Najib Mikati’s visit, the first in 15 years, comes amid pressure in Lebanon to release Islamists imprisoned during the civil war and just after the election of President Joseph Aoun.

Najib Mikati will visit Damascus on Syria’s new administration leader Ahmed al-Sharaa's invitation - Anadolu Ajansı

In Syria's third city Homs, members of ousted president Bashar al-Assad's Alawite community say they are terrified as new authorities comb their districts for "remnants of the regime", arresting hundreds.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will meet Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Saturday, two Lebanese sources said, becoming the first head of government to visit Syria's capital since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati will on Saturday make his first official trip to neighbouring Syria since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, his office told AFP.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister will meet Syria's de facto leader in Damascus on Saturday, the first visit by a Lebanese premier to Syria in 15 years.

Syria’s embassy in Lebanon has suspended consular services a day after two relatives of deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad were arrested at the Beirut airport with allegedly forged passports.

Lebanon’s newly elected President Joseph Aoun called Thursday for a comprehensive defense policy to counter Israeli assaults and for dialogue with neighboring Syria. Aoun was elected by the Lebanese parliament on Thursday, ending over two years of political vacuum since President Michel Aoun left office in October 2022.

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said Friday that Lebanon was working to find a solution with Syria, after two security officials said Damascus had imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens.

1920 - The League of Nations grants the mandate for Lebanon and Syria to France, which creates the State of Greater Lebanon out of the provinces of Mount Lebanon, north Lebanon, south Lebanon and the Bekaa. 1926 - Lebanese Representative Council approves a constitution and the unified Lebanese Republic under the French mandate is declared.

Lebanon’s new president and former army commander Joseph Aoun has maintained a low profile. Those who know him say he is no-nonsense, kind and averse to affiliating himself with any party or even expressing a political opinion — a rarity for someone in Lebanon’s fractured,