VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis called Wednesday for “mutual respect” between religions in Syria, three days after the country’s longtime president Bashar Assad was toppled by rebels in a lightning offensive.
“I pray... that the Syrian people may live in peace and security in their beloved land and the different religions may walk together in friendship and mutual respect for the good of that nation afflicted by so many years of war,” Francis said during his weekly general audience.
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Pope calls for ‘mutual respect’ between religions in Syria
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Pope calls for ‘mutual respect’ between religions in Syria
- Pope Francis called Wednesday for “mutual respect” between religions in Syria
Lebanon says Israeli strike kills one in south
“An Israeli enemy drone strike on the town of Ainata killed one person and wounded another,” the health ministry said
A ceasefire came into effect on November 27 and is generally holding
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike in the south killed one person on Wednesday, amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah after two months of all-out war.
“An Israeli enemy drone strike on the town of Ainata killed one person and wounded another,” the health ministry said in a statement.
Israel stepped up its campaign in Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges launched by Hezbollah in support of Hamas following its Palestinian ally’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
A ceasefire came into effect on November 27 and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army will deploy in the south alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdraws over a period of 60 days.
Hezbollah is required to withdraw its forces north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in the south.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that UN peacekeepers entered the town of Khiam on Wednesday to “inspect the road and verify the Israeli enemy army’s withdrawal.”
It added that the peacekeepers found the body of a man “in the vicinity of his house” in the border town.
Also Wednesday, the NNA said ambassadors from the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt met with parliament speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri, who has scheduled a parliament session next month for lawmakers to elect a president.
Crisis-hit Lebanon has been without a president for more than two years amid deadlock between Hezbollah and its allies and their adversaries.
On Monday, representatives of the United States, France, UNIFIL and the Israeli and Lebanese militaries met in the border town of Naqura “to coordinate their support for the cessation of hostilities,” a joint statement said.
“UNIFIL hosted the meeting, with the United States serving as chair, assisted by France, and joined by” the two armies, the statement said.
“This mechanism will meet regularly and coordinate closely to advance implementation of the ceasefire agreement” and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, it added.
The resolution, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, stated that only Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should carry weapons in the south and demanded that Israeli troops withdraw from Lebanese territory.
A ceasefire came into effect on November 27 and is generally holding
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike in the south killed one person on Wednesday, amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah after two months of all-out war.
“An Israeli enemy drone strike on the town of Ainata killed one person and wounded another,” the health ministry said in a statement.
Israel stepped up its campaign in Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges launched by Hezbollah in support of Hamas following its Palestinian ally’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
A ceasefire came into effect on November 27 and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army will deploy in the south alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdraws over a period of 60 days.
Hezbollah is required to withdraw its forces north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in the south.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that UN peacekeepers entered the town of Khiam on Wednesday to “inspect the road and verify the Israeli enemy army’s withdrawal.”
It added that the peacekeepers found the body of a man “in the vicinity of his house” in the border town.
Also Wednesday, the NNA said ambassadors from the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt met with parliament speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri, who has scheduled a parliament session next month for lawmakers to elect a president.
Crisis-hit Lebanon has been without a president for more than two years amid deadlock between Hezbollah and its allies and their adversaries.
On Monday, representatives of the United States, France, UNIFIL and the Israeli and Lebanese militaries met in the border town of Naqura “to coordinate their support for the cessation of hostilities,” a joint statement said.
“UNIFIL hosted the meeting, with the United States serving as chair, assisted by France, and joined by” the two armies, the statement said.
“This mechanism will meet regularly and coordinate closely to advance implementation of the ceasefire agreement” and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, it added.
The resolution, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, stated that only Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should carry weapons in the south and demanded that Israeli troops withdraw from Lebanese territory.
Tomb of Assad’s father set on fire in Syria hometown
- Mausoleum also housed the tombs of other Assad family members
QARDAHA, Syria: The tomb of ousted Syrian president Bashar Assad’s father Hafez was torched in his hometown of Qardaha, AFP footage taken Wednesday showed, with rebel fighters in fatigues and young men watching it burn.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor told AFP the rebels had set fire to the mausoleum, located in the Latakia heartland of Assad’s Alawite community.
AFP footage showed parts of the mausoleum ablaze and damaged, with the tomb of Hafez torched and destroyed.
The vast elevated structure atop a hill has an intricate architectural design with several arches, its exterior embellished with ornamentation etched in stone.
It also houses the tombs of other Assad family members, including Bashar’s brother Bassel, who was being groomed to inherit power before he was killed in a road accident in 1994.
On Sunday, a lightning offensive by Islamist-led rebels seized key cities before reaching Damascus and forcing Assad to flee, ending more than 50 years of his family’s rule.
Iran’s Khamenei says toppling of Syria’s Assad was result of US-Israeli plan
- One of Syria’s neighbors also had a role, Khamenei said. He did not name the country but appeared to be referring to Turkiye
- Assad’s overthrow is widely seen as a major blow to the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance”
DUBAI: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the toppling of Syrian President Bashar Assad was the result of a plan by the United States and Israel.
One of Syria’s neighbors also had a role, he said. He did not name the country but appeared to be referring to Turkiye, which has backed anti-Assad militants.
Assad’s overthrow is widely seen as a major blow to the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance” political and military alliance that opposes Israeli and US influence in the Middle East.
“What happened in Syria was mainly planned in the command rooms of America and Israel. We have evidence of this. A neighboring government of Syria was also involved,” Khamenei said in a speech reported by Iranian state media.
The neighbor had a “clear role and continues to do so,” he said.
NATO member Turkiye, which controls swathes of land in northern Syria after several cross-border incursions against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, has been a main backer of opposition groups aiming to topple Assad since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
Iran spent billions of dollars propping up Assad during the war and deployed its Revolutionary Guards to Syria to keep its ally in power.
Hours after Assad’s fall, Iran said it expected relations with Damascus to continue based on the two countries’ “far-sighted and wise approach” and called for the establishment of an inclusive government representing all segments of Syrian society.
In his speech, Khamenei also said the Iran-led alliance would gain in strength across the entire region.
“The more pressure you exert, the stronger the resistance becomes. The more crimes you commit, the more determined it becomes. The more you fight against it, the more it expands Khamenei said.
“Iran is strong and powerful— and will become even stronger,” he said.
Kurdish-led force announces US-brokered truce in Syria’s Manbij
- US-backed SDF fighters spearheaded an offensive that defeated the Daesh group’s self-declared caliphate in Syria in 2019
- US Central Command said its chief General Michael Kurilla had visited US bases and SDF partners in Syria
Beirut: The Kurdish-led force controlling northeast Syria said Wednesday it had reached a US-brokered ceasefire with Turkish-backed fighters in Manbij, after Islamist-led rebels toppled Bashar Assad’s government.
The clashes in Manbij, an Arab-majority city, have killed 218 combatants since Turkish-backed groups launched offensives in the north following the ouster of Assad on Sunday.
“We have reached a ceasefire agreement in Manbij via US mediation,” said Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Abdi.
He said fighters of the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council “will be withdrawn from the area as soon as possible.”
“Our goal is to reach a ceasefire across Syria and start a political process for the future of the country,” Abdi added.
Abdi had told reporters last week that the United Nations had been in touch with the SDF about helping to “shape a political resolution for Syria” as rebels seized power.
The US-backed SDF fighters spearheaded an offensive that defeated the Daesh group’s self-declared caliphate in Syria in 2019.
On Tuesday, US Central Command said its chief General Michael Kurilla had visited US bases and SDF partners in Syria.
Earlier this month, the pro-Turkiye fighters seized the strategic northern enclave of Tal Rifaat from Kurdish forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
Ankara sees the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which dominate the SDF, as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Arab-majority Tal Rifaat and Manbij are among three Kurdish-held areas in the north that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly threatened to seize.
Blinken to visit Turkiye on Friday to discuss Syria: official source
ANKARA: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Turkiye on Friday to discuss the developments in Syria following the toppling of strongman Bashar Assad, a Turkish official source said Wednesday.
“He will be in Turkiye on Friday,” the source said of the visit which will come just five days after Assad’s unexpected ouster, pledging to share more details “as they are finalized.”
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