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Hezbollah operative fled from Egypt through Sudan: report

February 19, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The leader of a Hezbollah cell in Egypt managed to escape prison during the recent unrest that took place late last month and secured a path back to Syria through Sudan, a newspaper reported this week.

Hezbollah member Sami Chehab, who escaped from an Egyptian prison during the Cairo uprising, embraces Lebanon's Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem during a rally in Beirut's suburbs February 16, 2011 (Reuters)
Hezbollah member Sami Chehab, who escaped from an Egyptian prison during the Cairo uprising, embraces Lebanon’s Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem during a rally in Beirut’s suburbs February 16, 2011 (Reuters)
Quoting well placed Syrian sources, the Kuwait-based Al-Seyassah newspaper said that Damascus issued a passport to Mohammed Yousif Mansour also known as Sami Chehab through its embassy in Cairo.

Law and order broke down all over Egypt during 18 days of mass demonstrations demanding the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak.

Police units withdrew from all their positions amid allegations that this move was ordered by former interior minister Habib Al-Adly who is currently in prison undergoing investigations on charges of money laundry and causing security vacuum during the unrest.

The newspaper said that Syrian intelligence sought and obtained approval from the leadership to assist in the escape of Chehab who was issued a passport labeled in the official forms as a replacement for a lost one. He reached Sudan by land and arrangements were made through an undercover Hezbollah station in the East African country.

He boarded a flight from Khartoum airport to Damascus and subsequently to Lebanon where he appeared at a rally with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Chehab was among thousands of inmates who took advantage of the turmoil in Egypt to escape from Wadi Natroun prison which lies on the Cairo-Alexandria highway after relatives stormed the jail, overcame the guards and freed the prisoners.

Chehab was sentenced in Egypt last April to 15 years in prison for planning attacks in the country, The court sentenced a total of 26 people in relation with the case including four men in absentia.

Nasrallah acknowledged that Chehab was a member of Hezbollah and in Egypt to help its Palestinian allies Hamas get weapons across the border into the Gaza Strip.

But Egypt said it was holding the group on suspicion of planning attacks. Prosecutors said Hezbollah had told the men to collect intelligence from villages along the Egypt-Gaza border, tourist sites and the Suez Canal.

The report does not allege any knowledge by Sudanese authorities of Chenab’s presence in the country.

This month, the U.S. administration initiated a process to remove Sudan from its blacklist of terrorism sponsoring countries, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking Director of National Intelligence, James R. Clapper, for an intelligence assessment report of Sudan‘s support for terrorist activities.

In 2009, Israeli warplanes reportedly attacked a convoy inside Sudan suspected of ferrying arms to Gaza during Israel’s offensive against Hamas. Israel never formally admitted responsibility but Sudan said later it believed the Jewish state carried out the airstrike.

(ST)

2 Comments

  • Tambura
    Tambura

    Hezbollah operative fled from Egypt through Sudan: report
    We all know that Hezbollah and Hamas get weapons from Iran through Sudan and Egypt. How come Sudan didn’t know the man got into the country without passport in this short time managed to get passport from Syria and took fight from Khartoum airport without Khartoum knowledge? If somebody tell my six years old boy that about Sudan, he will slap you on your face. American want to remove Sudan out from blacklist of countries sponsoring terrorist, they will do it not because Sudan is not longer sponsoring terrorist, they will do it because some powerful indveduld personal in white house want to do business with Khartoum in nearest future. Sudan after independent of South Sudan will become pure Islamic country where Islam law will apply stronger than any Islamic country in middle east. The only reason there is no uprising in Sudan now is because they promised Islamic State. Islamic took over Tunisia Egypt soon they will take over Libya Algeria Morocco and some arabs counties are not apply shria law. All that American turn their eyes blind not to see.

    Reply
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