July 22, 2005

Damascus said that its forces on the border with Iraq are often exposed to fire by the American army and the Iraqi forces, adding that this resulted in killing two of those guards at the hands of the American soldiers.

The Syrian deputy foreign minister Walid al-Mu'allim said that the security forces on the border are attacked not only by persons who infiltrated the border, but also by the American and Iraqi forces. He noted that 100 clashes took place on the border.

He said that the American soldiers on the Iraqi borders opened fire indiscriminately on everyone behind land barriers on the borders because of their lack of self control.

This is, however, the first time in which Syria, which has 600 Km borders with Iraq, complains over gunfire cases by the American forces at its border forces.

On Thursday, Syria announced the detention of scores of what it described extremists of various nationalities on its border with Iraq.

Al-Mu'allim said that the Syrian efforts resulted in detaining 1240 persons handed over to their countries through embassies and security departments.

He added that the Syrian authorities interrogated 4,000 persons who entered or tried to enter Iraq for fighting while 69 detainees are still under investigation.

Al-Mu'allim accused each of Washington, London and Baghdad of not making enough efforts to prevent infiltrating persons from entering Iraq, noting that the Syrian authorities implemented what it was asked for.

Syria increased the number of its forces at the border with Iraq by deploying 4500 soldiers in the border area, which makes it difficult for infiltrators to cross the borders only during day time but lack night vision instruments which the US prevented Syria from obtaining.