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Kuwaiti Embassy In Lebanon Calls On Nationals To Leave

Lebanese Army soldiers patrol the clashes area in the southern suburb of the capital Beirut, on October 14, 2021 (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
Lebanese Army soldiers patrol the clashes area in the southern suburb of the capital Beirut, on October 14, 2021 (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
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Kuwaiti Embassy In Lebanon Calls On Nationals To Leave

Lebanese Army soldiers patrol the clashes area in the southern suburb of the capital Beirut, on October 14, 2021 (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
Lebanese Army soldiers patrol the clashes area in the southern suburb of the capital Beirut, on October 14, 2021 (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

Kuwait called on its citizens to leave Lebanon and told those wishing to travel there to wait, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to Reuters, the ministry said its embassy in Beirut "calls upon Kuwaiti citizens present there to exercise caution and to stay away from sites of gatherings and security disturbances in some areas and to stay in their residences."

The statement came after at least six people were killed and 32 others wounded in armed clashes in Beirut involving snipers, pistols, Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades.

The clashes erupted during a protest near the Palace of Justice in Beirut to demand the removal of Tarek Bitar, the judge heading the probe into last year's deadly Beirut port blast.

In the past few days, Hezbollah launched a smear campaign against Bitar, who demanded to question former ministers and security officials about suspected negligence in the port case.

On Thursday, the Tayouneh roundabout, situated near the Justice Palace where the Judge’s office is located, turned into a war zone, witnessing heavy gunfire and the shelling of projectiles while snipers shot from buildings.

The exchange of fire came despite the deployment of Lebanese Army patrols.

Tayouneh is considered a former front line from the civil war of 1975-1990 between Christian and Muslim areas.

The Lebanese Army failed on Thursday to identify the side that first started the shooting.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said the “fighting started with sniper fire, with the first casualty shot in the head."

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SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
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SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)

A confidential document obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has revealed massive money smuggling operations carried out via Syrian Airlines to Moscow.
The operations are described as among the most corrupt financial transfers orchestrated by the now-defunct Syrian regime.
According to the document, the majority of the funds stem from profits made through the production and trade of Captagon, a highly lucrative illicit drug.
The head of SOHR, Rami Abdel Rahman, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the most recent transfer took place just four days before Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow in December of last year.
Rami Abdel Rahman also affirmed that the leaked document underscores the “deep involvement of the former Syrian regime in illegal activities.”
He added that further investigations could uncover a vast network of secret financial operations used to transfer large sums of money from Syria to Russia and other countries under official cover and without oversight.
“The regime, led by the ousted Assad and his brother, spearheaded drug-related investments, particularly through the production, promotion, and export of Captagon,” Abdel Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He explained that one key route involved a small port near the Afamia chalets on Syria's coast, which previously belonged to Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of late former President Hafez al-Assad.
From there, shipments were sent via smugglers to Italian ports, where collaborating traders distributed the drugs globally.
A Syrian source based in Russia, closely monitoring the regime’s activities and investments there, said the content of the leaked document is not new but that its official confirmation adds weight to prior claims.
“Western media had previously reported on the regime’s money-smuggling operations, which led to some loyalists being added to international sanctions lists, particularly regime-linked businessmen like Mudalal Khouri,” the source, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Sanctions were also imposed on individuals accused of money laundering for the regime.
The source confirmed that the operations were conducted using Syrian Airlines flights to Moscow.
“There were dozens of such flights, each loaded with hard currency—mostly US dollars and €500 euro notes,” the source said.
The money was reportedly delivered directly from the airport to the Syrian regime's embassy in Moscow, where it was distributed to loyalist businessmen.
These funds were then invested in Russian and Belarusian banks, real estate, and commercial properties. Some of the money was also used to establish companies in both countries.
The operations were allegedly overseen by Mohammed Makhlouf, the maternal uncle of Assad.