NICOSIA: Greece, Jordan and Cyprus called for more effective support to countries on the frontline of the Middle East refugee crisis on Tuesday and pledged to deepen cooperation on a host of issues from water management to protection of artefacts.
As millions of people have poured out of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey have taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees, while Greece has been used as a launchpad for many seeking to reach other European countries.
The three leaders also urged the international community to offer more support to Jordan and other countries which have borne the brunt of a mass influx of refugees fleeing the war in Syria.
Anastasiades and Tsipras said they would ask fellow European Union member countries to lend more assistance to Jordan.
“We underlined the huge challenges our countries face on the refugee crisis and naturally the need for the international community to actively and effectively support countries which host large numbers of refugees,” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in Nicosia that were billed as the cornerstone of a new partnership.
He did not say what sort of support the countries want.
Jordan hosts over 1.3 million Syrian refugees, while thousands of refugees and migrants are stuck in Greece after its Balkan neighbors sealed off a route used by more than a million people in 2015 and early 2016 to get to other European states.
“Its an international concern and host countries like Jordan need the world’s support,” King Abdullah said.
“We are shouldering an immense refugee burden and cannot be left alone as we undertake this humanitarian responsibility on behalf of the world.”
The three countries said they would seek to boost cooperation on issues such as water management, tourism projects and in the shipping sector.
“It is no secret that we live in a very tough neighborhood, rife with challenges but also with opportunities and together, our chances of capitalizing on these opportunities ...increase tenfold,” Abdullah said.
Meanwhile, the Cypriot president said the fight against extremism necessitates even closer cooperation with Greece and Jordan.
Abdullah said his country is working with others to close off all routes for extremists. He said despite successes in Iraq and Syria, they can’t be allowed to regroup and establish footholds elsewhere.
An agreement was also signed on the prevention of theft, illicit excavations and export of cultural property.
Jordan, Greece and Cyprus say more support needed to states on refugee frontline
Jordan, Greece and Cyprus say more support needed to states on refugee frontline
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South Sudan officers face court martial over civilian massacre
- The increasingly unstable country is seeing a surge of fighting between government and opposition forces
JUBA: South Sudanese soldiers, including two officers, will face a court martial over a civilian massacre last month, the army spokesman said Wednesday.
The increasingly unstable country is seeing a surge of fighting between government and opposition forces, much of it in eastern Jonglei state where at least 280,000 people have been displaced since December according to the UN.
At least 25 civilians, including women and children, were killed in Ayod County in Jonglei state on February 21, according to the opposition.
Army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said that two officers, including a major, and several non-commissioned officers, had been arrested and would face charges in the capital Juba, “before they are arraigned before a competent military court martial.”
He said the deaths were attributed to “some elements” under Gen. Johnson Olony, who was filmed in January ordering troops to “spare no lives” in Jonglei.
Koang said the soldiers had “moved out without the knowledge or authorization of the division commander.”
He also said they had been part of a militia group allied to opposition forces, parts of which had not yet been fully integrated into the army.
Military integration was among the core principles of a peace agreement that ended South Sudan’s five-year civil war in 2018 between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Riek Machar, but it was never implemented.
Koang said the army regretted the loss of lives, adding: “We would like to once again remind our forces that their mandate is to protect civilians and their property, not to do the opposite.”
It followed an impassioned plea from the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference on recent civilian killings — in Ayod, and also in Abiemnom County near the Sudan border where at least 169 people were killed on Sunday.
“We implore you to deploy resources to protect vulnerable populations and foster a climate of dialogue and reconciliation instead of violence and revenge, consoling the bereaved and supporting the afflicted,” it said in a statement.
