Lebanon’s prime minister traveled to the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Saturday for his first official visit to meet the new government, after clashes along the two countries’ shared border left several Lebanese soldiers injured last week.
According to the Lebanese prime minister’s office, Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke with Ahmad al-Shara, the leader of the new Syrian government, on Saturday afternoon. Al-Shara leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamic group that spearheaded the flash offensive that toppled the decades-long rule of Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian president, last month.
Mikati’s visit came after the election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanon’s president this week, after two years in which the position remained vacant. Mr Aoun will soon start consultations on appointing a new prime minister next week.
In Syria, al-Shara faces the challenge of imposing order in a country that has been ravaged by 14 years of civil war that has divided it into multiple warring regions and spurred a proliferation of armed groups.
Lebanon, like other countries on Syria’s borders, fears that internal chaos could spread to its territory. Last week, at least five Lebanese soldiers were injured in clashes along the Syrian border after Syrian militants fired on Lebanese soldiers. The Lebanese army said its troops were trying to close an illegal border crossing in the area.
Mr Mikati spoke to Mr al-Shara on the phone after the incidents. During the phone call, al-Shara said that “Syrian authorities are doing everything necessary to restore calm at the border and prevent the issue from happening again,” Mikati’s office said at the time.
Further underscoring these challenges, Syrian state media announced on Saturday that their security forces had arrested people accused of belonging to the Islamic State who had planned to commit a major attack in Damascus.
The two men had planned to use explosives inside the Sayeda Zeinab mausoleum, a holy site particularly revered by Shiite Muslims on the outskirts of Damascus, according to government-controlled SANA.
Although a U.S.-led international coalition has largely pushed ISIS back to its former bastions in Iraq and Syria, the group is still active in some areas and continues to inspire attacks online.
Here’s what’s happening in the region:
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Ceasefire talks in Gaza: In Qatar’s capital, Doha, efforts were underway to reach a truce in the Gaza war that would free the remaining hostages. Steve Witkoff, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, met Friday evening with Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar. According to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, the two discussed, among other issues, “efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.” Qatar and Egypt have mediated between Israel and Hamas – who refuse to negotiate directly – with help from the United States.
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Rockets from Gaza: More than 15 months into the war between Israel and Hamas, Palestinian militants continue to fire munitions from the Gaza Strip, although both Israeli and U.S. officials say the group’s military capacity has been significantly reduced. Air raid sirens sounded Saturday in Kerem Shalom, an Israeli border community, after a rocket was fired from southern Gaza; the Israeli military said it was successfully intercepted.