Lebanese forces on Thursday arrested Michel Samaha, a former information minister with close ties to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A judicial source accused Samaha and Syria's security chief, General Ali Mamluk, of planning sectarian killings and explosions in Lebanon.
Lebanon accused Syria’s new security chief Saturday of planning to stage terror attacks across the country along with former Lebanese minister Michel Samaha, who was arrested Thursday. General Ali Mamlouk was made head of Syrian security on July 24.
Iran, the main regional ally of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, was to host a meeting on Thursday in a bid to stop Syria's 17-month conflict and position itself as a mediator in peace efforts, although several neighbours declined to attend.
We bring you a special edition dedicated to the Syrian crisis. We start in the country’s most populated city of Aleppo, which has been pounded for days from land and sky in an army assault on opposition positions. Next, we head to Damascus, where those caught in the middle of clashes are feeling the strain. Finally, we speak to Syrian refugees who have fled to Lebanon. They are weary and frightened of the scenes from back home.
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said Friday that as many as 30,000 Syrian refugees may have crossed the border into Lebanon over the past 48 hours, while fleeing escalating violence in the country.
Syrian artillery struck villages in northern Lebanon Saturday, killing three people, according to residents. The Syrian Observatory for Human rights said that Syria has been systematically trying to root out insurgents.
Egypt's army insists it will not hang on to power. But many are sceptical, especially after the military council issues an interim constitution for the country. Next, violence is breaking out between neighbours in northern Lebanon as the conflict in Syria puts entire cities on edge. Finally, our correspondent meets Iraqi athletes, who are hard at work training for the Special Olympics.
The civil war in Syria is spilling over into neighbouring Lebanon. Our reporter went to the northern town of Tripoli, only a few kilometres from the Syrian border and the town of Homs. Here, the Alawites, who support the regime in Damascus, are taking shots at the Sunnis, who support the rebels. Today, the conflict in Syria risks igniting a wider conflict within the Middle East.
A civil war that's crossing borders. In the north of Lebanon, fighting between Muslims has erupted over a battle that isn't even happening in their own country. Syria is just a short car journey away from the Lebanese city of Tripoli. Many people there have taken sides on sectarian grounds, depending on whether they best identify themselves with Sunnis or Shiites.
The new, Beirut-based pan-Arab TV station Al Mayadeen attempts to redress the perceived biases of the Sunni Gulf Arab-financed channels such as Al Jazeera. But will Al Mayadeen be truly objective and independent?
