Iraq’s Basra: All Syrians under security surveillance

Shafaq News/ All Syrian workers entering Iraq's Basra province are registered with the security agencies, including the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS) and other relevant bodies, a senior official said on Friday.

“There is no Syrian outside the scope of security surveillance,” the head of Basra Provincial Council's Security Committee, Aqeel Al-Furaiji, said in a press statement, noting that field security patrols are actively monitoring the nature of Syrians' work and their legal documents.

Regarding foreign labor, Al-Furaiji pointed out that most of it is employed within oil companies and is concentrated in Basra’s oil regions, with entry regulated through a special program overseen by the authorities responsible for issuing permits and residency.

Companies recruiting foreign workers, he added, are legally responsible for them and must regularly update their data, warning that “any company failing to provide accurate information about its workforce will face legal accountability and penalties from the relevant security bodies.”

After the fall of the Assad regime, Iraq fears a repeat of the 2014 scenario, when ISIS seized about a third of the country due to the spillover of the Syrian conflict between the regime and opposition factions in recent years.

The country reinforced its troops along the border with Syria after the Syrian army retreated in the face of armed groups, allowing them to overthrow the regime within days.

Iraqi security forces have recently begun monitoring all social media accounts and arrested Syrians accused of promoting terrorism, as violence in Syria's coastal areas increases.

Recent instructions have also been issued to review the records of all Syrians, particularly those violating residency rules.