Hardships Mounting for Refugees Inside Syria. New York Times Beirut bureau chief Anne Barnard has a piece from Damascus on the plight of internally displaced persons, refugees who have fled to other areas of Syria but not left the country.
“Even in relatively safe areas, a closer look at bustling streets reveals the displaced spilling from every corner. Thousands of people live in the gyms and hallways of a sports complex turned state-run shelter in the coastal city of Latakia,” Barnard writes.
“In the capital, Damascus, newcomers crowd ramshackle hotels, half-finished buildings, offices and storefronts. Long lines form outside the shrinking number of government bakeries still operating. In some of the suburbs, people have confessed to eating dogs and cats, and imams have even issued decrees saying it is religiously permissible.”
There are currently 5.1 million internally displaced people in Syria, out of the total population of 21.9 million, according to this IDP monitoring resource from the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Syrian Man In Limbo at Dubai Airport. Reuters has a piece about Tayseer Jarad, a Syrian who has been stuck at Dubai Airport’s Terminal 2 for the last 16 days. Like many other refugees, he holds an expired passport, and is stranded until he can find a way to get it renewed.
“Authorities in Dubai gave the 34-year-old the option to travel to anywhere that would take him,” the wire reports. “But his passport has expired, and Jordan – where his family had fled from Syria’s civil war – refused to let him in. Turkey and Lebanon have done the same, returning Jarad on the same flights on which he arrived from Dubai.”
Norway Rejects U.S. Request to Destroy Syria’s Weapons. The AP reports from Oslo that Norway’s foreign minister says his country has turned down a U.S. request to receive Syria’s chemical weapons for destruction. Boerge Brende said on Friday said Norway doesn’t have the capabilities to handle the request by the deadlines given, so there was no point in continuing the discussions.
Deadly Clashes Between Supporters and Opponents of Assad in Lebanon. AFP reports on intense fighting in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, in clashes that broke out on Monday during a televised interview with President Bashar al-Assad. Five people were reportedly killed, another 47 have been wounded.
Syria’s fight has routinely spilled over into Lebanon’s borders; one official told AFP that this week’s clashes were “the fiercest in terms of the intensity of fire and the types of weapons used.” The piece also noted that Lebanon is deeply divided into pro- and anti-Assad camps, the division widening as Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has escalated its tactical support for the Assad regime.
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:
The Telegraph: Massive Explosion Rocks Daraa
Reuters: Turkey Raps International Failure to Tackle Syria Aid Crisis
The Telegraph: Syria in Photos: The Shots That Shook the World
Al Arabiya: Syria Frees Dozens More Women in Hostage Deal
Reuters: At Least 22 People Suspected of Having Polio in Syria, Says WHO
Reuters: Video of Russian in Syria Demands Swap for Detained Saudi
Guardian: Syrian Refugees Face Bleak Time in Bulgaria’s Broken Asylum System
New York Times: Criticism of U.S. Mideast Policy Increasingly Comes from Allies
AP: Kurdish Gunmen and Jihadists Clash in Eastern Syria