Assad's security forces requested all Alawite families stationed in Damascus, especially in the district of Mezze, to relocate to Lattakia within 48 hours, sources have confirmed.
According to the sources, a number of Lebanese banks have witnessed intensive money transfer operations for individuals with close ties to the Syrian regime. The Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs, Rashid Derbas, denied the arrival of senior regime officials or Alawite pro-regime groups in Lebanon over the past few hours.
The minister in charge of Syrian refugees in Lebanon said: "the government is preparing for any field development that may lead to the displacement of large numbers of pro-regime Syrians, especially from the capital Damascus, to which Lebanon is closer than the rest of its neighboring countries". "We will work to make their stay temporary, as visitors on their way to move to other countries", Derbas added.
Rumors spread in Beirut claiming that Syria’s Interior Minister, Mohammed ash-Shaar, in addition to dozens of Alawite officials, defected from the regime and moved to Beirut.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
