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Family feud: Fighting breaks out in Syria

LONDON -- Clashes have erupted in Syria between forces loyal to President Hafez Assad and supporters of his brother, Rifaat, in the first such fighting between the ruling family since 1984, a newsletter reported on Friday.

The London-based Mideast Mirror daily reported that the fighting broke out recently between in the city of Latakia, where the Assad family is based. They said Syrian authorities arrested a son of Rifaat, Kaisar Shalish.

The publication said Syrian troops have raided suspected strongholds of Rifaat and arrested his supporters. Mideast Mirror did not say whether the clashes were connected to the feud between the president's son, Bashar, and Rifaat's son, Samir.

The report was not confirmed by any other source. Rifaat was allowed to return to Syria nearly two years ago and since then has maintained a low profile.

Mideast Mirror quoted Arab sources as saying the health of the Syrian president is unstable and he has not been working for several days.

The Assad brothers, who cooperated in the 1970s, began to feud in the early 1980s when Rifaat tried to impose secular norms on the conservative Islamic population in Syria and replace members of the nation's security forces. In 1984, Hafez Assad forced a showdown with Rifaat and the younger brother agreed to go into exile.

The reported clash comes as the Syrian president is ordering major changes in his security and diplomatic corps. On Friday, the London-based Al Hayat reported that Assad has appointed Maj.-Gen. Ali Khoury as head of general intelligence. Khoury's new aide will be Maj.-Gen Bashir Naseef. The intelligence agency will be restricted to civilian issues.

Assad has also recalled seven ambassadors, including the Syrian envoy to the United States, Walid Mualem. Syrian sources said the recall is aimed to bring new blood to the diplomatic corps, where many of the ambassadors have served as long as a decade in foreign countries.

A Russian military delegation appears ready to conclude a visit to Damascus as part of cooperation between the armies of Syria and Russia. The delegation met with Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass and Syrian Chief of Staff Gen. Ali Aslan. Diplomatic sources said the Russian delegation did not discuss the sale of military equipment to Damascus.