Makhlouf Says ‘Miracle Solution’ Underway for Syria Crisis

Rami Makhlouf, Asharq Al-Awsat
Rami Makhlouf, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Makhlouf Says ‘Miracle Solution’ Underway for Syria Crisis

Rami Makhlouf, Asharq Al-Awsat
Rami Makhlouf, Asharq Al-Awsat

Rami Makhlouf, Syrian business tycoon and maternal cousin of President Bashar al-Assad, predicted on Thursday that a “miracle” settlement will soon lift Syria out of the chaos and devastation brought about by over a decade of civil war.

“The important thing today is to inform the Syrians of this message. The solution would be a miracle. How? What is the method? This is something I will keep to myself,” said Makhlouf in a video he posted on Facebook.

Branding his statements as “good news for Syrians,” Makhlouf said the solution will be “comprehensive, reached in the next few months and miraculous in the sense that all Syrians will support it.”

He voiced hope that the solution he is heralding is “real and would spell the end of suffering for Syrians.”

Makhlouf, in this video, avoided mentioning Assad and war profiteers, both of whom were at the center of the businessman’s more critical videos and posts on social media.

Makhlouf pled for the regime, namely his cousin, intervening to stop war-exploiting racketeers who raided one of his offices, stole important documents and used fraud and forgery to seize some of his assets.

Moreover, Makhlouf’s mobile network carrier, Syriatel, was placed under judicial custody in 2020.

The decision regarding Syriatel, one of only two carriers in the country, was taken to "guarantee the rights of the public treasury and the rights of the shareholders in the company", Syria’s administrative court wrote on Facebook.

Makhlouf called the asset seizure illegal and an attempt by the government to take the company away from him.

A court then placed a travel ban on Makhlouf, pending settlement of the dispute.



Türkiye Says Over 273,000 Syrian Refugees Have Returned Home

FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
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Türkiye Says Over 273,000 Syrian Refugees Have Returned Home

FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

More than 273,000 Syrians who fled their country's civil war to neighboring Türkiye have returned home since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad in December, Türkiye's vice-president said Friday.

"The number of people who have voluntarily returned to Syria since December 8, 2024 has exceeded 273,000," Cevdet Yilmaz was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.

Some 2.7 million Syrian refugees are still in Türkiye, according to interior ministry figures released in May.

The Turkish government, which supports Syria's new rulers, is hoping to accelerate the return of refugees to ease tensions generated by their presence in parts of the country.