Syrian Embassy in Lebanon Suspends Activities; Two Relatives of Assad Arrested

The Syrian embassy in the Lebanese capital announced the suspension of its activities until further notice; this action came a day after the arrest of two relatives of Bashar al-Assad with fake passports at Beirut Airport. The Syrian embassy in Beirut announced on Saturday, December 29, through a brief statement on its Facebook page that its consular services would be "suspended until further notice." The embassy did not provide a reason for the suspension of its activities, only stating that this was done at the direction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the new Syrian rulers. Since the early days of the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's government, the Syrian embassy in Beirut has flown a new flag approved by the rebels above its building. Two Lebanese security officials told AFP that the reason for the suspension of the Syrian embassy's activities was the falsity of the passports of two relatives of Bashar al-Assad who intended to leave Beirut Airport. On Friday, Lebanese officials announced that Rasha Khazim and Shams Assad, the wife and daughter of Duraid Assad, Bashar al-Assad's cousin, intended to leave Beirut Airport with fake passports and were arrested. Earlier, Reuters reported that Duraid Assad had fled from Beirut to Dubai in recent days. Reuters added that Rifaat Assad, 87, Duraid's father and Bashar al-Assad's uncle, left Lebanon on Thursday with his real passport and was not stopped at the airport despite being accused by Switzerland of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and went to Dubai. Rifaat Assad is referred to as the commander and main perpetrator of the bloody suppression of the Hama uprising in 1982, with some sources calling him the "Butcher of Hama." It is said that in the final hours of Bashar al-Assad's rule on the evening of December 8, many of his relatives fled to Lebanon, and some of them have left Lebanon in recent days. Lebanese officials have confirmed that several individuals who had entered the country "legally" from Syria, including Bouthaina Shaaban, a senior advisor to the president during Bashar al-Assad's era, left Lebanon without hindrance. Some political figures in Lebanon, including Walid Jumblatt, have criticized the lack of action by the country's officials to arrest members of Bashar al-Assad's government who have entered Lebanon. Walid Jumblatt stated that the Lebanese Foreign Ministry "finally woke up from its deep sleep and realized that a change had occurred in Syria," asking on social media if it would be possible for security services to arrest senior officials of the former Syrian regime. It had previously been reported that the new Syrian rulers had provided a list of names of Bashar al-Assad's regime officials who were wanted; however, Jamal Hajar, the Attorney General of Lebanon, stated that such a list had not been provided to Lebanon "either by Interpol or by the new Syrian authorities." It had been previously reported that Interpol had asked Lebanese officials to arrest Jamil al-Hassan, the head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence, if he was present in Lebanese territory and to hand him over to the United States. Lebanese officials, including the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, have stated that they are cooperating with Interpol in this regard. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Lebanese government returned about 70 Syrian soldiers who had illegally entered the country on Saturday back to Syria. According to this London-based center, these soldiers and officers were handed over to the new rulers in the Tartus province of Syria through the Arida border crossing. Reuters reported, citing security sources, that these soldiers were arrested by the new Syrian government forces after crossing the border. No further details about this news have been released by Lebanese officials and Syrian rebels. The new Syrian rulers have recently launched operations in Tartus province, a major stronghold of Alawites, claiming that the aim of these operations is to arrest remnants of Bashar al-Assad's government and "establish security." The new Syrian army administration announced the beginning of operations "against the elements of the Assad regime." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that similar operations are underway in some areas in neighboring provinces, including Baniyas, Hama, Latakia, and Jableh, and that in none of these actions has there been "management, control, and notification to residents." Rebels led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham launched surprise attacks in northwestern Syria on December 28 and ended Bashar al-Assad's rule with their entry into Damascus on the morning of December 29. The Arab League warned Iran not to exacerbate the conflict among the Syrian people.