BEIRUT: Unknown gunmen abducted and killed nine policemen Monday in southern Syria in a rare attack on a government building in the defeated cradle of the nine-year uprising, a monitor said.
The killings, for which there were no immediate claim of responsibility, occurred in a town called Muzayrib in Daraa province, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“Unknown assailants attacked the municipality building... abducting nine members of the security forces before shooting them dead and abandoning their bodies in a square,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
State news agency SANA quoted the interior ministry as the nine policemen were killed “after a terrorist group attacked them as they were performing their job,” using the government’s term for rebels and jihadists.
Attacks are common in the province, which was retaken by regime forces from rebels in 2018, usually targeting loyalists and civilians working for the state, according to the Observatory.
But the nature of Monday’s incident and high toll are unusual.
“Usually attacks against regime forces target checkpoints or patrols, not government buildings,” Abdel Rahman said.
Daraa is considered to be the birthplace of the popular uprising that erupted across Syria in 2011, before spiralling into a full-blown conflict.
After its recapture by Russia-backed regime fighters in 2018, state institutions returned but the army is still not deployed in the whole province, says the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria.
Many former rebels stayed instead of evacuating under a Moscow-brokered deal, either joining the army or remaining in control of parts of the province and some neighborhoods of the provincial capital, also called Daraa.
The Daesh group has in the past claimed attacks in the area. In July last year it said it had killed six soldiers at a checkpoint.
The jihadists lost the last scrap of their territorial “caliphate” a year ago, but retain a presence in Syria’s vast Badia desert.
The civil war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions from their homes since starting with the brutal repression of government protests.
Nine policemen abducted and killed in south Syria: monitor
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Nine policemen abducted and killed in south Syria: monitor
- Daraa has seen frequent violence seince being recaptured by government forces, but attacks on government buildings are uncommon
- Over 380,000 people have been killed in Syria's nine-year civil war
Lebanon approves financial gap draft law despite opposition from Hezbollah and Lebanese Forces
- Legislation aims to address the fate of billions of dollars in deposits that have been inaccessible to Lebanese citizens during the country’s financial meltdown
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Cabinet on Friday approved a controversial draft law to regulate financial recovery and return frozen bank deposits to citizens. The move is seen as a key step in long-delayed economic reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund.
The decision, which passed with 13 ministers voting in favor and nine against, came after marathon discussions over the so-called “financial gap” or deposit recovery bill, stalled for years since the banking crisis erupted in 2019. The ministers of culture and foreign affairs were absent from the session.
The legislation aims to address the fate of billions of dollars in deposits that have been inaccessible to Lebanese citizens during the country’s financial meltdown.
The vote was opposed by three ministers from the Lebanese Forces Party, three ministers from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, as well as the minister of youth and sports, Nora Bayrakdarian, the minister of communications, Charles Al-Hajj, and the minister of justice, Adel Nassar.
Finance Minister Yassin Jaber broke ranks with his Hezbollah and Amal allies, voting in favor of the bill. He described his decision as being in line with “Lebanon’s supreme financial interest and its obligations to the IMF and the international community.”
The draft law triggered fierce backlash from depositors who reject any suggestion they shoulder responsibility for the financial collapse. It has also drawn strong criticism from the Association of Banks and parliamentary blocs, fueling fears the law will face intense political wrangling in Parliament ahead of elections scheduled in six months.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam confirmed the Cabinet had approved the bill and referred it to Parliament for debate and amendments before final ratification. Addressing public concerns, he emphasized that the law includes provisions for forensic auditing and accountability.
“Depositors with accounts under $100,000 will be repaid in full with interest and without any deductions,” Salam said. “Large depositors will also receive their first $100,000 in full, and the remainder will be issued as negotiable bonds backed by the assets of the Central Bank, valued at around $50 billion.”
He said further that bondholders will receive an initial 2 percent payout after the first tranche of repayments is completed.
The law also includes a clause requiring criminal accountability. “Anyone who smuggled funds abroad or benefited from unjustified profits will be fined 30 percent,” Salam said.
He emphasized that Lebanon’s gold reserves will remain untouched. “A clear provision reaffirms the 1986 law barring the sale or mortgaging of gold without parliamentary approval,” he said, dismissing speculation about using the reserves to cover financial losses.
Salam admitted that the law was not perfect but called it “a fair step toward restoring rights.”
“The banking sector’s credibility has been severely damaged. This law aims to revive it by valuing assets, recapitalizing banks, and ending Lebanon’s dangerous reliance on a cash economy,” he said. “Each day of delay further erodes people’s rights.”
While the Association of Banks did not release an immediate response after the vote, it previously argued during discussions that the law would destroy remaining deposits. Bank representatives said lenders would struggle to secure more than $20 billion to cover the initial repayment tier and accused the state of absolving itself of responsibility while effectively granting amnesty for decades of financial mismanagement and corruption.
The law’s fate now rests with Parliament, where political competition ahead of the 2025 elections could complicate or delay its passage.
Lebanon’s banking sector has been at the heart of the country’s economic collapse, with informal capital controls locking depositors out of their savings and trust in state institutions plunging. International donors, including the IMF, have made reforms to the sector a key condition for any financial assistance.
