- Title: IRAQ: Iraqis flee Syria as former safe haven descends into conflict
- Date: 24th July 2012
- Summary: AL-WALEED BORDER CROSSING POINT, IRAQ (JULY 23, 2012) (REUTERS) BUS CARRYING IRAQIS FLEEING VIOLENCE IN SYRIA ARRIVING AL-WALEED CROSSING POINT IRAQI POLICE NEAR BUS CARRYING IRAQI REFUGEES IRAQI FLAG FLYING VARIOUS OF IRAQI REFUGEES DESCENDING FROM BUS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) IRAQI PASSENGER, SUAD, SAYING: "We were hearing huge sounds of explosions every day while we wer
- Embargoed: 8th August 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA1QF1QYR0ZZLC6KBN236DXSH4B
- Story Text: They fled sectarian violence in Iraq years ago but are now desperately trying to get back - crammed into buses, trucks and cars out of Syria, once their safe haven, now descending into civil war.
At the al-Waleed border crossing on Monday (July 23), 560 km (350 miles) west of Baghdad, hundreds of Iraqi men, women and children arrived exhausted in the baking sun, back in the homeland they thought they had left behind.
A week of unprecedented fighting in Syria's capital Damascus, including a bomb attack that killed four of President Bashar al-Assad's closest advisers, has transformed the 16-month uprising and dramatically escalated international pressure on Assad.
Damascus residents said the capital was relatively quiet in the early hours of Tuesday after a day of fighting that saw government troops storm a neighbourhood.
"We were hearing huge sounds of explosions every day while we were in Sahnaya, we were trying to visit my family in Tartous but we have been told all the roads were sealed off to Tartous. We could not travel to Tartous, therefore my family was stuck in Sham city in my uncle's house, so we were forced to come back because the situation is terrible in Syria. We heard on the radio that there were attacks on Midan, most of the clashes and bombings were in Midan," said 48-year-old Iraqi, Suad, referring to a Damascus suburb.
In the past five days some 6,000 Iraqis have arrived at the desolate border crossing, paying up to $700 per family to escape by car. A week ago it cost $100 per family but an escalation in violence has shot prices up, according to people crossing the border.
Dozens of tourist buses arrived full of Iraqi families who had haggled for places that cost $80-$100 each. The brightly-coloured holiday buses were crammed with suitcases, shopping bags and push chairs. Some people had travelled for five hours to get to Iraq, others for days.
Iraq sealed one of its main northern borders with Syria last week, fearing a spill over of violence. Many people are trapped at Damascus airport, sleeping on the floor overnight and desperate to get on a shrinking number of flights, those returning said.
On Monday (July 23) Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered his country's borders be open to Syrian refugees and called on authorities to set up camps for them.
Tens of thousands fled to Syria during a 2006-7 peak in sectarian attacks in Iraq. Iraqi officials estimate that around 87,000 citizens are still in Syria.
"The situation in Iraq was unstable but now it is getting better. Syria's situation is horrible we could not even stay in our house, the situation is terrible there in Syria," Sabiha Abdulrahman said.
Syrian truck driver Abu Hussein said he had seen many people on the run as they seek safety.
"I have seen families in trucks and vehicles fleeing Sham city to other cities like Aleppo and Hasakah. I have met them and seen them on the crossroads of Bossera-Sham and crossroads of Bossera-Homs. There is a huge migration from Sham city, you can see a hundred vehicles packed with departing people within an hour," he said.
On Monday Iraq witnessed one of its bloodiest days in weeks, as at least 268 people were wounded by bombings and shootings in Shi'ite areas of Baghdad, the Shi'ite town of Taji to the north, the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul and many other places, hospital and police sources said. The bloodshed, which coincided with an intensifying of the conflict in neighbouring Syria, pointed to the deficiencies of the Iraqi security forces, which failed to prevent insurgents from striking in multiple locations across the country in the worst violence for over two years.
The Syrian government is in control of its side of the Al-Waleed crossing, close to the Jordanian border, unlike further north where rebels have seized the Albu Kamal gate. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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