Parents of Syrians Missing In Greece Boat Tragedy 'Pray Day And Night'

Survivors of the shipwreck wait inside a warehouse at the port of Kalamata
Angelos TZORTZINIS - AFP
Survivors of the shipwreck wait inside a warehouse at the port of Kalamata Angelos TZORTZINIS - AFP
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Parents of Syrians Missing In Greece Boat Tragedy 'Pray Day And Night'

Survivors of the shipwreck wait inside a warehouse at the port of Kalamata
Angelos TZORTZINIS - AFP
Survivors of the shipwreck wait inside a warehouse at the port of Kalamata Angelos TZORTZINIS - AFP

In war-torn Syria, parents of teenagers missing in a shipwreck off the Greek coast are clinging onto hope their children might be alive, days after the tragedy.

A fishing boat overloaded with migrants capsized and sank off Greece's Peloponnese peninsula on Wednesday, killing at least 78 people.

While the exact number of passengers on the rusty trawler is unknown, hundreds are feared missing, and relatives and activists have told AFP at least 141 Syrians were aboard.

Iyad from Jassem in the southern province of Daraa, the cradle of Syria's 12-year civil war, said his 19-year-old son Ali was still unaccounted for.

"I have had no news of my son. I haven't spoken to him. I haven't heard his voice," said Iyad, who works at a school and declined to provide his surname.

"His mother hasn't stopped crying for three days."

The 47-year-old said he had heard of two Greek reports -- one listing his son among the survivors and another among the dead.

"I still have hope that he will be among the survivors," Iyad told AFP by telephone on Saturday. "We are praying to God day and night."

The teenager was looking for a better life in Libya, his father said, and had travelled there by plane from Damascus.

"He told us he wanted to work in a restaurant" and had planned to send money to help the family, Iyad added.

"We didn't know he wanted to take a boat," he said. "If we'd known, we wouldn't have allowed him to go."

Activists at the Daraa Martyrs Documentation Office told AFP on Saturday that 106 people aboard the trawler were from the country's south, mainly from Daraa province, where they said "living and security situation... is absolutely unbearable".

Only 34 so far were known to have survived, they added.

A blind 15-year-old boy and his 28-year-old sister from Daraa province were also among those missing, their uncle told AFP on Friday, declining to be identified for security reasons.

Daraa province was the cradle of the 2011 uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but it returned to regime control in 2018.

Iyad said Ali's uncle in Germany had travelled to Greece to search for the boy, but "it's like looking for a needle in a haystack".

"For us, he is missing. We have not mourned and we will not mourn until we are sure what has happened," he said.

"If he is found alive, we'll bring him back to Syria. I don't want my son to be far away from me... not even for one more second.

"We borrowed a large amount of money to send him to Libya to work -- not to die."

In Kobane in Syria's Kurdish-held north, Mohammed Mohammed said he too was awaiting news of the fate of his 15-year-old son Diyar.

"Every day, hope is fading of seeing my son again," Mohammed, a tyre repairman, told AFP by telephone late Friday.

Diyar "left because the situation here is terrible", the 48-year-old said.

Kobane became a symbol of symbol of victory over ISIS group, after US-backed Kurdish forces drove the jihadists out in 2015.

But the city, also known as Ain al-Arab, is in the crosshairs of Ankara, which wants Kurdish forces to withdraw from frontier areas.

Türkiye has carried out deadly raids in the area and threatened a new ground offensive.

Mohammed said the family lived less than one kilometre (little more than half a mile) from the Turkish border.

Diyar's "dream was to go to Germany to be with my brother who lives there", he said.

"Everyone wants to leave," he said, adding Diyar had been with four friends.

At least 35 people aboard the boat were from Kurdish-held areas in Syria's north, a relative told AFP on Friday.

Mohammed said his brother had travelled to Greece in the hope of finding Diyar, but was denied entry to hospitals where he had hoped to speak to survivors.

"People are fleeing death, but finding death" along the way, he said.



Iraq Treads a Tightrope to Avoid Spillover from Israel-Iran Conflict 

Iraqi security forces close a bridge leading to the Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)
Iraqi security forces close a bridge leading to the Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)
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Iraq Treads a Tightrope to Avoid Spillover from Israel-Iran Conflict 

Iraqi security forces close a bridge leading to the Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)
Iraqi security forces close a bridge leading to the Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)

In Iraqi airspace, Iranian missiles and drones have crossed paths with Israeli warplanes, forcing Baghdad to step up efforts to avoid being drawn into the region's latest conflict.

But with Baghdad both an ally of Iran and a strategic partner of the United States, Israel's closest supporter, it may struggle to avoid the fighting spreading to its territory.

"There is a sizable risk of a spillover escalation in Iraq," said political analyst Sajad Jiyad.

"Iraqis have a right to be worried," he added.

With warnings of all-out regional war intensifying following Israel's surprise assault on Iran last week, fears are growing over an intervention by Iran-backed Iraqi factions, which have been calling for the withdrawal of US troops deployed in Iraq as part of an anti-ISIS coalition.

A senior Iraqi security official told AFP on condition of anonymity that among pro-Iran actors "everyone is cooperating with the government to keep Iraq away from conflict."

But Jiyad warned that if the US supports Israel's attacks, it "may lead to pro-Iran elements inside Iraq targeting US troops" or other American interests like the embassy in Baghdad or the consulate in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region.

This could lead to the US and Israel taking retaliatory actions within Iraq, Jiyad added.

Iraq, which has been for years navigating a delicate balancing act between Tehran and Washington, has long been a fertile ground for proxy battles.

In 2020, during US President Donald Trump's first term, Washington killed Iran's esteemed Revolutionary Guards General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

Most recently, amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iraq was on the brink of being drawn into the conflict after pro-Iran factions launched numerous attacks on US troops in the region, as well as mostly failed attacks on Israel, in support of Palestinians.

Washington retaliated by hitting the armed groups.

In recent days, Baghdad has been working diplomatic channels to prevent the latest violence from spreading onto its turf.

It has called on Washington to prevent Israeli jets from using Iraqi airspace to carry out attacks against Iran.

It also asked Iran not to strike US targets in its territory, and was promised "positive things", according to a senior Iraqi official.

Israel's use of Iraq's airspace has angered pro-Iran groups, who accused US troops of allowing it.

Powerful armed faction Kataib Hezbollah stressed that Iran does not need "military support", but it said that the group is "closely monitoring" the US military in the region.

It warned that if Washington intervenes in the war, the group "will act directly against its interests and bases in the region without hesitation."

A US official urged the Iraqi government to "protect diplomatic missions, as well as US military personnel."

"We believe Iraq will be more stable and sovereign by becoming energy independent and distancing itself from Iran's malign influence," the official told AFP, referring to Iraq's dependency on gas imports from Iran.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, warned that Iran-backed groups "continue to engage in violent and destabilizing activities in Iraq."

Israel's surprise attack on Iran targeted military and nuclear facilities and killed many top commanders and atomic scientists. Iran responded by unleashing barrages of missile strikes on Israel.

Tamer Badawi, an expert on Iraqi armed groups, said "the more Iran struggles to sustain its firepower against Israel, the likelier it becomes that Iraqi paramilitary actors will be drawn in."

For now, "Iran is trying to avoid collateral damage to its network by keeping its regional allies on standby. But this posture could shift," he added.

Before launching its attack on Iran, Israel had badly hit Tehran's proxies in the region, significantly weakening some groups, including Lebanon's Hezbollah.

"Beyond attacks within Iraq, Iran-backed Iraqi groups retain the capacity to target Israel from western Iraq using their missile arsenals, as they have done before," Badawi said.

They might also target American interests in Jordan.

But Iraqi officials say they have other plans for their country, which has only recently regained a semblance of stability after decades of devastating conflicts and turmoil.

Iraq is gearing up for its legislative elections in November, which are often marked by heated political wrangling.

For armed groups, elections are a crucial battleground as they strive to secure more seats in parliament.

"Sometimes, the sword must be kept in the sheath, but this does not mean abandoning our weapons," a commander of an armed faction told AFP.

The armed groups will not leave Iran, their "godfather... in the battle alone."