Condolences Pour in from Across the Globe over Iraq Fire Tragedy

An exterior view of the hall where a fire broke out during a wedding ceremony in Al-Hamdaniya town, northern Iraq, 27 September 2023. (EPA)
An exterior view of the hall where a fire broke out during a wedding ceremony in Al-Hamdaniya town, northern Iraq, 27 September 2023. (EPA)
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Condolences Pour in from Across the Globe over Iraq Fire Tragedy

An exterior view of the hall where a fire broke out during a wedding ceremony in Al-Hamdaniya town, northern Iraq, 27 September 2023. (EPA)
An exterior view of the hall where a fire broke out during a wedding ceremony in Al-Hamdaniya town, northern Iraq, 27 September 2023. (EPA)

The Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed on Wednesday its sincerest condolences to the Iraqi government and people, as well as the relatives of the victims, over the Nineveh fire that killed over 100 people.

The ministry underscored the Kingdom’s solidarity with Iraq and its people, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

A fire ripped through a packed wedding hall in northern Iraq late on Tuesday, killing more than 100 people.

Fire fighters searched the charred remains of the building in Qaraqosh, also known as Al-Hamdaniya, through Wednesday morning and bereaved relatives gathered outside a morgue in the nearby city of Mosul.

The US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski offered her condolences.

“We stand by the Iraqis in their grief for the victims and the injured at Al-Hamdaniya wedding,” Romanowski said in a post on the X platform.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said it was “shocked and pained by the horrible loss of life and injuries in the fire in Ninenveh’s Al-Hamdaniya. An immense tragedy.”

“Our sincere condolences to the families who lost loved ones. We wish the injured a speedy recovery,” it added on the X platform.

The European Union mission in Iraq offered its condolences, saying its hearts were with the families of the victims.

It expressed its solidarity with Iraq and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

The spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abou Zeid, said Cairo stands by Iraq, its government and people in wake of the tragedy.

Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri sent a cable to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and his counterpart Mohammed al-Halbousi to offer his condolences.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani all offered their condolences.

Kanaani added that Iran was ready to treat the wounded.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq stressed the need for the concerned authorities to dedicate all efforts and means to help the victims and their relatives.

It urged the need to open a probe into the accident and bring those responsible to justice.

It also called for ensuring that all public and private buildings meet safety standards to avoid such tragedies from taking place again in the future.



Türkiye Renews Support for Political Solution, Dialogue between Damascus, Syria Opposition

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)
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Türkiye Renews Support for Political Solution, Dialogue between Damascus, Syria Opposition

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)

Türkiye reiterated its commitment to a comprehensive political solution to the crisis in Syria, backing dialogue and negotiations between the Damascus regime and opposition.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks in Ankara on Thursday with leaders of the Syrian opposition.

The officials discussed the current developments in Syria and efforts to restore relations between Ankara and Damascus to the way they were before the eruption of the crisis in 2011.

In a post on the X platform, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Fidan met with head of the National Coalition for the Forces of the Revolution and Syrian Opposition Hadi al-Bahra, head of the negotiations committee Nader Jamous and Prime Minister of the interim government Abdulrahman Mustafa.

Fidan stressed to his guests Türkiye’s support for realistic and purposeful dialogue and negotiations that would pave the way for a comprehensive political solution based on United Nations Security Council resolution 2254.

The FM said last week that “reconciliation with the opposition is the Syrian government’s problem and duty.”

Türkiye encourages meetings between the government and opposition, but it cannot force the opposition to do so, he added.

“We want the government to sit with the opposition, assess the problems and kick off negotiations to reach a solution,” he remarked.

He stressed that it is “impossible” to ignore the opposition.

Russia, meanwhile, is intensifying its efforts for Türkiye and Syria to normalize relations.

Fidan met with the opposition days after Russian presidential envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev visited Ankara for talks on the Syrian crisis.

He met with deputy Turkish Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz on Saturday as part of consultations over Syria.

Lavrentiev had visited Damascus on June 26 for talks with President Bashar al-Assad. Talks covered restoring ties with Ankara back to the way they were before the crisis erupted.

Assad was receptive to the proposals to that end.