Today’s news round on Syria covers a diverse range of stories highlighting the ongoing complexities in the region. In California, a man has been sentenced to prison for illegally importing an ancient Syrian mosaic, a piece of cultural heritage dating back to the Roman Empire, which was hidden in a garage and is now set to be returned to Syria. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of State has imposed new visa restrictions on Syrian officials involved in repression and enforced disappearances, reinforcing its stance on human rights abuses. In Iraq, a joint U.S.-Iraqi raid targeting ISIS militants resulted in significant casualties, underscoring the continued threat posed by the group despite the collapse of its caliphate. Lastly, a new book by former Trump advisor HR McMaster reveals how Turkish President Erdogan allegedly manipulated Trump regarding U.S. military presence in Syria, influencing decisions that had significant implications for the region’s stability. These stories reflect the ongoing struggles, both within Syria and in its interactions with the international community.
Ancient mosaic of Hercules nets man prison term for illegal import from Syria
USA TODAY reported that a California man was sentenced to prison for illegally importing a 2,000-pound Syrian mosaic of the Roman demigod Hercules, a historic work of art dating back to the Roman Empire, federal prosecutors said this week.
Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi is heading to prison for a three-month sentence after U.S. District Court Judge George W. Hu sentenced him Thursday for lying to customs about the mosaic, the Justice Department said. The 15-foot long, 8-foot wide antiquity was seized by federal authorities from Alcharihi’s garage and will be repatriated to Syria.
The mosaic depicts the story of Hercules rescuing Prometheus, who was chained to a rock by his gods for stealing fire for humanity. The department said Alcharihi bought the mosaic in 2015 for about $12,000 and lied to U.S. Customs and Border Protection about its value and origins.
“In August 2015, Alcharihi illegally imported the mosaic – which dates from the era of the Roman Empire – by means of a false classification as to its value and quality,” according to the department’s statement. “The mosaic arrived at Alcharihi’s direction at the Port of Long Beach as part of a shipment from Turkey.”
The case isn’t the first of looted art discovered in the U.S. In March, a Massachusetts family found art looted from Japan dating back to World War II in their attic. In September 2023, the New York family of a late billionaire voluntarily agreed to return 33 artifacts to Cambodia. The FBI maintains the National Stolen Art File, an online database of stolen art, cultural items and ancient artifacts.
A jury found Alcharihi guilty on June 21, 2023, of entry of goods falsely classified, after a five-day trial. according to court records. Hu also granted the government’s request Thursday to seize the mosaic, the department said.
Announcement of Steps to Impose Visa Restrictions on Additional Individuals Involved in the Repression of Syrians
The U.S. Department of State announced visa restrictions on 14 additional Syrian regime officials involved in the repression of Syrians, particularly in relation to arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances. This action, taken on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, is part of ongoing efforts to hold those responsible accountable. The new restrictions add to those imposed earlier in 2024 and 2023 on 21 Syrian officials and their families. The U.S. continues to call for the cessation of these abuses, the clarification of the fates of the missing, and the release of those still alive, while reaffirming support for the Syrian people’s pursuit of freedom and dignity.
15 suspected ISIS militants killed in joint U.S., Iraq raid
The United States military and Iraq launched a joint raid targeting suspected Islamic State group militants in the country’s western desert that killed at least 15 people and left seven American troops hurt, officials said Saturday.
For years after dislodging the militants from their self-declared caliphate across Iraq and Syria, U.S. forces have fought the Islamic State group, though the casualties from this raid were higher than in previous ones.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said the militants were armed with “numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive ‘suicide’ belts” during the raid Thursday, which Iraqi forces said happened in the country’s Anbar Desert.
“This operation targeted ISIS leaders to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians, as well as U.S. citizens, allies, and partners throughout the region and beyond,” Central Command said, using an acronym for the militant group. “Iraqi Security Forces continue to further exploit the locations raided.”
It added: “There is no indication of civilian casualties.”
An Iraqi military statement said “airstrikes targeted the hideouts, followed by an airborne operation.”
“Among the dead were key ISIS leaders,” Iraq’s military said, without identifying them. “All hideouts, weapons and logistical support were destroyed, explosive belts were safely detonated and important documents, identification papers and communication devices were seized.”
Erdogan ‘played’ Trump and lied to him on Syria, former Trump advisor McMaster says
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “played” Donald Trump and convinced him that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would be the inevitable winner of the Syrian civil war, according to a new book by Trump’s former national security advisor, HR McMaster.
McMaster, who served the former president between 20 February 2017 and 9 April 2018, wrote in his recently released book, At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House” that Erdogan constantly pushed Trump to withdraw US forces from parts of northern Syria to allow Turkish forces to remove Syrian Kurdish armed elements.
In a phone call on 24 November 2017, Erdogan told Trump that there was no longer justification for US support to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) because the Islamic State group had been defeated.
“Like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, Erdogan also portrayed Assad as the inevitable winner in the Syrian Civil War to garner Trump’s approval for a Turkey-Iran-Russia-brokered end of the war,” writes McMaster, referring to the conversation between the two presidents.
“Trump knew that what he was hearing were falsehoods, but Erdogan, like Putin, had figured out how to play to Trump’s distaste for sustained military operations in the Middle East. Erdogan described continued arms transfers to the SDF as a ‘waste of money.'”
McMaster claims Erdogan “lied” to Trump to prevent the development of a Kurdish army that might seek independence in Syria and lay claim to parts of eastern Turkey long sought by Kurdish nationalists.
“Putin and Erdogan were playing Trump”, he wrote. “If I allowed this situation to go unchallenged, I would be derelict in my duty as national security advisor.”
McMaster also notes that both Putin and Erdogan saw him as an impediment to their relationship with Trump.
“Aware that Trump and I were on the outs, Erdogan suggested that I had delayed their conversation. Trump scowled at me from behind the desk,” he said, referring to another phone call between the leaders on 22 March 2018.
McMaster also alleges that Trump himself misled Erdogan from time to time.
‘Ridiculous’
In the phone call on 24 November 2017, Erdogan, according to McMaster, described continued arms transfers to the SDF as a waste of money.
“Trump fell for it. ‘You’re right, it is ‘ridiculous,’ [Trump told Erdogan],” the book reported.
“‘I told General McMaster no weapons to anyone, now that it is over. I told General McMaster that to his face!'”
McMaster says, on the contrary, Trump had never ordered him to stop the delivery of weapons.
