Iraqi-Syrian Meeting Discusses Humanitarian Conditions in al-Hol

The meeting of the Iraqi and Syrian foreign ministers in New York (Iraqi News Agency)
The meeting of the Iraqi and Syrian foreign ministers in New York (Iraqi News Agency)
TT

Iraqi-Syrian Meeting Discusses Humanitarian Conditions in al-Hol

The meeting of the Iraqi and Syrian foreign ministers in New York (Iraqi News Agency)
The meeting of the Iraqi and Syrian foreign ministers in New York (Iraqi News Agency)

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein has discussed in New York with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad the bilateral ties and the humanitarian conditions at al-Hol camp in Syria.

In a statement, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that both sides discussed means to bolster joint cooperation in a manner that guarantees security and safety in the two countries and in the region, in general.

Hussein stressed the significance of bilateral ties and called for abstaining from interfering in other countries’ affairs.

The Iraqi FM called for addressing the humanitarian situation at al-Hol camp and preventing ISIS from breaking through the camps of the displaced.

For his part, the Syrian FM praised Iraq’s stances towards the Syrian crisis and in supporting a peaceful solution to it.

He expressed his government’s hope to boost bilateral ties between Iraq and Syria, the Iraqi News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, Iraqi government sources affirmed that there are thousands of innocent families at al-Hol camp and returning them to Iraq has become a humanitarian duty.

Yet, some Iraqi parties reject this proposal and see that these families belong to ISIS.

Dr. Moataz Mohieddine, strategic expert on armed groups, told Asharq Al-Awsat that al-Hol camp hosts tens of thousands of the displaced. A great number of them are Iraqi women and children.

Al-Hol camp is currently home to more than 40,000 Iraqis and around 10,000 families of different nationalities.



Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Syrian Youth Will Resist Incoming Government

A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
TT

Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Syrian Youth Will Resist Incoming Government

A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)

Iran's supreme leader on Sunday said that young Syrians will resist the new government emerging after the overthrow of President Bashar sl-Assad as he again accused the United States and Israel of sowing chaos in the country.

Iran had provided crucial support to Assad throughout Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, which erupted after he launched a violent crackdown on a popular uprising against his family's decades-long rule. Syria had long served as a key conduit for Iranian aid to Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in an address on Sunday that the “young Syrian has nothing to lose" and suffers from insecurity following Assad's fall.

“What can he do? He should stand with strong will against those who designed and those who implemented the insecurity," Khamenei said. “God willing, he will overcome them.”

He accused the United States and Israel of plotting against Assad's government in order to seize resources, saying: “Now they feel victory, the Americans, the Zionist regime and those who accompanied them.”

Iran and its armed proxies in the region have suffered a series of major setbacks over the past year, with Israel battering Hamas in Gaza and landing heavy blows on Hezbollah before they agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon last month.

Khamenei denied that such groups were proxies of Iran, saying they fought because of their own beliefs and that Tehran did not depend on them. “If one day we plan to take action, we do not need proxy force,” he said.