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Lebanon Stops 82 People Attempting Sea Crossing to Europe

A boat is seen off the coast of Tripoli, Lebanon, on Sept. 17, 2020. (Hussein Malla/AP)
A boat is seen off the coast of Tripoli, Lebanon, on Sept. 17, 2020. (Hussein Malla/AP)
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Lebanon Stops 82 People Attempting Sea Crossing to Europe

A boat is seen off the coast of Tripoli, Lebanon, on Sept. 17, 2020. (Hussein Malla/AP)
A boat is seen off the coast of Tripoli, Lebanon, on Sept. 17, 2020. (Hussein Malla/AP)

Lebanese security forces on Friday said they thwarted an attempt by more than 80 people to illegally cross by sea into Europe from Lebanon.

In a statement, the Internal Security Forces said they raided a "tourist resort" in the Qalamoun area of north Lebanon on Thursday after being tipped off.

They found "82 people, including men, women, and children, who were planning to head to Europe via sea in an illegal manner for a fee of $5,000 per person," the statement said.

According to AFP, the statement did not specify their nationality or intended destination.

But the Republic of Cyprus, a European Union member just 160 kilometers away, is a common destination for would-be migrants trying to flee Lebanon which is mired in economic and political crisis.

The ISF said it arrested a 31-year-old Lebanese national who it identified as one of the smugglers behind the operation.

It said further investigations are underway.

The number of people attempting to make deadly sea crossings out of Lebanon has surged since the country's financial crisis began in 2019.

Most of the would-be migrants are already refugees who fled the war in Syria but an increasing number of Lebanese nationals are also attempting the perilous journey.

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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.