Atia Abu Salem, a Syrian refugee in Jordan arrested on his way to a pro-Gaza demonstration this month, is facing deportation. The families of “many Syrians” among the more than 1,500 people detained amid recent protests are keeping quiet, afraid of “escalation.”
Erbil’s April 4 decision to stop issuing visas to Syrians has been a disaster for those for whom the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was a safe haven from conscription or a place to reunite with family members after years of separation.
The killing of a member of a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon last week, attributed by the army to Syrian carjackers, unleashed a torrent of violence and threats against refugees, leaving many afraid to leave their homes.
As Lebanon presses forward with mass deportations of Syrian refugees, those openly involved in opposition activities against the Assad regime face a growing danger.
Syrian refugees swiftly deported from Turkey to northern Syria not only face security risks, but struggle to settle their affairs—sell cars, shutter businesses, close bank accounts—from outside the country.
Intolerable conditions in Lebanon are pushing increasing numbers of Syrians to take to the sea. With all eyes on escalating violence in southern Lebanon, the number of Syrians leaving from the north over the past two months reached more than four times the number for the same period in 2022.
A wave of swift door-to-border deportations is terrorizing Syrians in Lebanon, with more than 1,100 refugees arrested and 600 deported in April.
Refugees in Lebanon who signed up to return to Syria as part of a first batch of 1,600 families say economic hardship and a lack of a future in Lebanon informed their decision.
Fifteen Syrian asylum seekers are scheduled to be deported from the UK to Rwanda on June 14, in the flight inaugurating a controversial ‘offshoring’ deal with the east African country
Despite the security risks that Syrian refugees may face upon return to their country, the push in this direction is reaching a crescendo.
