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Lebanese Army Detains Suspect Wanted on Hundreds of Arrest Warrants

A Lebanese army patrol in the Bekaa. (Reuters)
A Lebanese army patrol in the Bekaa. (Reuters)
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Lebanese Army Detains Suspect Wanted on Hundreds of Arrest Warrants

A Lebanese army patrol in the Bekaa. (Reuters)
A Lebanese army patrol in the Bekaa. (Reuters)

The intelligence directorate in the Lebanese army arrested on Saturday one of the most wanted suspects by the country’s judiciary and international Interpol.

Maher Tleis was wanted on hundreds of arrest warrants linked to arms and drug dealing and car theft.

The military succeeded in arresting him during a raid on the eastern Bekaa town of Brital. No one was injured in the operation that took place at dawn in the al-Naqqar neighborhood, which is one of the most dangerous areas in the city because it harbors Lebanon’s most wanted fugitives.

Tleis, 47, was unable to resist the military raid and was detained without a single gunshot being fired in Brital.

The Army Command said in a statement that Tleis was wanted on charges of forming a car theft gang, kidnapping, fraud, counterfeiting currency, assaulting the army and dealing in the arms and drug trade.

Investigations have immediately gotten underway with him, it added.

A security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army carried out its operation to arrest Tleis at dawn on Saturday after it had surrounded his house in the Naqqar neighborhood.

He represents a “significant catch” for the authorities in their crackdown on gangs that are active in the Bekaa region. The campaign was launched in 2014 and Tleis is so far one of the most prominent detainees.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Tleis was involved in smuggling and selling weapons to terrorist groups that were active in the eastern mountain range that separates Lebanon from Syria. The groups were expelled from the region in 2017.

Tleis has been wanted by Lebanese authorities since 2002. He has managed to evade arrest by authorities on several occasions.

Sources said that he had escaped raids more than ten times.

Brital harbors suspects wanted for theft, weapons and drug smuggling and other crimes. The sources said that some 30 fugitives are currently in the town, while 150 people who hail from there have been arrested by the authorities.

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Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said the group is open to serious negotiations with the government based in Port Sudan to end the country’s devastating conflict, now in its third year, provided there is genuine political will from the other side.

The remarks by Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, who is also a member of the RSF’s negotiating team, come as international actors prepare to meet in Brussels on Thursday in a bid to lay the groundwork for a ceasefire.

The talks are expected to include the European Union, African Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain.

“Negotiations could begin with confidence-building measures and credible arrangements,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Dialogue remains the best path to ending a war that has no winners, only losers, both the people and the nation.”

He said the RSF is ready to discuss the location, timing, and possible mediators for peace talks, but stressed that any engagement must be met with equal seriousness by Sudan’s military-backed government.

However, Al-Safi cautioned that his group would not accept talks that merely allow the opposing side to regroup and secure external support to resume fighting.

“We cannot enter into a dialogue that gives the other party time to reorganize and rearm,” he said, adding that the RSF remains “at its strongest” on the battlefield.

Sudan’s army has conditioned any peace negotiations on the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration, a humanitarian agreement signed in May 2023. The deal, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, has since been marred by mutual accusations of violations from both the military and the RSF.

Meanwhile, the RSF is pushing ahead with plans to form a rival administration in areas under its control.

Al-Safi, a senior adviser to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said the group is nearing the formation of what he called a “government of unity and peace.”

He added that over 90% of the preparations for the announcement have been completed.

“The delay in announcing the government is due to ongoing consultations among members of the Founding Sudan Alliance [Tasis], which supports this move,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s not because of internal disagreements, as some have suggested.”

Asked about the planned capital of the parallel government, Al-Safi declined to name the city but suggested it would not be Khartoum.

“There are cities more beautiful than Khartoum,” he said. “From a strategic perspective, I believe the capital should be temporary and capable of accommodating all institutions of government.”

He only noted that the proposed city is located in territory controlled by the Tasis alliance.

The RSF’s moves come amid growing fears that the fragmentation of Sudan will deepen if parallel authorities are entrenched, further complicating efforts to reach a comprehensive peace.