LONDON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A London-based Syrian human rights group is blaming the Syrian regime for the abuse and murder of scores of Syrian refugees in Iraq.
The Syrian Human Rights Monitor said in a statement Tuesday the reason why many Syrians in Iraq have been killed by death squads and others thrown in prisons in Baghdad is because the Damascus regime refuses to heed appeals to issue an amnesty for Syrian refugees in Iraq.
The group again called on President Bashar Assad to quickly issue an amnesty and allow them to return to their homes "because their conditions have reached a crucial and dangerous point that threatens their entire existence."
It added that Iraqi "death squads" Tuesday arrested several prominent Syrian dissidents in central Baghdad, including the head of the opposition Syrian Committee for Democratic Action, Mohammad Bakour, who also heads the Syrian refugees' affairs in Iraq.
The group said these people "have nothing to do with armed activities," and that their arrest was linked to Bakour's statements last week that eight Syrian refugees were killed by death squads in Baghdad.
The rights organization also appealed to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees and international rights groups to carry out their moral responsibilities towards the Syrian refugees in Iraq by pressuring the "concerned parties to find quick solutions before more innocent people fall."
Dozens of Syrian families sought refuge in neighboring Iraq after the Baath Party split into two rival groups in 1966, just as many Iraqis sought asylum in Syria, where the Baathists continue to rule today.
The Baath Party in Iraq collapsed with Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003, less than a month after U.S.-led forces invaded the country.
The targeting of Syrian refugees in Iraq today is widely seen as acts of vengeance against former regime supporters.
