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UNHCR Supports 'Voluntary' Return of Refugees, MOFA Says the Move is 'Insufficient'

A Syrian refugee receives aid from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Batroun, northern Lebanon January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim/File Photo
A Syrian refugee receives aid from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Batroun, northern Lebanon January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim/File Photo
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UNHCR Supports 'Voluntary' Return of Refugees, MOFA Says the Move is 'Insufficient'

A Syrian refugee receives aid from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Batroun, northern Lebanon January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim/File Photo
A Syrian refugee receives aid from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Batroun, northern Lebanon January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim/File Photo

The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a reply from the UNHCR on a letter it had sent to it asking it to change its approach to the issue of the Syrian refugees and to work out a plan for their return to safe areas inside Syria.

Hadi al-Hashem, director of the office of Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the UNHCR has “confirmed its support to the voluntary return of displaced people and would not stand against the Syrians’ choice.”

He added that the agency expressed its readiness to hold meetings with the relevant Lebanese ministries to discuss this issue, and approved the Lebanese proposal to separate between refugees and non-refugees according to their situation.

The official noted that meetings between the UNHCR and the Lebanese side would be held soon, saying that the change of tone by the UN agency was “positive but not enough to suspend the measures taken by the ministry against it.”

“We expect them to draw up a clear and serious plan for return, especially since UNHCR is still not encouraging the refugees to return to their homeland,” he added.

Earlier this month, Bassil announced a decision to stop receiving applications for residency of foreign workers in UNHCR in protest of its policy towards the return of refugees.

Bassil accused the UN agency of discouraging refugees to return to Syria. The United Nations rejected the claim, stressing that its work was limited to the humanitarian aspect only and underlining its respect to the individual decisions taken by the Syrians with respect to their return to their country.

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Syria Arrests Officer Linked to Notorious ‘Death Checkpoint’ Near Damascus

Maj. Gen. Mowaffaq Nazeer Haidar, a former commander of the Syrian army’s Third Armoured Division (Interior Ministry) 
Maj. Gen. Mowaffaq Nazeer Haidar, a former commander of the Syrian army’s Third Armoured Division (Interior Ministry) 
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Syria Arrests Officer Linked to Notorious ‘Death Checkpoint’ Near Damascus

Maj. Gen. Mowaffaq Nazeer Haidar, a former commander of the Syrian army’s Third Armoured Division (Interior Ministry) 
Maj. Gen. Mowaffaq Nazeer Haidar, a former commander of the Syrian army’s Third Armoured Division (Interior Ministry) 

Syrian authorities said on Tuesday they had arrested Maj. Gen. Mowaffaq Nazeer Haidar, a former commander of the Syrian army’s Third Armored Division, over allegations of war crimes and abuses committed at a notorious checkpoint near Damascus.

Haidar, who oversaw the Qutayfah checkpoint along the Damascus-Homs highway north of the capital, is accused of playing a direct role in the disappearance of thousands of Syrians during the country's civil war.

The checkpoint, located near the Third Division’s headquarters, one of Syria's most powerful military units, was widely known among Syrians as a site of torture and arbitrary detention.

In a statement, the Internal Security Directorate in the coastal city of Latakia said Haidar had been detained and described him as a “criminal responsible for the so-called ‘death checkpoint’ at Qutayfah,” and a leading figure in raids carried out by pro-government forces across various parts of the country.

He has been referred to the counter-terrorism unit for interrogation on charges including war crimes and grave violations against civilians, the statement added.

The Qutayfah checkpoint, located at the northern entrance to Damascus, was one of the most notorious and feared military checkpoints during Syria’s civil war, widely associated with the regime’s crackdown on dissidents and army deserters.

Once operated by the Syrian army’s powerful Third Armored Division, the checkpoint was known by Syrians under grim monikers such as the “Death Checkpoint,” the “Checkpoint of Fear,” the “Checkpoint of Horror,” and the “Checkpoint of Arrests and Executions.”

It became a symbol of terror, particularly for residents of the Qalamoun region, but also for Syrians across the country.

According to earlier media reports, thousands of Syrians vanished at the Qutayfah checkpoint during the height of the conflict, many detained without formal charges or due process, often on mere suspicion of opposition sympathies or draft evasion.