Syria arrests over 40 Germans: Report

24 June 2012 | 16:15 Code : 1903196 Latest Headlines

Press TV- Syria has reportedly arrested more than 40 German nationals for attempting to smuggle arms into the country.


An alternative news weblog, the NSNBC, cited a German journalist as saying that the German nationals are the employees of a "security firm."

The weblog report further said that the Germans were detained while attempting to smuggle arms and ammunition from a cargo vessel in the international waters off the coast of Syria.

The source added that the Germans are reportedly jailed along with over 300 other foreigners, among them Portuguese paratroopers.


No German authority has commented on the matter, yet.

Since the start of the turmoil in Syria, the smuggling of arms into the country has been on the rise.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. The violence has claimed the lives of many people, including security forces.

Damascus blames ‘outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups’ for the unrest, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

The West and the Syrian opposition, however, accuse the government of killing protesters.