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Syria to drop visa demand for Iraqis
during Ramadan
13.9.2007
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September
13, 2007
DAMASCUS,-- Syria said on Thursday it would
drop visa restrictions for Iraqis fleeing the
violence at home as a goodwill gesture for the holy
Muslim month of Ramadan.
The decision is aimed at allowing Iraqi families to
meet during the month, an official said, adding that
visas would once again be required after Eid al-Fitr,
the festival marking the end of Ramadan on about
October 12.
After being
closed on September 10,
the border crossing was opened on Thursday morning
for Iraqi transit, the police chief of al-Rabeeayia
border crossing, Marawan Habash, said.
In the meanwhile the crossing has been virtually
empty of travellers, who are not aware of the Syrian
government's decision, he added.
About 30,000 Iraqis fleeing violence in their own
country are arriving each month in neighbouring
Syria, according to the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees, which estimates the total number of
refugees at more than four million.
Syria had announced it would impose visa
restrictions on Iraqis from September 10 in a bid to
control the flood of refugees.
It was also planning to permit only those Iraqis who
were from the economic, commercial and scientific
sectors to enter Syria.
AFP
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