Lebanese Delegation Visits Syria, Sparking Debate About ‘Normalization with Damascus’

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (C-R) meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib (C-L) in Damascus on February 8, 2023. (Photo by SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (C-R) meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib (C-L) in Damascus on February 8, 2023. (Photo by SANA / AFP)
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Lebanese Delegation Visits Syria, Sparking Debate About ‘Normalization with Damascus’

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (C-R) meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib (C-L) in Damascus on February 8, 2023. (Photo by SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (C-R) meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib (C-L) in Damascus on February 8, 2023. (Photo by SANA / AFP)

An official visit by a Lebanese ministerial delegation to Damascus stirred a debate between those who said the trip normalized relations with the regime and others who considered it a "duty" after the devastating earthquake that recently struck Türkiye and Syria.

On Tuesday, Lebanese rescue workers were also dispatched to Syria to assist local teams searching for survivors.

The ministerial delegation headed to Damascus at the request of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. It held several meetings with Syrian officials on humanitarian affairs and the repercussions of the devastating earthquake that struck several areas in Syria.

The delegation was headed by the caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Abdallah Bou Habib. It included caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transportation Ali Hamieh, the Caretaker Minister of Social Affairs, Hector Hajjar, caretaker Minister of Agriculture Abbas Hajj Hassan and senior advisers and officials from the four ministries.

They met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad.

The delegation conveyed to Assad the condolences and solidarity of Mikati and the Lebanese cabinet.

They discussed measures and decisions taken by the Lebanese government to provide assistance to Syria and coordinate with relief organizations. They also announced that Lebanon was willing to open airports and seaports to receive aid that comes to Syria from any country or destination.

Assad thanked the delegation for their support and the measures the Lebanese government took to provide and facilitate aid dispatch to Syria.

The visit sparked criticism among those opposing the Syrian regime, considering it an unjustified step towards normalizing relations, indicating that aid could have been sent without an official meeting with the regime.

The pro-Syrian regime parties said, however, that the visit was a "duty" towards Syria and its people after the disaster.

Lebanese MP Ibrahim Mneimneh wondered if the delegation's visit aimed to normalize ties with the Assad regime or to show support to the Syrian people and provide aid.

On his Twitter account, Mneimneh drew question marks on the purpose behind visiting the presidential palace, adding: "Wasn't it more useful to send aid and support directly to the affected areas? Is there anyone seeking to exploit the suffering for regional political agendas?"

But the Hezbollah bloc issued a statement expressing solidarity and support with the people in Syria and Türkiye.

It called on all the states, governments, and international and humanitarian organizations to immediately provide aid to save those who remain trapped under the rubble, rescue the injured, pull the casualties and shelter the homeless.

The statement pointed out that Syria and Türkiye deserve to be supported by all Arab and Islamic countries.



Amnesty International Denounces Crackdown on Political Opponents in Libya

Fighters from the Libyan National Army (LNA) stand guard next to Sidra oil port in Ras Lanuf. (Reuters file)
Fighters from the Libyan National Army (LNA) stand guard next to Sidra oil port in Ras Lanuf. (Reuters file)
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Amnesty International Denounces Crackdown on Political Opponents in Libya

Fighters from the Libyan National Army (LNA) stand guard next to Sidra oil port in Ras Lanuf. (Reuters file)
Fighters from the Libyan National Army (LNA) stand guard next to Sidra oil port in Ras Lanuf. (Reuters file)

Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Libya’s eastern-based forces of enabling a crackdown on dissidents and of entrenched impunity for deaths in custody and other serious human rights abuses, according to AFP.

Since the 2011 overthrow of ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising, the energy-rich North African country has been wracked by unrest.

It is split between a Tripoli-based government, headed by Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east backed by Khalifa Haftar, whose Libyan National Army (LNA) controls the east and much of the south.

“Since January 2024, heavily armed Internal Security Agency (ISA) agents have arrested without a warrant dozens of people, including women and men in their 70s, from their homes, streets or other public places in areas of eastern and southern Libya,” Amnesty said.

Based on interviews with former detainees, the families of detainees, as well as lawyers, human rights defenders and political activists, the rights group said the detainees were then transferred to ISA-controlled facilities, where they remained arbitrarily detained for months without being allowed to contact their families or lawyers; some were subjected to enforced disappearances for periods reaching 10 months.

It noted that none were brought before civilian judicial authorities, allowed to challenge the legality of their detention, or were formally charged with any offences.

“Two people died in custody in suspicious circumstances in April and July while in ISA-controlled detention centers in Benghazi and Ajdabiya,” Amnesty said, adding that no independent and impartial criminal investigations have been carried out into their deaths and no one has been held accountable.

“The spike in arbitrary detentions and deaths in custody in recent months highlights how the existing culture of impunity has empowered armed groups to violate detainees’ right to life without fearing any consequences,” said Bassam Al Kantar, Amnesty International’s Libya Researcher.

“These deaths in custody add to the catalogue of horrors committed by the ISA against those who dare to express views critical of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces,” he added.

Amnesty called on the GNU and LAAF, as the de facto authorities in eastern and southern Libya, to ensure the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

“The LAAF must also suspend from positions of power ISA commanders and members reasonably suspected of crimes under international law and serious human rights violations, pending independent and impartial criminal investigations, including into the causes and circumstances of the deaths in custody, and, where sufficient evidence exists, prosecute them in fair proceedings in front of civilian courts,” it added.