Regime Official Retracts Statements on ‘Punishing’ Returning Syrian Refugees

A view shows damaged buildings in Deir al-Zour, eastern Syria February 19, 2014. (Reuters)
A view shows damaged buildings in Deir al-Zour, eastern Syria February 19, 2014. (Reuters)
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Regime Official Retracts Statements on ‘Punishing’ Returning Syrian Refugees

A view shows damaged buildings in Deir al-Zour, eastern Syria February 19, 2014. (Reuters)
A view shows damaged buildings in Deir al-Zour, eastern Syria February 19, 2014. (Reuters)

After a wave of condemnation and criticism over his threat to Syrian refugees seeking to return to their homeland, Syrian regime official Issam Zahreddine retracted his statements on Tuesday.

Zahreddine, who is commander of the republican guard in Deir al-Zour, said that he “obeys the orders” of regime head Bashar Assad.

He also said that the “noble” returning Syrians will be “welcomed back into the heart of the nation.”

His statements were made in a voice recording that was addressed to the “Syrian people, who have persevered, resisted and triumphed.”

Earlier this week, Zahreddine had threatened Syrian refugees seeking to return home, advising them against doing so.

“I urge you against coming back. Even if the state forgives you, we will not forget or forgive,” he said during a televised statement.

In his retraction, Zahereddine said that his statements were manipulated by those seeking to create instability.

Opposition figures meanwhile accuse the regime official of “being responsible for several massacres committed against civilians in several Syrian regions.”

Months ago, he had published on his personal media accounts photographs of himself standing next human corpses in Deir al-Zour, they added.

He had claimed that the bodies were of members of the ISIS terrorist group, added the opposition.



Activist Aid Ship Nears Gaza After Reaching Egypt Coast

 Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)
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Activist Aid Ship Nears Gaza After Reaching Egypt Coast

 Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)

An aid ship with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, has reached the Egyptian coast and is nearing the besieged Palestinian territory, organizers said on Saturday.

The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies "to break Israel's blockade on Gaza".

"We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast," German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. "We are all good," she added.

In a statement from London on Saturday, the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza -- a member organization of the flotilla coalition -- said the ship had entered Egyptian waters.

The group said it remains in contact with international legal and human rights bodies to ensure the safety of those on board, warning that any interception would constitute "a blatant violation of international humanitarian law".

European parliament member Rima Hassan, who is on board the vessel, urged governments to "guarantee safe passage for the Freedom Flotilla."

The Palestinian territory was under Israeli naval blockade even before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that sparked the Gaza war and Israel has enforced its blockade with military action in the past.

A 2010 commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar aid flotilla trying to breach the blockade, left 10 civilians dead.

In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported coming under drone attack while en route for Gaza, prompting Cyprus and Malta to send rescue vessels in response to its distress call. There were no reports of any casualties.

Earlier in its voyage, the Madleen changed course near the Greek island of Crete after receiving a distress signal from a sinking migrant boat.

Activists rescued four Sudanese migrants who had jumped into the sea to avoid being returned to Libya. The four were later transferred to an EU Frontex vessel.

Launched in 2010, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is a coalition of groups opposed to the blockade on humanitarian aid for Gaza that Israel imposed on March 2 and has only partially eased since.

Israel has faced mounting international condemnation over the resulting humanitarian crisis in the territory, where the United Nations has warned the entire population of more than two million is at risk of famine.