JEDDAH: A petition that was started by a Syrian Londoner calling to reunite parents of a Syrian refugee, who was a victim of the recent Grenfell Tower inferno in London, attracted over 93,000 signatures (at the time of this filing).
Mohammed Al-Haj Ali, 23, fled the war in Syria only to die in the fire that engulfed the 24-story tower block in west London.
The Home Office announced on Sunday that they would assist the parents of Al-Haj Ali to come to the UK to attend their son Mohammed’s funeral and visit their children Omar, who was admitted to a hospital, and Hesham, after five years of separation.
London-based Mirna Ayoubi, a friend of Al-Haj Ali family, launched the petition on Change.Org. She posted on Sunday saying: “We managed to make a difference in the world and hopefully reunite Omar and Hesham Al-Haj Ali with their family in Syria.”
According to the petition, the brothers had not seen their family in five years and were “forced to limit communication to ensure their safety amid the crackdown against the opposition.”
Mohammed, and his two brothers, Omar, 25, and Hesham, 20, came to London seeking a better future away from the conflict in their home in Daraa, in the south of Syria.
Mohammed’s last words to his brother Omar were reportedly: “The smoke is getting in … we are going to die.”
The Home Office on Sunday said that it would offer advice on issuing emergency visas to those who are directly affected by Grenfell Tower fire.
A visa help line is now available as the Home Office published information on its website urging people directly affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower, who are seeking guidance on UK passports, visa or immigration, to call the advice hotline (+443002220000).
Petition launched to reunite family of Syrian Londoner who died in Grenfell Tower fire
Petition launched to reunite family of Syrian Londoner who died in Grenfell Tower fire
Second death in Minneapolis crackdown heaps pressure on Trump
- Federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, early Saturday while scuffling with him on an icy roadway in the Midwestern city
MINNEAPOLIS: The Trump administration faced intensifying pressure Sunday over its mass immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, after federal agents shot dead a second US citizen and graphic cell phone footage again contradicted officials’ immediate description of the incident.
Federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, early Saturday while scuffling with him on an icy roadway in the Midwestern city, less than three weeks after an immigration officer fired on Renee Good, also 37, killing her in her car.
President Donald Trump’s administration quickly claimed that Pretti had intended to harm the federal agents — as it did after Good’s death — pointing to a pistol it said was discovered on him.
However, video shared widely on social media and verified by US media showed Pretti never drawing a weapon, with agents firing around 10 shots at him seconds after he was sprayed in the face with chemical irritant and thrown to the ground.
The video further inflamed ongoing protests in Minneapolis against the presence of federal agents, with around 1,000 people participating in a demonstration Sunday.
After top officials described Pretti as an “assassin” who had assaulted the agents, Pretti’s parents issued a statement Saturday condemning the administration’s “sickening lies” about their son.
Asked Sunday what she would say to Pretti’s parents, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said: “Just that I’m grieved for them.”
“I truly am. I can’t even imagine losing a child,” she told Fox News show “The Sunday Briefing.”
She said more clarity would come as an investigation progresses.
US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking to NBC’s “Meet the Press,” also said an investigation was necessary to get a full understanding of the killing.
Asked if agents had already removed the pistol from Pretti when they fired on him, Blanche said: “I do not know. And nobody else knows, either. That’s why we’re doing an investigation.”
‘Joint’ probe
Their comments came after multiple senators from Trump’s Republican Party called for a thorough probe into the killing, and for cooperation with local authorities.
“There must be a full joint federal and state investigation,” Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said.
The Trump administration controversially excluded local investigators from a probe into Good’s killing.
Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz posed a question directly to the president during a press briefing Sunday, asking: “What’s the plan, Donald Trump?“
“What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?“
Thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed to heavily Democratic Minneapolis for weeks, after conservative media reported on alleged fraud by Somali immigrants.
Trump has repeatedly amplified the racially tinged accusations, including on Sunday when he posted on his Truth Social platform: “Minnesota is a Criminal COVER UP of the massive Financial Fraud that has gone on!“
The city, known for its bitterly cold winters, has one of the country’s highest concentrations of Somali immigrants.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pushed back against Trump’s claim, telling reporters “it’s not about fraud, because if he sent people who understand forensic accounting, we’d be having a different conversation. But he’s sending armed masked men.”
Court order
Since “Operation Metro Surge” began, many residents have carried whistles to notify others of the presence of immigration agents, while sometimes violent skirmishes have broken out between the officers and protesters.
Local authorities have sued the federal government seeking a court order to suspend the operation, with a first hearing set for Monday.
Recent polling has shown voters increasingly upset with Trump’s domestic immigration operations, as videos of masked agents seizing people off sidewalks — including children — and dramatic stories of US citizens being detained proliferate.
Barack and Michelle Obama on Sunday forcefully condemned Pretti’s killing, saying in a statement it should be a “wake-up call” that core US values “are increasingly under assault.”
The former president and first lady blasted Trump and his government as seeming “eager to escalate the situation.”
