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Belgian journalists injured in Beirut bombing

Belgian journalists injured in Beirut bombing
Five people were killed in an Israeli air raid on a Hezbollah rescue facility in the heart of Beirut late on October 2, according to the Lebanese health ministry. (AFP)
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Updated 03 October 2024
AFP
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Belgian journalists injured in Beirut bombing

Belgian journalists injured in Beirut bombing
  • Israel has been carrying out a bombing campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon and has also sent its troops across the border
  • The bombardments in Lebanon have cost more than 1,000 lives
Updated 03 October 2024
AFP
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Brussels: Two Belgian journalists were injured in Lebanon while reporting on overnight air raids in Beirut, their employer said Thursday, as fighting raged between Israel and Hezbollah.
VTM correspondent Robin Ramaekers suffered facial injuries and cameraman Stijn De Smet was being treated for a leg wound, said a statement by the broadcaster’s parent company, DPG Media.
“Last night there was a bombing in central Beirut. When Robin and Stijn wanted to run a report on that, they got injured,” the firm said, adding the pair were being treated in hospital.
“Both are now in safety and are being cared for.”
The circumstances of the incident were not yet clear, the company said. Belgium’s foreign ministry said it was closely monitoring the situation.
Israel has been carrying out a bombing campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon and has also sent its troops across the border.
On Thursday, the Israeli military pounded Beirut with overnight air raids. A total of 17 strikes had hit the capital by dawn, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
One of the strikes hit a Hezbollah rescue facility, a source close to the group told AFP, killing at least six people, according to a Lebanese health ministry toll.
Israel says it is trying to secure its border with Lebanon so tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by nearly a year of hostilities with Hezbollah can return home.
The bombardments in Lebanon have cost more than 1,000 lives and seen Hezbollah’s long-time chief Hassan Nasrallah killed.
Authorities in Lebanon say that around a million people have been displaced.
Last year, a journalist was killed and six other reporters, including two from AFP, wounded by Israeli shelling while covering the cross-border fighting in southern Lebanon.

Topics: Battlefield Lebanon Lebanon Israel Belgium Hezbollah

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Freed Syrian prisoners return to their ‘death dormitory’

Freed Syrian prisoners return to their ‘death dormitory’
Updated 6 sec ago
Reuters
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Freed Syrian prisoners return to their ‘death dormitory’

Freed Syrian prisoners return to their ‘death dormitory’
  • “Every day in this room, which used to be called ‘Steel 1 — the death dormitory,’ one to three people would die inside every day,” Hanania, 35, told Reuters
Updated 6 sec ago
Reuters
DAMASCUS:Basim Faiz Mawat stood in the Damascus cell that his fellow prisoners used to call the “death dormitory,” struggling to believe that the system that abused him for so long had been overthrown and his suffering had ended.
“I came here today only to see that truly nothing lasts forever,” the 48-year-old said as he and another freed prisoner, Mohammed Hanania, visited the detention center where their guards never showed mercy.
They were among thousands who spilled out of Syria’s prison system on Sunday after a lightning militia advance overthrew President Bashar Assad and ended five decades of his family’s rule. Many detainees were met by tearful relatives who thought they had been executed years earlier.
“Every day in this room, which used to be called ‘Steel 1 — the death dormitory,’ one to three people would die inside every day,” Hanania, 35, told Reuters.
“The sergeant was — when he didn’t lose someone, when someone didn’t die from weakness, he would kill him. He took them to the toilets and hit them with the heel of his shoe on their heads.”
Hanania walked on past long rows of empty cells. Names of prisoners — Mohammed Al-Masry, Ahmed and others — were scratched on walls with dates.
The floors were littered with rubble and discarded clothes. A row of blankets was still set out in one cell where prisoners had slept.
Both men looked up at an image on a wall of Assad, who is accused of torturing and killing thousands, abuses that were also rampant during his father Hafez’s reign of terror.
“No one could have believed this would happen,” said Mawat.

MASS EXECUTIONS
In another room, he stood beside a rusty blue ladder and described how he was blindfolded and forced to climb up the steps. Then his torturer would kick away the ladder and he would be suspended by his arms from the ceiling in agony.
“My shoulders were torn, and I couldn’t say a single word. No one could bear more than five or 10 minutes,” he said.
Rights groups have reported mass executions in Syria’s prisons. In 2017, the United States said it had identified a new crematorium at the Sednaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus to dispose of hanged prisoners.
Syrians have flocked to the prisons looking for their loved ones. Some have been released alive, others have been identified among the dead and thousands more have not yet been found.
Syrian militia leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa — better known as Abu Mohammed Al-Golani — the main commander of the militants who toppled Assad, has said he will close the prisons and hunt down anyone involved in the torture or killing of detainees.
Assad fled to his ally Russia where he was granted asylum.
“At this stage, if everyone thinks about taking revenge, we have no solution other than to forgive,” Hanania said.
“But the criminal who has blood (on their hands) should be held accountable. I will leave my rights to be granted by God.”

Syria Kurds warm up to new leaders but fear for hard-won gains

Syria Kurds warm up to new leaders but fear for hard-won gains
Updated 6 min 2 sec ago
AFP
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Syria Kurds warm up to new leaders but fear for hard-won gains

Syria Kurds warm up to new leaders but fear for hard-won gains
  • Kurdish authorities have made overtures to Islamist-led militants who seized power in Syria last week
Updated 6 min 2 sec ago
AFP

QAMISHLI: Kurdish authorities have made overtures to Islamist-led militants who seized power in Syria last week, but the long-oppressed community fears it could lose hard-won gains it made during the war, including limited self-rule.
The Kurds faced discrimination during more than 50 years of Assad family rule. They were barred, for example, from offering education in their own language.
As militants led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) seized power, ousting president Bashar Assad, the Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria have multiplied overtures to the new leaders, like adopting the three-starred flag used by the opposition.
Mutlu Civiroglu, a Washington-based analyst and expert on the Kurds, said that the fate of Syria’s Kurdish authorities “remains uncertain,” noting “the rapidly shifting dynamics on the ground.”
Syria’s Kurds face “mounting pressure from the Turkish government and factions under its control,” he said, as Ankara-backed fighters seized two Kurdish-held areas in the north during the militant offensive.
Last week, Mazloum Abdi who heads the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) welcomed “an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantees the rights of all Syrians.”
But many in the northeast are concerned about the future of their autonomous region.
“The factions in Damascus... don’t recognize the Kurds, and now they want to whitewash their image in front of the international community,” Ali Darwish, a Kurdish resident of the northeastern city of Qamishli told AFP.
“But we hope that we, as Kurds, will be able to preserve our areas and improve the economic situation,” the 58-year-old said.
“We hope for positive solutions in the future.”


Minority groups suffered during the civil war that broke out in 2011, particularly after the Islamic State (IS) group overran large parts of the country three years later.
HTS, the Islamist group that led the offensive that toppled Assad, is rooted in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda and is proscribed as a terrorist organization by many Western governments, though it has sought to moderate its rhetoric.
The SDF spearheaded the fight that defeated IS jihadists in Syria in 2019 with US backing — putting Washington at odds with NATO ally Ankara, which has operated militarily against the Kurds.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the SDF was “critical” to preventing a resurgence of IS jihadists in Syria following Assad’s ouster.
On the same day, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin visited Damascus and Ankara named a new chief of mission for its long-closed embassy in Damascus, which it has pledged to reopen.
Civiroglu said that “Syrian Kurds face several significant challenges, the most pressing of which is Turkiye’s ongoing hostility toward them.”
Since 2016, Turkiye has staged multiple operations against the SDF.
Ankara views the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a key part of the SDF, as an extension of the banned Kurdish militants who have fought a decades-long insurgency inside Turkiye.
“All Turkish attacks and threats against the Kurds are seen as directly or indirectly aimed at undermining Kurdish autonomy and expanding Turkish control in northern Syria,” Civiroglu said.
On the ground, fighters of Syria’s new government have taken over the eastern city of Deir Ezzor from Kurdish-led forces, who had briefly moved in as government troops and their Iran-backed allies withdrew.
Syria’s new leaders have said repeatedly that religious minorities will not be harmed under their rule, but they have not mentioned ethnic minorities like the Kurds.
In Qamishli, residents told AFP they were glad Assad was ousted, but had mounting concerns.
Kurds, who represent the largest ethnic minority in Syria, want a “democratic state that respects everyone’s rights and religion,” said Khorshed Abo Rasho, 68.
“We want a federal state, not a dictatorship,” he added.
Fahd Dawoud, a 40-year-old lawyer, was hopeful that an inclusive government can be formed.
“We hope that the new government will represent all Syrians and won’t exclude any party,” he said.

Topics: Fall of Assad

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Reassured ‘for now’, Aleppo’s Christians prepare for Christmas

Reassured ‘for now’, Aleppo’s Christians prepare for Christmas
Updated 31 min 13 sec ago
AFP
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Reassured ‘for now’, Aleppo’s Christians prepare for Christmas

Reassured ‘for now’, Aleppo’s Christians prepare for Christmas
  • The country’s new rulers have sought to reassure Syria’s religious minorities
  • In multi-confessional Syria, Catholic and Orthodox Christmas and Easter holidays have always been marked
Updated 31 min 13 sec ago
AFP

ALEPPO, Syria: For the Catholic Marist Brothers of Aleppo, one of nearly a dozen Christian communities in Syria’s second city, today’s most pressing question is how to decorate the Christmas tree.
In the days since a lightning offensive spearheaded by Islamist militants overthrew former president Bashar Assad, the country’s new rulers have sought to reassure Syria’s religious minorities.
The efforts have been successful, at least “for now,” said Brother Georges Sabe, who took part earlier this week in a meeting between militants and local Christian representatives.
It was the second since the December 8 capture of the capital Damascus.
“They were very reassuring,” he said.
“’Continue to live normally, you’re coming up to your Christmas holiday, nothing will change for you,’” he said he was told.
“So far, nothing has changed,” he added.
Assad, a member of Syria’s Alawite minority, sought to present his government as a protector of secularism and the country’s many confessions though government intolerance for dissent extended to all groups.
During the civil war, militants routinely repressed minority groups.
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the Islamist group that led Assad’s overthrow, has its roots in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda, though it has sought to moderate its rhetoric.
Sabe noted that the representatives of the new government he met — “three fighters and two politicians” — were all from Aleppo.
“One of them was finishing his doctorate in mechanical engineering before the war. He told us that he’d had a Christian neighbor.”
So, the community has resumed “normal life, with morning and evening masses,” and Christmas decorations are going up, he added.
“During 13 years of war, I learned to live day by day. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
In multi-confessional Syria, Catholic and Orthodox Christmas and Easter holidays have always been marked, along with the new year.
The community has been hard hit by emigration during the civil war. Of the approximately 200,000 Christians who lived in Aleppo before 2011, just 30,000 remain in the city, according to community leaders.
But it remains fully integrated and considers itself Syrian before anything else.
“We don’t want to go, we want to stay on good terms with the Muslims. We speak the same language,” insisted Sabe.
So far, a promise to allow churches to continue ringing their bells has been kept, and they sound at dusk to mark mass at the Church of Saint Francis, also known as the Latin Cathedral.
“People here have a deep spiritual sense,” explained Father Bahjat as several dozen parishioners arrived for the service.
“During all the years of war, they never stopped coming to church.”
He said he could understand why some have expressed concern, especially abroad.
“On the ground, we didn’t see any acts of discrimination, so we are full of hope that our people will coexist in peace,” he said.
Marina Ayoub was arriving for mass as usual. She said she never misses a service, as they give her “hope.”
“The bishop has told us that he is not worried and that we can continue to come as usual, and celebrate our masses and holidays.”
Opposite the church sits a property that had been occupied by the ruling Baath party and has now been reclaimed by the community.
The Vatican flag hangs outside, and the new government has told Christians that church property will not be touched.
The decision by the head of the transitional government to appear before an Islamist flag earlier this week sparked some fears.
“But the next day, during an interview with Al Jazeera, it had disappeared,” Sabe noted.
“That shows that they are ready for dialogue.”
Still, among some in the community there are concerns.
“They say that they will respect all faiths... but I’m waiting to see,” said one worshipper, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject.
“I’ll judge them by their actions.”
He said he was watching for “little signs.” noting that restaurants in Aleppo were no longer openly serving alcohol.
“They hide it,” he said.
For now, the Marist Brothers charitable association is focusing on preparations for a concert it will put on for 120 Muslim children it helps.
“They are poor and displaced by the war,” said Mariam Arab as she debated how best to decorate the Christmas tree.
“The most important thing is to find a way to cheer them up.”

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria

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Top militant leader Golani urges Syrians to take to streets and celebrate ‘victory of the revolution’

Top militant leader Golani urges Syrians to take to streets and celebrate ‘victory of the revolution’
Updated 56 min 5 sec ago
AFP
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Top militant leader Golani urges Syrians to take to streets and celebrate ‘victory of the revolution’

Top militant leader Golani urges Syrians to take to streets and celebrate ‘victory of the revolution’
  • Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed Al-Golani is now using his real name Ahmed Al-Sharaa
  • His call comes ahead of the first Friday prayers since Syria’s new leadership took control
Updated 56 min 5 sec ago
AFP

DAMASCUS: The leader of the Islamist militants that seized power in Syria last week called on people to take to the streets to celebrate “the victory of the revolution” on Friday.
“I would like to congratulate the great Syrian people on the victory of the blessed revolution and I call on them to go to the streets to express their joy,” said Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, who is now using his real name Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
The leader of the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group was wearing a dark waistcoat, a white shirt and a watch in the video message shared on Telegram.
His call comes ahead of the first Friday prayers since Syria’s new leadership took control. During the early days of Syria’s uprising in 2011, protesters would usually gather after Friday prayers.
He is set to attend Friday prayers at Damascus’s landmark Umayyad mosque.
Militant forces led by HTS launched a lightning offensive last month, taking control of Damascus and ousting president Bashar Assad in less than two weeks.
On Tuesday, they appointed an interim prime minister to lead Syria until March.

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria Abu Mohammed Al-Golani

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Blinken sees ‘encouraging signs’ on reaching Gaza ceasefire

Blinken sees ‘encouraging signs’ on reaching Gaza ceasefire
Updated 13 December 2024
AFP
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Blinken sees ‘encouraging signs’ on reaching Gaza ceasefire

Blinken sees ‘encouraging signs’ on reaching Gaza ceasefire
  • Blinken called on Turkiye to influence Hamas to achieve the exchange deal and ceasefire in Gaza
Updated 13 December 2024
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ANKARA: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that he saw “encouraging signs” of progress toward a ceasefire in the war-torn Gaza Strip on a visit to Ankara.

“We discussed Gaza, and we discussed I think the opportunity... to get a ceasefire in place. And what we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks are more encouraging signs that that is possible,” Blinken said after meeting Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Blinken called on Turkiye to influence Hamas to achieve the exchange deal and ceasefire in Gaza and said US wants to see Syria in a completely different direction than it was.

“In my discussions with President Erdogan and with Minister Fidan we talked about the imperative of Hamas saying yes to the (Gaza) agreement that's possible to finally help bring this to an end,” Blinken said.

“We appreciate very much the role that Turkiye can play in using its voice with Hamas, to try to bring this to conclusion.”

Blinken also discussed efforts toward a Gaza ceasefire when he arrived in Jordan on Thursday on what was his 12th visit to the Middle East since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

Topics: War on Gaza Antony Blinken Turkiye Gaza Hamas Hakan Fidan

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