In June 2013, a massacre was committed in the village of Hatla in Deir al-Zour's countryside in which 60 victims were killed. People were killed with Kuwaiti knives and purely for sectarian reasons. Just like al-Nusra Front boasted at the time that it "cleansed Hatla of the Shia," Kuwaiti Sheikh Shafi al-Ajami boasted of "slaughtering Shias with knives" amidst cheers and cries of "God is great."
Saudi, Qatari and Kuwaiti media outlets celebrated the massacre each in its own way. When a journalist from Asia News Agency asked Ajami a few days later "if he feared that the Kuwaiti authorities might arrest him," he replied: "This is an issue that concerns me and the Kuwaiti authorities," who did not lift a finger.
The Council of Supporters, of Kuwait, was behind the creation of the Damascus operations room in September 2013. It included Jaysh al-Islam, al-Furqan Brigades, al-Habib al-Mustafa Brigades, the Islamic Ahrar al-Sham Movement, the Companions Brigades and Battalions and the Army of the Muslims Brigade.
One Salafist group in Kuwait, the Great Kuwait Campaign, had been so successful in raising money for terrorist groups that twelve thousand terrorists were fully armed as a result of their pledges in 2013.
The campaign was publicly launched in June 2013, at the same time as the Hatla massacre, and was titled: "Kuwait's Major Campaign to Prepare 12,000 Invaders for Syria". The campaign collected 8.4 million Kuwait dinars (about US$ 30 million), and its main promoter was al-Tabtabai.
In June 2013, al-Tabtabai was working alongside a terrorist group in Syria's Aleppo that gathered and trained armed men to fight in Syria. Tabtabai spoke to al-Jazeera TV and said it was the final day of training for more than 3,000 armed men who have newly arrived in Aleppo. He said another 1,000 militants will be "graduated" in northwestern city of Idlib the following day. Al-Tabtabai said they had promised the Syria militants to train 12,000 terrorists to send to Syria.
Hypocrisy
On January 28, 2019, a Kuwaiti court sentenced al-Tabtabai to seven years in jail for failing to tell his wife he divorced her and continuing to have sexual relations with her. She only found out about the divorce when he refused to support his newborn daughter. Regardless of his pious Islamic reputation, he broke Islamic law by having relations with a woman outside of marriage, and forced his ex-wife to also commit a sin, unknowingly, for his pleasure. At the time, he was outside Kuwait and already facing a 42-month jail term handed down in July 2018 in another case for storming parliament and assaulting police.
Kuwait reforms
Kuwait has been actively pursuing major developments and reforms to diversify its economy and revamp its infrastructure.
Kuwait's Vision 2035 has taken center stage, aiming to transform the nation into a regional powerhouse by diversifying its economy, reducing reliance on oil revenues, and increasing private sector participation. The government is actively working to attract foreign investment, foster innovation, and enhance the ease of doing business.
Kuwait is steadfast in improving its infrastructure and enhancing connectivity to position itself as a business and tourism hub. Remarkable advancements have been made in renewable energy sources, with the country aiming to produce 15% of its electricity from renewables by 2030.
In Syria, where the Kuwaitis helped to destroy the country and infrastructure, currently the people have only three hours of electricity per day.
Kuwait deeply values its cultural heritage and is investing in the revival and preservation of its historical sites and landmarks, such as the UNESCO World Heritage Site nominations for Failaka Island and the city of Al-Jahra.
In Aleppo, Syria, according to the UN, the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth, the Kuwaitis participated in the wholesale destruction of antiquities far surpassing anything that Kuwait has.
Kuwait's new initiatives aim to promote artists, galleries, museums and cultural centers to boost tourism.
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