عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Israel Strikes Khiam after Lebanese Army Deployment

The engineering unit entered Khiam and began opening roads (National News Agency)
The engineering unit entered Khiam and began opening roads (National News Agency)
TT
TT

Israel Strikes Khiam after Lebanese Army Deployment

The engineering unit entered Khiam and began opening roads (National News Agency)
The engineering unit entered Khiam and began opening roads (National News Agency)

Less than a day after the Lebanese Army deployed in Khiam near the southern border with UN peacekeepers, an Israeli drone strike hit the town. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack as "blatant treachery."
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported one person killed and two injured in the strike.
The attack followed the Lebanese Army’s initial deployment in Khiam on Wednesday, where residents were advised to stay away until further notice.
Mikati condemned the Israeli airstrike, calling it “blatant treachery” that violated the ceasefire brokered by the US and France. He urged both nations to take a clear stance and demanded the monitoring committee act decisively to prevent further violations.
The Lebanese Army began its gradual deployment in Khiam on Wednesday, establishing positions at five locations before an engineering unit moved into the town on Thursday.
The Lebanese Army’s engineering unit entered Khiam on Thursday afternoon, inspected the area for explosives, and began clearing debris and opening roads. The operation, coordinated with UN peacekeepers, focused on five key points.
Military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel has no clear plan for a full withdrawal from border villages, with the pullout happening gradually under UN supervision.
The US said it is monitoring the Israeli withdrawal from Khiam.
US Central Command reported that Gen. Michael Kurilla visited Beirut on Wednesday to oversee the first phase of the withdrawal under last month’s ceasefire agreement. He also met with Lebanese Army chief General Joseph Aoun at a ceasefire monitoring site.
Kurilla visited Beirut to monitor the first phase of the Israeli withdrawal and the Lebanese Army’s deployment in Khiam as part of the ceasefire agreement.
Kurilla called it “an important first step” toward a lasting halt to hostilities and progress in the region.
He also met Lebanese Army chief General Joseph Aoun to discuss the security situation in Syria, its impact on stability, and ways to strengthen military cooperation between the Lebanese Army and US Central Command.

 

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

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)
TT
TT

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.