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Summary
Domestic
In Lebanon, Prime Minister Tammam Salam visited conflict-damaged border towns, pledging to lead reconstruction. Concurrently, the government announced its aim for the majority of the approximately one million Syrian refugees in the country to return home this year. Separately, a building collapse in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, killed at least 14 people. The Lebanese government also accused Israel of spraying a concentrated herbicide, which it claims is linked to cancer, on farms and villages in southern Lebanon. In Syria, residents of the al-Hol camp are preparing to return home, with Minister Hind Kabawat discussing ongoing national rebuilding challenges. The Syrian government also took actions related to its history, using a decades-old law from the Assad era to pressure civil society groups and initiating a process to return property to Jewish families.
International
A group of Australian women and children, family members of ISIS militants, remain stranded in a Syrian camp after the Australian government declined to assist their return and a recent attempt by some families to leave failed. A non-governmental organization reported that Turkey again blocked an aid convoy destined for Kurdish areas in Syria. This occurred alongside a visit by the head of the UNHCR to the Turkish-Syrian border, where reports indicate more Syrians are returning to Syria from Turkey.
Domestic and International Topics
9 topics | 78 sources
AUThe Australian government has decided not to help Australian women and children, who are family members of ISIS militants, return home from a camp in Syria. Some of the Australian women in the camp have expressed willingness to let their children return home without them, but the government maintains its refusal to facilitate their repatriation.
org:isistopic:repatriationplace:syria
Feb 19
JO/LB/SYA building collapsed in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, killing multiple people. Reports indicate at least 14 people were killed in the incident, which occurred in Lebanon's northern region.
place:lebanon
Feb 9 — Feb 19
org:isisplace:syria
Feb 12 — Feb 26
TRA non-governmental organization says Turkey has again blocked an aid convoy meant for Kurdish areas in Syria. This comes as the head of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, visited the Turkish-Syrian border, where there are reports of more Syrians returning to their country from Turkey.
place:syria
Feb 7
place:idlib
Feb 7 — Feb 16
Lebanon's Prime Minister, Tammam Salam, visited towns near the border that were damaged by conflict and promised to lead reconstruction efforts. At the same time, the government announced it wants the majority of the roughly one million Syrian refugees in the country to return home this year. Separately, in Syria, residents of the al-Hol camp are preparing to return to their homes, and a government minister, Hind Kabawat, discussed the ongoing challenges of rebuilding the country.
topic:reconstruction
Feb 7
ILThe Syrian government is taking actions related to its history under President Bashar al-Assad. One move involves using a decades-old law from the Assad era to pressure civil society groups. Separately, the government has also begun a process to return property to Jewish families, addressing a community that was once large in the country.
Feb 6
Lebanon has accused Israel of spraying a concentrated herbicide on farms and villages in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese government says the chemical is linked to cancer.
Feb 5
+ 30 additional sources tracked