Layal Abou Rahal- ليال

Beirut Deputy Bureau Chief @AFP.
Covering Lebanon & Syria news for @AFPar.
Tweeting in a personal capacity.
[email protected]

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

#EXCLUSIVE: Two Syrian doctors and a nurse told @AFP in a series of interviews that Bashar al-Assad's government coerced them into providing false testimony to international #investigators after a deadly 2018 chlorine attack on #Douma
https://t.co/XGloAjwBOZ

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

@BenjaminFeve Good luck!

[فرانس برس بالعربية @AFPar]

أعلنت مسؤولة السياسة الخارجية في الاتحاد الأوروبي كايا كالاس الخميس من بيروت أن دول الاتحاد تؤيد تمديد ولاية قوة الأمم المتحدة الموقتة في جنوب #لبنان (يونيفيل)، مع قرب انتهاء مهامها، خشية "فراغ أمني" على وقع التصعيد مع اسرائيل.

https://t.co/TfHHB2JsmO #فرانس_برس

✍️ @LayalAFP

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

Israeli Prime Minister's office said it was decided to release five #Lebanese #civilians who were arrested in areas under IDF control in southern #Lebanon, after their interrogation was completed.

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

The @ICRC on Thursday returned to #Lebanon a man who was seized by #Israel in October 2025, a Lebanese military source told @AFP. Lebanon has not officially announced the number of citizens held by Israel, but families have documented more than 30 people on a list.

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

The @ICRC on Thursday returned to #Lebanon a man who was seized by #Israel in October 2025, a Lebanese military source told @AFP. Lebanon has not officially announced the number of citizens held by Israel, but families have documented more than 30 people on a list.

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

The "supersized" El Nino phenomenon, which is set to peak later this year, is plunging the #planet into an extreme #weather "danger zone", UN chief @antonioguterres warned Thursday.

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

A source in #Syria's defence ministry told @AFP key challenges include "the lack of maps of some #minefields & vast expanse of contaminated areas". Since 2025, 47 #soldiers have been killed & more than 90 injured by #mines and other unexploded #ordnance, the source said (4/4)

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

Malakeh Barbour caresses her son Haidar, his face scarred from a #blast that killed his brother in their home in #Syria, where a mine-clearance charity says unexploded #ordnance claims a casualty every six hours. (1/4)
By @AFP's Maher al-Mounes

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

Simon Jackson, #Syria programme manager for mine-clearance charity @TheHALOTrust Trust, told @AFP "the average rate of accident is one person becoming a casualty every six hours" in #Syria. (3/4)

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

In a preliminary report released in June, the #Landmine and Cluster #Munition Monitor said #Syria had the highest number of casualties worldwide last year due to landmines and explosive #war remnants, with some 1,600 victims.

[U.S. Embassy Beirut @usembassybeirut]

Security Alert: Lebanon – September 1, 2026

Due to tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation.

Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions.

Full Alert: https://t.co/ttz7OD0HNP

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

#Breaking #Centcom says forces successfully completed a wave of strikes against #ranian military targets Sept. 1.
U.S. forces struck #IRGC targets including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

@ajaltamimi Congrats!

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

@Ste_Ravagnan @IICDamasco Congrats..

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

#Breaking via @AFP: #Syrian President appointed #Kurdish leader @MazloumAbdi as a presidentiel adviser, following an integration deal

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

After #Syrian foreign minister told Axios that #Turkish military officers visited Abu al-Duhur airbase several days before the Israeli strike, #Turkey's defence ministry said today "there was no Turkish military delegation" at the airbase "before or during" the Israeli attack...

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

Ramzi Abu Nabout was carrying a picture of his brother Ahmed, who was killed when #Assad's forces broke up a sit-in at Al-Omari mosque in 2011.
"Today we have obtained a judgement that has warmed our hearts," even if it will not bring back those who were killed, he told @AFP

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

A #Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced former ruler Bashar al-#Assad to #death after a trial in absentia, convicting him of #atrocities committed during the country's nearly 14-year civil #war.
@AFP's full coverage: https://t.co/eOc1NzWq4N

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

#Justice Minister Adel Nasar called the abolition "historic", and said the spectre of capital punishment had previously prevented #Beirut from obtaining the #extradition of suspects from countries where it has been outlawed.

[Layal Abou Rahal- ليال @LayalAFP]

#Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday abolished the #death #penalty, making the country the first in the Middle East to formally end the practice

[Nawaf Salam نواف سلام @nawafsalam]

مع بدء الانسحاب الاسرائيلي كلمتي من زوطر الغربية صباح اليوم:

أودّ أن أوجّه كلمة إلى اللبنانيين جميعًا، ولا سيّما إلى أهلنا في الجنوب، من بلدة زوطر الغربية. إن هذه لحظة وطنية تحمل أبعادًا سياسية ومعنوية كبيرة، لأنها تمثّل بداية الانسحاب الإسرائيلي من أرضنا.

لقد أكدنا منذ البداية أن هدفنا هو الانسحاب الإسرائيلي الكامل من جميع أراضينا. وما نشهده اليوم ليس سوى بداية، لكننا مصمّمون وثابتون، وسنواصل حشد كل جهودنا السياسية والدبلوماسية من أجل تأمين الانسحاب الكامل من كامل الأراضي اللبنانية. وهذه هي رسالتي الأولى.

أما رسالتي الثانية، فهي إلى أهلنا في الجنوب. نحن هنا لنؤكد أننا بدأنا بتسخير كل إمكانات الدولة لمواكبة عودتكم. فالجيش اللبناني والقوى الأمنية موجودون لحماية أهلنا العائدين، وبالتوازي مع استكمال انتشار الجيش، سنواصل فتح الطرقات، وإزالة الركام، وتأمين الخدمات الأساسية، بما يتيح لأهلنا العودة بأمان وكرامة إلى بيوتهم وقراهم.

كما بدأنا التحضير لإعادة جميع الخدمات الأساسية، من مياه وكهرباء واتصالات، والعمل على تأمين المساكن الجاهزة وكل ما يلزم لتوفير مرحلة انتقالية.

وأود أن أؤكد أن عودة الحياة إلى الجنوب ليست مجرد شعار، بل هي هدف وطني تلتزم به الدولة. عودة أهلنا إلى أرضهم هي أصدق تعبير عن وحدة لبنان وسيادته.