US EditionSyria detains Damascus-based leader of prominent Palestinian faction
- Syrian officials apprehended Talal Naji, the 79-year-old head of the Palestinian group known as the PFLP-General Command, near his residence in Damascus on Saturday morning.
- Naji's detention comes shortly after Syrian authorities apprehended two high-ranking officials from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which receives support from Iran, amid a broader security crackdown by Syria's new Islamist leadership targeting factions aligned with former president Bashar Assad.
- The PFLP-GC has a history of backing Assad’s regime and carrying out significant attacks against Israel, while Syrian officials reported that Naji was detained for questioning but is anticipated to be released.
- Security forces questioned Naji's two unarmed guards at his Mazze neighborhood residence for about an hour, and a Palestinian official described the arrest as sensitive and surprising to faction members.
- This incident indicates a broader crackdown on hardline Palestinian groups in Syria and Lebanon, linked to efforts by new authorities to control armed factions and ease tensions with Israel.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Syria, Lebanon's moves to centralise power leads to crackdowns on Palestinian factions
Beirut: Lebanon and Syria are cracking down on Palestinian factions that for decades have had an armed presence in both countries and which on some occasions were used to plan and launch attacks against Israel. The crackdown comes as Syria’s new rulers under Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are pursuing officials of the former government under Bashar Assad, including those in the ousted president’s web of security agencies. Syria’s most promi…
REPORTING - In the suburbs of Damascus and Homs, crimes and violent acts follow one another in a climate of impunity.
Talal Naji had close ties to ousted president Bashar al-Assad
Associated Press News
Syria detains Damascus-based leader of prominent Palestinian faction
Syrian authorities have detained a prominent Damascus-based Palestinian official whose group was close to the government of ousted President Bashar Assad.
Syria detains head of Palestinian group based in Damascus
Officials of a small Palestinian militant group that was close to ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad said their leader was arrested Saturday by the country's new Islamist-led authorities. The arrest of the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) came after the armed wing of another Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad, said last month that the new authorities had detained two of its officials on uns…
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