Damascus Arrests 15 Officers over Links to Rami Makhlouf

Rami Makhlouf. (AFP)
Rami Makhlouf. (AFP)
TT
20

Damascus Arrests 15 Officers over Links to Rami Makhlouf

Rami Makhlouf. (AFP)
Rami Makhlouf. (AFP)

Syrian intelligence arrested on Sunday more than 15 officers in Damascus for their association with business tycoon Rami Makhlouf, president Bashar Assad’s cousin, who has dramatically fallen from grace with the regime.

The officers were detained on charges of “collaborating with foreign parties and stealing funds from the state treasury.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, however, said that the officers had previously threatened to “scorch the earth” if any harm were to come to Makhlouf.

Observatory chief Rami Abdulrahman told Asharq Al-Awsat that the arrests were part of the crackdown against Makhlouf’s assets and companies.

Twelve former fighters in the al-Bustan Association were previously detained. They were involved in recruiting members to fight for the regime. They were arrested by Syrian intelligence, accompanied by Russian police, in the Latakia province.

The latest arrests bring to 71 the number of directors, employees and fighters, associated to Makhlouf, who have been held by the regime since April.

The businessman has been embroiled in a power struggle with the state since 2019, when authorities seized control of his charity, al-Bustan, and dissolved militias affiliated to him.

In a bid to replenish state coffers, the government in May ordered the seizure of assets from Makhlouf and his family. Days later, Syria's justice ministry announced a travel ban on the tycoon.

The government has justified its latest measures by claiming Makhluf’s Syriatel telecommunication company owes it money, including outstanding fees for maintaining its operating license. But in a series of videos, Makhlouf disputed such claims, saying some in power were seeking to overthrow him and reap a cut of the company's profits.

Makhlouf, who himself is under both US and EU sanctions, had been considered to be a pillar of Assad's regime ever since the president took over from his father in 2000.

His business empire, estimated to be worth billions of dollars, includes stakes in telecommunications, electricity and real estate.

His dispute with the regime comes as Damascus grapples with a severe economic downturn after nine years of war.



Blaze at Cairo Telecom Building Kills 4 and Disrupts Internet, Phone

A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
TT
20

Blaze at Cairo Telecom Building Kills 4 and Disrupts Internet, Phone

A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Four workers were killed and at least 22 others were injured in a fire that broke out on Monday at a key data center in Cairo, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the spokesperson at Egypt's Health Ministry, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The blaze at a Telecom Egypt facility, which state TV said was contained on Monday, caused disruptions to communications across the capital.

Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, said in a statement on Tuesday that services will be gradually restored within 24 hours.

In a statement on Tuesday, Telecom Egypt said it mourned the employees that lost their lives and offered support for their families.

The fire halted phone calls, and disrupted internet access, with internet monitoring group Netblocks saying network data showed national connectivity at 62% of ordinary levels.

The health ministry posted alternative numbers for ambulance services across different governorates in case people were unable to reach its main hotline.

Besides phone calls, some digital banking services were also impacted including credit cards, ATM machines and online transactions, a bank source and residents said on Monday. Banks had already been closed for the day.

The injuries were mostly because of smoke inhalation, health ministry spokesperson Ghaffar said on Monday.

The state news agency MENA said on Monday the fire had been prevented from spreading to the entire building and neighboring rooftops.

An initial examination indicated that the fire was likely to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, MENA cited a security source as saying.