FILE PHOTO: Syrian refugees
The UN refugee agency UNHCR is awaiting for details of a U.S.-Russian plan on the return of Syrian refugees, a UNHCR spokeswoman in Lebanon said Sunday.
“A UNHCR team is communicating with Syrians in Lebanon and we have a team in Syria,” Lisa Abou Khaled told Anadolu Agency.
Moscow and Washington were reportedly discussing a joint plan to jointly organize the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland following agreements between the Russian and American leaders during their summit talks in Helsinki last month.
As for the return of refugees to their areas, Abou Khaled said “some of those who returned could not go back to their homes and some others went to live with their relatives.”
“Regarding the security situation, we do not have sufficient data,” the spokeswoman said, going on to assert the UN agency’s relations with the Lebanese government were good.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil has earlier accused the UNHCR of hampering the return of Syrian refugees in Lebanon to their war-torn country, an accusation denied by the UN agency.
There are around 997,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, according to UN figures. This figure, however, does not include refugees who are not officially registered with the UNHCR.
Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.
Tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced in the seven-year conflict, according to UN figures.
Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed on Saturday that it had proposed cooperating with the United States on Syrian refugees and de-mining in a letter sent to the top U.S. general in July.The proposals on refugees concerned a refugee camp in Rukban, the ministry said in a statement.In the letter, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military's General Staff, said Moscow was ready to discuss with Damascus safety guarantees for refugees stranded at Rukban, as well as creating conditions for their return home.China willing to fight alongside Assad regimeRukban lies within a 55 km so-called de-confliction zone set up by the United States to ensure the safety of its garrison close to the Iraqi-Syrian border."A proposal was also made to coordinate humanitarian de-mining, including in Raqqa, and other priority humanitarian issues," the Russian ministry said.
Russia confirms proposed Syria cooperation with US
Two Chinese diplomats have raised the possibility of Chinese military operations in Syria alongside the Assad regime. Speaking to Syrian pro-government daily Al-Watan on Thursday, China’s Ambassador to Damascus, Qi Qianjin, said that the Chinese military is willing to participate “in some way” alongside the Syrian Army in Idlib as well as other parts of Syria.Additionally, Chinese military attaché Wong Roy Chang, in a similar statement also delivered to Al-Watan, reportedly stated that there is “ongoing” military cooperation between the two countries.“We, China, wish to develop our relations with the Syrian Army. As for participating in the Idlib operation, it requires a political decision,” Chang said.Last week, the Assad regime and its Iran-backed Shia militia allies began a military buildup in southwestern Idlib and speeded up military deployments, dispatching dozens of troops, tanks, armored vehicles and missile-launching platforms.The Syrian opposition wants to transform Idlib from a de-escalation zone into a zone of a permanent cease-fire. Idlib was a top issue during the Astana meeting, as the Turkish delegation stressed the importance of maintaining the cease-fire in the region.
China willing to fight alongside Assad regime