Syria is allowing aid to reach embattled Sweida province through the most direct route from Damascus, easing a two-month siege on the Druze minority's heartland.
Aid deliveries have been accompanied for the first time by lorries carrying a private food consignment financed by Druze people. However, Sweida's Druze population remains trapped and shortages of basic goods are rife, The National was told on Monday.
The area has been virtually cut off since an outbreak of violence in Sweida this summer ended with a ceasefire under US and Israeli pressure. Syrian authorities had restricted aid deliveries to to the UN and Red Crescent, and only through the adjacent province of Deraa where convoys were often intercepted by pro-government militias.
By contrast, “the deliveries in the last two days have been smooth”, an international aid official in neighbouring Jordan told The National. The supplies consisted of peanut butter, high-energy biscuits, vegetables, diesel for operating bakeries, water pumps for the municipal authorities in Sweida, solar panels, clothes and 350 tonnes of wheat.
But only 23 aid conveys have entered Sweida so far, according to the Syrian Red Crescent. The official said that the free flow of goods and people, and not sporadic aid, is needed to sustain the governorate, the 500,000 population of which is overwhelmingly Druze.
A diplomat in Amman said Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria, has been urging the authorities to open the Damascus-Sweida motorway. “He is pushing for a full civilian access to the highway. The Druze are trapped in Sweida and those outside – students, for example – cannot go in,” he said.
Sweida, which is on the border with Jordan, has emerged as a main obstacle in US-sponsored peace talks between Syria and Israel. Since July’s fighting involving Druze fighters, local tribes and government forces, the main Syrian Druze religious figure, Hikmat Al Hijri, has called for international support for Sweida to separate from the rest of Syria.
The prospect appears unrealistic, given that Sweida is landlocked and has no direct access to Israel. Jordan and other Arab countries do not support such a move.
Government troops and auxiliaries have been surrounding Sweida since Israel's intervention prevented the takeover of the governorate by the new central authorities. Syria has been governed by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a group formerly affiliated with Al Qaeda, since the overthrow of the dictator Bashar Al Assad in December. Pro-government militias in Deraa often stopped the convoys and sometimes abducted their drivers and other personnel.
Suhail Thebian, a prominent civil figure in Sweida, said that the new route represents a "very slight" improvement in the situation. "Remember the deliveries are minute,” said Mr Thebian, who said food prices are high and that most public workers and pensioners have not been paid for two months.
Expatriates, upon whom many in Sweida depend, can no longer transfer money, and education has come to a halt because the schools are full of refugees. “Sweida is under siege. It might seem less obvious now. But it exists” Mr Thebian said.
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SPECS
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)
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Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
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Info
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
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Torque: 230Nm
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Starting price: Dh79,000
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One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
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Our family matters legal consultant
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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(Parlophone)
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Sole survivors
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The five pillars of Islam
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2.
3.
4.
5.
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