BEIRUT: A number of Syrian refugees who returned home have been subjected to detention, disappearance and torture at the hands of Syrian security forces, proving that it still isn’t safe to return to any part of the country, Amnesty International said Tuesday.
In a report entitled “You’re going to your death,” the rights group documented what it said were violations committed by Syrian intelligence officers against 66 returnees, including 13 children between mid-2017 and spring 2021. Among those were five cases in which detainees had died in custody after returning to the country torn by civil war, while the fate of 17 forcibly disappeared people remains unknown.
The report strongly counters claims by a number of states that parts of Syria were now safe to return to. It criticizes Denmark, Sweden and Turkey specifically for restricting protection and putting pressure on refugees from Syria to go home. It also criticizes Lebanon and Jordan, who have some of the highest number of Syrian refugees per capita.
In Lebanon and Turkey, where many refugees face dire living conditions and discrimination, governments have put increasing pressure on Syrians to return. Turkey has reportedly forcibly deported many Syrians in the last two years — expulsions that reflect rising anti-refugee sentiment in a country that once flung open its borders to millions of Syrians fleeing civil war.
Denmark and Sweden earlier this year started revoking the residency permits of some Syrian refugees, arguing that the Syrian capital, Damascus, and neighboring regions were now safe.
Few experts agree with that assessment. While the security situation has stabilized in government-controlled areas and many parts of central Syria previously held by opposition rebels, forced conscription, indiscriminate detentions and forced disappearances continue to be reported. Moreover, entire neighborhoods are destroyed, and many people have no houses to return to. Basic services such as water and electricity are poor to nonexistent.
“Any government claiming Syria is now safe is willfully ignoring the horrific reality on the ground, leaving refugees once again fearing for their lives,” said Marie Forestier, researcher on refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International. She said that while military hostilities may have subsided in most parts of Syria, the Syrian government’s “propensity for egregious human rights violations has not.”
The Syrian government and its chief international backer, Russia, have publicly called on refugees to return home and accused Western countries of discouraging it with claims that Syria is still unsafe.
In its report, Amnesty International urged European governments to immediately halt any practice directly or indirectly forcing people to return home. It also called on neighboring countries Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, who host the bulk of the Syrian refugee population, to protect them from deportation or any other forcible return, in line with their international obligations.
It said Syrian authorities in some cases have targeted returnees to Syria simply for having fled, accusing them of treason or supporting “terrorism.”
The Syrian government routinely dismisses accusations of human rights abuses as lies.
The report documents serious violations committed by the Syrian government against refugees who returned to Syria from Lebanon, Rukban (an informal settlement between the Jordanian and Syrian borders), France, Germany, Turkey, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates between mid-2017 and spring 2021. They were based on interviews with 41 Syrians, including returnees and their relatives and friends, as well as lawyers, humanitarian workers and Syria experts.
In some cases, the human rights violations included rape or other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary or unlawful detention, and torture or other ill-treatment, the report said.
Syria’s 10-year war has killed about half a million people and forced about 5.6 million to flee abroad as refugees, mostly to neighboring countries.
Syria refugees suffered abuse, torture upon return: Amnesty
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Syria refugees suffered abuse, torture upon return: Amnesty
Lebanon signs gas exploration deal with French-Qatari-Italian consortium
- France’s TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy and Italy’s Eni signed for Block 8, planning a 1,200 sq. km 3D seismic survey to assess potential
- Previous searches in Block 4 and 9 did not yield any discoveries
BEIRUT: Lebanon on Friday signed a gas exploration deal for Block 8 with a consortium comprising France’s TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy and Italy’s Eni, in a ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s Office and attended by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
According to Gaby Daaboul, board member at the Lebanese Petroleum Administration, the agreement stipulates that the consortium will carry out a 3D seismic survey in Block 8, which spans 1,200 sq. km, in preparation for exploratory drilling based on analysis of the survey data.
In 2023, Lebanon marked the resumption of oil and gas exploration in its territorial waters, as a consortium that included Qatar Energy drilled an exploratory well in Block 9.
However, all activities were halted, ostensibly due to the lack of oil or gas. The companies’ cessation of operations coincided with the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Earlier hopes were dashed when gas was not found in Block 4, leaving many Lebanese disappointed.
Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Joe Saddi, who signed the agreement on behalf of the state, described the move as “a confirmation of the consortium’s commitment to continue exploration activities in Lebanon despite all challenges, and a reflection of continued confidence in the petroleum potential of Lebanese territorial waters.
“We look forward to the consortium coordinating and promptly implementing the 3D seismic survey campaign. This will enhance geological and technical understanding of Block 8 and allow for a more accurate assessment of the opportunities available,” the minister said.
He announced the preparation of a file for launching the fourth licensing round, aiming at attracting international companies to invest in open offshore blocks and boost exploration and production activity in Lebanon.
Asked whether there are guarantees that the consortium operating in Block 8 will provide Lebanon with an official technical report, Saddi explained that “for Block 9, an official report was submitted to the Ministry and the Petroleum Sector Administration.”
He noted that oil companies do not spend tens of millions of dollars without expecting results.
“No oil was found in the Block 9 drilling area, but a full report is available. This highlights the importance of the seismic survey in Block 8 to understand the block’s detailed geology, which will guide future exploration,” he said.
Saddi stressed that regional and domestic stability will be key to accelerating the exploration process.
The agreement was signed by Romain de La Martiniere, managing director of Total Lebanon, on behalf of Total Energies; Ali Abdulla Al-Mana, head of exploration at Qatar Energy; and Andrea Cozzi, managing director for Eni’s Lebanon division.
“Lebanon looks forward to continuing its exploration efforts by promoting non-obligatory blocks, with the aim of intensifying exploration activities and achieving a commercial discovery that will boost the national economy and support sustainable development,” Daaboul said.
Lebanon’s offshore oil and gas exploration centers on 10 blocks in its exclusive economic zone, with Blocks 4, 8, 9, and 10 most relevant near the maritime border with Israel.
A 2022 US-brokered maritime border agreement resolved a long dispute, granting Israel full control of the Karish field while assigning Qana Prospect (Block 9) to Lebanon. However, Israel is poised to receive royalties from any future production there.
Lebanon is racing against time to resume exploration after Total’s 2023 drilling in Block 4 yielded negative results, prompting the company to return the block to the Lebanese state. Meanwhile, Israel began commercial production in the area roughly four months later.
Although the company was expected to resume drilling in Block 4 from a different location, it chose to return the block to the Lebanese state, where it will later be included among the blocks offered for exploration.
In 2018, Lebanon signed its first exploration contracts with three companies — Total, Eni, and Russia’s Novatek — to search for oil and gas in two blocks within its territorial waters, Blocks 4 and 9. Of the 10 blocks Lebanon has designated for oil and gas exploration, three are located in its exclusive economic zone.
Lebanese citizens are pinning their hopes on the exploration, anticipating the discovery of oil wells to help revive the struggling economy.
