Israel’s defense chief threatens ceasefire collapse if Lebanese army not deployed south of Litani river

BAGHDAD: The Syrian Arab Republic’s interim foreign minister arrived in Iraq on Friday, conducting his first visit to the country since his Islamist alliance toppled Bashar Assad.
Relations between neighbors Syria and Iraq have become more complicated since the fall of Assad, who was a close ally of the government in Baghdad.
In Baghdad, Syria’s top diplomat Asaad Al-Shaibani met his counterpart Fuad Hussein, the official Iraqi News Agency reported.
Iraq is home to a Shiite Muslim majority, and while it is a strategic partner of the United States, it is also a key ally of Iran, once a main backer of Assad’s rule.
While Assad’s key support came from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iraqi armed groups were also engaged in defending his rule during the 13-year civil war sparked by his crackdown on democracy protests.
The rebels who ended up ousting Assad in December are Sunni Muslim, and interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who has sought to present a more moderate image since coming to power, once fought with Al-Qaeda in Iraq against US forces and their allies.
Iraq condemned the massacre of at least 1,383 civilians in coastal Syria earlier this month by security forces, allied groups and jihadists.
The vast majority of the civilians killed were Alawites, members of Assad’s sect, itself an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Iraq said earlier this week that it was investigating an attack on Syrian workers in the country after a newly formed Iraqi group vowed to avenge the mass killing of Alawite civilians.
Supporters of pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq have launched an online campaign against Syrians who they say support the mass killings.
Iraqi forces have in recent days arrested at least 13 Syrians accused of “promoting terrorist groups” and supporting the mass killing in Syria, two interior ministry officials told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Syria’s foreign ministry on Wednesday slammed the violence against its citizens, urging Baghdad in a statement to take “necessary measures to ensure the security of Syrians residing in Iraq.”

TRIPOLI: Every year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a Libyan town comes together to prepare — and share — one of their all-time favorite dishes: bazin.
In Tajoura, just east of Libya ‘s capital of Tripoli, it’s the perfect food for iftar, the evening meal when Muslims break the dawn-to-dusk fasting of Ramadan.
Savory and rich, bazin is usually made of unleavened barley flour and served with a rich stew full of vegetables and — hopefully — mutton. If those aren’t available, which they often haven’t been in the past decade and a half due to Libya’s violence and turmoil, a simple tomato sauce will do.
Preparing it is a joint effort, and Tajoura residents of all ages are eager to help with roles from making the bread, handing it out to the poor or donating ingredients to the community.
Typically, the men of Tajoura volunteer to make the bread in a makeshift communal kitchen, using long wooden sticks to stir the barley flour water in large pots to make the dough.
Others then knead the dough, shaping it into large clumps that look a bit like giant dumplings, to be baked or steamed. Once ready, other volunteers hand out bazin to a people lined up outside, who eagerly wait to take it home for iftar.
Ramadan is a time of intense prayers, charity and spirituality.
And in Tajoura, it’s also time for bazin.
This photo gallery by Yousef Murad was curated by Amr Nabil in Cairo.