ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi security forces on Friday arrested a man in Baghdad on charges of “inciting a gathering” and “instigating acts of rioting” in front of the Syrian embassy, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior.
“Legal procedures have been taken against him to complete the necessary investigative and legal documentation for his prosecution to ensure he receives fair justice,” the ministry stated.
The ministry warned against any attempts to “incite discord or attack Iraq’s guests, regardless of their nationality,” and said security forces will “deal firmly” with anyone seeking to “undermine security.”
The arrest follows recent attacks on Syrian refugees in Iraq. On Wednesday, the Iraqi military’s Joint Operations Command formed a committee to track down perpetrators of these attacks after a video circulated showing a Shiite militia, calling itself “Ya Ali Popular Formations,” assaulting Syrians.
The Iraqi government has condemned the assaults as did the new authorities in Damascus. “We condemn the attacks on Syrians in Iraq, as these acts constitute a violation of human rights and international law,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The attacks appeared to be linked to last week’s violent clashes on Syria’s western coast where loyalists of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad - primarily Alawites, a sect within Shiite Islam - attacked security forces affiliated with the new Syrian leadership. Government-affiliated forces and armed groups responded, committing what has been described as “massacres.”
Approximately 1,500 people, mostly Alawites, were killed in the violence by government or government-affiliated forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“Legal procedures have been taken against him to complete the necessary investigative and legal documentation for his prosecution to ensure he receives fair justice,” the ministry stated.
The ministry warned against any attempts to “incite discord or attack Iraq’s guests, regardless of their nationality,” and said security forces will “deal firmly” with anyone seeking to “undermine security.”
The arrest follows recent attacks on Syrian refugees in Iraq. On Wednesday, the Iraqi military’s Joint Operations Command formed a committee to track down perpetrators of these attacks after a video circulated showing a Shiite militia, calling itself “Ya Ali Popular Formations,” assaulting Syrians.
The Iraqi government has condemned the assaults as did the new authorities in Damascus. “We condemn the attacks on Syrians in Iraq, as these acts constitute a violation of human rights and international law,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The attacks appeared to be linked to last week’s violent clashes on Syria’s western coast where loyalists of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad - primarily Alawites, a sect within Shiite Islam - attacked security forces affiliated with the new Syrian leadership. Government-affiliated forces and armed groups responded, committing what has been described as “massacres.”
Approximately 1,500 people, mostly Alawites, were killed in the violence by government or government-affiliated forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
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