Council of Arab Justice Ministers Urges Intensified Cooperation Against Terrorism

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks during his joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks during his joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
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Council of Arab Justice Ministers Urges Intensified Cooperation Against Terrorism

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks during his joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks during his joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

The Council of Arab Ministers of Justice called on Arab states to intensify bilateral and collective cooperation in the field of information exchange pertaining to combating terrorism.

At the end of its 35th session at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, chaired by Bahrain, the council called for coordinating Arab efforts to face the return of terrorists and their families from conflict zones, by developing comprehensive mechanisms in line with the Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism, the resolutions issued by the League Council, and the decisions of the Councils of Ministers of Justice and Interior.

The Council underlined “the need to refrain from providing any form of explicit or implicit support to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts,” and expressed “rejection of all forms of extortion by terrorist groups of threatening, killing hostages or demanding ransom.”

It also called for “intensifying Arab bilateral and collective cooperation among judicial bodies in Arab countries, in the field of investigations, follow-up, and judicial procedures relating to money laundering and terrorist financing.”

The council emphasized the necessity to “develop national measures and mechanisms to ensure the effective tracking, seizure and confiscation of laundered funds or funds directed to finance terrorism as quickly as possible, and to strengthen measures to prevent terrorism, address its causes and dry up its intellectual and financial sources.”

It also highlighted the importance of implementing programs aimed at promoting tolerance and pluralism and combating extremism.

The Council of Arab Ministers of Justice adopted during its meeting on Thursday “the final version of the internal rules of the Arab legal and judicial cooperation network in the field of combating terrorism and organized crime.”



Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
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Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)

Syrian Christians gathered at churches in the country's capital Damascus on Wednesday amid tight security measures to celebrate their first Christmas after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

"Today there is a large deployment of security to protect the churches, fearing sabotage, but things are normal," Nicola Yazgi told dpa, while attending a mass in eastern Damascus.

Security forces affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is now leading Syria's interim government, were deployed outside churches and in the streets in Christian-majority neighborhoods in the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

According to the UK-based war monitor, churches across Syria - including in the southern city of al-Sweida, and in the northern cities of Aleppo and Idlib - opened their doors for Christmas celebrations.

Yazgi said he was celebrating two things this year: "Christmas and the victory of the revolution and the fall of the tyrant. We hope that today will be the day of salvation from the era of al-Assad family injustices."

Suad al-Zein, an engineer, also joined the mass in Damascus. She expressed her joy despite the lack of decorations in the streets: "For us, joy is in our hearts."

Civil war broke out in Syria in 2011 following pro-democracy protests against al-Assad's regime.

In late November, HTS and other opposition groups launched a rapid offensive, making major territorial gains before capturing Damascus earlier this month. Al-Assad fled to Russia with his family.

Since then, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has tried to reassure minorities in Syria, promising moderation and respect for all religious sects.

A group of people burnt a Christmas tree in Hama province on Monday evening, prompting hundreds of protesters to take to the streets in several cities.