Syrian Kurds Say Deal On Return Of 4,000 Refugees Reached With Baghdad

The leadership of the Kurdish self-government bodies in northeastern Syria on Thursday denied media reports about the alleged agreement with Iraq on the return of 31,000 refugees, stressing that the number was as many as 4,000 people

DAMASCUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th April, 2019) The leadership of the Kurdish self-government bodies in northeastern Syria on Thursday denied media reports about the alleged agreement with Iraq on the return of 31,000 refugees, stressing that the number was as many as 4,000 people.

Last week, the AFP news agency reported that Syria's Kurds agreed with Baghdad on the return of tens of thousands of refugees, mainly living in camps in Syria.

"We emphasize that this news is not true ... As part of the talks, the Names of about 4,000 people, including women and children, who want to return to Iraq voluntarily, were recorded. The list was handed over to the Iraqi delegation," a statement attributed to Kurdish official Kamal Akif reads.

The statement notes that the meeting with the Iraqi delegation indeed took place, and the situation around some 30,000 Iraqi refugees, "in no way linked with Islamic State [terrorist group, banned in Russia]," was the main topic of discussion.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which was created on the basis of the Kurdish troops, controls regions in northeastern Syria. SDF units have been engaged in the fight against terrorists in Syria and are backed by the US-led coalition, whose airstrikes in the region have resulted in multiple civilian casualties, according to Syrian media reports. Damascus previously stated that it considers their actions illegal. In January, SDF spokeswoman Ilham Ahmed told Sputnik that the SDF was maintaining talks with Damascus on the settlement of their differences amid the threat of the Turkish possible military operation against Kurds in Syria.