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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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Hezbollah Urges Residents of More Than Two Dozen Israeli 'Settlements' to Evacuate

A view shows destroyed residential buildings in Rmeish in southern Lebanon, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sasa, northern Israel, October 26, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
A view shows destroyed residential buildings in Rmeish in southern Lebanon, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sasa, northern Israel, October 26, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
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Hezbollah Urges Residents of More Than Two Dozen Israeli 'Settlements' to Evacuate

A view shows destroyed residential buildings in Rmeish in southern Lebanon, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sasa, northern Israel, October 26, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
A view shows destroyed residential buildings in Rmeish in southern Lebanon, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sasa, northern Israel, October 26, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Lebanon's Hezbollah warned residents of more than two dozen Israeli "settlements" on Saturday to immediately evacuate, saying they had become legitimate targets because it said Israeli troops were stationed there.

Iran-backed Hezbollah issued its warning in a video.

The warning came after Israel's military eased some safety restrictions for residents in areas of northern Israel late on Saturday, a possible indication that it does not expect any immediate large-scale attack from Iran or its proxies in the region.

The decision followed a "situational assessment,” it said in a statement which made no mention of Israel's bombing of military sites in Iran in the early hours of Saturday, carried out in retaliation for an Iranian attack on Israel this month.

In areas closest to the border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah has for months been firing heavy barrages of rockets at Israel, schools can now open, as long as they have bomb shelters close by, the Israeli military said.

In towns a bit further from the border, nearer to the port city of Haifa, gatherings of up to 2,000 people are now permitted, it added.

Israel's military has tightened and eased restrictions for the home front over the past year, depending on its evolving assessment of the threat level.

In Saturday's attack on Iran, Israel did not target the most sensitive oil and nuclear facilities and drew no immediate vows of vengeance from Tehran.