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Relative of Assad’s Wife Disappears in Lebanon

Head of Syrian Regime Bashar al-Assad (R) with his wife, Asma al-Assad [file photo]
Head of Syrian Regime Bashar al-Assad (R) with his wife, Asma al-Assad [file photo]
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Relative of Assad’s Wife Disappears in Lebanon

Head of Syrian Regime Bashar al-Assad (R) with his wife, Asma al-Assad [file photo]
Head of Syrian Regime Bashar al-Assad (R) with his wife, Asma al-Assad [file photo]

Reports said Tuesday that Merhef Akhras, the cousin of Syrian first lady Asma Assad, was “kidnapped” in Beirut last week.

The Lebanese National News Agency said that Akhras, the son of prominent businessmen Tarif Akhras, disappeared last Thursday under suspicious circumstances on the road between Aley and Chtaura while traveling to Damascus.

The man’s father is the cousin of Fawaz al-Akhras, the father of Asma Assad.

A local radio station reported that Akhras’ wife received a telephone call from the area of east Bekaa from her husband’s Syrian number, asking that she pay $2 million for his release.

Akhras’ car was found parked in Aley.

Local LBC television said that Akhras, who is in his 40s, had moved to Lebanon three years ago.

According to Syrian opposition figures, Tarif owns several food factories, including rice and sugar in Homs.

One opposition source said that Tarif acts on behalf of Asma in several investment projects in the banking, real estate and food industries.

In 2014, Britain’s High Court ordered a 12 month jail term for Tarif due to breach of contract in a deal with Archer Daniels Midland for food imports to Syria.

Akhras had failed to pay $26 million to ADM for corn and soybeans supplied by the commodities house for import to Syria in 2011.

EU and Swiss sanctions were imposed on Akhras for giving support to Syrian authorities.

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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.