Syria Complains to UN About Repeated Israeli Attacks

An Israeli raid on the outskirts of Damascus. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
An Israeli raid on the outskirts of Damascus. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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Syria Complains to UN About Repeated Israeli Attacks

An Israeli raid on the outskirts of Damascus. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
An Israeli raid on the outskirts of Damascus. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

The Syrian Foreign Ministry warned of the consequences of the continuation of Israeli attacks on its territories, urging decisive measures from the UN Security Council to put an end to them.

“Syria calls on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities in the implementation of what is stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations and international humanitarian law,” the ministry said in two letters to the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Security Council on Friday.

It said, “the Israeli occupation authorities again defy the world public opinion, UN resolutions and the calls of most members of the Security Council not to expand the existing aggression against the Palestinian people by launching two new air attacks on Syrian territory.”

The latest attacks struck near Damascus and in southern regions.

Foreign Ministry noted that the United States, France, Britain and other countries clearly see that Israel has entirely violated international and humanitarian laws without mercy.

“The new aggressions against Syrian territory and the ongoing threats against Lebanon and other Arab countries in the region reveal the true goals of the Zionist entity, which seeks to expand in the region at the expense of Arab rights in Palestine and other occupied territories”, the Foreign Ministry stated.

On Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that before midnight on Thursday Israel fired missiles on the area of Damascus International Airport a day after the airport started operating again after being out of service for 65 days since an Israeli attack on October 22.

In the South, Israel fired missiles on a checkpoint of a battalion of the Air Defense in Tel Sahn eastern of Al-Hueya Village in the Suweida countryside, the watchdog said.

Later, SOHR said Israeli aircrafts carried out a second round of attacks on air defense positions in the Damascus countryside.

Syrian air defenses in Qasioun mountain responded to the attacks.

The Observatory documented 73 attacks in 2023, including 49 airstrikes and 24 rocket attacks by ground forces. The attacks destroyed nearly 143 targets, including buildings, weapons and ammunitions warehouses, and vehicles, and killed 120 soldiers and injured 136 others.



SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
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SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)

A confidential document obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has revealed massive money smuggling operations carried out via Syrian Airlines to Moscow.
The operations are described as among the most corrupt financial transfers orchestrated by the now-defunct Syrian regime.
According to the document, the majority of the funds stem from profits made through the production and trade of Captagon, a highly lucrative illicit drug.
The head of SOHR, Rami Abdel Rahman, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the most recent transfer took place just four days before Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow in December of last year.
Rami Abdel Rahman also affirmed that the leaked document underscores the “deep involvement of the former Syrian regime in illegal activities.”
He added that further investigations could uncover a vast network of secret financial operations used to transfer large sums of money from Syria to Russia and other countries under official cover and without oversight.
“The regime, led by the ousted Assad and his brother, spearheaded drug-related investments, particularly through the production, promotion, and export of Captagon,” Abdel Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He explained that one key route involved a small port near the Afamia chalets on Syria's coast, which previously belonged to Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of late former President Hafez al-Assad.
From there, shipments were sent via smugglers to Italian ports, where collaborating traders distributed the drugs globally.
A Syrian source based in Russia, closely monitoring the regime’s activities and investments there, said the content of the leaked document is not new but that its official confirmation adds weight to prior claims.
“Western media had previously reported on the regime’s money-smuggling operations, which led to some loyalists being added to international sanctions lists, particularly regime-linked businessmen like Mudalal Khouri,” the source, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Sanctions were also imposed on individuals accused of money laundering for the regime.
The source confirmed that the operations were conducted using Syrian Airlines flights to Moscow.
“There were dozens of such flights, each loaded with hard currency—mostly US dollars and €500 euro notes,” the source said.
The money was reportedly delivered directly from the airport to the Syrian regime's embassy in Moscow, where it was distributed to loyalist businessmen.
These funds were then invested in Russian and Belarusian banks, real estate, and commercial properties. Some of the money was also used to establish companies in both countries.
The operations were allegedly overseen by Mohammed Makhlouf, the maternal uncle of Assad.