Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Hours
February 15, 20161
POLITICS
EUROPEAN UNION
Merkel Backs No-Fly Zone in Syria; Rejects Full
Border Controls in Germany: Merkel today backed a call
from Turkey for a no-fly zone over parts of Syria, saying it
would alleviate the situation of displaced Syrians. "In the
current situation it would be helpful if there could be such
an area, where none of the parties are allowed to launch
aerial attacks, that is to say, a kind of no-fly zone," she told
Stuttgart Zeitung. She acknowledged it was impossible to
negotiate with "terrorists from the Islamic State, adding:
But if it's possible for the anti-Assad coalition and the
Assad-supporters to come to an agreement, that would be
helpful."
At a campaign rally in Baden-Wurttemberg today,
Merkel also chided fellow leaders focused only on
border controls as a response to the crisis: Everyone
wants to protect the outer border of the EU against
uncontrolled migration, she said, but not everyone is
telling me how exactly were supposed to do that.
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LEBANON
Lebanon's defence minister, Samir Moqbel, urged the
European Union to speed up assistance for Syrian
refugees in his country, stating that "we need the help now
and not in one year." (S. Han)
SYRIA
President Bashir al-Asaad blames Europe: In an
interview in Damascus with Agency France Presse, Syrian
President Bashir al-Assad blamed Europe for the flood of
Syrian refugees. Assad stated that European governments
had "been a direct cause for the emigration of these people,
by giving cover to terrorists in the beginning and through
sanctions imposed on Syria." (S. Han)
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
UNRWA delivers aid: Over the weekend, the UN Relief
and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) as
able to distribute aid to a number of Palestinian refugee
camps near Damascus for the first time in 6 months.
UNRWA provided 1,200 family food parcels from a
distribution point in Yalda, and hopes to reach 6,000
families by the end of the week. (S. Han)
MEDIA
Financial Times: Russia accused of weaponising Syria
refugees
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SERBIA
Refugee dies while trying to reach Hungary: A 30-yearold refugee died on 12 February during an apparent bid to
cross the border with Hungary. The deceased, who had
climbed onto the top of a freight wagon heading to the
border, died after coming in contact with 25,000 volt
electric cables. The death comes as Hungarian police and
military patrols have doubled and hundreds, mostly those
without Syrian, Iraqi or Afghan nationality who are refused
onward travel on the main refugee route, attempt to enter
Hungary despite the border fences and the strict
punishments for those that get caught. Serbias public
broadcaster reported that as many as 104 refugees were
arrested by the Hungarians in a single day. (M.
Moschopoulos)
SLOVENIA
New questionnaire for refugees leads to hundreds of
pushbacks: Slovenian police at the border with Croatia
introduced a new process on 14 February during which
refugees seeking to enter the country are asked why they
intend to reach their stated country of destination. The
options given are war, study, religious reasons, family
reunification, and job. Those who do not respond with
war are pushed back to Croatia. During a field visit to the
border camp of Dobova, OSIFE staff was told that a Syrian
child travelling with his family was denied passage as he
responded study, leading to the pushing back of the entire
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