Arrests Made over Drug Smuggling Near Syrian-Jordanian Border

A targeted water purification facility in Khirbet Al-Shaham Village, western Daraa countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A targeted water purification facility in Khirbet Al-Shaham Village, western Daraa countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Arrests Made over Drug Smuggling Near Syrian-Jordanian Border

A targeted water purification facility in Khirbet Al-Shaham Village, western Daraa countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A targeted water purification facility in Khirbet Al-Shaham Village, western Daraa countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Local forces connected to the military security apparatus in Syria’s southern Daraa Governorate raided early on Sunday the village of Khirbet Al-Shaham.

Authorities successfully apprehended two individuals suspected of engaging in drug trafficking and smuggling.

According to local sources in the western Daraa countryside, a military convoy comprising several armored vehicles and armed personnel carried out the raid on Al-Salam Compound in the village.

Abdullah Al-Khaldi, the brother of local factional group leader Ahmed Al-Khaldi, who was previously detained, was apprehended. Abdullah is accused of drug smuggling and collaborating with Hezbollah.

In addition, forces carried out raids on houses near the water desalination plant and arrested a suspect named Fawaz Al-Khaldi, who is accused of drug trafficking and smuggling in the area. The plant was the recent target of an attack.

Multiple reports have indicated the presence of a drug production facility operated by a local faction led by Ahmed Al-Khaldi in Khirbet Al-Shaham, which lies near the Jordanian-Syrian border.

This faction was formed after the 2018 reconciliation agreement and is affiliated with the Security Office of the Fourth Division, which sought to attract and recruit various former opposition factions in the western region of Daraa when settlements were being struck.

Over time, this faction has become involved in the illicit trade and smuggling of drugs.

On May 8, warplanes targeted a water purification facility located near Khirbet Al-Shaham.

A house belonging to drug dealer Merhi Al-Ramathan was targeted in the village of Al-Shaab in the eastern countryside of Sweida.

These areas are located close to the Syrian-Jordanian border.

According to political and intelligence sources cited by Reuters, the first airstrike targeted a Captagon laboratory in Daraa, while the second hit the village of Al-Shaab. Al-Ramathan was killed in the raid.



Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
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Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo

Lebanon's new government will negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a new program and will work to deal with the country's financial default and public debt, according to a policy statement approved by the cabinet late on Monday.

The statement, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, said the government would work for an economical revival that could only be achieved through restructuring the banking sector.

Lebanon has been in deep economic crisis since 2019, when its financial system collapsed under the weight of massive state debts, prompting a sovereign default in 2020 and freezing ordinary depositors out of their savings in the banking system.

Beirut reached a draft funding deal with IMF in 2022 - contingent on reforms that authorities failed to deliver.

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, who took office as part of a new government agreed earlier this month, told Reuters an IMF mission is expected to visit Lebanon in March.

Jaber said he had met the IMF's resident representative in Lebanon, Frederico Lima, and confirmed that the government plans to move ahead with reforms.

Lebanon's political landscape has been turned on its head since the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, long a dominant player in Lebanese politics, was badly pummelled in last year's war with Israel.

Reflecting the shift in the power balance, the government policy statement did not include language used in previous years that was seen to legitimize a role for Hezbollah in defending Lebanon, saying instead "we want a state that has the decision of war and peace".

The statement said it was required to adopt a national security strategy and a foreign policy that works to 'neutralize' Lebanon from conflicts.

In the field of energy, the Lebanese government will seek to resume work in oil and gas exploration, according to the cabinet statement. It said the government planned to establish a Ministry of Technology and Artificial Intelligence.

With a new administration in neighboring Syria, the statement said the Lebanese government believed it has an opportunity to start a serious dialogue aimed at controlling and demarcating the borders and working to resolve the issue of displaced Syrians in Lebanon.