Nicosia: Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos met Kuwait’s ambassador on Wednesday to condemn an attack on Kuwaiti tourists during anti-migrant violence in the island’s second city, Limassol.
He met Kuwait ambassador Abdullah Al-Kharafi after the Gulf country lodged a protest over the attack during racist-motivated violence in Limassol on Friday evening.
Kombos posted on social media platform X, that the two diplomats had a “warm and comprehensive meeting, reaffirming the excellent level of the bilateral relations.”
The ministry said: “FM Kombos took the opportunity to condemn the recent deplorable incident against tourists. The minister relayed his wish to visit Kuwait very soon.”
There was no mention of whether there was a formal apology to Kuwait over the attack.
On Sunday, Cyprus said it received a diplomatic protest from an unspecified Gulf Arab state.
Wednesday’s post confirmed that the country was Kuwait and that Cyprus was trying to repair any damage to its ties.
Senior diplomat Kyriakos Kouros posted on the X platform Sunday that a group of tourists left Cyprus soon after being attacked.
“They cut short the holidays to leave in a hurry, scared! I doubt they will ever come back.”
Kouros, the foreign ministry permanent secretary, posted a photograph of a group at the airport. One sat in a wheelchair and had a bandaged forearm. Another was dressed in a suit.
Police in the Mediterranean island have been heavily criticized for not doing more to stop Friday’s violence.
They said they had arrested 13 people after protesters wounded five foreigners and smashed some foreign-owned shops on the Limassol seafront.
During the unrest some black-hooded protesters held a banner that read: “Refugees not welcome.”
Kouros said that in all his years as a diplomat, he had never felt so “embarrassed” about an incident in Cyprus.
“We should not have allowed it to develop into something so hideous,” he said.
Authorities said a Vietnamese mother whose shop was vandalized on Friday will receive state support to repair her property. A post on social media had shown her in tears after the attack.
Anti-migrant sentiment has grown in recent years as the government highlighted its struggles against irregular migration.
European Union member Cyprus says it is a “front-line country” on the Mediterranean migrant route, struggling to cope with an influx of undocumented migrants and refugees.
The latest EU data shows Cyprus has the highest number of first-time asylum applications relative to population in the 27-member bloc.
With almost four million annual visitors, tourism is a key economic driver, contributing around 15 percent of GDP to the Cypriot economy.
Cyprus condemns attack on Kuwait tourists
https://arab.news/vypg4
Cyprus condemns attack on Kuwait tourists
- Kuwait lodged a protest over the attack during racist-motivated violence in Limassol on Friday evening
- Anti-migrant sentiment has grown in recent years as the government highlighted its struggles against irregular migration
Syrian army pushes into Aleppo district after Kurdish groups reject withdrawal
- Two Syrian security officials told Reuters the ceasefire efforts had failed and that the army would seize the neighborhood by force
ALEPPO, Syria: The Syrian army said it would push into the last Kurdish-held district of Aleppo city on Friday after Kurdish groups there rejected a government demand for their fighters to withdraw under a ceasefire deal.
The violence in Aleppo has brought into focus one of the main faultlines in Syria as the country tries to rebuild after a devastating war, with Kurdish forces resisting efforts by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s Islamist-led government to bring their fighters under centralized authority.
At least nine civilians have been killed and more than 140,000 have fled their homes in Aleppo, where Kurdish forces are trying to cling on to several neighborhoods they have run since the early days of the war, which began in 2011.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Standoff pits government against Kurdish forces
• Sharaa says Kurds are ‘fundamental’ part of Syria
• More than 140,000 have fled homes due to unrest
• Turkish, Syrian foreign ministers discuss Aleppo by phone
ِA ceasefire was announced by the defense ministry overnight, demanding the withdrawal of Kurdish forces to the Kurdish-held northeast. That would effectively end Kurdish control over the pockets of Aleppo that Kurdish forces have held.
CEASEFIRE ‘FAILED,’ SECURITY OFFICIALS SAY
But in a statement, Kurdish councils that run Aleppo’s Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafiyah districts said calls to leave were “a call to surrender” and that Kurdish forces would instead “defend their neighborhoods,” accusing government forces of intensive shelling.
Hours later, the Syrian army said that the deadline for Kurdish fighters to withdraw had expired, and that it would begin a military operation to clear the last Kurdish-held neighborhood of Sheikh Maksoud.
Two Syrian security officials told Reuters the ceasefire efforts had failed and that the army would seize the neighborhood by force.
The Syrian defense ministry had earlier carried out strikes on parts of Sheikh Maksoud that it said were being used by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to launch attacks on the “people of Aleppo.” It said on Friday that SDF strikes had killed three army soldiers.
Kurdish security forces in Aleppo said some of the strikes hit a hospital, calling it a war crime. The defense ministry disputed that, saying the structure was a large arms depot and that it had been destroyed in the resumption of strikes on Friday.
It posted an aerial video that it said showed the location after the strikes, and said secondary explosions were visible, proving it was a weapons cache.
Reuters could not immediately verify the claim.
The SDF is a powerful Kurdish-led security force that controls northeastern Syria. It says it withdrew its fighters from Aleppo last year, leaving Kurdish neighborhoods in the hands of the Kurdish Asayish police.
Under an agreement with Damascus last March the SDF was due to integrate with the defense ministry by the end of 2025, but there has been little progress.
FRANCE, US SEEK DE-ESCALATION
France’s foreign ministry said it was working with the United States to de-escalate.
A ministry statement said President Emmanuel Macron had urged Sharaa on Thursday “to exercise restraint and reiterated France’s commitment to a united Syria where all segments of Syrian society are represented and protected.”
A Western diplomat told Reuters that mediation efforts were focused on calming the situation and producing a deal that would see Kurdish forces leave Aleppo and provide security guarantees for Kurds who remained.
The diplomat said US envoy Tom Barrack was en route to Damascus. A spokesperson for Barrack declined to comment. Washington has been closely involved in efforts to promote integration between the SDF — which has long enjoyed US military support — and Damascus, with which the United States has developed close ties under President Donald Trump.
The ceasefire declared by the government overnight said Kurdish forces should withdraw by 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Friday, but no one withdrew overnight, Syrian security sources said.
Barrack had welcomed what he called a “temporary ceasefire” and said Washington was working intensively to extend it beyond the 9 a.m. deadline. “We are hopeful this weekend will bring a more enduring calm and deeper dialogue,” he wrote on X.
TURKISH WARNING
Turkiye views the SDF as a terrorist organization linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party and has warned of military action if it does not honor the integration agreement.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking on Thursday, expressed hope that the situation in Aleppo would be normalized “through the withdrawal of SDF elements.”
Though Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda commander who belongs to the Sunni Muslim majority, has repeatedly vowed to protect minorities, bouts of violence in which government-aligned fighters have killed hundreds of Alawites and Druze have spread alarm in minority communities over the last year.
The Kurdish councils in Aleppo said Damascus could not be trusted “with our security and our neighborhoods,” and that attacks on the areas aimed to bring about displacement.
Sharaa, in a phone call with Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Friday, affirmed that the Kurds were “a fundamental part of the Syrian national fabric,” the Syrian presidency said.
Neither the government nor the Kurdish forces have announced a toll of casualties among their fighters from the recent clashes.
