syriastew.com

The number of Iraqi refugees who entered Syria in the last month has dropped dramatically.   Only 500 to 600 Iraqi refugees entered Syria since Oct. 1, when tighter visa restrictions were intitiated by the Syrian government.   Iraqis must now aquire a visa from the Syrian embassy in Baghdad, and only educational, commercial or scientific […]

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Syria will allow American officials into the country to vet Iraqi refugees for resettlement in the United States.  Syria currently hosts more Iraqi refugees than any other country-between 1.2 and 1.5 million.
The United States was criticized by refugee agencies due to the low number of refugees it has admitted–out of 12,000 refugees the U.N. referred […]

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The U.S. and Israel invited Syria to join them at the Annapolis peace conference, but only if Syria promises not to bring up the issue of the Golan Heights.
The response from Syria was unequivocal-no, thanks.
Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Dardari told the AP that “For Syria to attend any such meeting requires that the Golan Heights […]

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The U.S., France and the League of Arab Nations warned Syria on Saturday not to meddle in the upcoming Lebanese presidential elections.
Here’s a clip from the article explaining the conflict:
Presidential elections in Lebanon have been twice deferred because of a lack of consensus over who should replace the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, whose term expires […]

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The United States announced on Sunday that Syria is welcome to participate in the peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, but only if it agrees to focus on Palestinian-Israeli issues, not on the Golan Heights.  Israel, Palestine and the U.S. are planning to meet to re-open the “roadmap to peace”  between the two nations.
Syria and Israel […]

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Nearly eight weeks have passed, and all is remains quiet regarding a Sept. 6 Israeli air strike on a Syrian military facility.  Many players have a lot at stake, including Syria, Israel, the US and North Korea.  Washington Post Deputy Editor Jackson Diehl spells out the diplomatic quandry in his editorial today:
“Now Israeli and U.S. […]

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The Syrian police killed one Kurdish demonstrator at a pro-PKK rally outside the Syrian village of Qamishli over the weekend. About 200 kurds had gathered there to show support for their PKK allies in northern Iraq and southern Turkey. The PKK, which advocates for a kurdish state in the region, has been involved in […]

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In response to outside pressure, Syria has forbidden a summit of Palestinian factions that was scheduled to be held in Damascus at the same time as the Annapolis Peace Conference. The factions included members of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, which opposes the leadership of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Both groups are […]

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