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Syrian Special Forces Conduct Parachute Drills with Russian Aircraft

24 September 2023, Syria, Idlib: Displaced Syrians stand near a crater left by a missile as a result of an overnight missile attack targeted a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of Idlib city. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa
24 September 2023, Syria, Idlib: Displaced Syrians stand near a crater left by a missile as a result of an overnight missile attack targeted a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of Idlib city. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa
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Syrian Special Forces Conduct Parachute Drills with Russian Aircraft

24 September 2023, Syria, Idlib: Displaced Syrians stand near a crater left by a missile as a result of an overnight missile attack targeted a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of Idlib city. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa
24 September 2023, Syria, Idlib: Displaced Syrians stand near a crater left by a missile as a result of an overnight missile attack targeted a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of Idlib city. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa

Syrian special forces troops performed more than 1,500 parachute jumps over the Mediterranean Sea and the Aleppo and Latakia provinces as part of training drills conducted using Russian military aircraft, Russia's defense ministry said on Thursday.

Video footage published by the ministry showed groups of Syrian troops leaping out of Russian planes and helicopters, including what the ministry said was the Syrian Arab Army's first mass landing from an IL-76 aircraft conducted at night.

"Servicemen of the Russian group of troops in Syria ensured the execution of a comprehensive exercise of Syrian special forces units," the defense ministry said.

Russia is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main allies. Moscow's intervention alongside Iran helped turn the tide in favor of Assad in the country's over decade-old conflict.

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Mikati Instructs Lebanon’s Institutions to Cooperate with HTS

 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).
 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).
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Mikati Instructs Lebanon’s Institutions to Cooperate with HTS

 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).
 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).

Communication channels have been opened between the Lebanese state and the Syrian Interim Government. Diplomats conveyed a message from HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to Lebanese officials, stating that the new Syrian government has no issues with the Lebanese state.
HTS said that its problem lingers with Hezbollah, which supported the Assad regime in its attacks on the Syrian people, occupied Syrian territories, and displaced its residents.
A source close to caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati indicated that the prime minister received the Syrian message “very positively” and began working toward establishing stable relations with Syria. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the source disclosed that Mikati had instructed all official institutions to collaborate with HTS, which now oversees security in Syrian territories, and to coordinate on mutual security matters between the two nations.
The first tangible result of this cooperation was a meeting held on Wednesday between a delegation from HTS and the Lebanese General Security agency at the latter’s office near the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa Valley. The talks resulted in agreements on coordination frameworks to ensure security on both sides of the border.
The source explained that Mikati’s primary focus is on organizing and securing the borders. Recently, he received reports from the Lebanese Army indicating that Syrian authorities had closed 80% of the illegal crossings previously used by smugglers. The source described this as a reassuring development.
In a sign of reconciliation, the source close to Mikati noted that Turkish and Qatari envoys delivered a message confirming that the new Syrian government does not intend to revisit the conflicts of the Syrian war or seek revenge against Bashar al-Assad’s allies, including Hezbollah. The message stressed that Syria has no plans to retaliate against Hezbollah for its actions during the war, such as detaining Syrian opposition figures in Lebanon, provided that Hezbollah withdraws from Syria and ceases all military and security activities there.
Further reflecting this shift, a security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that HTS had previously facilitated the safe transfer of dozens of Hezbollah fighters and their families from Syria to Lebanon without harming or targeting them.
Despite these developments, there has yet to be any official communication between the Lebanese government and Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the transitional leader of Syria, even though two weeks have passed since the fall of the Assad regime.
Former Lebanese minister Rashid Derbas commented that Mikati had recently made an exploratory visit to Ankara to understand how the situation in Syria is unfolding. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Derbas stated that the armed factions now responsible for security in Syria face a major test of their ability to maintain stability until a new political authority is established through free and fair elections reflecting the will of the Syrian people. He noted that the Syrian Army no longer has a presence on the ground.
Derbas added that while Syrian statements about relations with Lebanon have been positive, Lebanon must remain cautious and alert to the possibility of chaos erupting in Syria and spilling over into its borders.