Othmani: Terrorist Incidents Don’t Affect Morocco’s Stability

Morocco's Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani. AP file photo
Morocco's Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani. AP file photo
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Othmani: Terrorist Incidents Don’t Affect Morocco’s Stability

Morocco's Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani. AP file photo
Morocco's Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani. AP file photo

Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani has stressed that some “isolated crimes or terrorist incidents” are not capable of tampering with the security and stability of the country.

Speaking Thursday, the PM hailed security agencies in arresting 20 terrorist networks this year alone, a figure that shows “the efforts exerted (by the authorities) at the level of security, and the number of plots that have been thwarted.”

Othmani stressed that citizens, civil society, the media, intellectuals and the government had a role in preserving Morocco’s security.

All communities in the country have expressed their condemnation to terrorism, an evidence on the people’s unity, he said.

The PM urged all state institutions to consolidate their communication with citizens to inform them about the government’s achievements and brief them on the efforts exerted by the authorities in several sectors.

He characterized government work in 2018 as “greatly dynamic” despite many challenges.

Othmani said many reform programs had been launched, promising further measures in 2019 to meet the people’s social needs.



Israeli Strikes Hit North Lebanon Crossings with Syria for First Time, Minister Says

 Syrians carry their luggage as they cross on foot into Syria through a crater caused by an Israeli airstrike to cut the road between the Lebanese and the Syrian checkpoints, at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP)
Syrians carry their luggage as they cross on foot into Syria through a crater caused by an Israeli airstrike to cut the road between the Lebanese and the Syrian checkpoints, at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP)
TT

Israeli Strikes Hit North Lebanon Crossings with Syria for First Time, Minister Says

 Syrians carry their luggage as they cross on foot into Syria through a crater caused by an Israeli airstrike to cut the road between the Lebanese and the Syrian checkpoints, at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP)
Syrians carry their luggage as they cross on foot into Syria through a crater caused by an Israeli airstrike to cut the road between the Lebanese and the Syrian checkpoints, at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP)

Israeli strikes late on Tuesday targeted Lebanon's three northern border crossings with Syria for the first time, Lebanon's caretaker transport minister Ali Hamieh told Reuters.

The strikes came hours before a ceasefire took effect to halt hostilities between Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israel.

Hamieh said it was not immediately clear whether the roads had been cut off as a result of the strikes. Israeli raids on Lebanon's eastern crossings in recent weeks had already sealed off those routes into Syria.

Syria's state news agency reported four civilians and two soldiers were killed, and 12 people were wounded including children, women and workers in the Syrian Red Crescent.

The Red Crescent said earlier a volunteer was killed and another was injured in "the aggression that targeted Al-Dabousyeh and Al-Arida crossings ... as they were performing their humanitarian duty of rescuing the wounded early on Wednesday."

The strike damaged several ambulances and work points, it added in a statement.

Syrian state TV reported the Israeli strike hit the Arida and Dabousieh border crossings with Lebanon.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment. It has previously stated that it targets what it says are Iran-linked sites in Syria as part of a broader campaign to curb the influence of Iran and its ally Hezbollah in the region.

Separately, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Tuesday that it struck an Iranian-aligned militia weapons storage facility in Syria in response to an Iranian-aligned attack against US forces in the country on Monday.