Tag Archives: refugees

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, is experiencing a financial crisis that could force it to halt some services to an already impoverished population of more than 5 million people, the head of the agency said on Wednesday. Philippe Lazzarini also warned in an interview with The Associated …

The majority of displaced Syrians want to go home but unless conditions improve, few will risk returning to their war-torn country, a grassroots civil rights organisation says. In a report released on July 21, the Syrian Association for Citizens’ Dignity said the longer Syrians felt unable to return, the more …

Syria held a parliamentary election on Sunday, gripped by a collapsing economy and new U.S. sanctions after President Bashar al-Assad clawed back control of most of the country. People voted across government territory at more than 7,000 polling stations, including for the first time in former rebel bastions that the …

Standing in colourful hula hoops carefully spaced to illustrate social distancing, young children in a camp in war-torn Syria give an enthusiastic welcome to a puppet show staged to teach them about the coronavirus. Volunteers visited the camp for displaced Syrians in the northwestern town of Maarat Masrin, where they …

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad discussed ensuring a lasting ceasefire in the Idlib region during talks in Syria, the Russian defense ministry said on Monday. The two talked about Russia providing humanitarian aid to Syria and enabling the country’s economic recovery with the help of …

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that fortified rebel positions in Syria’s Idlib province had merged with Turkish observation posts, and that artillery attacks on nearby civilian areas and Russia’s air base in Syria had become daily. The allegations, made by Major-General Igor Konashenkov, are likely to increase tensions …

Turkey shot down two Syrian warplanes over Idlib on Sunday and struck a military airport well beyond its frontlines in a sharp escalation of its military operations following the death of dozens of Turkish soldiers last week. Ankara has ramped up its attacks, including drone strikes, against the Russian-backed Syrian …

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called a meeting of the country’s national security council for early Sunday evening as migrants headed to the Greek borders after Turkey relaxed restrictions. Source: Reuters

Dubai – “Refugee and other vulnerable children have the human right to a good education”, said Rudayna Abdo the founder of Thaki a social impact non-profit association. Abdo and her dedicated team are calling on companies in the UAE to donate their used laptops for reuse “It makes a huge difference to …

The leaders of Germany and France called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to express their concern about the humanitarian situation in Syria’s Idlib region, urging an end to the conflict there, a German spokesman said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke together by phone with …

Interview with Turkish journalist, political scientist and publicist Musa Ozugurlu. In 2010, he started working as TRT Turk’s representative in Syria. He is one of the few foreign journalists in Syria to follow the process, which began in 2011, on-site until 2016. He currently presents the weekly program “Media critical” …

Lebanon will not be lured by a U.S. plan to invest billions in the country in return for settling Palestinian refugees, its parliament speaker Nabih Berri said on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump’s blueprint for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, set to be presented by his son-in-law Jared Kushner at a conference …

World Refugee Day, which falls on 20th June, is an annual reminder of pressing questions dealing with the reality and future of the 68 million people who have fled their homes to escape war, prosecution or terror. Every minute of every day, the staggering number continues to grow. This international …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that a U.S. military attack on Iran would be a catastrophe for the Middle East that would trigger a surge in violence and a possible refugee exodus. Putin, speaking during his annual televised question and answer session, said Moscow believed Tehran was in …

by Areej Zaher*   They fled their homeland escaping terror, violence and raging fire, seeking a better life and affording a safe shelter for their families. However, these Syrian refugees seemed to go from the frying pan into the fire! Things didn’t go well for them as they had planned, …

Using social media to create awareness of social issues was brought to focus on the second day of the ‘Investing in the Future’ (IIFMENA 2018) conference, in Sharjah. The first panel discussion titled ‘Youth, Social Media and Creating Positive Change,’ which was organised in partnership with UNHCR, focused on the …

Fifty thousand Syrians have returned home from Lebanon so far in 2018 and the number could reach 200,000 in a year’s time if it continues at this rate, a top Lebanese official said on Tuesday. Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon’s General Security directorate, told Reuters his security agency …

As a large-scale military campaign in Syria’s last rebel stronghold looms, Syrians on both sides of the divide are bracing for a bloody battle. In the rebel-held province of Idlib, millions of residents are caught between the bombs of Russian and Syrian aircraft and the militants who have blocked their …

By Yousef Munayyer*   Since the early days of his administration, President Donald Trump has led US policy toward Palestine/Israel on a steady lurch, from overwhelming support of Israel to full adoption of its positions. Instead of a thoughtful strategy, he seems to pursue a tactical approach to force the Palestinians …

Military officials are sounding the alarm inside the Trump administration about the sharp drop in admission to the United States of Iraqi refugees who have helped American troops in battle, said two US officials aware of the internal discussions. The Pentagon is concerned that not providing safe haven to more …

Hala hugged her 10-month-old baby close as she sat in the front seat of the pickup truck piled with the family’s few possessions — thin mattresses, blankets, a small suitcase — as she waited to cross into Syria. She had dressed neatly for the journey, in a carefully pinned maroon …

More than 120,000 civilians have been uprooted by a Syrian army offensive in the south-west since it began last week, a war monitor has said, and a senior UN official warned of catastrophe as they risked being trapped between warring sides. Key points: The offensive has killed at least 98 …

Israel must prevent the entry of refugees fleeing fighting in Syria, a senior Israeli cabinet minister said on Friday. The remarks by Yuval Steinitz, energy minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, came on the same day that the Israeli military said it had transferred humanitarian aid to southern Syria. …

by Wasan Abu-Baker* Anisa A. Abeytia is a writer and researcher with an interest in Syria, the Middle East, and the Refugee crises. Her work is featured in the Hill, New Arab, Orient, Net English, Middle East Monitor Fremmed, Brunei Times, and the Middle East Observer. She holds an MS …

The militants, who blocked the road, left their positions and handed over their weapons to government forces. According to the newspaper Al-Watan, the Syrian Arab Army has regained control over the stretch of the M5 highway between the cities of Homs and Hama due to the implementation of a reconciliation agreement in a militant-held enclave north of Homs (165 km from Damascus). …

With an aim to financially aid 60,000 Syrian refugee families living in Jordan and Lebanon, the UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency – in partnership with Tabah Foundation announced on Tuesday the launching of its global zakat platform, with the donated money going straight to the families in need. Leading …

About 130 Central Americans, mostly women and children, have arrived at the U.S. border with Mexico in a “caravan” of asylum-seeking immigrants that has drawn the fury of President Donald Trump. Two busloads arrived late Tuesday in the Mexican border city of Tijuana at two migrant shelters just steps from …

Thousands of civilians streamed out of their towns to escape battles in the north and south of Syria on Saturday, where two different offensives have prompted an exodus in recent days. A new wave of at least 10,000 people fled a rebel pocket to army lines in eastern Ghouta near …

Nayef and Nisreen Ghazoul are seated in a circle around their living room with their children, sipping hot chocolate on a dreary evening in January, beaming as their 18-month-old granddaughter, Shahed, entertains the family with the newest addition to her lexicon. After coaxing in Arabic, she giggles and lets out …

By Sarah Safa* — From the mocking of children victims in a time of war, on the example of how, in a very bigoted, xenophobic, and intolerant way, the Syrian child, “Aylan Kurdi” was by a fanatical “Charlie Hebdo” French magazine, without any objection or position registered by the French government …

By Mohamed Mohamed It is regrettable that the most basic human needs of millions of Palestinian refugees are now being used as a weapon in the Trump administration’s political assault on Palestinians. On January 16, the administration decided to withhold $65 million of a planned $125 million in US funding for the …

After almost seven years, some half a million people killed and a recent string of victories by the Syrian military, there’s a sense the Syrian war may be coming to a close. Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar Assad, declared last month its mission accomplished and announced a partial pullout …

Perhaps as important as what Pope Francis said during his key speech in Burma on Tuesday was what he didn’t say. Speculation had mainly circled around the question of whether the pope would use the term “Rohingya” to describe the country’s Muslim minority, which has been the target of a brutal military “clearance operation.” Rohingya Muslims are not officially recognized as …

Human rights groups called on Friday for international agencies to be allowed to monitor the planned repatriation of hundreds of thousands Rohingya Muslim from Bangladesh to the homes they fled in Myanmar during the past three months. The two governments signed a pact on Thursday settling terms for the repatriation …

The Latest on the flow of migrants into Europe (all times local): 6:10 p.m. A German nationalist party is urging officials to open negotiations with President Bashar Assad’s government on an accord to enable the return of Syrian refugees. In one of its first motions since entering parliament, Alternative for …

A rights group has called for targeted sanctions and an arms embargo against the Myanmar military in response to an offensive that has sent 410,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh to escape what the United Nations has branded ethnic cleansing. The latest spasm of violence in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State …

By Farhana Qazi Millions of Muslims have been forced out of their homes, and the world is still waiting for Aung San Suu Kyi to help end the military operations against Myanmar’s Rohingya minority. Among those who oppose Suu Kyi is Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the veteran South African Anglican leader and …

By Stephen Grey and Amina Ismail for REUTERS — NEW LIVES: Migrants wait on the dock in Augusta, Sicily, after being rescued. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello Millions of people, billions of dollars – and Europe’s struggle to cope The Migration Machine RESCUED: Italian police carry migrants to safety, leaving their leaky boat to drift. …

The Levant News – by Graham E. Fuller — What an irony that Great Britain should be the one country in the world to deliver what could be the coup de grâce to the modern European order and to a meaningful Atlantic relationship. It is incredible that the population of …

THE LEVANT NEWS — LESBOS, GREECE | BY KAROLINA TAGARIS FOR REUTERS — The United Nations refugee agency said on Monday it would not operate in “detention centers” on the Greek island of Lesbos for migrants and refugees arriving from Turkey, dealing a blow to the European Union’s agreement with …

The Levant News — By Graham E. Fuller — It does not take much imagination to see where refugees are taking the world over the longer run. This issue currently lies at the heart of some very ugly American politics. It is also tearing apart one of the noblest political …

The Levant News — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that Turkey’s help was needed to stem the flow of refugees to Europe but that this hadn’t changed her view that Ankara should not become a member of the European Union. “I have always been against EU membership, President (Tayyip) …

The Levant News — Nine months after Fadi, a refugee from Homs, Syria, landed in Cyprus on a boat carrying some 340 smuggled refugees, he still had not applied for asylum. He chose instead to attempt to reach mainland Europe by any means possible. Fadi’s reluctance to plant roots in …

The Levant News — The Hungarian parliament has passed a law authorizing the government to deploy the military to help handle the asylum seeker crisis in the country, which includes powers to use non-lethal force. According to the law, the army would be allowed to use rubber bullets, pyrotechnical devices, …