Syria on Friday launched a national campaign to combat drugs and treat addiction under the slogan "Syria Without Drugs", organised by the ministries of interior and health at the Damascus Convention Palace in the presence of President Ahmad Al-Sharaa.
Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab said at the campaign's launch ceremony: "We announce the launch of the national campaign to combat drugs and treat addiction, affirming our commitment to protecting people, safeguarding society, and strengthening security and stability."
He added: "Syria, throughout its long history, was a beacon of knowledge and culture, but the defunct regime, through its criminal practices, turned it into the largest source of Captagon and narcotics, and contributed to spreading this scourge domestically and internationally as a means of extortion, a tool of warfare, and a source of illicit funding."
Health Minister Musab Al-Ali affirmed that "the Ministry of Health has worked from the outset in an institutional and organised manner in dealing with drug and addiction issues, and we are working to combat drugs in cooperation with national partners, the World Health Organisation, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime."
Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab honoured the children of Khaled Ridwan Al-Haj Abdullah, who was killed while carrying out his duties in combating drugs in the city of Mayadin in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor in March.
The director of the narcotics department at the Syrian Ministry of Interior, Brigadier General Khaled Eid, confirmed that Syria, following 8 December 2024, began a strict security approach based on dismantling domestic and international smuggling networks and dismantling sources and warehouses across most parts of the country.
Syria is also detaining a number of drug traffickers wanted on Interpol lists, as part of a strategy that includes cooperation with neighbouring countries in developing joint security plans to combat this scourge.