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Sisi Warns of ‘Catastrophic’ Consequences of an Israeli Assault on Rafah

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
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Sisi Warns of ‘Catastrophic’ Consequences of an Israeli Assault on Rafah

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday warned against any Israeli military assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
Presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said that Sisi’s concerns came during a telephone call with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.

Sisi warned against what he described as “catastrophic” humanitarian consequences of any military act on Rafah, according to the Arab World Press.
The spokesman added in a statement published by the Egyptian presidency on its Facebook page that the war in Gaza must be brought to a halt, pointing to the dire consequences of an aggression against Rafah and its impact on regional peace and stability.
“It emphasizes the need for the international community to implement the related UN resolutions”, he said according to the statement.
Fahmy also pointed out that Sisi and Rutte stressed the need for joint swift efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza to allow the entry of humanitarian relief aid to the Palestinians in the Strip.
They also emphasized the importance of reaching a two-state solution to restore regional stability and peace.
On Tuesday, head of Egypt’s State Information Service Diaa Rashwan confirmed that Egypt has never discussed any plans with the Israeli side of a ground invasion on Rafah, denying reports published in US newspapers on this matter.
He stressed Egypt’s “firm and well-known” stance and complete rejection of this assault. “The Egyptian leadership has warned that any assault on Rafah will lead to massacres, heavy human losses, and widespread destruction", he stated.
Moreover, Egyptian security sources said that military and security coordination between Egypt and Israel over any Israeli incursion into Rafah did not mean approval of it.
Egypt welcomed the return of Palestinians northwards from Rafah, believing it to be in the interest of the population, the sources added.

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Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
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Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)

Syria's new authorities torched a large stockpile of drugs on Wednesday, two security officials told AFP, including one million pills of captagon, whose industrial-scale production flourished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Captagon is a banned amphetamine-like stimulant that became Syria's largest export during the country's more than 13-year civil war, effectively turning it into a narco state under Assad.

"We found a large quantity of captagon, around one million pills," said a balaclava-wearing member of the security forces, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Osama, and whose khaki uniform bore a "public security" patch.

An AFP journalist saw forces pour fuel over and set fire to a cache of cannabis, the painkiller tramadol, and around 50 bags of pink and yellow captagon pills in a security compound formerly belonging to Assad's forces in the capital's Kafr Sousa district.

Captagon has flooded the black market across the region in recent years.

"The security forces of the new government discovered a drug warehouse as they were inspecting the security quarter," said another member of the security forces, who identified himself as Hamza.

Authorities destroyed the stocks of alcohol, cannabis, captagon and hashish in order to "protect Syrian society" and "cut off smuggling routes used by Assad family businesses", he added.

- Manufacturing sites -

Since an opposition alliance toppled Assad on December 8 after a lightning offensive, Syria's new authorities have said massive quantities of captagon have been found in former government sites around the country, including security branches.

AFP journalists in Syria have seen fighters from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group set fire to what they said were stashes of captagon found at facilities once operated by Assad's forces.

Security force member Hamza confirmed Wednesday that "this is not the first initiative of its kind -- the security services, in a number of locations, have found other warehouses... and drug manufacturing sites and destroyed them in the appropriate manner".

Maher al-Assad, a military commander and the brother of Bashar al-Assad, is widely accused of being the power behind the lucrative captagon trade.

Experts believe Syria's former leader used the threat of drug-fueled unrest to put pressure on Arab governments.

Jordan in recent years has cracked down on the smuggling of weapons and drugs including captagon along its 375-kilometer (230-mile) border with Syria.