Syria will not require visas from Iraqis until Muslim feast ends

Sep 16, 2007, 8:45 GMT

Damascus - A source at the Syrian Foreign Ministry said Sunday that Syria had decided to postpone the implementation of the regulation requiring entry visas from Iraqis until after the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr.

The three-day Muslim holiday ends the month-long daylight fast of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month.

The source, which declined to be identified, declined to give further details.

Last Monday, the Al-Thawra government newspaper said that 'due to the burden which Syrian citizens are shouldering concerning finding schools for their children or ensuring their daily requirements ... a new measure organizing the entry of Iraqis to the Syrian lands has been taken.'

Syria now requires visas from official Iraqi delegations; holders of diplomatic Iraqi passports, economists and merchants, and members of academic bodies at Iraqi universities and higher institutes who are registered at Syrian schools and universities.

Official statistics have put the number of Iraqi refugees in Syria at 1.5 millions, but unofficial figures put it at around 2 million.

The Syrian government complains of the increasing burdens on its health and education infrastructure. It has stated that the estimated cost of the refugees' stay in Syria is 1.6 billion dollars.

The new measure is regarded as an attempt to stem the flow of more than 40,000 Iraqi refugees streaming into the country every month.

In the past, Iraqis were granted a three-month residence permit, renewable only once. Unless they are students or businessmen, they then have to leave Syria for at least one day before being allowed back in.