A leading human rights group calls on Iraq to halt deportations of Syrian refugees

Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — A leading international rights group says Iraqi authorities in Baghdad and the administration in the semi-autonomous northern Iraqi Kurdish region have arbitrarily detained and deported Syrian refugees home to their country. The New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that it has documented cases in which Iraqi authorities deported Syrians even though they had legal residency or were in the process of being registered with the U.N. refugee agency. Syrians have also reported being arrested in raids at their workplace or on the streets, and, in two cases, at residency offices while trying to renew their permits.