Syria intelligence chief in Egypt for ‘coordination’

By Mohamed Mahmoud

CAIRO (AA) – Syrian intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk held talks in Egypt on Monday with a view to coordinating political stances between Damascus and Cairo, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported.

SANA said the one-day visit came upon an invitation from Egypt for talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Khaled Fawzi and top security officials.

According to the agency, the two sides agreed on coordinating political stances and fighting terrorism.

Egyptian authorities have yet to comment on the visit.

An Egyptian security source earlier told Anadolu Agency that a Syrian regime delegation of six officials had arrived in Cairo late Sunday for talks on the latest developments in war-torn Syria.

The visit comes amid tension between Egypt and Saudi Arabia after Cairo voted in favor of a Russian draft resolution that called for a cessation of hostilities in Syria.

Riyadh opposed the Russian draft, which had failed to garner the votes needed for ratification.

While Cairo advocates a political solution for the six-year Syrian conflict, Riyadh is a staunch foe of the Bashar al-Assad regime and calls for his departure.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-torn country, according to UN figures.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, however, a Beirut-based NGO, puts the death toll from the five-year conflict at more than 470,000.