Powerful Syria Figure Covers for Woman Who Mauled 3 Police Officers

A picture of the traffic accident in Damascus circulated on social media, Asharq Al-Awsat
A picture of the traffic accident in Damascus circulated on social media, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Powerful Syria Figure Covers for Woman Who Mauled 3 Police Officers

A picture of the traffic accident in Damascus circulated on social media, Asharq Al-Awsat
A picture of the traffic accident in Damascus circulated on social media, Asharq Al-Awsat

Last Sunday night, an unknown influential figure in Syria personally stepped in to disperse internal security forces that surrounded a crime scene where a woman in a four-wheel drive vehicle ran over three policemen and civilians in Al Mazzeh area in the capital, Damascus.

Authorities failed to report the incident on the official website of internal security forces.

Syrian opposition media, such as “Sawt Al Balad” (Voice of the Nation), reported the horrific crime and published a number of pictures shot from the crime scene.

“A female run over police officers, two civilians, and motorbikes while driving recklessly in Al Mazzeh neighborhood,” Sawt Al Balad reported without giving any further details.

Local sources confirmed that the vehicle was a four-wheel drive and was accompanied by an escort vehicle.

Police officers had stopped the vehicle near Al-Mousawwat Hospital for breaking a number of traffic laws. This sent the woman, who was behind the steering wheel, into a frenzy.

She allegedly directed a number of abusive slurs at the officer on duty and contacted her connections for help.

Riding high on hysteria, the woman proceeded to drive frantically, mauling anything in her way, including three police officers and two civilians.

Security forces, eventually, succeeded in cornering and forcing her to step out of the car.

It was then that a very “powerful” individual arrived at the scene announcing that the perpetrator was “one of his” and that they should let her go immediately.

Afterwards, the woman left with this important figure, local sources reported, stressing that neither the perpetrator nor their rescuer were identified.

Those injured in the run over were transported to the nearby Al-Mousawwat Hospital for treatment.

Syrian opposition sources are claiming that the lady in question is Aline Skaf, wife of Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi. She is a Lebanese national and a political refugee in Damascus.

Both she and her husband sought political asylum in Syria after the Gaddafi regime was toppled in Libya in 2012.



Erdogan Says Türkiye Ready to Help with Ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Erdogan Says Türkiye Ready to Help with Ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Türkiye was ready to help in any way possible to establish a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, and expressed satisfaction with the ceasefire agreement that has come into effect in Lebanon.

Türkiye, which has fiercely criticized Israel's offensives in Gaza and Lebanon, has previously said it discussed a potential truce in Gaza with Palestinian armed group Hamas and gave the group recommendations on how to proceed with the negotiations.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said the United States would again push for an elusive ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza "with Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others".

"We are stating that, as Türkiye, we are ready to provide any contribution for the massacre in Gaza to end and for a lasting ceasefire to be achieved," Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party in parliament.

Asked about Biden's remarks, a Turkish official told Reuters a ceasefire in Lebanon without a truce in Gaza was not enough to achieve regional stability, adding Ankara was ready to help reach a deal in Gaza, just as it had supported previous efforts.

"We are again ready to help achieve a permanent ceasefire and a lasting solution in Gaza," the official said.

While Ankara has repeatedly traded insults with Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war, it has not officially severed ties with it. Unlike Israel and its Western partners, Türkiye does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization and regularly hosts some of its senior members.