Relatives of Bashar Assad arrested as they tried to fly out of Lebanon

People wave independence-era Syrian flags during a demonstration celebrating the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad in Damascus on Friday. (AFP)
People wave independence-era Syrian flags during a demonstration celebrating the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad in Damascus on Friday. (AFP)
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Updated 27 December 2024
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Relatives of Bashar Assad arrested as they tried to fly out of Lebanon

People wave independence-era Syrian flags during a demonstration celebrating the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad in Damasc
  • Wife and daughter of Assad's cousin arrested at Beirut airport

BEIRUT: The wife and daughter of one of deposed Syrian president Bashar Assad ‘s cousins were arrested Friday at the Beirut airport, where they attempted to fly out with allegedly forged passports, Lebanese judicial and security officials said. Assad’s uncle departed the day before.
Rasha Khazem, the wife of Duraid Assad — the son of former Syrian Vice President Rifaat Assad, the uncle of Bashar Assad — and their daughter, Shams, were smuggled illegally into Lebanon and were trying to fly to Egypt when they were arrested, according to five Lebanese officials familiar with the case. They were being detained by Lebanese General Security. Rifaat had flown out the day before on his real passport and was not stopped, the officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
Swiss federal prosecutors in March indicted Rifaat on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering murder and torture more than four decades ago.
Rifaat Assad, the brother of Bashar Assad’s father Hafez Assad, Syria’s former ruler, led the artillery unit that shelled the city of Hama and killed thousands, earning him the nickname the “Butcher of Hama.”
Earlier this year, Rifaat Assad was indicted in Switzerland for war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Hama.
Tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have entered Lebanon illegally on the night of Assad’s fall earlier this month, when insurgent forces entered Damascus.
The Lebanese security and judicial officials said that more than 20 members of the former Syrian Army’s notorious 4th Division, military intelligence officers and others affiliated with Assad’s security forces were arrested earlier in Lebanon. Some of them were arrested when they attempted to sell their weapons.
Lebanon’s public prosecution office also received an Interpol notice requesting the arrest of Jamil Al-Hassan, the former director of Syrian intelligence under Assad. Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati previously told Reuters that Lebanon would cooperate with the Interpol request to arrest Al-Hassan.


Syrian government security forces raid Daesh hideouts in aleppo, killing one militant

Updated 11 sec ago
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Syrian government security forces raid Daesh hideouts in aleppo, killing one militant

Syrian government security forces raid Daesh hideouts in aleppo, killing one militant
A member of the Syrian security forces was killed during the raid

DAMASCUS: Government security forces raided Daesh hideouts in Aleppo, killing one militant and arresting others, according to the Syrian Arab Republic interior ministry spokesperson.

A member of the Syrian security forces was also killed in clashes during the raid, spokesperson added.

Hamas confirms new Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday

Hamas confirms new Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Updated 4 min 30 sec ago
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Hamas confirms new Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday

Hamas confirms new Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
  • Both sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions“

CAIRO: Hamas confirmed a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel was underway in Qatar’s Doha, group official Taher Al-Nono told Reuters.

He said both sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”


Erdogan sees end in sight for US sanctions on Turkish defense sector

Erdogan sees end in sight for US sanctions on Turkish defense sector
Updated 17 min 22 sec ago
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Erdogan sees end in sight for US sanctions on Turkish defense sector

Erdogan sees end in sight for US sanctions on Turkish defense sector
  • “We can easily say that there is a softening in CAATSA,,” he told reporters
  • The move soured ties between the two NATO member countries

ISTANBUL: Turkiye has seen an easing of US sanctions on its defense sector since Donald Trump became president, with steps toward ending the measure advancing quickly, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

“We can easily say that there is a softening in CAATSA,,” he told reporters while returning from a European summit, referring to US sanctions legislation.

In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on Ankara over its purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defense system under a 2017 law known as CAATSA, which aims to limit Russia’s military influence.

The move soured ties between the two NATO member countries.

It also booted Turkiye out of its F-35 program, with Washington saying the presence of the S-400 would allow the Russians to collect information on the stealth jet’s capabilities.

Erdogan said Turkiye had raised the sanctions issue with Trump and his newly-appointed envoy to Ankara, Tom Barrack

“With my friend Trump taking office, we have achieved a more open, more constructive and more sincere communication on these issues,” Erdogan added, saying Turkiye valued “every positive step in this direction.”

“I believe we will overcome the CAATSA process much faster. As two great NATO allies, there should be no restrictions or obstacles in the field of defense between us,” he said.

Turkiye’s partnership with the United States was “of vital importance for the establishment of stability in our region and the world” he said.

In March, Erdogan spoke to Trump about the need to finalize a deal to let Turkiye buy US F-16 fighter planes and be readmitted to the development program for F-35 warplanes.

Turkiye has been seeking to modernize its airforce, and has been seeking to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoons which are built by a four-nation consortium grouping Germany, Britain, Spain and Italy.


Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon

Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
Updated 46 min 45 sec ago
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Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon

Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
  • One person was killed in an Israeli “drone strike” on a vehicle in south Lebanon’s Tyre district
  • The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces “struck and eliminated... a commander“

BEIRUT: Israel’s military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander on Saturday in south Lebanon, where authorities reported one dead in the fourth Israeli strike within days despite a November ceasefire.

Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli “drone strike” on a vehicle in south Lebanon’s Tyre district.

An AFP correspondent saw the charred wreckage of a vehicle in Abu Al-Aswad, an area around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces “struck and eliminated... a commander” involved in “the re-establishment of Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” in south Lebanon.

Israel has continued to launch strikes on its neighbor despite the November 27 truce which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah militants including two months of full-blown war.

The Israeli military said that “the rebuilding of terrorist infrastructure and related activity constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

Earlier this week, the Israeli military said three separate strikes in south Lebanon targeted Hezbollah operatives.

Under the ceasefire, the Iran-backed Hezbollah was to pull back its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure to its south.

Israel was to withdraw all its forces from Lebanon, but it has kept troops in five areas that it deems “strategic.”

The Lebanese army has been deploying in the area as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.

At an Arab summit in Baghdad on Saturday, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced “daily Israeli violations” of Lebanese sovereignty and “the ongoing Israeli occupation of positions” in the south.

He said Lebanon was working to “fully implement” a United Nations Security Council resolution that formed the basis of the ceasefire.

The resolution says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.

Salam again urged international pressure “to oblige Israel to stop its attacks and immediately and fully withdraw from all Lebanese territory.”


Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes

Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes
Updated 17 May 2025
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Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes

Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes

CAIRO: Flights resumed on Saturday to Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, held by the country’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, more than a week after massive Israeli airstrikes disabled the airport.
The Israeli strikes on May 6 — a rare daytime attack — destroyed the airport’s terminal and left craters on its runway, according to Khaled Al-Shaif, the head of the airport. At least six passenger planes were hit, including three belonging to the national carrier, Yemen Airway or Yemenia, he said.
On Saturday, a flight operated by Yemenia landed at the Sanaa International Airport with 136 passengers on board, according to the Houthis’ Al-Masirah satellite news channel.
The flight had departed from Jordan’s capital, Amman, earlier in the day, the airliner said. Three more flights were scheduled on Saturday between Sanaa and Amman.
The Israeli offensive was in response to a Houthi ballistic missile that hit the grounds of Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, which briefly halted flights and commuter traffic.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout Israel’s war with the militant Hamas group in Gaza, in solidarity with Palestinians there, while also targeting commercial and naval vessels on the Red Sea. The attacks have raised the Houthis’ profile at home and internationally as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.
Since mid-March, the US military under President Donald Trump launched an intensified campaign of daily airstrikes targeting the Houthis. The two sides reached a deal to halt the US campaign in return for the Houthis halting their attacks on shipping.
However, the US-Houthis deal did not stop the rebels’ missile and drone attacks on Israel, which in turn responded with attacks on Yemen’s Red Sea ports held by the Houthis.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it struck the Hodeida and Salif ports, claiming that the Houthis were using the two facilities to transfer weapons. The Houthi-run health ministry said at least one person was killed and 11 others were wounded in Friday’s airstrikes.