Syria’s President Assad would ‘welcome home refugees’

Published

2 years ago

August 10, 2023

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Syrian President Bashar al Assad has said he would welcome home refugees who escaped the country’s long-running civil war.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News Arabia, he blamed the country’s economic situation as the reason why refugees are not returning to their homeland, pointing to the “image of war” in Syria for the lack of much-needed international investment in its economy.

“Over the last few years we’ve seen just under half a million people return and none of them were harmed,” he said.

“What’s stopped more from coming back is the economic situation.

“How can a refugee return without electricity or school for his children or medical treatment? These are life’s essentials.

“That’s the reason.

“We pardoned all refugees who came back apart from people who committed serious crimes.”

But several human rights groups and international organisations including the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said it is unsafe for refugees to return to Syria.

Those who have returned faced “grave human rights abuses and persecution at the hands of the Syria government and affiliated militias”, Human Rights Watch said.

Syria is subject to tough US sanctions – called the Caesar Act – which President Assad says “is an obstacle without doubt but it is not the biggest obstacle”.

“The biggest obstacle is the terrorist demolishing the infrastructure. The biggest obstacle is the image of war in Syria which prohibits any investor from dealing with the Syrian market,” he said.

Syria’s currency is collapsing and the country is suffering from a lack of electricity, medicine and daily essentials, despite support from Russia and Iran.

War in Syria broke out in 2011, with August 2023 marking ten years since then President Obama decided not to bomb Syria after chemical weapons were used in the country.

President Assad has now regained control of the capital Damascus and most urban areas.

The war rages on with the UN estimating that more than 300,000 civilians were killed in the first decade of the conflict.

In the 12-year conflict, more than half of the country’s 22 million pre-war population fled their homes with the civil war a major factor in Europe’s migrant crisis.

The governments of Canada and the Netherlands recently filed torture complaints against Syria in the International Court of Justice over the “unlawful killing” of thousands of civilians.

Assad’s power still limited despite comeback

It is ten years, to the month, since President Obama decided at the last minute not to bomb Syria after chemical weapons were used in the country.

In the years since, tens of thousands more people have been killed in fighting and the civil war continues – but President Bashar al Assad has regained control of the capital, Damascus, and most urban areas in Syria.

Millions of Syrians fled the fighting and are still refugees, unable to return to their homes.

Many have tried to make the dangerous sea crossings into Europe – the Syrian civil war is a large factor in the migrant crisis on European shores.

Assad’s claim in the interview with Sky News Arabia, that he would welcome the refugees home, ignores the reality that many don’t want to return to a country under his rule.

With parts of Syria still in rebel hands, Assad cannot claim outright victory, but he is being accepted back into the Arab world.

He desperately needs investment with Syria’s economy facing tough US sanctions, its currency collapsing and a lack of electricity, medicine and daily essentials.

Support from his allies – Russia and Iran – is not enough.

Bashar al Assad is showing confidence to travel abroad again and is starting to rebuild his power. That power is limited though.

He might have survived the Arab Spring when most leaders didn’t but he is still a pariah in the West, accused of war crimes, and his country is still at war and in ruins.

But accusations of war crimes against President Assad have not stopped him from slowly being reaccepted by Middle Eastern leaders.

He recently attended the annual Arab League summit after he was suspended by the alliance during his crackdown on pro-democracy protests that led to the breakout of the civil war.

President Assad also said fleeing Syria during the war was “never on the cards” for him.

He told Sky News Arabia: “There were no internal demands for the president to depart. It’s important for a president to leave, or to leave his responsibilities to be more precise, when the people demand it – not due to external interference or external wars.

“When it’s due to internal reasons that’s normal but when it’s because of external war that’s called escape or to flee. And me fleeing was never on the cards.”

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‘Better late than never’: Palestinian minister says UK recognition of state would be ‘courageous step’

Published

14 hours ago

September 20, 2025

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'Better late than never': Palestinian minister says UK recognition of state would be 'courageous step'

Britain will be taking “a courageous step at a very difficult time” by officially recognising a Palestinian state, according to the authority’s foreign minister, who told Sky News she believes the announcement – expected in the coming days – will inspire more nations to follow suit.

The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, Varsen Aghabekian, told me Britain’s move was “better late than never”, and said “Britain, with its weight, can influence other countries to come forward and recognise, because that is the right thing to do”.

But she also said she is “very angry” with the White House over its “unwavering support” for Israel, and said that Israel’s refusal to pass on tax revenue was pushing Palestinian civil society to the brink of “collapse”.

Aghabekian was speaking as Britain, along with France, Canada and Australia, prepares to recognise the State of Palestine officially at the United Nations.

She told me: “Britain has been supporting the existence and the flourishing of Israel for some time, but I think today Britain is looking at the matter objectively, in terms of the right of people, in terms of complying with international law, and in terms of the future of this area for both the Israelis and Palestinians.”

She rejected the idea that recognising Palestine was a reward for Hamas terrorism, saying that “non-recognition” would also be a “reward to the extremists” and said that “if we wait until Israel decides it wants to go into negotiations with the Palestinians, then it won’t happen”.

Aghabekian told me she expected Gaza to be returned to the Palestinians, but I put it to her that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was being empowered by the diplomatic support he receives from America, and in particular, US President Donald Trump.

So is she angry with the White House? “Very angry, because I expect the White House and the United States of America to align with international law, with human rights, with having no double standards.

“This unwavering support for Israel, this blind support, is not only harming the Palestinians but also Israeli society.”

The state of Palestine is already recognised by three-quarters of the United Nations’ members. It comprises two separate territories – the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Together, they are officially known as the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The West Bank has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, while Gaza has been attacked by Israel since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, when nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 people were taken hostage.

Since then, more than 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza as Israel has sought to destroy Hamas and recover its hostages. There are 48 hostages still in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.

She confirmed to me that Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, “has given guarantees in letters to various leaders around the globe that said Hamas will not be part of the governance of the Gaza Strip” and insisted there was “probably a worldwide consensus” on the topic.

But she also insisted it was “not reasonable” to talk of completely erasing Hamas: “Hamas is an ideology, not a building that you bring down. Hamas is in people’s minds; in their heads.

“Those who support Hamas need to see a future, need to see something that is moving on the political level, need to see that there might be a state in which their children and their grandchildren might prosper.

“What people see today, whether they are Hamas supporters or not, they see darkness and they see destruction all over. They see violation of rights. They are helpless and hopeless. People need to see things are moving forward, and once that happens, there will be a shift in the mood, and they will look for a better future.”

But just as the Palestinians prepare to welcome recognition, Aghabekian said the West Bank was facing financial collapse as Israel continues to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue that, under a 30-year-old agreement, it collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf.

Israel has retained a proportion of the money since the start of the war in Gaza, but, encouraged by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, it has recently withheld a much higher amount.

“People have not been paid, civil servants are only receiving small parts of their salaries. We can’t buy medical supplies, equipment, you name it,” said Aghabekian.

“How can a government run a country under such conditions? So yes, we are very worried.”

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Dublin Airport terminal evacuated as ‘safety precaution’

Published

19 hours ago

September 20, 2025

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Dublin Airport terminal evacuated as 'safety precaution'

Passengers have been evacuated from Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 as a “precautionary measure”.

Flights could be “temporarily impacted”, the airport said in a statement.

It did not give any details about the reason for the evacuation but said “the safety and security of our passengers and staff is our absolute priority”.

At this stage there is no suggestion the evacuation is linked to the cyber attack that has caused disruption at several European airports.

“We advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest updates,” the airport added, saying further information would be provided as soon as it is available.

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At least 70 killed in Sudan after paramilitary attack on mosque

Published

20 hours ago

September 20, 2025

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At least 70 killed in Sudan after paramilitary attack on mosque

At least 70 people have been killed after a paramilitary drone attack on a mosque in Sudan.

The Sudanese army and aid workers said the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out the attack during Friday prayers in the North Darfur region.

The attack took place in the besieged city of Al Fasher and was said to have completely destroyed the mosque.

With bodies still buried under the rubble, the number of deaths is likely to rise, a worker with the local aid group Emergency Response Rooms said.

The worker spoke anonymously, fearing retaliation from the RSF.

Further details of the attack were difficult to ascertain because it took place in an area where many international and charitable organisations have already pulled out because of the violence.

In a statement, Sudan’s army said it was mourning the victims of the attack.

It said: “Targeting civilians unjustly is the motto of this rebel militia, and it continues to do so in full view of the entire world.”

Sky News Africa correspondent Yousra Elbagir reported earlier this month on the situation in North Darfur, where people are facing torture, rape and forced starvation.

The Sudan war started in April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and the RSF broke out in Khartoum.

The US special envoy to Sudan estimates that 150,000 people have been killed, but the exact figure is unknown. Close to 12 million people have been displaced.

Several mediation attempts have failed to secure a humanitarian access mechanism or any lulls in fighting.

The Resistance Committees in El Fasher, a group of local activists who track abuses, posted a video on Friday claiming to show parts of the mosque reduced to rubble with several scattered bodies.

The Darfur Victims Support Organisation, which monitors abuses against civilians, said the attack happened at a mosque on the Daraga al Oula street at around 5am local time, citing witnesses.

The attack is the latest in a series of heavy clashes in the past week of between the two sides in Al Fasher.