In his first official go to to Syria to satisfy with the brand new authorities there, the Lebanese prime minister on Saturday referred to as for a manner for the 2 nations to allow lots of Syrian refugees in Lebanon to go dwelling.
The prime minister, Najib Mikati, met within the Syrian capital of Damascus with Ahmad al-Shara, the chief of the brand new Syrian authorities, on Saturday afternoon, according to the Lebanese prime minister’s workplace. Mr. al-Shara leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group that spearheaded the lightning offensive that toppled the decades-long rule of Bashar al-Assad, the previous Syrian president, final month.
At a information convention in Damascus, Mr. Mikati mentioned each nations ought to shortly resolve the matter of the a couple of million refugees that Lebanon took in on account of the Syrian civil struggle, which started in 2011. Whereas some have since returned, many others nonetheless stay in Lebanon.
“It has change into pressing right now — within the curiosity of each nations — to take care of this difficulty as shortly as attainable and return the displaced to a Syria that’s fortunately recovering,” mentioned Mr. Mikati, including that he believed Mr. al-Shara supported the hassle.
Mr. al-Shara mentioned the 2 leaders had mentioned “excellent points” together with border safety, however didn’t make any remark concerning the return of refugees. He mentioned committees can be set as much as study methods to type out varied issues, however he urged Syrians to decrease their expectations for a speedy overhaul of the impoverished nation.
“We now have plenty of issues in Syria,” Mr. al-Shara mentioned. “We received’t have the ability to remedy them suddenly. We now have to divide them up and search for options to every one.”
Mr. Mikati’s go to to Damascus got here after the election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanon’s president this week after two years wherein the workplace lay vacant. Mr. Aoun will quickly start consultations on nominating a brand new prime minister subsequent week.
In Syria, Mr. al-Shara faces the problem of imposing order on a rustic that has been devastated by 14 years of civil war that cut up it into a number of warring areas and spurred a proliferation of armed groups. He has sought to shortly re-establish a way of normalcy at dwelling, urging civil servants again to work and college students again to highschool.
Lebanon, like different nations on Syria’s borders, fears that its inner chaos might spill over into its territory. Final week, no less than 5 Lebanese troopers had been wounded in clashes alongside the Syrian border after Syrian militants fired at Lebanese troopers. The Lebanese army mentioned its troops had been making an attempt to close down an unlawful border crossing within the space.
Mr. Mikati spoke by telephone with Mr. al-Shara after the incidents. In the course of the name, Mr. al-Shara pledged that “the Syrian authorities are doing all the things essential to revive calm on the border and forestall the matter from recurring,” Mr. Mikati’s workplace mentioned on the time.
Additional underscoring these challenges, Syrian state media introduced on Saturday that its safety forces had arrested folks accused of belonging to the Islamic State who had deliberate to commit a serious assault in Damascus.
The 2 males had deliberate to make use of explosives contained in the Sayeda Zeinab mausoleum, a holy website significantly honored by Shiite Muslims on the outskirts of Damascus, in accordance with SANA, the government-controlled outlet.
Whereas a world coalition led by the US has largely crushed again ISIS in its former bastions in Iraq and Syria, the group remains to be energetic in some areas, and continues to encourage assaults on-line.
Right here’s what else is occurring within the area:
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Gaza cease-fire talks: Israeli safety chiefs will quickly head to Qatar for high-level talks on a truce that may free the hostages held in Gaza, the Israeli authorities mentioned on Saturday evening. The workplace of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, mentioned he had ordered David Barnea, the top of Israel’s Mossad intelligence company, to guide a delegation to Doha, the Qatari capital, for negotiations. Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and Hamas with assist from the US. The negotiations have been seemingly deadlocked for months, however Israeli and U.S. officers have expressed cautious optimism about reaching a deal within the coming weeks.
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Rockets from Gaza: Over 15 months within the struggle between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militants are nonetheless firing munitions from the Gaza Strip, though each Israeli and U.S. officers say the group’s army capability has been considerably degraded. Air-raid sirens went off in Kerem Shalom, an Israeli border group, on Saturday after a rocket launch from southern Gaza; the Israeli army mentioned it was efficiently intercepted.
