Mitri rejects reported activities of ex-Syrian regime figures

Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri on Friday described as “alarming” the reports about figures from Syria’s former regime using Lebanon as a launchpad for activities hostile to Syria’s new rulers.

“Lebanese security agencies should seek to verify the reports and take the appropriate measures, seeing as this is its duty. They are obliged and we are all obliged to fend off any acts that harm Syria’s unity, security or stability, inside Lebanon or coming out of it,” Mitri added in an post on X.

“This also pushes us to further cooperation with the Syrian authorities on the basis of mutual confidence and respect for the two countries’ sovereignty and common interest,” the deputy PM said.

Al-Jazeera meanwhile reported that “around 20 pilots from the forces of the former Syrian regime are residing in Lebanon and trying to join the (ex-regime’s) remnants.”

It added that the chief of the former regime’s special forces, Major General Suheil al-Hassan, has “prepared a huge office in Lebanon near the Syrian border to serve as a command and operations management center.”

“The documents obtained by Al-Jazeera reveal that one of the leaders of the remnants of Bashar’s regime is a Lebanese national called Mahmoud al-Salman,” the TV network said.