عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Repatriated Lebanese Expats Pose New Challenge in Virus Fight

Lebanese people, who were stranded abroad by coronavirus lockdowns, are pictured wearing face masks and gloves as they hold their luggage upon arrival at Rafik Hariri International Airport, Lebanon April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanese people, who were stranded abroad by coronavirus lockdowns, are pictured wearing face masks and gloves as they hold their luggage upon arrival at Rafik Hariri International Airport, Lebanon April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
TT
TT

Repatriated Lebanese Expats Pose New Challenge in Virus Fight

Lebanese people, who were stranded abroad by coronavirus lockdowns, are pictured wearing face masks and gloves as they hold their luggage upon arrival at Rafik Hariri International Airport, Lebanon April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanese people, who were stranded abroad by coronavirus lockdowns, are pictured wearing face masks and gloves as they hold their luggage upon arrival at Rafik Hariri International Airport, Lebanon April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

The Lebanese government has launched a new phase of repatriating expatriates, creating greater challenges in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

The Ministry of Health registered 33 new cases of COVID-19 among repatriated nationals in the past 48 hours, and only one local infection, raising the total number to 784 since the first reported case in February.

“We have started a new stage in the return of expatriates,” Health Minister Hamad Hassan said, noting that this step “constitutes a challenge and requires us to take measures back from scratch.”

He stressed, however, that the flights would not be stopped.

He explained that the ministry counted on the “expatriates’ conscience to protect their communities, and to adhere to the measures taken by the ministry and the relevant authorities.”

The arrivals increased the numbers of infections significantly. Twenty-five persons coming from Nigeria tested positive for the virus and were transferred upon arrival to Rafik Hariri Hospital. Out of this number, the Disaster Management Unit in Tyre, in South Lebanon, recorded 12 confirmed cases, raising the number of infections in the city to 15, four of whom have recovered.

A number of Lebanese nationals have also arrived from Syria, where they were stranded due to the lockdown and the closure of land borders.

The National News Agency (NNA) reported that strict measures were taken at al-Abboudieh border crossing, where several buses were brought in to secure the transportation of the returning Lebanese to the dedicated quarantine centers, pending the results of their PCR tests.

The Ministry of Health later announced, in a statement, that all the tests conducted for expats arriving through al-Masnaa and al-Abboudieh crossings came negative.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)

Syria's new authorities torched a large stockpile of drugs on Wednesday, two security officials told AFP, including one million pills of captagon, whose industrial-scale production flourished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Captagon is a banned amphetamine-like stimulant that became Syria's largest export during the country's more than 13-year civil war, effectively turning it into a narco state under Assad.

"We found a large quantity of captagon, around one million pills," said a balaclava-wearing member of the security forces, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Osama, and whose khaki uniform bore a "public security" patch.

An AFP journalist saw forces pour fuel over and set fire to a cache of cannabis, the painkiller tramadol, and around 50 bags of pink and yellow captagon pills in a security compound formerly belonging to Assad's forces in the capital's Kafr Sousa district.

Captagon has flooded the black market across the region in recent years.

"The security forces of the new government discovered a drug warehouse as they were inspecting the security quarter," said another member of the security forces, who identified himself as Hamza.

Authorities destroyed the stocks of alcohol, cannabis, captagon and hashish in order to "protect Syrian society" and "cut off smuggling routes used by Assad family businesses", he added.

- Manufacturing sites -

Since an opposition alliance toppled Assad on December 8 after a lightning offensive, Syria's new authorities have said massive quantities of captagon have been found in former government sites around the country, including security branches.

AFP journalists in Syria have seen fighters from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group set fire to what they said were stashes of captagon found at facilities once operated by Assad's forces.

Security force member Hamza confirmed Wednesday that "this is not the first initiative of its kind -- the security services, in a number of locations, have found other warehouses... and drug manufacturing sites and destroyed them in the appropriate manner".

Maher al-Assad, a military commander and the brother of Bashar al-Assad, is widely accused of being the power behind the lucrative captagon trade.

Experts believe Syria's former leader used the threat of drug-fueled unrest to put pressure on Arab governments.

Jordan in recent years has cracked down on the smuggling of weapons and drugs including captagon along its 375-kilometer (230-mile) border with Syria.