Former Syrian General to Face Swedish Court over Alleged War Crimes

Police officers intervene at the scene where a man set a copy of the Quran on fire outside a mosque in Stockholm, Sweden, June 28, 2023. EPA/STEFAN JERREVANG
Police officers intervene at the scene where a man set a copy of the Quran on fire outside a mosque in Stockholm, Sweden, June 28, 2023. EPA/STEFAN JERREVANG
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Former Syrian General to Face Swedish Court over Alleged War Crimes

Police officers intervene at the scene where a man set a copy of the Quran on fire outside a mosque in Stockholm, Sweden, June 28, 2023. EPA/STEFAN JERREVANG
Police officers intervene at the scene where a man set a copy of the Quran on fire outside a mosque in Stockholm, Sweden, June 28, 2023. EPA/STEFAN JERREVANG

A former Syrian army general will appear before a Stockholm court over his alleged role in war crimes committed in Syria in 2012, according to the indictment seen Wednesday by AFP.

Mohammed Hamo, 65, who lives in Sweden, is accused of having participated in the call for indiscriminate strikes in and around the cities of Hama and Homs between January 1 and July 20, 2012.

The strikes were carried out by air and land without distinction -- as required by international law -- between civilian and military targets, the indictment states.

They also failed to respect the principle of proportionality to achieve the military goal sought, prosecutor Karolina Wieslander said. Hamo, given his role at the time, is accused of being complicit in these crimes.

He had particularly made decisions related to arming operational units and was responsible in that period for implementing various military operations, according to AFP.

Seven civil parties, several of them Syrians from the cities in question, will testify during the trial.

Among them is a British photographer who was injured during one of the strikes.



South Korea, China Evacuate Citizens from Lebanon as Tensions Rise

 South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
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South Korea, China Evacuate Citizens from Lebanon as Tensions Rise

 South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)

A South Korean military transport aircraft returned 97 citizens and family members from Lebanon on Saturday as Middle East tensions rise, the foreign ministry said.

A KC-330 aircraft left Beirut on Friday afternoon with the evacuees, who include Lebanese family members, and arrived at a military airfield on the south of Seoul, the ministry said.

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday ordered military aircraft to be deployed to evacuate South Korean citizens from parts of the Middle East as conflict escalates between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as the armed group's backer, Iran.

South Korea's defense ministry said it flew a C130J transport plane as backup, which is capable of operating on shorter runways and under fire, as a precaution, and sent 39 military personnel, including mechanics and diplomats.

The government will take further actions to ensure the safety of its citizens, the foreign ministry said without elaborating.

South Korean diplomats stationed in Lebanon remained in the country, Yonhap news agency reported.

More than 200 Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated from Lebanon, China's foreign ministry said on Saturday.

"These people, who have been evacuated in two batches, include three Hong Kong residents and one Taiwan compatriot," the ministry said in a statement in response to a Reuters query on the situation.

"The Chinese Embassy in Lebanon remains firm in Lebanon and continues to assist Chinese citizens remaining there in taking security measures," it added.

On Wednesday, China's official Xinhua news agency said more than 200 Chinese citizens had been safely evacuated from Lebanon by the government.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said three Taiwanese in Lebanon were expected to return to the island this month and that two others had opted to stay for family reasons.

The ministry added that another Taiwanese decided late last month to take a boat out of the country arranged by China, and that the de facto Taiwan embassy in Jordan was aware of that process. It did not elaborate.