UN Security Council Condemns Kadhimi’s Assassination Attempt

The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
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UN Security Council Condemns Kadhimi’s Assassination Attempt

The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo

The UN Security Council on Monday condemned the attempted assassination of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, stressing the need to hold the perpetrators of these heinous terrorist acts accountable, and bring them to justice.

“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on November 7, 2021,” UNSC said in a statement.

A drone laden with explosives targeted Kadhimi’s residence in Baghdad early on Sunday. The PM escaped unhurt.

Council members reiterated their support for Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, democratic process, and prosperity.

They also reiterated that "terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” stressing the need to hold the perpetrators, organizers, financiers, and sponsors of these heinous terrorist acts accountable, and bring them to justice.

They urged all states, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to actively cooperate with the Iraqi government and all other relevant authorities in this regard.

Council members noted that any terrorist acts are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever and whenever they were committed and by whomever committed.

They affirmed the need for all states to combat threats to international peace and security through terrorist acts, by all means in accordance with the UN Charter and other obligations under international law including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law.

The attack against Kadhimi came after protests in the Iraqi capital over the result of a general election last month turned violent.



Syrian Authorities Announce Closure of Notorious Desert Camp

 A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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Syrian Authorities Announce Closure of Notorious Desert Camp

 A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

A notorious desert refugee camp in Syria has closed after the last remaining families returned to their areas of origin, Syrian authorities said on Saturday.

The Rukban camp in Syria's desert was established in 2014, at the height of Syria's civil war, in a de-confliction zone controlled by the US-led coalition fighting the ISIS group, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq.

Desperate people fleeing ISIS extremists and former government bombardment sought refuge there, hoping to cross into Jordan.

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government rarely allowed aid to enter the camp and neighboring countries closed their borders to the area, isolating Rukban for years.

After an opposition offensive toppled Assad in December, families started leaving the camp to return home.

The Syrian Emergency Task Force, a US-based organization, said on Friday that the camp was "officially closed and empty, all families and residents have returned to their homes".

Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said on X on Saturday that "with the dismantlement of the Rukban camp and the return of the displaced, a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close".

"Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert," he added.

At its peak, the camp housed more than 100,000 people. Around 8,000 people still lived there before Assad's fall, residing in mud-brick houses, with food and basic supplies smuggled in at high prices.

Syrian minister for emergency situations and disasters Raed al-Saleh said on X said the camp's closure represents "the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people".

"We hope this step marks the beginning of a path that ends the suffering of the remaining camps and returns their residents to their homes with dignity and safety," he added.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their places of origin since Assad's fall, after they were displaced within the country or abroad.

The IOM says the "lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge" for those returning home.