Iskenderun Cut From Syrian Maps

Syria has removed the city of Iskanderun from official maps of its territory following recent high-level talks between Syria and Turkey, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on its website on May 19.



Iskanderun is no longer found on official Syrian maps such as one published on the government’s civil affairs website.



The city and the surrounding Hatay region are part of Turkey, awarded to that country in 1939. Prior to that it had been included in the French Mandate of Syria since 1920, and before that it was part of the Ottoman empire.



Syria continued demanding the return of Iskanderun until 1998, when it dropped the demand as part of a political settlement with Turkey. But it has never officially recognised Iskanderun as Turkish and continues to claim sovereignty.



The human rights group, citing a report from Al-Sumaria television in Iraq, said that Syria decided to cut Iskanderun out of its official maps following a visit to Turkey by Syrian prime minister Mohammed Naji al-Otari in late April.



This week, Israel and Syria formally confirmed that Turkey was facilitating indirect peace talks between them.