Syriaupdated 13m ago2 min read
MapAhmad Hajjar Meets Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab in Damascus on Security Cooperation
“addressed a number of sensitive security and judicial issues”
“The topics included border control, official and unofficial crossing points”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
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Lebanese and Syrian interior ministers met in Damascus to expand security cooperation. They discussed strengthening security coordination to enhance regional security and stability.
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Damascus security talks
Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar met Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab in Damascus on Sunday to discuss “ways to strengthen security cooperation and coordination” between Lebanon and Syria, with Khattab describing the meeting as “fraternal and distinctive.”
Khattab told Hajjar’s visit in a post on X that “the meeting addressed ways to strengthen cooperation and coordination on issues of mutual interest.”
Khattab also said the two sides confirmed “the depth of Syrian-Lebanese relations” and their “joint keenness to develop them in all fields” to serve “the security and stability of the two countries and their brotherly peoples.”
The meeting took place at the Syrian Interior Ministry headquarters, where Khattab received Hajjar accompanied by Brig. Gen. Sami Nassif and a delegation from the Lebanese Ministry of Interior and Municipalities.
Border, crossings, and cases
Hajjar and Khattab discussed border control and the organization of crossings between Lebanon and Syria, with the two neighboring countries sharing a porous border stretching approximately 330 kilometers. Al-Jadeed said Hajjar asked Khattab to cooperate in handing over those involved in the killing of former Iraqi MP Ahmad al-Alwani in Beirut, and the Syrian side expressed readiness to cooperate.
Al-Modon, citing a well-informed political source, said the meeting addressed sensitive security and judicial issues including “the issue of former Syrian regime officers present on Lebanese territory,” alongside intelligence cooperation. The Syrian General Authority for Border Crossings and Customs announced that it was “making intensive efforts to complete the final phase of rehabilitation works at the Arida border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, in preparation for its reopening soon.”
Security agenda and disputes
Syrian Interior Security Forces announced on November 3 that, in cooperation with the General Intelligence Service, they thwarted a “terrorist plot” aimed at the Homs refinery, led by a Hezbollah-affiliated cell that the group denied. The Syrian security statement said the operation came “after careful follow-up” and resulted in the arrest of the cell members and the seizure of explosives intended to be used against the refinery.
The French Press Agency conveyed two versions of the arrest of Ali Klayi, known as “Meraj Oral,” with one Syrian security source confirming coordination with the Lebanese side and another Lebanese source saying the arrest “was carried out without Beirut’s knowledge.” Anas Khattab’s meeting with Hajjar framed the cooperation as serving “the interests of the two countries and their brotherly peoples,” while the accounts around cross-border security actions and detainees remained contested across the cited narratives.