ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Syrian foreign ministry condemned on Wednesday “violations” committed against Syrian refugees in Iraq, as footage of members of an Iraqi Shiite militia group purportedly hunting down Syrian workers, beating, and kidnapping them have been recently circulating on social media. 

 

The Syrian foreign ministry called on the Iraqi government to hold the perpetrators accountable.

 

Damascus condemned “what Syrians are being subjected to in Iraq,” calling it “a violation of human rights and international law,” in a statement in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

 

The Syrian foreign ministry went on to demand that the Iraqi government “hold accountable the perpetrators” of the “crimes,” and ensure the security and safety of Syrians residing in Iraq.

 

The condemnation comes days after Iraqi security forces arrested three Syrian refugees reportedly for posting content in support of the Syrian government's military operations in the western coastal regions of the country, something Baghdad considered as support for “terrorist organizations.”

 

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Wednesday ordered the formation of "a specialized security team to prosecute those who commit these illegal acts," read a statement from his media office.

Loyalists to deposed president Bashar al-Assad last week killed a number of members of the Syrian security forces in an ambush, an incident which prompted a violent response from Damascus, with members of the Syrian defense ministry carrying out “public executions,” killing over 1090 civilians along Syria’s western coast, predominantly Alawites, suspected of siding with the insurgents, according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). 

 

Baghdad joined scores of countries in condemning the escalations and the targeting of "innocent civilians.” 

  

The video circulating shows masked militants harassing two Syrian refugees working in a bakery, asking for the refugee's phones, checking, and then handing them over back before proceeding to slap and aggressively push the workers.

 

The Iraqi government, unlike many other regional and world countries, was a staunch supporter of the Assad regime and was reluctant at the beginning to build relations with the new Syrian administration but slowly moved toward establishing ties.

 

The new administration of Damascus has repeatedly stressed that they do not threaten Iraq and its security and expressed their desire to develop strategic ties with Baghdad.

 

Despite receiving an official invitation to visit Baghdad, the interim Syrian government has yet to decide on a date for its Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani to visit Iraq.

 

Iraq is home to a sizeable Syrian population. Ninety percent of 338,000 refugees and asylum seekers who live in Iraq are Syrians and have primarily sought shelter in the Kurdistan Region, a recent UN report finds.