Refuges Robbed and Dumped on Border

A group of Palestinian refugees in Iraq claimed that Syrian security officers stole their money before sending them to the Syrian-Iraqi border, according to an open letter published by the Syrian opposition website Annidaa on September 23.



The letter with 19 signatories stated that the refugees lived in Iraq until they were forced to leave by the violence.



They left Iraq with false passports, intending to pass through Syria en route to Cyprus. On February 2, they arrived at the northern Syrian port of Tartus where smugglers were awaiting to take them to Cyprus.



According to the letter, the Syrian military security arrested the refugees along with the smuggler in Tartus. When the refugees asked about the whereabouts of their money, they say they were told it had been confiscated and that they were warned not to mention it again.



During their trial though, the judge assured them that no one was entitled to confiscate money without judicial approval.



On February 24, the group was transferred to the Syrian-Iraqi border at the al-Tanf checkpoint where several hundred Palestinian refugees have been camping in no man’s land for months.



The letter concludes with an appeal to the Syrian authorities to return the money and to help the refugees stuck at the border.