Palestinian official abducted by HTS forces in Syrian capital: Reports
Forces of Syria’s ruling administration, which is led by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have abducted Talal Naji, a senior official with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) organization in the Syrian capital Damascus, reports have shown.
Naji, secretary-general of the PFLP’s General Command, was taken away by the forces as he left his residence in the city’ Mazzeh neighborhood on Saturday, various resistance media outlets reported.
The 79-year-old official, who used to support the former Syrian government’s anti-Israeli stance, was taken shortly after departing his home, accompanied by a driver and two guards.
According to an unnamed Palestinian official, the abduction occurred with little warning, and Syria’s ruling authorities quickly followed up by questioning the two unarmed guards for nearly an hour.
The source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the incident, added that the guards were not detained, but questioned extensively.
An official with Syria’s HTS-led administration, also speaking anonymously, indicated that the move against Naji took place so he could be subjected to questioning. The official did not provide further details on the reasons behind the detention, citing alleged restrictions on public comments.
The move came after previous reports pointing to the abduction of key officials with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance group in the Arab country. The Islamic Jihad similarly used to strongly back Syria’s former authorities’ strong positions against the Israeli regime’s occupation of Palestine, aggression against Palestinians, and Tel Aviv’s recurrent acts of deadly aggression against Syria.
The HTS, who used to lead a fierce fight against the government of Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad, ran the Arab country over last year amid intense Israeli airstrikes against the nation’s civilian and defensive infrastructures.
Its chief, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani later said his group sought no conflict with the Israeli regime.
The HTS’ measures against Palestinian factions come amid their continued opposition and resistance against the regime’s atrocities, including its ongoing attacks against Syria.
Most recently, the PFLP recently denounced the aggression and the regime’s so-called justification of the assaults, denouncing Tel Aviv’s “hypocrisy” in claiming that the strikes were aimed at protecting minorities, while Tel Aviv consistently violated Palestinian rights.
