Syria Direct: News Update: 11-11-2013

*  The Syrian National Coalition has conditionally agreed to participate in the Geneva II conference according to an announcement made Monday on the Facebook page of presidential spokesman Monzer Akbik. The decision followed two days of tense discussions, as the Aleppo Media Center reported Sunday that SNC President Ahmad Jarba slapped Free Syrian Army spokesman Luay al-Miqdad during deliberations in Istanbul. Pro-regime website Syria News slammed the coalition for inserting preconditions requiring Bashar al-Assad’s departure from office.

* The United Nations High Commission for Refugees announced Monday that Egypt has expelled more than 1,200 Syrian refugees from the country, some of whom were forcibly repatriated to Syria. In a statement, the UNHCR expressed concern over nearly 300 Syrians arbitrarily detained in overcrowded police stations, including 211 Palestinian-Syrians. 300,000 Syrians, including 125,000 registered refugees, currently reside in Egypt.

* A report published Sunday by Humans Rights Watch documents the Syrian Air Force’s use of cluster bombs in dozens of attacks over the past year, including an attack on an Aleppo school killing thirty seven civilians.

 © UNICEF Jordan2013

* The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF said they would vaccinate more than 20 million children in Syria and neighboring countries against polio, after the nation’s first polio outbreak in more than 14 years in October, reported the Damascus Post Sunday.

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