Beirut Deputy Bureau Chief @AFP. Covering Lebanon & Syria news for @AFPar. Tweeting in a personal capacity. [email protected]

Beirut, Lebanon
Joined April 2012
#EXCLUSIVE: Two Syrian doctors and a nurse told @AFP in a series of interviews that Bashar al-Assad's government coerced them into providing false testimony to international #investigators after a deadly 2018 chlorine attack on #Douma yahoo.com/news/syrian-medics…
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BREAKING: Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition is projected to lose its majority, but his opponent's bloc is short of the 61 seats needed to form a government, according to Israeli exit polls. axios.com/2026/10/27/netanya…
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La justice #irakienne a condamné mardi sept #français pour leur appartenance au groupe Etat islamique (EI), dans le cadre du procès de #jihadistes français qui avaient été transférés de la #Syrie en #Irak l'année dernière-- Via @afpfr
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#Syria's government says #Jordan did not coordinate before strikes #Women and #children are among the 5 killed in Deraa province via @AFP
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Layal Abou Rahal- ليال retweeted
أعلنت مسؤولة السياسة الخارجية في الاتحاد الأوروبي كايا كالاس الخميس من بيروت أن دول الاتحاد تؤيد تمديد ولاية قوة الأمم المتحدة الموقتة في جنوب #لبنان (يونيفيل)، مع قرب انتهاء مهامها، خشية "فراغ أمني" على وقع التصعيد مع اسرائيل. u.afp.com/SCwZ #فرانس_برس ✍️ @LayalAFP
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Israeli Prime Minister's office said it was decided to release five #Lebanese #civilians who were arrested in areas under IDF control in southern #Lebanon, after their interrogation was completed.
The @ICRC on Thursday returned to #Lebanon a man who was seized by #Israel in October 2025, a Lebanese military source told @AFP. Lebanon has not officially announced the number of citizens held by Israel, but families have documented more than 30 people on a list.
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The @ICRC on Thursday returned to #Lebanon a man who was seized by #Israel in October 2025, a Lebanese military source told @AFP. Lebanon has not officially announced the number of citizens held by Israel, but families have documented more than 30 people on a list.
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The "supersized" El Nino phenomenon, which is set to peak later this year, is plunging the #planet into an extreme #weather "danger zone", UN chief @antonioguterres warned Thursday.
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Malakeh Barbour caresses her son Haidar, his face scarred from a #blast that killed his brother in their home in #Syria, where a mine-clearance charity says unexploded #ordnance claims a casualty every six hours. (1/4) By @AFP's Maher al-Mounes
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A source in #Syria's defence ministry told @AFP key challenges include "the lack of maps of some #minefields & vast expanse of contaminated areas". Since 2025, 47 #soldiers have been killed & more than 90 injured by #mines and other unexploded #ordnance, the source said (4/4)
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Simon Jackson, #Syria programme manager for mine-clearance charity @TheHALOTrust Trust, told @AFP "the average rate of accident is one person becoming a casualty every six hours" in #Syria. (3/4)
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In a preliminary report released in June, the #Landmine and Cluster #Munition Monitor said #Syria had the highest number of casualties worldwide last year due to landmines and explosive #war remnants, with some 1,600 victims.
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Layal Abou Rahal- ليال retweeted
Security Alert: Lebanon – September 1, 2026 Due to tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation. Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions. Full Alert: lb.usembassy.gov/security-al…
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#Breaking #Centcom says forces successfully completed a wave of strikes against #ranian military targets Sept. 1. U.S. forces struck #IRGC targets including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.
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#Breaking via @AFP: #Syrian President appointed #Kurdish leader @MazloumAbdi as a presidentiel adviser, following an integration deal
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After #Syrian foreign minister told Axios that #Turkish military officers visited Abu al-Duhur airbase several days before the Israeli strike, #Turkey's defence ministry said today "there was no Turkish military delegation" at the airbase "before or during" the Israeli attack...
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Ramzi Abu Nabout was carrying a picture of his brother Ahmed, who was killed when #Assad's forces broke up a sit-in at Al-Omari mosque in 2011. "Today we have obtained a judgement that has warmed our hearts," even if it will not bring back those who were killed, he told @AFP
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#Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday abolished the #death #penalty, making the country the first in the Middle East to formally end the practice
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#Justice Minister Adel Nasar called the abolition "historic", and said the spectre of capital punishment had previously prevented #Beirut from obtaining the #extradition of suspects from countries where it has been outlawed.
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Layal Abou Rahal- ليال retweeted
مع بدء الانسحاب الاسرائيلي كلمتي من زوطر الغربية صباح اليوم: أودّ أن أوجّه كلمة إلى اللبنانيين جميعًا، ولا سيّما إلى أهلنا في الجنوب، من بلدة زوطر الغربية. إن هذه لحظة وطنية تحمل أبعادًا سياسية ومعنوية كبيرة، لأنها تمثّل بداية الانسحاب الإسرائيلي من أرضنا. لقد أكدنا منذ البداية أن هدفنا هو الانسحاب الإسرائيلي الكامل من جميع أراضينا. وما نشهده اليوم ليس سوى بداية، لكننا مصمّمون وثابتون، وسنواصل حشد كل جهودنا السياسية والدبلوماسية من أجل تأمين الانسحاب الكامل من كامل الأراضي اللبنانية. وهذه هي رسالتي الأولى. أما رسالتي الثانية، فهي إلى أهلنا في الجنوب. نحن هنا لنؤكد أننا بدأنا بتسخير كل إمكانات الدولة لمواكبة عودتكم. فالجيش اللبناني والقوى الأمنية موجودون لحماية أهلنا العائدين، وبالتوازي مع استكمال انتشار الجيش، سنواصل فتح الطرقات، وإزالة الركام، وتأمين الخدمات الأساسية، بما يتيح لأهلنا العودة بأمان وكرامة إلى بيوتهم وقراهم. كما بدأنا التحضير لإعادة جميع الخدمات الأساسية، من مياه وكهرباء واتصالات، والعمل على تأمين المساكن الجاهزة وكل ما يلزم لتوفير مرحلة انتقالية. وأود أن أؤكد أن عودة الحياة إلى الجنوب ليست مجرد شعار، بل هي هدف وطني تلتزم به الدولة. عودة أهلنا إلى أرضهم هي أصدق تعبير عن وحدة لبنان وسيادته.
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