ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Iraqi government on Thursday said it was beginning to repatriate Syrian army soldiers who fled a rebel offensive that led to the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

 

"Today, the Iraqi authorities will start returning Syrian soldiers to their country after coordinating with the relevant Syrian authorities in this regard,” Iraq’s interior ministry spokesman Miqdad Miri said.

 

The repatriation of the Syrian soldiers comes in response to a request by Syria’s transitional government, which formally asked Iraq to hand over the soldiers now on its soil.  

 

The number of Syrian soldiers who crossed Iraq through the Al-Qaim border crossing is put at around 3,500, according to official government sources.

 

The soldiers were reportedly moved to camps set up in advance in the Rutba desert, west of Anbar province, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Jordanian border, an official source had told The New Region.

 

The Iraqi interior ministry spokesperson said the soldiers would be repatriated through the same crossing.

 

A senior Iraqi official said the repatriation would take place under "the supervision of international organizations,” according to AFP, citing an official on the condition of anonymity. 

 

“The number of Syrian soldiers and officers who crossed into Iraq and surrendered their weapons to the Iraqi military in recent hours has reached approximately 3,500," the official said. “They have undergone security screening, and tents have been erected near the border to accommodate them, with all necessary provisions like food and water supplied.”

 

Since the collapse of Assad, the new rulers in Damascus have called on soldiers and policemen to lay down arms and join the new authorities.