NUR-SULTAN The 13th round of talks on Syria kicked off in the capital of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, on Aug 1, with bilateral and trilateral talks between officials from Iran, Russia and Turkey - the three main Astana guarantors. According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, both sides of the conflict in Syria are participating in negotiations on Aug. 1-2. The United Nations Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia, Bashar al-Jafari, leads the Syrian government delegation, while Ahmet Tuma leads the opposition delegation. UN Special Representative in Syria Geir Pedersen cannot participate in the negotiations due to health problems. The Turkish delegation is led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal, and the Iranian delegation is led by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Askar Haci. The talks focus on establishing a constitutional committee, whose subcommittee for civil society was subject to months of negotiations. Parties agreed on a 4+2 formula, and … [Read more...] about Astana talks restart for Syrian charter
Syrian ministry of health
As mood sours, Syrians report forced deportations from Turkey
When Syrian real estate worker Abu Ahmad was stopped by police in Istanbul he expected a ritual ticking-off for his expired documents, before being allowed on his way. Instead he says he was bundled into a bus packed with 50 men and deported to Syria. The 31-year-old was stopped as he set off to meet a client in Turkey’s bustling commercial hub where up to one million Syrians live – hundreds of whom have been detained this month according to authorities. His Turkish identity paper, known as a temporary protection permit, was valid for a Turkish province on the Syrian border nearly 1,000 km (625 miles) southeast of Istanbul. In previous encounters with authorities Abu Ahmad had shown them an expired travel permit allowing him to move around inside Turkey, and escaped with a reprimand. This time was different for him and dozens of other men who were piled into the bus in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district. Ten days later he says he found himself at the Bab al-Hawa crossing … [Read more...] about As mood sours, Syrians report forced deportations from Turkey
NGO warns that harsh Syrian camp conditions “could radicalise”
Conditions at the al-Hol refugee camp in north-eastern Syria are extremely harsh, head of Finnish Red Cross SPR aid operations Kalle Löövi told Yle on Thursday.Finland has been involved in organising 30 new beds at the camp’s field hospital and SPR aid workers are currently deployed at the facility.However Löövi would not disclose whether or not the Finnish aid workers have met any of the 33 Finnish women and 11 children said to be living at al-Hol."Our aid workers work at the hospital. We wouldn’t even discuss whether or not we have had contact with people of specific nationalities. People are at the hospital as patients and they are receiving care," Löövi declared.He added that the camp houses people who have been prisoners of the extremist group Isis as well as family members of Isis fighters. In that sense, residents comprise a diverse group of people with different backgrounds. He noted that the majority of people at the camp are Syrians … [Read more...] about NGO warns that harsh Syrian camp conditions “could radicalise”
Turkey: Home of stem cell hope for ailing refugees
ANKARA-Anadolu Agency Turkey has been providing cutting-edge, free-of-cost stem cell treatment to otherwise dying refugees and underprivileged people at a time when most countries do not even allow them to cross their borders. The cost of the treatment used to cure blood- and bone marrow-related diseases can run up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in the U.S. and Europe. Bashar Qabas, a 23-year-old Syrian refugee, is getting treatment for cancer at a hospital in the Turkish capital Ankara. He recalls being in shock for weeks after a missile hit a spot close to his house in the Syrian city of Aleppo in late 2013. “It began as a small lump in my neck followed by deteriorating eyesight before I was informed I am suffering from cancer,” he said. Doctors in Aleppo were about to transfer him to a hospital run by the Syrian regime. But he insisted on getting treatment in Turkey, which has been hosting 4 million Syrian refugees since 2011 when civil war broke out in Syria. … [Read more...] about Turkey: Home of stem cell hope for ailing refugees
The thorny path to Syrian reconstruction
Reconstruction in postwar Syria is a matter high on international agenda, generating both enthusiastic support and an open discontent. The country's future will depend on the results it accomplishes, though opinions differ how this new Syria should look like. In one, the opinions are unanimous: Syrian reconstruction is the means to save its people from famine in the war-ravaged country and should prompt a start to mass repatriation of the Syrian refugees. Many of those displaced want to return to rebuild their homeland and live a happy life there. However, for this to happen, proper conditions need to be created, such as availability of housing and job opportunities, functioning of public services like education and health care, not to mention an established public order and amicable reconciliation effort. Finally, to return, they need to be sure about their personal safety which implies cooling down of local conflicts, immunity from political repression, as well as clearing the mines … [Read more...] about The thorny path to Syrian reconstruction