Syrian, Austrian officials discuss voluntary return of asylum seekers

Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab met with an Austrian delegation in Damascus on Thursday. (SANA)
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Updated 29 January 2026
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Syrian, Austrian officials discuss voluntary return of asylum seekers

  • Austria’s special envoy to the Middle East and senior Interior Ministry officials join talks
  • Since November 2024, Syrians make up the largest group of asylum seekers in Austria, with 12,871 applications recorded

LONDON: Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab met with an Austrian delegation in Damascus on Thursday to discuss cooperation on migration, border management, and the voluntary return of Syrian asylum seekers.

Austria’s special envoy to the Middle East, Ambassador Arad Benko, along with senior officials from Austria’s Interior Ministry, discussed asylum issues, the regulation of humanitarian movement, and ways to coordinate policies and procedures between the two countries.

The discussions also involved sharing expertise in border control, organizing asylum procedures, and facilitating voluntary returns, while cooperating to support security and stability in both countries, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

As of November 2024, Syrians make up the largest group of asylum seekers in Austria, with 12,871 applications recorded, the EuroMed Rights reported.


More than 100 Palestinians detained in West Bank since start of Ramadan, including women, children

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More than 100 Palestinians detained in West Bank since start of Ramadan, including women, children

  • Arrests by Israelis accompanied by extensive field interrogation

RAMALLAH: Israeli forces have detained more than 100 Palestinians from the West Bank since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, including women, children, and former prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society reported on Sunday.

The organization said the detentions coincided with Israel’s announcement of the intensification of such actions during Ramadan, with recent settler attacks providing cover for widespread detentions across most West Bank governorates, including Jerusalem. Many detainees from Jerusalem have been barred from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.

A statement pointed out that arrests by Israelis are accompanied by extensive field interrogation which often targets all sections of Palestinian society.

Documented violations accompanying detentions include severe beatings, organized terror campaigns against detainees and their families, destruction and looting of homes, confiscation of vehicles, money and gold, demolition of family homes, use of family members as hostages, employment of prisoners as human shields, and extrajudicial executions.

The society stressed that Israel exploits detention campaigns to expand settlement activity in the West Bank, with settlers serving as a key tool to impose a new reality.

The Palestinian Detainees Affairs Commission has revealed harrowing details of the abuses faced by Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Wajih Mahamid from Jenin during his incarceration in Israeli prisons.

The commission said that on Nov. 15, 2023, Mahamid was severely beaten on his right knee with a baton used by prison guards, causing a serious injury that left him unable to walk without crutches.

He was beaten again on the same knee on March 29, 2025, resulting in severe swelling which was later confirmed to be a fracture. Despite his condition, the prison authorities only provided painkillers and refused to transfer him to hospital, maintaining a policy of deliberate medical neglect.

The commission stressed that these abuses reflected the harsh reality faced by Palestinian detainees, who are deprived of basic human rights, medical treatment and care.