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High-Level Ministerial Meeting Reinforces Morocco-France Partnership

France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu along with his delegation (L) attend a plenary session with the Moroccan lawmakers in Rabat on July 16, 2026. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu along with his delegation (L) attend a plenary session with the Moroccan lawmakers in Rabat on July 16, 2026. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)
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High-Level Ministerial Meeting Reinforces Morocco-France Partnership

France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu along with his delegation (L) attend a plenary session with the Moroccan lawmakers in Rabat on July 16, 2026. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu along with his delegation (L) attend a plenary session with the Moroccan lawmakers in Rabat on July 16, 2026. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)

The prime ministers of Morocco and France opened a high-level ministerial meeting in Rabat on Thursday aimed at strengthening bilateral ties ahead of an anticipated state visit by King Mohammed VI to Paris.

Relations between France and Morocco have improved significantly since French President Emmanuel Macron recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara in the summer of 2024. In October of that year, Macron received an exceptionally warm welcome during an official visit to Rabat, marking the end of three years of strained relations.

Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch held bilateral talks with his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, at the opening of the 15th session of the joint intergovernmental meeting.

Lecornu arrived in Rabat on Wednesday night accompanied by 12 ministers, including Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.

Akhannouch said that "the exceptional partnership between Morocco and France, established during President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the Kingdom in October 2024, has opened a new chapter in relations between our two countries. It has laid the foundation for an ambitious future built on strong political convergence, renewed economic momentum, and a shared determination to prepare for and build the future together."

He added that "the enhanced exceptional partnership between Morocco and France is founded not only on strategic and economic dimensions, but also on a deep conviction rooted in the richness of the human ties between our societies. Students, researchers, entrepreneurs, artists, creators, and members of our diaspora all contribute to bringing our peoples closer together and enriching our cultures."

France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu (L) and his Moroccan counterpart Aziz Akhannouch prepare to greet each other after delivering their press statements at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Rabat on July 16, 2026. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)

King Mohammed VI is expected to pay a state visit to France to sign a Morocco-France Treaty, as announced by the two countries' foreign ministers during a meeting in Rabat in May, although no date has been set yet.

Lecornu said the anticipated visit could lead to the signing of "a unique friendship treaty" that would go beyond the "enhanced exceptional partnership" agreements concluded during Macron's 2024 visit to Rabat.

He stressed that France seeks to deepen its relationship with Morocco, particularly in the areas of security and counterterrorism, while highlighting the two countries' "shared interests" across Africa.

Lecornu added: "The significance of our presence here today, accompanied by such a large ministerial delegation, is our desire to achieve a qualitative leap in our bilateral relationship - a transformation that will benefit both our countries and others as well. This also applies to our relationship with the European Union and to our shared and aligned interests across the African continent."

France is seeking to strengthen its partnership with Morocco, particularly regarding security developments in the Sahel region, after moving away from its longstanding policy of maintaining a balance between Rabat and Algiers.

The ministerial summit is expected to conclude with the signing of around 15 cooperation agreements covering the economy, security, defense, and migration, according to a diplomatic source.

The agreements are expected to include projects related to an urban rail network in and around the capital, as well as cooperation in defense industries, civil aviation, water, electricity, and culture.

Lecornu also said that France and Morocco are seeking expressions of interest for an electricity interconnection project between the two countries as part of broader efforts to strengthen energy links between Europe and North Africa.

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Arab World

Ali Kayali, Main Suspect in 2013 Baniyas Massacre, Arrested

A Syrian army officer puts on his blast suit during a demining operation, by the Syrian Ministry of Defense's military engineering department, to clear land mines in Qarah in the Damascus countryside on August 23, 2026. (Photo by Bakr ALkasem / AFP)
A Syrian army officer puts on his blast suit during a demining operation, by the Syrian Ministry of Defense's military engineering department, to clear land mines in Qarah in the Damascus countryside on August 23, 2026. (Photo by Bakr ALkasem / AFP)
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Ali Kayali, Main Suspect in 2013 Baniyas Massacre, Arrested

A Syrian army officer puts on his blast suit during a demining operation, by the Syrian Ministry of Defense's military engineering department, to clear land mines in Qarah in the Damascus countryside on August 23, 2026. (Photo by Bakr ALkasem / AFP)
A Syrian army officer puts on his blast suit during a demining operation, by the Syrian Ministry of Defense's military engineering department, to clear land mines in Qarah in the Damascus countryside on August 23, 2026. (Photo by Bakr ALkasem / AFP)

Syria's General Intelligence Service has arrested Ali Kayali, also known as Mihrac Ural, the main suspect in the 2013 Baniyas massacre, as he attempted to flee across the border, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

The agency did not specify where he was arrested or which country he was attempting to enter. Syrian sources say he had been spotted crossing the border into Lebanon several times.

However, according to Lebanon's MTV television, the Syrian-Turkish national known as Ali Kayali, or Mihrac Ural, and nicknamed the "Butcher of Baniyas" in Syria, was the same person reportedly abducted from his home in Mansourieh, in Lebanon's Metn district, after his wife and son were tied up.

Asharq Al-Awsat could not independently verify the accuracy of the report.

Who Is Mihrac Ural?

Mihrac Ural was born in 1956 in Türkiye's Hatay province, formerly known as the Sanjak of Alexandretta. He joined a far-left extremist party and was imprisoned several times in Türkiye before fleeing to Syria in the early 1980s.

There, he received special privileges, including Syrian citizenship, which was granted to him by then-President Hafez al-Assad.

Ural later adopted the Syrian name Ali Kayali and led an armed group known as the Syrian Resistance, which fought alongside forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad throughout the Syrian war.

The group has been linked to the massacres in al-Bayda and Baniyas and participated alongside Assad's forces in suppressing the Syrian uprising. Ural's name has also been associated with the 2012 Houla massacre and the bombings in Reyhanli, Türkiye.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), the al-Bayda massacre claimed the lives of 264 civilians, including 36 children and 28 women. The Ras al-Nabaa massacre killed another 195 civilians, including 56 children and 43 women.

Testimonies and reports documenting the two massacres described bodies scattered across streets, shops and even basements, as well as summary executions carried out with firearms and bladed weapons. Homes and bodies were also reportedly burned.

Militias affiliated with Kayali were also accused of carrying out massacres against Syrians in the countryside of Latakia, Aleppo and Idlib, leaving hundreds dead and wounded.

Human Rights Watch, in a report published in September 2013, documented the execution of at least 248 people, including 167 in al-Bayda and 81 in Baniyas, warning that the actual death toll could be higher.

Based on survivor testimonies and video evidence, the organization concluded that the vast majority of the victims had been killed after fighting had ended and opposition fighters had withdrawn from the two areas.

Following news of Kayali's arrest, chants of "Allahu Akbar" rang out from mosques in al-Bayda, a town near Baniyas in Syria's western Tartus province, on Thursday.

Videos circulating online showed mosques broadcasting the chants, which those sharing the footage said were in celebration of Ural's reported arrest, nearly 13 years after the massacre.

Marking the occasion, Fadel Abdul Ghany, executive director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, wrote on X on Thursday:

"On May 10, 2013, we published our report documenting the killing of 459 civilians, including 92 children and 71 women. We named Ali Kayali in the report, based on testimonies from residents who identified him as one of the leaders of the massacre."

He described the killings as a massacre with a sectarian character, recalling the painstaking work of documenting the names of children, women and men, families that had lost several members or had been wiped out entirely, and survivors whose testimonies remained unforgettable.

"More than 13 years later, I feel how important it is that this case has finally reached a stage where one of its most prominent suspects can be investigated. Today, I am thinking especially of the victims' families, who have waited all these years," he added.

Ahmad Muwaffaq Zaidan, media adviser to the Syrian presidency, also welcomed the arrest in a post on X.

"We congratulate our people on the arrest by Syrian intelligence, in cooperation with the Interior Ministry, of the criminal Mihrac Ural, known as Ali Kayali, who carried out massacres against our people during the Syrian revolution, including the al-Bayda massacre in Baniyas," he wrote.

He vowed that those responsible for killings would be pursued regardless of how much time had passed, stressing that perpetrators would not escape Syria's security agencies.

Syrian authorities had previously announced on October 4 the arrest of Jamal Trabulsi, whom they identified as Ural's deputy, on suspicion of involvement in the same massacre.

Syrian authorities are pursuing individuals implicated in abuses against civilians during Assad's rule as part of their stated efforts to achieve transitional justice and hold those responsible for crimes accountable.

On December 8, 2024, Syrian rebels entered Damascus and announced the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime, ending the rule he had inherited from his father, Hafez al-Assad.

Arab World

Contaminated Gasoline Sparks Fears Over Diesel Quality in Syria

A gas station in Damascus displays fuel prices following the latest increase, which sparked protests in several Syrian cities (Reuters). 
A gas station in Damascus displays fuel prices following the latest increase, which sparked protests in several Syrian cities (Reuters). 
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Contaminated Gasoline Sparks Fears Over Diesel Quality in Syria

A gas station in Damascus displays fuel prices following the latest increase, which sparked protests in several Syrian cities (Reuters). 
A gas station in Damascus displays fuel prices following the latest increase, which sparked protests in several Syrian cities (Reuters). 

A video of a young girl collecting animal dung for heating in northeastern Syria has revived memories of bitter winters during the war, as rising fuel prices, a weakening currency and a scandal involving contaminated gasoline fuel concerns over a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

The widely circulated footage shows the girl gathering dung from farmland in rural Hasakah to make "jalla", a traditional fuel used for heating. With winter approaching, she explains that diesel is too expensive to obtain.

The images brought back painful memories for Fatima Hamid, 49, who fled Deir Ezzor for Sahnaya, near Damascus, where she spent several years living with her three children in a cold, dark basement.

For Hamid, the recent increase in diesel prices and plans to introduce a cheaper, lower-quality heating fuel have revived fears of the hardships she endured.

“Under Assad, they used to sell us tiny quantities of black diesel, thick as mud, for our heaters. Its smell would suffocate us,” she recalled.

“Today, we fear the cheaper diesel they’re talking about will be like the red gasoline that damaged cars.”

Fuel prices rise as pound weakens

Syria’s Energy Ministry raised diesel and other petroleum product prices by 40% in September, increasing the price of diesel from 125 to 175 Syrian pounds per liter.

Authorities subsequently introduced a lower-quality, subsidized diesel for heating and agricultural use at 115 pounds per liter.

The Syrian pound weakened against the dollar on Tuesday, with the exchange rate exceeding 141 pounds to the dollar after several months of stability at around 130.

Economists linked the depreciation to inflationary pressures resulting from higher fuel prices.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Petroleum Company recently refused to unload two diesel tankers because their cargoes failed to meet required specifications.

Oday al-Sattouf, the company’s media department director, announced that a tanker carrying 16,000 tons of diesel had begun docking and unloading at storage facilities in the port of Baniyas, while a second vessel was awaiting its turn.

The shipments are intended to meet growing demand ahead of winter.

Speaking to the official SANA news agency, al-Sattouf outlined measures to address shortages, including coordinating with the Homs refinery to increase production and supply diesel to all provinces at 150 pounds per liter.

Additional quantities priced at 115 pounds per liter would be produced at Hasakah refineries, while remaining stocks at the Tishreen and Baniyas storage facilities would also be used.

He expected supplies to stabilize as deliveries became regular and the Baniyas refinery resumed operations.

Contaminated gasoline sparks anger

The controversy over contaminated gasoline distributed in Syrian markets has continued since the beginning of October.

It followed fuel shortages and widespread confusion after authorities raised the price of 90-octane gasoline to 185 pounds per liter and 95-octane gasoline to 195 pounds.

An employee at a Damascus filling station told Asharq Al-Awsat that the adulterated fuel had been withdrawn from all government-run Sadcop stations.

Supplies of gasoline meeting the required specifications began reaching those outlets early Tuesday, following quality checks at both the source and delivery points in Damascus.

The additional inspections delayed deliveries to filling stations in several provinces, the employee explained.

He denied that there was a gasoline shortage and advised motorists to use government stations until the remaining contaminated fuel had been removed from private-sector outlets.

Khaled Jamal al-Khalaf, a member of the Syrian People’s Assembly’s fuel committee, has called for the dismissal and prosecution of Syrian Petroleum Company director Youssef Qablawi.

Speaking on Syria’s state news channel on Sunday, al-Khalaf held Qablawi fully responsible for what he described as the “contaminated gasoline disaster,” citing extensive damage to motorists’ vehicles.

At a car repair workshop in Damascus, Fadi al-Akram was trying to drain the contaminated gasoline from his vehicle and assess the damage to its fuel pump.

He estimated his initial loss at two million Syrian pounds for the gasoline alone, while repairs could cost another five million.

Al-Akram questioned who would compensate him for the damage.

Investigation results pending

Authorities have yet to announce the findings of an investigation into the contaminated gasoline.

The Syrian Company for the Storage and Distribution of Petroleum Products, Sadcop, previously announced an inquiry into the source of the substandard fuel and how it had reached filling stations.

In a statement issued amid mounting complaints, the company reported that tests on samples collected at different stages of the supply chain showed compliance with approved specifications.

It nevertheless acknowledged that cases of fuel failing to meet quality standards had been detected in the domestic market.

 

 

 

 

Arab World

Hezbollah Aid to Displaced Families Raises Questions Over Funding Sources

A woman and her daughter, displaced from their home in the South Lebanon village of Aita al-Shaab in 2023, live in a rented apartment in the southern town of Maarakeh (EPA). 
A woman and her daughter, displaced from their home in the South Lebanon village of Aita al-Shaab in 2023, live in a rented apartment in the southern town of Maarakeh (EPA). 
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Hezbollah Aid to Displaced Families Raises Questions Over Funding Sources

A woman and her daughter, displaced from their home in the South Lebanon village of Aita al-Shaab in 2023, live in a rented apartment in the southern town of Maarakeh (EPA). 
A woman and her daughter, displaced from their home in the South Lebanon village of Aita al-Shaab in 2023, live in a rented apartment in the southern town of Maarakeh (EPA). 

Hezbollah’s announcement of financial assistance for displaced Lebanese families and those affected by the fighting with Israel has raised questions about where the money comes from and how it is transferred and distributed, amid US sanctions on Iran and tighter Lebanese oversight of funding channels.

The announcement also comes as Lebanese authorities move to place all weapons under the control of legitimate state forces.

Meanwhile, President Joseph Aoun received a telephone call from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss regional developments. According to the Lebanese presidency, the two agreed on the need to support diplomatic solutions as the best way to end conflicts in the region.

Hezbollah’s funding sources

Hezbollah has traditionally relied on direct Iranian support, donations from sympathizers abroad and commercial activities, as well as illicit sources that US authorities accuse the group of exploiting.

Lebanese authorities, meanwhile, are seeking to strengthen financial regulations and oversight, particularly through proposed amendments to Law No. 44 on combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

The changes aim to identify the beneficial owners of companies and commercial ventures, trace the origins and destinations of funds, and tighten supervision of currency exchange dealers and money transfer companies.

US questions reported Iranian funding

A US State Department spokesperson has questioned, for a second time, reports of money reaching Hezbollah from Iran.

“The money supposedly arriving from Iran simply does not exist,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

The official accused Hezbollah of relying on criminal activities, including drug trafficking and partnerships with Latin American drug cartels, to compensate for funds it was not receiving from Tehran.

No detailed public evidence was provided to substantiate the allegations.

The spokesperson described Hezbollah’s aid announcement as an attempt to salvage its reputation rather than help those it had drawn into war. The official also accused the group of dragging Lebanon into war in a “suicidal” manner, arguing that even if Hezbollah had the money, it would use it to purchase weapons to threaten Israel and intimidate its opponents.

Hezbollah’s weapons, the spokesperson added, had brought Lebanon nothing but misery and destruction.

The official said Washington was working with Gulf and European partners on a plan to make billions of dollars available for Lebanon’s reconstruction, without specifying a final amount or implementation timetable.

Disarming Hezbollah was an essential part of efforts to restore stability and prevent renewed conflict, he stressed.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah announced a financial assistance program for displaced families whose homes had been destroyed or damaged and who had no alternative accommodation.

The program covers rent and furniture expenses of up to $14,000, payable over one year.

The announcement came days after Reuters reported that Hezbollah had received $200 million from Iran to assist displaced Lebanese families, a claim also questioned by Washington.

Questions over alternative funding channels

Sami Nader, director of the Middle East Institute for Strategic Affairs, told Asharq Al-Awsat that US skepticism suggested Washington was closely monitoring Hezbollah’s potential funding sources.

However, he did not rule out the possibility that Iran and Hezbollah had recently developed new methods of transferring money, including cryptocurrencies or gold.

Nader said US trade monitoring and tighter financial restrictions posed challenges to such channels, potentially explaining the latest round of sanctions. He stressed the need for Lebanon to enforce its financial laws across all sectors.

“The Lebanese state must enforce the laws as it did with Al-Qard Al-Hassan, and oversight must cover all areas,” he said.

Nader called for scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchange offices to determine whether they complied with Lebanese regulations, adding that new legislation might be needed to address emerging financial mechanisms.

Concerns over Lebanon’s financial standing

Lebanese Forces lawmaker Razi al-Hajj accused Hezbollah of trying to project the same strength it possessed before the two wars, while disregarding the deaths, injuries and economic collapse that followed.

He also accused the group of attempting to shift responsibility onto the government, which he said had already shouldered more than it could manage. While affirming that those affected by the fighting were entitled to assistance, al-Hajj said the central issue was enforcing laws against money laundering and terrorist financing.

He warned that failures in this area could damage Lebanon’s financial standing and international relations.

The deputy argued that Hezbollah’s funding, which he characterized as generally originating from illicit sources, posed a threat to state stability and ties with the international community.

He also warned that Lebanon could move from the Financial Action Task Force’s gray list to its blacklist.

Transparency must apply to everyone

Lawmaker Fouad Makhzoumi said demands for transparency and verification of funding sources, transfer methods and distribution mechanisms should apply to everyone without exception.

Writing on X, he warned of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, particularly given Lebanon’s inclusion on the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Makhzoumi also urged the government to assume responsibility for providing shelter and assistance to displaced families, stressing that no Lebanese citizen should be left to face hardship alone.