MOSCOW: The Russian military said nearly 270,000 Syrian refugees have returned home in recent months, a fraction of the estimated 5.6 million Syrians who have fanned out across the world fleeing the seven-year conflict.
Moscow and the government in Damascus have been encouraging refugees to repatriate, arguing that the violence has subsided. Russia launched military operations to help Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2015, changing the tide of the war in his favor.
Western governments have, however, argued that it’s too early to encourage return. Rights groups and the UN fear refugees would face persecution returning to government-controlled areas in the absence of a comprehensive political agreement.
Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev of the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters Friday that nearly 6,000 people have returned to Syria in the last week alone, according to data collected by Russia.
He said they are seeing large waves of refugees returning home.
The conflict has caused nearly half of Syria’s population to be displaced, with an estimated 6 million internally displaced and 5.6 million fleeing to neighboring countries and Europe, and registering with the United Nations Refugee Agency.
Russia has negotiated local cease-fires that have greatly reduced the fighting, but the causes of the conflict have not been addressed. The Syrian government has regained control of nearly 60 percent of Syrian territory. But armed opposition, some backed by Turkey, and Daesh militants remain holed up in areas in the north and south of the country.
The violence has not completely stopped.
On Friday, the UN Children agency UNICEF said the first nine months of 2018 saw the highest number of children killed since the conflict began in 2011, putting it at 870 till September.
“These are only verified cases, with actual numbers likely to be much higher,” UNICEF said in a statement Friday.
The agency said it is alarmed by recent reports of the killing of up to 30 children in the last IS-held pocket in eastern Syria where the U.S-led coalition and its local allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces, have been waging an offensive for over two months.
UNICEF didn’t say how the children were killed, but reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — the Britain-based group monitoring the war — said more than 30 children were killed last weekend in coalition airstrikes on Shafaa village held by the extremists. The coalition says it checks reports of civilian casualties, describing its airstrikes mostly as targeting IS installations or posts.
Russian army says 270,000 Syrian refugees have returned home
Russian army says 270,000 Syrian refugees have returned home
- Moscow and the government in Damascus have been encouraging refugees to repatriate, arguing that the violence has subsided
- Rights groups and the UN fear refugees would face persecution returning to government-controlled areas in the absence of a comprehensive political agreement
Israel PM holds coalition meeting after objecting to Gaza panel
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his ruling coalition partners on Sunday after objecting to the composition of a Gaza advisory panel
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his ruling coalition partners on Sunday after objecting to the composition of a Gaza advisory panel formed by the White House, according to an official and media reports.
The White House announced this week the setting up of a “Gaza Executive Board,” which would operate under a broader “Board of Peace” to be chaired by US President Donald Trump as part of his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza.
The executive board, described as having an advisory role, includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi, alongside other regional and international officials.
Late on Saturday, Netanyahu’s office objected to the composition of the executive board.
“The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy,” the office of Netanyahu said.
“The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the US Secretary of State on this matter.”
It did not explain the reason for its objection, but Israel has previously objected strongly to any Turkish role in post-war Gaza, with relations between the two countries deteriorating sharply since the war began in October 2023.
In addition to naming Turkiye’s foreign minister to the executive board, Trump has also invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to join the overarching Board of Peace.
Media reports said that leaders of the country’s ruling coalition were scheduled to meet on Sunday to examine the composition of the executive board.
“There is a meeting scheduled of the coalition at 10:00 am (0800 GMT),” the spokesman of Netanyahu’s Likud Party told AFP, declining to provide further details.
Alongside Likud, the coalition includes the Religious Zionist Party led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The White House said Trump’s plan would include three bodies: the Board of Peace, chaired by Trump; a Palestinian committee of technocrats tasked with governing Gaza; and the Gaza Executive Board, which would play an advisory role.
The Palestinian technocratic committee held its first meeting in Cairo on Saturday.
The diplomatic developments came as the United States said this week that the Gaza truce plan had entered a second phase, shifting from implementing a ceasefire to the disarmament of Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
