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Lebanese Government Warns of New Wave of Syrian Refugees

Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with Caretaker Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine, and government officials (Lebanese Government: Dalati and Nohra)
Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with Caretaker Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine, and government officials (Lebanese Government: Dalati and Nohra)
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Lebanese Government Warns of New Wave of Syrian Refugees

Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with Caretaker Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine, and government officials (Lebanese Government: Dalati and Nohra)
Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with Caretaker Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine, and government officials (Lebanese Government: Dalati and Nohra)

The Lebanese government has warned of a new wave of Syrian refugees despite efforts by the state to return the displaced to their homeland.

The new displacement, which threatens to exacerbate economic and social conditions, is seen as the largest since hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled to Lebanon following the widespread protests that turned into an armed confrontation in 2012.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati chaired on Thursday a meeting to discuss the issue of refugees. The meeting was attended by Caretaker Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine, Acting Chief of General Security Major General Elias Baysari, and Secretary General of the Higher Defense Council Major General Mohammad Mostafa.

Charafeddine said the meeting focused on the new wave of Syrian displacement that began three weeks ago, adding it constitutes a dangerous phenomenon as the displaced continue to enter Lebanon via illegal crossings.

He indicated that the meeting discussed a mechanism to deter this, stressing the importance of border control and coordination with the Syrian competent authorities.

The minister warned against harboring refugees, mainly since smuggling networks are operating regularly on both sides of the border.

Four border guard brigades are deployed in the northern and eastern regions on the border with Syria, but they are unable to monitor all crossings, which makes it easier for smuggling networks to operate on both sides.

A security source revealed that the Lebanese army arrested 850 Syrian people during August, whether on the border or at the checkpoints in Wadi Khaled, Shudra, Akrum, Hermel, al-Qasr, and others.

The source confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the army deploys about 4,000 soldiers on the northern and eastern borders with Syria, but the issue of controlling the 370 km borderline is difficult and complex.

The army closed dozens of crossings over the past weeks, said the source, but infiltrations continue because active networks on the Lebanese and Syrian sides coordinate to facilitate smuggling operations.

Meanwhile, the mayor of al-Amayer in Wadi Khaled, Ahmed al-Sheikh, asserted that municipalities "are not responsible for controlling borders and preventing infiltration.”

He confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Land Border Regiment is tasked with clamping down on smugglers, admitting activists were helping the displaced persons enter Lebanon.

Sheikh noted that every unemployed Lebanese or Syrian person in Lebanon has taken advantage of the situation and became active in smuggling operations, adding that the current wave of displacement comes from the areas controlled by the regime.

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Arab World

Iraq Reopens Airspace to Civilian Flights After Years of Military Restrictions

The exterior of Baghdad International Airport (Reuters)
The exterior of Baghdad International Airport (Reuters)
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Iraq Reopens Airspace to Civilian Flights After Years of Military Restrictions

The exterior of Baghdad International Airport (Reuters)
The exterior of Baghdad International Airport (Reuters)

Iraq said on Friday it had reopened parts of its airspace that had been reserved for military operations against ISIS to civilian aviation after a 10-year closure.

The areas are now available to civilian aircraft, including flights transiting Iraqi airspace, in a move economists said could lower aviation operating costs.

Iraq’s airport management company said areas designated for military operations within the country’s airspace were no longer being used for that purpose and were now ready for civilian air traffic.

The state news agency quoted the company’s director, Ehab Karim, as saying that airspace previously reserved across western Iraq, from north to south, had been handed over to the General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management for civilian aviation use.

The areas, stretching from the northernmost reaches of Nineveh province to the southern Anbar desert, had largely been reserved for sorties by the international coalition fighting ISIS and the Iraqi Air Force. Iraq began closing them in late 2016.

Karim said procedures to reopen the areas to civilian aviation would pave the way for Iraq’s Aeronautical Information Publication to be updated and made available to international airlines.

Returning the areas to civilian use would provide greater flexibility to establish new air routes, increase revenue, streamline civilian air traffic and support the national economy, Karim said.

He added that Iraqi airports were ready to provide services to all domestic and foreign airlines once the routes opened.

Iraq’s recovery

The Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces said it was ready to support the General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management following the formal closure of the file on restricted zones in Iraqi airspace.

“This announcement represents an important step towards restoring Iraq’s regional and international standing in air navigation and confirms the country’s recovery and security stability,” the office said in a statement.

It said the move would help improve the management of Iraqi airspace, increase national revenue from aircraft transit fees and facilitate civilian air traffic between continents.

Iraq’s Transport Ministry said in a statement that an airspace management team at the Air Operations Center had established on a technical basis that the military air zones listed in Iraq’s Aeronautical Information Publication were no longer being used for military operations.

The development would pave the way for the completion of technical and regulatory procedures to remove the zones from the publication in coordination with the relevant authorities, the ministry added.

Security expert Fadel Abu Raghif told Asharq Al-Awsat that Iraq was capable of efficiently managing and securing its airspace after the routes were opened.

He also noted the importance of the decision coinciding with the withdrawal of international coalition forces from Iraq by Sept. 30, 2026.

Major shift

Economic expert Ziad al-Hashimi described the decision as a “major shift” for Iraq’s aviation sector, saying it would allow greater traffic and flexibility in the movement and management of air routes through Iraqi airspace.

Al-Hashimi said the decision was likely to shorten flight times and reduce operating costs for airlines transiting Iraqi airspace, particularly those arriving from Europe and Asia.

He added that it would help attract more airlines that had previously regarded alternative or restricted routes as costly to operate.

“The more flights that transit Iraqi airspace, the greater the revenue received by the Iraqi government,” he said.

Al-Hashimi cautioned, however, that European restrictions continued to impede the effective use of Iraqi airspace, with a warning remaining in effect until the end of this month.

After that, he said, the Iraqi government would need to persuade the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to allow European airlines to resume using Iraqi airspace and provide the necessary assurances, particularly regarding the safety of new and existing air routes.

Arab World

Diplomatic, Military Push for Lebanon in Paris

Group photo of participants in a meeting to support the Lebanese Armed Forces in Paris on Thursday (French president’s account)
Group photo of participants in a meeting to support the Lebanese Armed Forces in Paris on Thursday (French president’s account)
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Diplomatic, Military Push for Lebanon in Paris

Group photo of participants in a meeting to support the Lebanese Armed Forces in Paris on Thursday (French president’s account)
Group photo of participants in a meeting to support the Lebanese Armed Forces in Paris on Thursday (French president’s account)

Senior officials and military officers gathered in Paris on Thursday to discuss support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and security services.

French President Emmanuel Macron first met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Elysee Palace before the two joined Jordan’s King Abdullah II for a trilateral summit at Les Invalides.

The three leaders later opened a technical-military meeting attended by military commanders, chiefs of staff and senior officers from 17 countries and organizations.

“Paris is today the place where our partners are coming together to strengthen Lebanon’s sovereignty and enable it to fully ensure its own security,” Macron wrote on X.

“A Lebanon at peace offers renewed hope for the entire Middle East. A sovereign and stable Lebanon is a decisive step toward peace and stability across the region.”

“Together with the Lebanese president and the king of Jordan, and in close coordination with the United States, Saudi Arabia and our international partners, we support the Lebanese Armed Forces, which are indispensable to asserting the authority of the Lebanese state throughout its territory,” he added.

Turning to wider regional tensions, Macron argued that “diplomacy and dialogue alone” could end an escalation with no prospect of resolution.

He reiterated France’s solidarity with Jordan and condemnation of Iranian attacks, while stressing the importance of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Regional Dimension

Aoun revealed measures taken by the state and urged support for its armed forces as an investment in regional security and stability.

King Abdullah’s participation, within the framework of the Aqaba Process, gave the meeting a broader regional dimension.

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), citing presidential sources, the three leaders discussed the “dangerous regional situation” and stressed the need to intensify international efforts toward comprehensive and sustainable de-escalation. They also discussed developments in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Aoun stressed the interconnected nature of regional security and called for a common regional security strategy based on joint energy projects and economic, security and political cooperation.

The Lebanese president also sought to put behind him a period of strained relations with France, thanking Macron for France’s support for Lebanon and its efforts to strengthen state authority, sovereignty and official institutions.

He praised Macron’s efforts, in cooperation with the Italian prime minister, to find an alternative to UNIFIL to prevent a security vacuum in South Lebanon, and called for broader economic and energy cooperation, including the resumption of oil and gas exploration in Lebanese blocks.

‘A Moment for Decision’

Aoun painted a bleak picture of conditions in South Lebanon because of Israeli attacks and practices, but said the country now had an opportunity based on “a clear determination to rebuild the state and its institutions and move forward with the reforms the country needs.”

He said the goal was to establish “a strong state and effective institutions,” with the army and security services playing a central role.

While emphasizing the importance of the state’s monopoly on weapons, Aoun insisted that this was “first and foremost a Lebanese choice and a Lebanese interest.”

He also defended negotiations with Israel, warning that agreements succeed not merely by being signed but by being respected and implemented by all parties.

He called on Lebanon’s “friends and partners” to help ensure the full implementation of what had been agreed and to treat Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as a principle “not subject to selectivity.”

Aoun detailed the army’s responsibilities, including extending state authority, maintaining security and stability, preventing border violations and combating smuggling. He also highlighted the role it would be expected to assume after UNIFIL’s mission ends to prevent a security vacuum.

“There can be no strengthening of state authority without strong, effective military and security institutions present throughout Lebanese territory,” he underlined.

The Lebanese president called for concrete results from the preparatory meeting, including a roadmap and clear timetable for an international conference to support the army and Internal Security Forces, as well as a long-term approach to assisting Lebanon’s security institutions.

He pledged “full transparency and accountability” and said the Lebanese state would assume a growing share of financing its security institutions.

“Invest in the success of the Lebanese state and in the stability of the region,” Aoun concluded. “This is a moment for decision, not a moment for waiting.”

Arab World

Sisi Warns of Attempts to ‘Bring Down Egypt,’ Denies ‘Militarization of the State’

Sisi during a previous visit to the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Administrative Capital (Egyptian Presidency) 
Sisi during a previous visit to the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Administrative Capital (Egyptian Presidency) 
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Sisi Warns of Attempts to ‘Bring Down Egypt,’ Denies ‘Militarization of the State’

Sisi during a previous visit to the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Administrative Capital (Egyptian Presidency) 
Sisi during a previous visit to the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Administrative Capital (Egyptian Presidency) 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned Thursday of continuing attempts to bring down Egypt, saying that what happened between 2011 and 2013 “is not over,” that the plan behind it “has not stopped” and that “the persistence in seeking to bring down the state still exists.”

He made the remarks at a graduation ceremony for judges who completed a training course at the Egyptian Military Academy.

The president referred to the Jan. 25, 2011 uprising that ousted late President Hosni Mubarak, the violence that followed and the rise to power of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood before its removal in 2013.

He urged Egyptians and families to remain vigilant, stressing that responsibility rested with everyone, “not only officials, intellectuals and media professionals.”

The Egyptian leader also defended mandatory training courses provided by the military academy to state officials and employees across various fields, which have drawn reservations from some quarters.

He described the academy as “a gateway to employment in the Egyptian state,” acknowledging that the approach had initially appeared unusual and unclear but saying its expected impact would be felt years from now.

The aim of making the academy a gateway for institutions including the judiciary, Foreign Ministry and Administrative Control Authority was to apply the same standards to everyone, he explained.

Detailed criteria had been established for selecting young men and women for each ministry according to its requirements, with the aim of creating an institution that applies “honest standards without favoritism or preferential treatment.”

In January, Sisi announced that judges would join academy programs following controversy in judicial circles over reports that appointments to the Public Prosecution could be entrusted to the Egyptian Military Academy.

Some judges had also expressed reservations over a 2023 cabinet decision requiring new appointees across state bodies and agencies, including judges, to complete a six-month qualifying course at the academy.

Responding to those concerns Thursday, the president said genuine reform of state institutions required “a serious path” and time, particularly in countries with populations in the millions.

He denied the “militarization of the state,” reiterating that what happened between 2011 and 2013 “is not over” and that efforts to bring down the state persist.

The academy courses were also intended to give state institutions an opportunity to interact with one another and expose trainees to different career paths, he added, saying the training would bring benefits, greater cohesion and a deeper understanding of the ties binding the state together.

Reflecting on 2011, the president said Egypt had witnessed “extremely dangerous practices” and faced major problems, but that “God Almighty willed that Egypt, unlike others, survive.”

“What happened to other countries was arranged and planned, but Egypt survived by God’s grace,” he said, adding that the country’s resources did not allow it to confront prolonged challenges.

According to the president, psychologists and sociologists helped design the academy’s programs. One objective, he explained, was to shield young people from “the idea of destroying Egypt, as was being planned for the country in 2011 and 2012.”