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Belgium Launches Syria Violations Probe, Detains War Crimes Suspect

The trial of former Syrian intelligence officers Iyad al-Ghareeb and Anwar Raslan in Koblenz, Germany. AFP file photo
The trial of former Syrian intelligence officers Iyad al-Ghareeb and Anwar Raslan in Koblenz, Germany. AFP file photo
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Belgium Launches Syria Violations Probe, Detains War Crimes Suspect

The trial of former Syrian intelligence officers Iyad al-Ghareeb and Anwar Raslan in Koblenz, Germany. AFP file photo
The trial of former Syrian intelligence officers Iyad al-Ghareeb and Anwar Raslan in Koblenz, Germany. AFP file photo

Belgium has joined other European nations in pursuing perpetrators of war crimes in Syria since 2011.

Belgian police arrested Hussein A. based on a warrant charging him with committing crimes against humanity.

He has been remanded in custody awaiting the issuance of formal charges, a process that may take several months.

Hussein A. served as a commander in a militia affiliated with the “National Defense Committees” in the Syrian Salamiyah region near Hama.

He was responsible for the arrest and handover of detainees to branches of the military security apparatus of the Syrian army in Hama.

Syrian lawyer Anwar Al-Bunni has prepared the case against Hussein A. and submitted it to the Belgian prosecutor general.

Al-Bunni stated that the accused delivered detainees to centers, knowing that they would be subjected to torture.

Moreover, Al-Bunni added that the case of Hussein A. is linked to another case involving an individual arrested two months ago in the Netherlands.

This individual was also a commander in a militia affiliated with the National Defense Committees and remains in custody awaiting formal charges and trial.

Al-Bunni clarified that the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research has managed to gather more than 10 witnesses in the case of Hussein A., all of whom are victims who have experienced arrest and torture.

In 2015, Hussein A. came to Belgium for a family reunion and applied for Belgian citizenship, but the decision is still pending.

This case is Belgium’s first against individuals accused of war crimes in Syria. It’s part of a broader effort led by al-Bunni, who is compiling cases against those fleeing Syria for Europe.

Al-Bunni relies on the principle of universal jurisdiction, allowing Western countries to prosecute criminals for crimes committed abroad.

Germany, followed by France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and now Belgium, all have initiated legal proceedings against former Syrian officers.

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Typhoon Gaemi Weakens to Tropical Storm as It Moves Inland Carrying Rain toward Central China

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
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Typhoon Gaemi Weakens to Tropical Storm as It Moves Inland Carrying Rain toward Central China

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)

Tropical storm Gaemi brought rain to central China on Saturday as it moved inland after making landfall at typhoon strength on the country's east coast Thursday night.

The storm felled trees, flooded streets and damaged crops in China but there were no reports of casualties or major damage. Eight people died in Taiwan, which Gaemi crossed at typhoon strength before heading over open waters to China.

The worst loss of life, however, was in a country that Gaemi earlier passed by but didn't strike directly: the Philippines. A steadily climbing death toll has reached 34, authorities there said Friday. The typhoon exacerbated seasonal monsoon rains in the Southeast Asian country, causing landslides and severe flooding that stranded people on rooftops as waters rose around them.

China Gaemi weakened to a tropical storm since coming ashore Thursday evening in coastal Fujian province, but it is still expected to bring heavy rains in the coming days as it moves northwest to Jiangxi, Hubei and Henan provinces.

About 85 hectares (210 acres) of crops were damaged in Fujian province and economic losses were estimated at 11.5 million yuan ($1.6 million), according to Chinese media reports. More than 290,000 people were relocated because of the storm.

Elsewhere in China, several days of heavy rains this week in Gansu province left one dead and three missing in the country's northwest, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Taiwan Residents and business owners swept out mud and mopped up water Friday after serious flooding that sent cars and scooters floating down streets in parts of southern and central Taiwan. Some towns remained inundated with waist-deep water.

Eight people died, several of them struck by falling trees and one by a landslide hitting their house. More than 850 people were injured and one person was missing, the emergency operations center said.

Visiting hard-hit Kaohsiung in the south Friday, President Lai Ching-te commended the city's efforts to improve flood control since a 2009 typhoon that brought a similar amount of rain and killed 681 people, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

Lai announced that cash payments of $20,000 New Taiwan Dollars ($610) would be given to households in severely flooded areas.

A cargo ship sank off the coast near Kaohsiung Harbor during the typhoon, and the captain's body was later pulled from the water, the Central News Agency said. A handful of other ships were beached by the storm.

Philippines At least 34 people died in the Philippines, mostly because of flooding and landslides triggered by days of monsoon rains that intensified when the typhoon — called Carina in the Philippines — passed by the archipelago’s east coast.

The victims included 11 people in the Manila metro area, where widespread flooding trapped people on the roofs and upper floors of their houses, police said. Some drowned or were electrocuted in their flooded communities.

Earlier in the week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered authorities to speed up efforts in delivering food and other aid to isolated rural villages, saying people may not have eaten for days.

The bodies of a pregnant woman and three children were dug out Wednesday after a landslide buried a shanty in the rural mountainside town of Agoncillo in Batangas province.