SYRIA UPDATE
Tax Evasion Sparks Conflict Between Syrian Government And Assad’s Billionaire Cousin
A corruption crisis is developing between the government and the country’s top tycoon Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of President Bashar al-Assad.
The crisis began in April, when the Syrian Communication Ministry demanded the Makhlouf-owned Syriatel and MTN, the only mobile operators in the country, to pay more than $130 million as a tax return to “balance” their licenses.
Makhlouf, unexpectedly, reacted by releasing a public video and accusing the government of injustice. In the same video, he promised to pay off the taxes.
He said that Syrian authorities are “demanding we forfeit our company’s profits” and hand over “120 percent of the profits to the state or else we will be arrested”.
“Whoever thinks I will resign under these conditions, doesn’t know me,” France 24 quoted Makhlouf as saying.
The Ministry of Communication responded to Makhlouf’s third video by saying that the dead line for payment has passed. The ministry warned that it will be taking legal action.
“We hold Syriatel all legal and operational consequences as a result of its refusal to restore the rights it owes to the state … And we affirm that we will take all legal measures to collect these rights and recover the money by possible legal, legitimate means,” a statement by the ministry reads.
Mainstream media outlets speculate that the sitaution with Makhlouf indicates that the ‘bloody Assad regime’ is collapsing. In their view, the push of the government to impose the law and order in the economic sphere is something ‘wrong’ that goes contrary to ‘democratic values’.
https://southfront.org/tax-evasion-sparks-conflict-between-syrian-government-and-assads-billionaire-cousin/
Civilian killed by Turkish occupation forces in Hasaka countryside
Local sources told SANA’s reporter in Hasaka that at Sunday afternoon, Turkish occupation forces opened fire at farmers working in their fields in Deir Ghosn near the Turkish borders, martyring one of the farmers.
This comes less than 24 hours after the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries deliberately opened fire on a civilian car in Qashqa area southwest of Ras al-Ayn, martyring one civilian and injuring another.
https://sana.sy/en/?p=191914
Military Situation In Syria On May 17, 2020 (Map Update)
A brief overview of the recent developments in Syria:
US military vehicles tried to block a Russian convoy that was delivering humanitarian aid to norheastern Syria;
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Syrian Army exchanged prisoners near Darat Izza;
The head of Imarat Kavkvaz terrroist group in Syria was killed in Greater Idlib;
A former fighter of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham assaulted a local imam in al-Bala’ah;
Unidentified gunmen attacked positions of the Syrian Army in Boqruss;
ISIS cells abducted and killed a civilian near al-Sukhnah claiming that he was a ‘spy’.
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-syria-on-may-17-2020-map-update/
U.S. Syria Representative Says His Job Is to Make the War a ‘Quagmire’ for Russia
Special Representative James Jeffrey said Tuesday during a Hudson Institute video call that President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” approach towards Syria was paying dividends, and rejected concerns that the American deployment there could turn into a drawn out and costly project akin to Afghanistan or Vietnam.
“This isn’t Afghanistan, this isn’t Vietnam,” he explained. “This isn’t a quagmire. My job is to make it a quagmire for the Russians.”
https://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=164578
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