Israel expanded its raids and bombing in southern Lebanon in conjunction with its unveiling of a plan to withdraw from most of the occupied Lebanese territories, and be content with remaining at a distance of between two and four kilometers, within a line called the “gray line,” instead of the currently occupied “yellow line.”
On the ground, Israel violated the undeclared rules established by the ceasefire agreement last June. It resumed evacuation warnings in southern Lebanon, and launched air strikes targeting vital facilities in the city of Nabatieh, which led to the death of 4 people, which the Lebanese state denounced. Its President, Joseph Aoun, considered what happened a “dangerous escalation,” while Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed that Israel is turning the south into a “ballot box with blood.”
In Tel Aviv, military sources said, according to Kan 11, that following its announcement of “operational control and clearing of tunnels and underground infrastructure in Ali al-Tahir Hill in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli army is preparing to reduce its forces, redeploy them, and withdraw back, within a new “security belt” area close to the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Asharq Al-Awsat followed the extensive security campaign in Aleppo yesterday, for the third day in a row, to pursue former leaders and members of the former regime accused of war crimes.
This is the second campaign of this kind that the city of Aleppo witnessed during the current year, and resulted in the arrest of a number of officers of the ousted regime, most notably Brigadier General Pilot Hamada Ali Murad in the town of Nubl, and included a network of members of the regime and allied militias known as remnants and shabiha.
Sources in the Internal Security Directorate in Aleppo confirmed that the current total number of detainees exceeded 50 people, including officers, members and informants of the ousted regime, who were arrested in different areas of the city, in addition to towns in its northern countryside such as Nubl and Al-Zahraa.
The sources explained that the move came after an extensive study of the targets, monitoring their activities, and collecting evidence of their involvement in widespread crimes and violations against civilians, and the personal charges and allegations against them, which included war crimes, intimidation, extortion, and robbery.
Today (Sunday), President Ahmed Al-Sharaa accepted the credentials of seven ambassadors to the Syrian Arab Republic, during an official ceremony held at the People’s Palace in Damascus, in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Asaad Al-Shaibani.
The credentials included the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ghazi Al-Anazi, the Ambassador of the Vatican, “Apostolic Nuncio,” Bishop Luigi Roberto Cunha, the Ambassador of the European Union, Michael Onmacht, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Brazil, Eduardo Barboza, the Ambassador of the Republic of Greece, Emmanuel Kakavelakis, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden, Jessica Svardström, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark, Frey Jackson.
President Al-Sharaa welcomed the ambassadors, wishing them success in performing their duties and contributing to strengthening cooperative relations with the countries and entities they represent.
The appointed ambassadors presented copies of their credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani, last Thursday.
It should be noted that the ambassadors of the United States of America and the United Kingdom have not yet been appointed, and the same applies to the ambassadors of Syria to the two countries.
