Speaking at a press conference, Al-Sharaa explained that Israel’s advance into the buffer zone was previously attributed to the presence of Iranian militias and Hezbollah, according to Al-Hurra channel. “After the liberation of Damascus, these ‘Iranian militias’ are no longer present. Israel had used their presence as a pretext for advancing into the buffer zone,” he said. (from article)
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The Ministry of Interior in the Damascus caretaker government announced the [17Jan2025] seizure of a shipment of weapons that were prepared for smuggling into Lebanese territory from the Syrian province of Tartus.
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Maybe Caretaker Al-Sharaa spoke a wee bit prematurely about having the illicit shipments of arms through Syria under control. So he may sleep more tranquilly knowing that the IDF/IAF is helping Syria out on arms control.