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DAMASCUS: A silent crowd gathered in the Syrian capital Damascus to press the new authorities about the fate of relatives who went missing under Bashar Assad and to demand justice for their loved ones.

The fate of tens of thousands of people who disappeared under Assad — who was ousted on Dec. 8 by a coalition of rebels — is a key question after more than 13 years of devastating civil war that saw upwards of half a million people killed.

Dozens of somber protesters holding pictures of the disappeared assembled in central Damascus’s Hijaz Square, a journalist said.

“It is time for tyrants to be held accountable,” read a black banner unfurled from the balcony of the elegant Ottoman-era train station.

Other placards read: “Revealing the fate of the missing is a right,” and “I don’t want an unmarked grave for my son, I want the truth.”

Such a demonstration would have been unthinkable under Assad’s rule, but it is now possible under the new authorities dominated by the radical group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which led the offensive that overthrew him.

“Unfortunately for many years we were united in the grief of absence and uncertainty, waiting for our loved ones, one amnesty after another,” said Wafa Mustafa in a speech in the midst of the protesters.

Her father Ali was arrested in 2013.

“We all saw the scenes of prisoners being freed. It was a source of joy, but it was also very difficult because we did not see our own loved ones among them,” she said.

“We are here to say we will not accept anything less than the whole truth, to know what happened to our relatives, who tortured them, and if they were buried, where they are,” she added.

Amani Al-Hallaq, 28, was seeking news about where to find the remains of her cousin, who was kidnapped in 2012 when he was a student dentist.

“I was once one of those who was afraid. This is the first time I am protesting,” the 28-year-old Amani said.

Her cousin was abducted as he came out of the university, said the young woman in a headscarf.

“They pulled out his nails. He died instantly,” she said.

“We want to know where the disappeared are, their bodies, so we can identify them.”

BEIRUT: The Israeli military announced its “success in dismantling an underground tunnel in southern Lebanon, measuring 100 meters in length, leading to a hideout belonging to the Radwan Forces of Hezbollah.”

Israeli forces, which have been infiltrating the border area in southern Lebanon since Oct. 1 continue to operate in the country despite the ceasefire agreement, with Saturday marking the beginning of the second month of the specified withdrawal deadline.

While the Israeli military justified its hostile activities in southern Lebanon as “removing threats in line with the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” it said that “the 300th Brigade, in cooperation with the 146th Division and engineering forces, successfully dismantled the mentioned tunnel.”

It added that “the specialized Yahalom Unit, dealing with explosives, secured and inspected the tunnel for threats. During the operations, large quantities of weapons were discovered inside the tunnel, including rifles, machine guns, anti-tank missiles, as well as advanced surveillance systems. All the equipment was confiscated and destroyed, including the tunnel itself.”

The statement mentioned “the discovery of a stockpile of anti-tank missiles and heavy machine-gun positions directed toward Israeli sites near the tunnel.” It also noted that “the tunnel’s path led to a Hezbollah command center containing rocket launch platforms previously used against Israel during the war, as well as large quantities of explosives.”

While the Israeli military continues to encroach upon the border area and prevents residents from accessing the area until further notice in an attempt to establish a buffer zone, anonymous statements circulated on social media calling for “popular resistance.”

Activists supportive of Hezbollah criticized the Lebanese Army and state for not responding to the Israeli incursions into towns and villages and demanded that Hezbollah “arm and train us so we can resist the Israeli occupier and liberate our land with our own hands.”

A statement signed by a group calling itself Youth of the Border Villages declared: “We find ourselves compelled to defend our villages and properties with whatever weapons are available, and we will not accept the continuation of this barbaric, systematic, and brutal aggression by the enemy. We will be forced to launch a southern popular resistance to confront this assault.”

Another statement signed by a group called Youth of Beirut’s Southern Suburb called on “the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, represented by Hezbollah, to fight in defense of the land, the people, and honor.”

The statement referred to the Israeli violations that occurred after the ceasefire agreement was announced and stated that “given what has happened, after consulting with the Lebanese state and receiving no response, and consulting UNIFIL without receiving any answer, we hereby legally, morally, and ethically authorize Hezbollah and demand it to arm and train us so we can resist the Israeli occupier and liberate our land with our own hands.”

However, despite these anonymous calls, the caretaker government, in which Hezbollah is a key partner, continues to affirm its commitment to the “ceasefire agreement and its insistence on implementing Resolution 1701 as a means to stop hostilities against Lebanon.”

Meanwhile, Hezbollah continues to hold funerals for members killed in southern Lebanon.

During the funeral of one in the city of Hermel on Saturday, Hezbollah MP Ihab Hamadeh condemned “the repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.” He held “the Lebanese government and the committee overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire accountable,” asserting that “resistance remains the most effective option to confront the Israeli enemy.”

On the other side of the border, the Lebanese General Security deported 67 Syrians who had entered Lebanese territory illegally through Al-Arida border crossing with Syria in the north.

In a statement, the Internal Security Forces announced that they had “intercepted a bus carrying the Syrians in the Jbeil area. Upon inspection, 67 individuals were found on board, including men, women, and children, one of whom was an infant no older than 40 days. They had been smuggled into Lebanon from Syria to be transported to Beirut.”

Meanwhile, media reports cited a Lebanese security source stating that “Rifaat Assad, uncle of the ousted Syrian president Bashar Assad, departed Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport for Dubai on Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by two individuals on a private jet.”

On Friday, Lebanese General Security detained Rifaat Assad’s granddaughter and her mother at the airport after discovering both were carrying passports that had expired.

Numerous former Assad regime officials have left the country via Lebanon since the fall of the regime. Among those was Bouthaina Shaaban, a senior adviser to the deposed leadership , according to Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi.

However, security services arrested a former officer from the 4th Division, belonging to Syria’s Al-Kreidi family, while he was en route to Beirut with $170,000 in his possession.

Meanwhile, security forces are still investigating whether the former head of Syrian Air Force Intelligence, Jamil Hassan — accused by US authorities of committing war crimes during Assad’s rule — is currently in Lebanon.

The Lebanese judiciary received an Interpol request for his arrest, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati affirmed at the time that Lebanon “will cooperate with Interpol’s request.”