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Iraq warns of ‘danger’ in Lebanon conflict expanding

Iraq warns of ‘danger’ in Lebanon conflict expanding
The exchanges between Israel and Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group, an ally of Hamas, have intensified in recent weeks, sparking fears of wider war. (REUTERS)
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Updated 13 June 2024
AFP
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Iraq warns of ‘danger’ in Lebanon conflict expanding

Iraq warns of ‘danger’ in Lebanon conflict expanding
  • The exchanges between Israel and Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group, an ally of Hamas, have intensified in recent weeks, sparking fears of wider war
Updated 13 June 2024
AFP
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BAGHDAD: Iraq’s foreign minister on Thursday, receiving his Iranian counterpart in Baghdad, warned of the dangers of conflict expanding in southern Lebanon and its repercussions across the Middle East.
Near-daily cross-border fire between Lebanese-based militants and Israeli forces have occurred since Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, triggering the ongoing aggression in the Gaza Strip.
The exchanges between Israel and Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group, an ally of Hamas, have intensified in recent weeks, sparking fears of wider war.
“If southern Lebanon is attacked, it will affect the entire region,” Iraq’s top diplomat Fuad Hussein said at a press conference with Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri, who also voiced opposition to a regional escalation.
“The expansion of the war is a danger, not only for Lebanon but for the entire region,” Hussein said, repeating his call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
The Iranian minister similarly called for “putting an end as quickly as possible, and without preconditions,” to “war crimes” and “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
He said Israel, in response to their “failure” in Gaza, “may seek to commit further wrongs and broaden the scope of their aggression,” but Iran would not allow anyone “to harm stability and regional security, even if only a little.”
Experts have said they believe risk of a wider war is limited.
Hezbollah, a major ally of Tehran’s, launched a barrage of rockets at northern Israel on Wednesday and promised to intensify its attacks after the killing of a top military commander the day before in an Israeli strike.
The Israeli military said more than 150 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel in successive barrages, without any reported casualties, adding that they responded with strikes against several targets in southern Lebanon.

Topics: Iraq Iran

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Syrians rebuild Maaret Al-Numan, symbol of war’s devastation

Syrians rebuild Maaret Al-Numan, symbol of war’s devastation
Updated 8 sec ago
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Syrians rebuild Maaret Al-Numan, symbol of war’s devastation

Syrians rebuild Maaret Al-Numan, symbol of war’s devastation
Updated 8 sec ago
MAARET AL-NUMAN, Syria: Vegetation grows between crumbled walls and torn asphalt, and not a single street remains intact in Syria’s Maaret Al-Numan, a key war battleground town being brought back to life by returnees.
Bilal Al-Rihani reopened his pastry shop in the western town this week with his wife and 14-year-old son.
The 45-year-old baker couldn’t stay away after years of exile, even amid the devastation surrounding him.
Working without water or electricity, the shop bustles with customers as they prepare cinnamon pastries — a family speciality for 150 years.
Cars weave through the ruins, honking to announce their arrival. Like Rihani, his customers are former residents displaced by war, eager to rebuild their homes and lives.
“I’m doing better business here than in the (displacement) camp!” Rihani said, pointing to the cracked road outside. “This street was the town’s busiest, day and night.”
Once home to nearly 100,000 people, Maaret Al-Numan was devastated by years of war, turning it into a ghost town and a symbol of Syria’s destruction.
The town’s location on the strategic M5 highway, linking second city Aleppo to the capital Damascus, made it a key battleground from the outbreak of fighting in 2012.
Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the group now in power after ousting long-time president Bashar Assad over a week ago, seized it in 2017.
But in 2020, Assad’s forces backed by Russian air strikes retook the town after intense fighting, forcing the last remaining residents to flee to displacement camps in Idlib.
The war left Maaret Al-Numan littered with mines and unexploded ordinances, deterring large-scale returns.
Authorities have yet to encourage people to return, but the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group active in rebel areas, were working to clear debris and recover bodies.
At one site, they placed four bodies in mortuary bags.
“Soldiers from Assad’s army, killed by his own people,” one White Helmet member said, declining to elaborate.
The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 with the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, resulted in more than half a million deaths and displaced millions of people.
At another intersection, a bulldozer clears collapsed stone walls from the streets.
“This neighborhood is cleaned up, and we’re here to protect the people and their belongings,” said Jihad Shahin, a 50-year-old police officer.
“Activity is returning to the city, and we’ll rebuild better than before.”
But it is an uphill battle, according to local official Kifah Jaafer.
“There are no schools, no basic services. We’re doing what we can to help, but the city lacks everything,” he said.
Jaafer, who previously managed an Idlib displacement camp, is now focused on addressing residents’ needs as they trickle back.
At the town’s edge, Ihab Al-Sayid, 30, and his brothers are clearing the collapsed roof of their family home.
In 2017, a Russian air strike left Sayid with severe brain injuries requiring multiple operations.
Now he’s back, brewing coffee on a stove while his four-year-old son plays nearby.
“People here are simple,” he said. “All we need is security. We came back five days ago to rebuild and start fresh.”
The bitter cold settles as the sun sets, but Sayid remains optimistic.
“We’ve gotten rid of Assad — that gives us courage.”

UN says one million Syrians may return in first half of 2025

A Syrian woman rests next to her belongings as she waits to cross into Syria from Turkey at the Oncupinar border gate.
A Syrian woman rests next to her belongings as she waits to cross into Syria from Turkey at the Oncupinar border gate.
Updated 13 min 33 sec ago
Reuters
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UN says one million Syrians may return in first half of 2025

A Syrian woman rests next to her belongings as she waits to cross into Syria from Turkey at the Oncupinar border gate.
  • Pointing to “immense challenges,” Imseis called on countries that have been hosting the millions of Syrian refugees to refrain from hastily sending them back
Updated 13 min 33 sec ago
Reuters

GENEVA: The United Nations said Tuesday it expects around one million people to return to Syria in the first half of 2025, following the collapse of president Bashar Assad’s rule.
Assad fled Syria just over a week ago, as his forces abandoned tanks and other equipment in the face of a lightning offensive spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), ending five decades of repressive rule by Assad’s family.
The rule was marked by the mass jailing and killing of suspected dissidents, and nearly 14 years of civil war that left more than 500,000 people and forced half of the population to flee their homes.
The ousting of Assad sparked celebrations around Syria and beyond, and has prompted many to begin returning to their war-ravaged country.
“We have forecasted that we hope to see somewhere in the order of one million Syrians returning between January and June of next year,” Rema Jamous Imseis, the Middle East and North Africa director for the UN refugee agency UNHCR, told reporters in Geneva.
She said the recent developments had brought “a tremendous amount of hope... for the largest displacement crisis we have on planet Earth to finally be resolved.”
But she stressed that “we also have to recognize that a change in the regime doesn’t mean that there is an end to the humanitarian crisis already there.”
Pointing to “immense challenges,” she called on countries that have been hosting the millions of Syrian refugees to refrain from hastily sending them back.
“No one should be forcibly returned to Syria and that the right of Syrians to maintain access to asylum must be preserved,” Imseis said.
Almost immediately after Assad’s fall, a number of European countries said they would freeze pending asylum requests from Syrians, while far-right parties have been pressing for the deportation of refugees back to Syria.
“What we’re saying to governments that have suspended asylum proceedings is... please continue to respect the right to access territory, to lodge an asylum claim,” Jamous Imseis said.
“People simply cannot after 14 years of displacement, pack a bag overnight and return to a country that has been devastated by conflict,” she said.
“Give us and Syrian refugees time to assess whether it’s safe to go back... It’s simply too early to see how safe it’s going to be.”
At the same time as many people are returning to Syria, Jamous Imseis pointed out that more than a million people had become newly displaced in Syria in the past three weeks, “mostly women and children.”
She highlighted that there was also a need to reevaluate who was at risk in the radically-changed Syria.
“Risk profiles which existed prior to December 8 may no longer need that same level of protection, or do not have that same threat or fear of violations against their rights, whereas now with this regime change, we have other vulnerable groups that have emerged in that process,” she said.

Topics: Fall of Assad

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EU, Turkiye discuss inclusive Syria government and refugee returns

EU, Turkiye discuss inclusive Syria government and refugee returns
Updated 17 December 2024
Arab News
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EU, Turkiye discuss inclusive Syria government and refugee returns

EU, Turkiye discuss inclusive Syria government and refugee returns
Updated 17 December 2024
Arab News

DUBAI: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discussed key issues surrounding Syria on Tuesday, focusing on the need for an inclusive administration and the return of Syrian refugees.

Erdogan stressed the importance of establishing an inclusive government in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar Assad and called on the European Union to support the return of Syrians who fled the country’s civil war, many of whom are now in Turkey.

Von der Leyen agreed on the need for an inclusive government and outlined the EU's intention to engage directly with Syria’s new Islamist-led government, primarily led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Despite HTS's roots in Al-Qaeda, Western nations, including Turkey, have engaged with the group after Assad's ouster, though it is still officially designated as a terrorist organization.

The EU plans to increase its engagement with HTS and other factions to help guide Syria toward stability.

Von der Leyen also warned about the potential resurgence of Daesh in Syria, stressing that this threat "must not" be allowed to materialize.

Erdogan highlighted Turkey’s ongoing efforts to combat Daesh and Kurdish militant groups, which it considers terrorist organizations, and reiterated his government's commitment to preventing a "terror corridor" along its border with Syria.

In related developments, Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus, and the EU is planning to reopen its mission in Syria, following "constructive" talks with Syria's new leadership. These moves indicate a shift in the West's approach to the Syrian conflict and its aftermath.

Topics: Turkiye Syria Fall of Assad

Syria’s caretaker PM Bashir: Syria has very low foreign currency reserves

Syria’s caretaker PM Bashir: Syria has very low foreign currency reserves
Updated 17 December 2024
Reuters
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Syria’s caretaker PM Bashir: Syria has very low foreign currency reserves

Syria’s caretaker PM Bashir: Syria has very low foreign currency reserves
Updated 17 December 2024
Reuters
DUBAI: Syrian caretaker Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Bashir told Al Jazeera TV on Tuesday that Syria has very low foreign currency reserves.
Current and former Syrian officials have told Reuters that the dollar reserves have been nearly depleted because Bashar Assad’s government increasingly used them to fund food, fuel and its war effort.
The central bank’s foreign exchange reserves amount to just around $200 million in cash, one of the sources told Reuters, while another said the US dollar reserves were “in the hundreds of millions.”

Palestinians in Syria flock to cemetery off-limits under Assad

Palestinians in Syria flock to cemetery off-limits under Assad
Updated 17 December 2024
AFP
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Palestinians in Syria flock to cemetery off-limits under Assad

Palestinians in Syria flock to cemetery off-limits under Assad
Updated 17 December 2024
AFP

YARMUK: In a war-ravaged Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, Radwan Adwan was stacking stones to rebuild his father’s grave, finally able to return to Yarmuk cemetery after Bashar Assad’s fall.
“Without the fall of the regime, it would have been impossible to see my father’s grave again,” said 45-year-old Adwan.
“When we arrived, there was no trace of the grave.”
It was his first visit there since 2018, when access to the cemetery south of Damascus was officially banned.
Assad’s fall on December 8, after a lightning offensive led by Islamist rebels, put an end to decades of iron-fisted rule and years of bloody civil war that began with repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Yarmuk camp fell to rebels early in the war before becoming a jihadist stronghold. It was bombed and besieged by Assad’s forces, emptied of most of its residents and reduced to ruins before its recapture in 2018.
Assad’s ouster has allowed former residents to return for the first time in years.
Back at the cemetery, Adwan’s mother Zeina sat on a small metal chair in front of her husband’s gravesite.
She was “finally” able to weep for him, she said. “Before, my tears were dry.”
“It’s the first time that I have returned to his grave for years. Everything has changed, but I still recognize where his grave is,” said the 70-year-old woman.
Yarmuk camp, established in the 1950s to house Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their land after Israel’s creation, had become a key residential and commercial district over the decades.
Some 160,000 Palestinians lived there alongside thousands of Syrians before the country’s conflict erupted in 2011.
Thousands fled in 2012, and few have found their homes still standing in the eerie wasteland that used to be Yarmuk.
Along the road to the cemetery, barefoot children dressed in threadbare clothes play with what is left of a swing set in a rubble-strewn area that was once a park.


A steady stream of people headed to the cemetery, looking for their loved ones’ gravesites after years.
“Somewhere here is my father’s grave, my uncle’s, and another uncle’s,” said Mahmud Badwan, 60, gesturing to massive piles of grey rubble that bear little signs of what may lie beneath them.
Most tombstones are broken.
Near them lay breeze blocks from adjacent homes which stand empty and open to the elements.
“The Assad regime spared neither the living nor the dead. Look at how the ruins have covered the cemetery. They spared no one,” Badwan said.
There is speculation that the cemetery may also hold the remains of famed Israeli spy Eli Cohen and an Israeli solider.
Cohen was tried and hanged for espionage by the Syrians in 1965 after he infiltrated the top levels of the government.
A Palestinian source in Damascus, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject, told AFP contacts were underway through mediators to try to find their remains.
Camp resident Amina Mounawar leaned against the wall of her ruined home, watching the flow of people arriving at the cemetery.
Some wandered the site, comparing locations to photos on their phones taken before the war in an attempt to locate graves in the transformed site.
“I have a lot of hope for the reconstruction of the camp, for a better future,” said Mounawar, 48, as she offered water to those arriving at the cemetery.

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