Arab League Starts Preparations for Algeria Summit

Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt (File photo: Reuters)
Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt (File photo: Reuters)
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Arab League Starts Preparations for Algeria Summit

Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt (File photo: Reuters)
Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt (File photo: Reuters)

Algeria sent an official invitation to the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, to visit and consult on arrangements for holding the thirty-first regular session of the Arab Summit, which Algeria offered to host this year.

Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Hossam Zaki received the Algerian ambassador to Cairo, Mohand Ladjouzi, who carried a message from Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum in which he offered to prepare for the upcoming Arab summit in light of current challenges facing the Arab world.

Ambassador Zaki said that the Secretary-General's visit to Algeria is expected to take place as soon as possible.

Media reports indicated that Algeria will host the summit at the end of March as the Secretary-General previously confirmed that it will be held as scheduled.

Meanwhile, the 105th ministerial session of the Arab Economic and Social Council kicks off Thursday at the headquarters of the General-Secretariat of the Arab League in Cairo, with the participation of Arab economy and trade ministers.

The Council will discuss preparing economic and social topics for the upcoming Arab summit, in addition to all issues of joint Arab economic and social action.

Assistant Secretary-General and Head of Social Affairs sector at the Arab League, Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, stated that the agenda of the 105th session of the Council includes several important items, namely the economic and social issues of the League’s Council, and follow-up on the implementation of the Arab-African summit decisions issued at its fourth session at Malabo – Equatorial Guinea 2016.

Officials will also prepare the economic aspects for the fifth summit, to be held in Riyadh next March 16 and its theme: “Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) and the developments of the Arab customs union”, along with other economic and social items.



Syrian Police Impose Curfew in Homs after Unrest

Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
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Syrian Police Impose Curfew in Homs after Unrest

Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)

Syrian police have imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Homs, state media reported, after unrest there linked to demonstrations that residents said were led by members of the minority Alawite and Shiite communities.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the demands of the demonstrators nor the degree of disturbance that took place.

Some residents said the demonstrations were linked to pressure and violence in recent days aimed at members of the Alawite minority, a sect long seen as loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled by opposition fighters on Dec. 8.

Spokespeople for Syria’s new ruling administration led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the curfew.

State media said the curfew was being imposed for one night, from 6pm (1500 GMT) local time until 8am on Thursday morning.

The country's new leaders have repeatedly vowed to protect minority religious groups.

Small demonstrations also took place in other areas on or near Syria’s coast, where most of the country’s Alawite minority live, including in the city of Tartous.

The demonstrations took place around the time an undated video was circulated on social networks showing a fire inside an Alawite shrine in the city of Aleppo, with armed men walking around inside and posing near human bodies.

The interior ministry said on its official Telegram account that the video dated back to the opposition offensive on Aleppo in late November and the violence was carried out by unknown groups, adding that whoever was circulating the video now appeared to be seeking to incite sectarian strife.

The ministry also said that some members of the former regime had attacked interior ministry forces in Syria’s coastal area on Wednesday, leaving a number of dead and wounded.