Lebanese drugs kingpin uses wife as ‘human shield’ to evade troops

A customs agent checks boxes of oranges, in which fake fruits filled with Captagon in the Lebanese capital. (AFP)
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Updated 11 June 2022
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Lebanese drugs kingpin uses wife as ‘human shield’ to evade troops

  • Military weapons seized, 12 arrests in army raids targeting crime boss

BEIRUT: One of Lebanon’s most notorious drug barons used his wife as a “human shield” to evade capture by Lebanese troops during a series of military raids in Baalbeck, northeast of Beirut.

Troops targeting Ali Munther Zeaiter, known in the drug world as Abu Salleh, destroyed drug-manufacturing labs and seized military-grade weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, during a week-long military operation centered on the Al-Sharawneh neighborhood at the northern entrance to the city.

One soldier is believed to have been killed and five others wounded in an attempt to arrest Zeaiter, a major drug dealer believed to oversee one of Lebanon’s biggest narcotics production and smuggling networks.

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Many reacted to the military operation on social media, with activists calling on the army leadership to strike with an iron fist, and get rid of the gangs and drug dealers, while other activists accused Hezbollah of covering up for drug dealers and benefiting from trafficking.

A military source told Arab News that Zeaiter managed to escape after using his wife as a “human shield” and firing on advancing troops.

Zeaiter was shot in the thigh during a gun battle in which rockets were fired, with troops forced to retreat to avoid harming civilians, the source said.

Six Lebanese and six Syrians were arrested in connection with the raid or on previous drug trafficking charges.

Zeaiter’s bodyguards are believed to be among those detained.

The military source said: “Army units, despite all the surveillance cameras and informants deployed on the roads leading to the neighborhood, managed to reach Zeaiter’s house. The goal was the catch him alive. This guy has 390 arrest warrants against him and has been flooding Lebanese areas with drugs, especially Beirut and Mount Lebanon.”

He added: “Our weakness was our decision not to harm civilians, and the army does not consider the people of Baalbeck to be hostile in any way.”

Al-Sharawneh links Baalbek to northern Bekaa. Since the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon in 2005, the neighborhood has turned into a hotbed of criminal activity.

Crime rates soared after it became a haven for professional gangs committing ransom kidnappings, manufacturing and smuggling drugs, and recruiting known criminals.

Although the area is dominated by Hezbollah, the party has never sought to control the situation there.

Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun said from Baalbeck on Friday: “Our war on drugs has not ended. We do not wait for any political or religious cover to combat drugs, and we do not work according to any agenda, but rather out of our responsibility toward our people and our country.”

Two drug-making labs had been seized in the raids along with narcotics, large quantities of cash and three four-wheel-drive vehicles, Aoun said.

Weapons and ammunition, including grenade launchers and 15 hunting rifles were also seized.

The military operation revealed dozens of surveillance cameras placed on roofs and balconies of residential buildings in Al-Sharawneh to monitor the movements of the army and security forces, Aoun said.

Troops destroyed four houses believed to used for Zeaiter’s drug operations, prompting women from the neighborhood to take to the streets to protest the demolition.

Families in Baalbeck-Hermel accused troops of using “excessive force,” while MP Ghazi Zeaiter from the Amal movement also criticized the army’s actions.

Sheikh Mohammed Yazbeck, a member of Hezbollah’s Shoura Council, told members of the Zeaiter clan: “I give the army one to two hours to stop the pursuit of the wanted persons, otherwise we will stand by the clan. We are grateful for the Zeaiter family for their restraint and decision not to use their weapons.”

However, the military source denied that the army was pressured by Hezbollah to end its operation in the Al-Sharawneh neighborhood. “The party was trying to find out how much time the military operation would take.”

It is unknown whether Zeaiter managed to escape to Syria or is still in Lebanon.

The military source confirmed that other raids are planned in the area, adding: “So long as drug production continues, so will our mission.”

Many reacted to the military operation on social media, with activists calling on the army leadership to strike with an iron fist, and get rid of the gangs and drug dealers, while other activists accused Hezbollah of covering up for drug dealers and benefiting from trafficking.

Statistics from the General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces showed a significant increase in the spread of Captagon pills, followed by hashish. In 2021, 42.5 million Captagon pills were seized, a record number compared with previous years.

The source said: “Drug use does not seem to have been affected by the economic crisis much. Dealers and peddlers have relied on price cuts, and requests vary according to the users’ financial capabilities. Some are resorting to theft to secure funds to buy drugs.”


Divided UN extends arms embargo on South Sudan as fears of renewed civil war grow

Updated 3 sec ago
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Divided UN extends arms embargo on South Sudan as fears of renewed civil war grow

The arms embargo, and travel bans and asset freezes on South Sudanese on the UN sanctions blacklist, were extended for a year until May 31, 2026
There were high hopes for peace and stability after oil-rich South Sudan gained independence

UNITED NATIONS: A divided UN Security Council voted Friday to extend an arms embargo on South Sudan, where escalating political tensions have led the UN to warn that the country could again plunge into civil war.

A US-sponsored resolution to extend the embargo and other sanctions was approved by the narrowest margin — the minimum nine “yes” votes required. Six countries abstained – Russia, China, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Pakistan.

The arms embargo, and travel bans and asset freezes on South Sudanese on the UN sanctions blacklist, were extended for a year until May 31, 2026.

There were high hopes for peace and stability after oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, becoming the world’s newest nation.

But the country slid into civil war in December 2013 when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, who is from the largest ethnic group in the country, the Dinka, started battling those loyal to Riek Machar, who is from the second-largest ethnic group, the Nuer.

A 2018 peace deal that brought Machar into the government as first vice president has been fragile, and implementation has been slow. A presidential election has been postponed until 2026.

Last month, the UN envoy to South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, warned that the escalating rivalry between Kiir and Machar had degenerated into direct military confrontation between their parties and led to Machar’s arrest.

A campaign of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech is “fueling political and ethnic tensions — particularly on social media,” he warned. And “these conditions are darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 conflicts, which took over 400,000 lives.”

US Minister Counselor John Kelley thanked the council after the vote, saying the arms embargo “remains necessary to stem the unfettered flow of weapons into a region that remains awash with guns.”

“Escalating violence in recent months has brought South Sudan to the brink of civil war,” he said, urging the country’s leaders to restore peace.

Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Anna Evstigneeva countered by saying the easing of Security Council sanctions on South Sudan is long overdue. She said the arms embargo and other sanctions are restricting implementation of the 2018 peace agreement.

She accused the resolution’s supporters of “putting a brake on a successful political process unfolding in Sudan, as well as complicating the deployment and proper equipping of the national armed forces.”

South Sudan’s UN ambassador, Cecilia Adeng, expressed “deep disappointment” at the extension of the arms embargo and other sanctions.

“The lifting of the sanctions and the arms embargo is not only a matter of national security or sovereignty, but also a matter of economic opportunity and dignity,” she said. “These measures create barriers to growth, delay development, discourage foreign investment, and leave the state vulnerable to non-state actors and outlaws.”

Sudden hailstorm lashes Egypt’s Alexandria

Updated 38 min 6 sec ago
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Sudden hailstorm lashes Egypt’s Alexandria

  • Storms are common along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast in winter, however this spring event was described as “unprecedented"

ALEXANDRIA: An unseasonal rainstorm battered the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Saturday, flooding roads and damaging seafront businesses in the latest bout of erratic weather to hit the region.
Hailstones pelted the city overnight, forcing people to flee cafes as gusts of wind blew the ice pellets through windows, according to footage posted on social media.
Lightning lit up the skies and underpasses were submerged.
Alexandria governor Ahmed Khaled Hassan raised the alert level and emergency crews worked through the morning to tow cars and clear debris.
No casualties were reported, Egypt’s health ministry said.
Storms are common along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast in winter, but media outlets described this spring event as “unprecedented.”
Scientists warn extreme weather is becoming more frequent due to climate change, which drives both droughts and intense, unpredictable rainstorms.
Alexandria is highly vulnerable to climate impacts, suffering from coastal erosion, rising sea levels and flooding from annual storms.
The Mediterranean could rise by up to a meter (three feet) within three decades, according to the UN-mandated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Even under more optimistic forecasts, a 50-centimeter rise by 2050 would flood 30 percent of Alexandria, displace a quarter of its six million residents and cost 195,000 jobs.
Authorities have begun mitigation efforts, including constructing a massive breakwater along the coast.


Arab ministers condemn Israel ‘ban’ on planned Ramallah visit

Updated 31 May 2025
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Arab ministers condemn Israel ‘ban’ on planned Ramallah visit

  • Palestinian Authority official says that the issue of whether the meeting in Ramallah would be able to go ahead is under discussion
  • The move comes ahead of an international conference due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood

DUBAI: Israel’s decision to prevent an Arab delegation from visiting Ramallah and meeting with Palestinian officials “represents a blatant violation of Israel’s obligations as the occupying power,” Jordan’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

Members of the ministerial committee, assigned by the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit on Gaza, decided to postpone the visit to Ramallah after Israel refused the delegation’s entry through the airspace of the occupied West Bank, which it controls.

“It reflects the extent of the Israeli government’s arrogance, its disregard for international law, and its continued illegitimate measures and policies that besiege the brotherly Palestinian people and their legitimate leadership, perpetuate the occupation, and undermine the chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace,” the foreign ministry said.

 

 

The delegation included ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Authority officials said. The ministers would require Israeli consent to travel to the West Bank from Jordan.

An Israeli official said the ministers intended to take part in “a provocative meeting” to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the land of Israel,” the official said. “Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.”

A Palestinian Authority official said that the issue of whether the meeting in Ramallah would be able to go ahead was under discussion.

The move comes ahead of an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood.

Israel has come under increasing pressure from the United Nations and European countries which favor a two-state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, under which an independent Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that recognizing a Palestinian state was not only a “moral duty but a political necessity.”

Israel this week announced the creation of 22 new West Bank settlements, which are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and are seen as one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

On Friday, visiting one of the areas slated for recognition, Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the West Bank.

Taking aim at foreign countries that would “recognize a Palestinian state on paper”, he added: “The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper.”

with agencies


Syrian president to make first official visit to Kuwait 

Updated 31 May 2025
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Syrian president to make first official visit to Kuwait 

  • On his trip to Kuwait, the Syrian president will meet the Kuwaiti leadership to discuss ways to boost bilateral relations
  • Al-Sharaa had previously visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on his Gulf tour

CAIRO: Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa  will make his first official visit to Kuwait on Sunday accompanied by an official delegation.

“Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, accompanied by an official delegation, is due to arrive in Kuwait on Sunday,” read a statement on KUNA.

The Syrian president will meet the Kuwaiti leadership to discuss ways to boost bilateral relations, KUNA added. 

Earlier this month, sources close to Al-Sharaa have reported that the Syrian president was planning a trip to the Gulf state towards the end of May.

Al-Sharaa had previously visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on his Gulf tour.

 


Iran considers nuclear weapons ‘unacceptable’, FM says

Updated 31 May 2025
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Iran considers nuclear weapons ‘unacceptable’, FM says

  • Iran has held five rounds of talks with the United States in search of a new nuclear agreement
  • Western governments have long suspected Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability

TEHRAN: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Iran considers nuclear weapons “unacceptable,” reiterating the country’s longstanding position amid delicate negotiations with the United States.

Western governments have long suspected Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability to counter widely suspected but undeclared arsenal of its arch-foe Israel.

“If the issue is nuclear weapons, yes, we too consider this type of weapon unacceptable,” Araghchi, Iran’s lead negotiator in the talks, said in a televised speech. “We agree with them on this issue.”

Iran has held five rounds of talks with the United States in search of a new nuclear agreement to replace the deal with major powers President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.

The two governments are at odds over Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which Washington has said must cease but which Tehran insists is its right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Nonetheless, Trump said Wednesday that “we’re having some very good talks with Iran,” adding that he had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against striking its nuclear facilities as it would not be “appropriate right now.”

Israel has repeatedly threatened military action, after pummeling Iranian air defenses during two exchanges of fire last year.

Trump has not ruled out military action but said he wants space to make a deal first, and has also said that Israel, and not the United States, would take the lead in any such strikes.