousin's son. He had no idea prior that they were dead. 'They called me at 7am that morning and most of the people had fled the village. They didn't know what to do, and they didn't have any guns at all,' said Yousef, a 25-year-old civil engineer in Sweida. Despite the ceasefire on Wednesday, intermittent violence seemed to continue. Rumours of another Bedouin attack on Sweida prompted a mass exodus of residents on Thursday. Yousef sent a video of him interviewing people as they fled. One had two body bags in the bed of his pickup truck. Unzipping the one of the body bags, Yousef showed the camera the body of a woman, her throat slit. The cycle of tit-for-tat violence which carried sectarian overtones threatens the unity of the new Syrian state, which authorities in Damascus were desperately trying to hold together. Mistrust between the Druze and the new authorities, and vice versa, has fallen to an all time low. Syrian state media reported on Thursday that there were now attacks on the small Bedouin communities in Sweida, prompting further displacement and what it called massacres by 'outlaw groups'. Social media was flooded by another round of images of dead civilians, this time, they claimed, it was the Druze attacking the Bedouins. The Guardian could not independently verify the veracity of those videos. 'So many of those killed were anti-Assad from the beginning. All of these killings after 14 years of war. What's the point?' said Bahaa. (Names with an asterisk have been changed)
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘It's impossible to tell who is killing us': four days of violence end with hundreds dead in southern Syria
Bahaa* had no choice but to keep on working as patient after patient came through the doors of the Sweida National hospital in southern Syria. Almost all bore similar injuries: gunshot wounds and bodies shredded by shrapnel from nearby exploding artillery. 'There were hundreds of wounded, no less than 200 bodies in the hospital. Many of them shot in the head, as if executed,' said Bahaa, a surgeon speaking of the events of this week in Sweida under a pseudonym for fear of retribution. Videos filmed inside the hospital showed hallways lined with corpses, rooms stacked with body bags and corpses piled up outside. A second doctor from the intensive care unit said bodies had to be placed outside the morgue for lack of space. The casualties, both civilian and military, were some of at least 516 civilians and fighters killed in four days of clashes in the Druze-majority province, according to figures given by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). At least 86 of those killed were field executions of Druze civilians by government fighters or allied militias, as well as three Bedouin civilians killed by Druze fighters, SOHR said. The fighting, begun by a local dispute between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters, quickly escalated and prompted Syrian government forces to intervene. Druze fighters resisted their entry into the province and clashes began with Syrian government forces. Residents described four days of terror as fighting quickly took on a sectarian flavour – the violence was the most serious threat to Syria's stability since March, when 1,500 mostly Alawite civilians were killed after a failed attack on government forces. Syria's president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has pledged to protect the country's minorities since the toppling of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December. He now leads a country riven by sectarian divisions after 14 years of civil war, without the resources to engage in the transitional justice needed to heal it. The president, a former al-Qaida leader turned statesman, has been welcomed on to the international stage but there are deep misgivings about him among Syria's minorities back home. As the Syrian military withdrew from the city on Wednesday, people began to emerge from their houses and take stock of their losses. At least 15 unarmed people were killed at a reception hall belonging to the prominent Radwan family in Sweida city on Tuesday, three members of the family told the Guardian. SOHR also reported the killings, though put the number of dead at 12. 'They were sitting there drinking coffee when gunmen came in and just started shooting. There are no weapons allowed in the hall, it's not like it's a military base,' said Maan Radwan, a 46-year-old London resident whose relatives were killed in the shooting. Sweida residents blamed government-affiliated forces for the killings but witnesses said it was impossible to distinguish between state security forces and rogue militias. The Guardian could not independently verify who was responsible for the killings. An eyewitness said the attackers were wearing army fatigues but could not tell if they were from government-affiliated forces or a militia. 'It's impossible to tell who is killing us,' a 52-year-old teacher and relative of the Radwan family in Sweida told the Guardian by phone. Video of the aftermath of the shooting showed unarmed men strewn across a room lying in pools of blood. Family members said men in army fatigues prevented ambulances from reaching the reception hall, which they thought was meant to ensure the wounded died from blood loss. Bahaa received the bodies of those killed in the Radwan shooting at the hospital, some of whom he knew personally, and said that their bodies bore close-range gunshot wounds. He would recognise many more of the corpses that would later come through the hospital doors. Conditions in the hospital itself became desperate as fighters besieged the facility. Doctors hid in the hallways as bullets and artillery flew by, and the hospital itself was hit at least once. They began to ration medicine and other basic supplies. 'We were trying to limit each wounded person to 2 or 3CCs of Tramadol and we would dilute it so it would last for everyone,' the doctor from the intensive care unit said. Al-Sharaa gave a speech on Thursday condemning the abuses against civilians and said there would be accountability. The Syrian defence ministry also said it was 'adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents'. 'We are determined to hold accountable anyone who wronged or harmed our Druze brethren. They are under the protection and responsibility of the state, and the law and justice guarantee the rights of all without exception,' the Syrian president said. On their private social media seen by the Guardian, two government forces members posted sectarian hate speech against Druze. One posted a video of him and two other soldiers driving through Sweida laughing as he said: 'We are on our way to distribute aid,' while brandishing a machete to the camera. He filmed himself inside a house in Sweida ripping a picture of Druze spiritual leaders off a wall and trampling it with his boots. 'If God grants you victory, none can defeat you … On behalf of the tribes, oh Druze and Alawites, we are coming for you with sectarianism,' he continued. Another fighter posted a video of him driving through the town of Sahwa Blata in Sweida province, pausing to gloat over two dead bodies on the sidewalk as he filmed. 'These are your dogs, al-Hijri. Anyone who stands against the state this is what will happen to them,' he said, referring to the most staunchly anti-government of the three Druze spiritual leaders, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri. Yousef* recognised the two men in the video as his cousin and his cousin's son. He had no idea prior that they were dead. 'They called me at 7am that morning and most of the people had fled the village. They didn't know what to do, and they didn't have any guns at all,' said Yousef, a 25-year-old civil engineer in Sweida. Despite the ceasefire on Wednesday, intermittent violence seemed to continue. Rumours of another Bedouin attack on Sweida prompted a mass exodus of residents on Thursday. Yousef sent a video of him interviewing people as they fled. One had two body bags in the bed of his pickup truck. Unzipping the one of the body bags, Yousef showed the camera the body of a woman, her throat slit. The cycle of tit-for-tat violence which carried sectarian overtones threatens the unity of the new Syrian state, which authorities in Damascus were desperately trying to hold together. Mistrust between the Druze and the new authorities, and vice versa, has fallen to an all time low. Syrian state media reported on Thursday that there were now attacks on the small Bedouin communities in Sweida, prompting further displacement and what it called massacres by 'outlaw groups'. Social media was flooded by another round of images of dead civilians, this time, they claimed, it was the Druze attacking the Bedouins. The Guardian could not independently verify the veracity of those videos. 'So many of those killed were anti-Assad from the beginning. All of these killings after 14 years of war. What's the point?' said Bahaa. (Names with an asterisk have been changed)
Mid East Info
19-06-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
Fintech Major Qi and U.S.-based K2 Integrity Join Forces to Align Iraq's Financial Sector with Global Standards
This partnership illustrates Qi's proactive stance in positioning the company's and Iraq's electronic payment infrastructure at the forefront of global compliance standards – Bahaa Abdul Hadi ( Dubai, United Arab Emirates ) – In a strategic move to strengthen financial compliance standards across its operations, Qi, also known as International Smart Card, has signed a landmark partnership with K2 Integrity, a global compliance and financial crime advisory firm. Qi-K2 scope of work will be split into Qi UAE, Qi Jordan and Qi Iraq. K2 Integrity will build a large operations and compliance back office in Jordan for Qi and will integrate this office into Qi's compliance ecosystem. K2 Integrity will further use Qi's UAE back office as an innovation incubator and sandbox for new Qi products and services. This long-term collaboration marks a new milestone for upgrading not only Qi's internal controls but also developing a model for strengthening the integrity for the entire Iraqi financial system. The agreement comes at a time when the Iraqi economy has started rebuilding post war and the country has increased its multilateral integration with the international financial institutions, central banks, governments and foreign investors. The concerns over outdated compliance and transparency have challenged the country's reputation. At this point, Qi has taken decisive action and partnered with a pioneer and powerhouse of the modern global AML/CFT compliance and standards conglomerate. The Qi and K2 Integrity duo is set to shift this narrative and build a model of excellence for compliance in Iraq. 'This is not just about one business group,' said Bahaa Abdul Hadi, Chairman of International Smart Card (ISC), which owns and operates the Qi Card platform. 'This is about Iraq and its economic future. We believe in leading by example as we did in the past. We are investing heavily to ensure our systems, people, and partners meet the highest global standards of financial integrity.' 'This partnership illustrates Qi's proactive stance in positioning the company's and Iraq's electronic payment infrastructure at the forefront of global compliance standards,' said Bahaa. Setting National Roadmap The partnership spans a 36-month roadmap split into three phases, where K2 Integrity will perform the following strategic tasks. Evaluate and transform Qi's current financial crime compliance (FCC) Train Qi's personnel across all levels—from frontline staff to executive Take operational responsibility for implementing globally benchmarked compliance Transition the program into a sustainable, best-in-class model eventually managed by What distinguishes this initiative is its national impact. Qi is Iraq's largest electronic payment platform, serving millions of customers and integrating with the central government, major banks, and global payment networks. The compliance infrastructure built with K2 Integrity for Qi will ripple across the country's financial ecosystem, influencing how banks, the fintech sector, and regulators approach risk, governance, and trust. Bringing Global Expertise to Iraq The New York-based K2 Integrity brings decades of experience advising the U.S. government, international institutions, and Fortune 500 banks. Its team includes former senior U.S. Treasury officials who helped craft counter-illicit finance strategies and global standards. K2 Integrity's entry in Iraq signals confidence in Iraq's financial reform trajectory. 'Qi is setting the tone for a new era in Iraq,' said Chip Poncy, Global Head of Financial Integrity at K2 Integrity. 'By committing to global standards and transparency, Qi is building not just resilience, but regional leadership in financial compliance.' Reclaiming Iraq's Financial Legacy This initiative marks a pivotal milestone in Iraq's compliance evolution—strengthening national capabilities and building a foundation for secure, scalable financial growth. It positions Iraq to regain credibility with international partners, attract investment, and enable more secure, scalable cross-border transactions, particularly vital for trade, remittances, and financial inclusion. About Qi: Qi, also known as the International Smart Card or Qi Card, is Iraq's leading digital payment platform, serving over 10 million customers through a unified ecosystem of cards, mobile wallets, merchant services, and government integrations. With a mission to empower the Iraqi economy through transparency, innovation, and financial inclusion, Qi continues to lead Iraq's digital transformation journey. About K2 Integrity: K2 Integrity is a global leader in risk advisory, compliance, and investigations. With a legacy of shaping financial integrity standards and advising on complex cross-border regulatory issues, K2 Integrity empowers institutions worldwide to navigate risk and drive trust.
