Assad Disbands Makhlouf Militias, Renames 'Tiger Forces'

 Syrian regime force (AFP)
Syrian regime force (AFP)
TT

Assad Disbands Makhlouf Militias, Renames 'Tiger Forces'

 Syrian regime force (AFP)
Syrian regime force (AFP)

Various sources confirmed on Thursday that the latest series of measures taken by head of the Syrian regime, Bashar Assad, against companies owned by his cousin, Rami Makhlouf, in Syria, involved Al-Bustan Association and its linked armed organizations.

This week, reports said that Assad took measures against Makhlouf’s shares in the state-owned Syrian Telecom Company (Syriatel), the country’s biggest mobile phone company. Makhlouf, Assad’s first cousin and the son of Mohammed Makhlouf, is considered a top businessman in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quoted sources as saying that Assad decided to end and disband the military wing of “Al-Bustan” after Russia gave its orders to limit the expansion of continuous recruitment by the association in return for attractive financial salaries, particularly in the Syrian South.

The Observatory said the association would continue its work in the charitable side, maintaining its cadres and management under the supervision of the Syrian “Presidency” and the Social Affairs Ministry.

In late 2018, the SOHR said it found that Al-Bustan Association worked on recruiting youths and men with attractive financial salaries of up to $350 per month.

Meanwhile, members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party were informed about the lessening of some of their privileges due to Makhlouf’s known support of the SSNP ideology.

Makhlouf founded several companies, including Cham Holding. He was later linked to financing pro-regime forces and their linked militias, mainly through Al-Bustan Association.

Separately, in Damascus the Tiger Forces have been renamed and placed under the command of the army’s central command.

The Tiger Forces have been renamed Division 25 Special Mission Forces and will remain under the command of Major General Suheil Al-Hassan.

The Tiger Forces surfaced in the Syrian war during the Hama, Aleppo and eastern Homs battles.



France to Host Syria Meeting with Arab, Turkish, Western Partners in January

This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)
TT

France to Host Syria Meeting with Arab, Turkish, Western Partners in January

This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)

France will host a meeting on Syria with Arab, Turkish, western partners in January, said France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday.

The meeting will be a follow-up to the one held in Jordan last week.

Speaking in parliament, Barrot added that reconstruction aid and the lifting of sanctions in Syria would depend on clear political and security commitments by the new authorities.

The new Syrian transition authorities will not be judged on words, but on actions over time, he stressed.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkiye's Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed that the transition in Syria should be respectful of the rights of all communities in the country, the French presidency said after the leaders spoke by phone on Wednesday.

"They expressed their wish that a peaceful and representative political transition, in accordance with the principles of resolution 2254, respectful of the fundamental rights of all communities in Syria, be conducted as soon as possible," an Elysee statement said, referring to a United Nations Security Council resolution.  

Barrot added that fighting in northeastern Syrian cities of Manbij and Kobane must stop immediately.

France is working to find deal between Turks and Kurds in Syria’s northeast that meets interests of both sides, he revealed.

Macron made clear in his call with Erdogan that Kurdish Syrians needed to be fully-integrated in political transition process, continued the FM.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces must be part of the political transition process, he urged.