MALAYSIAN STUDENTS IN SYRIA SAFE, NO REPATRIATION PLANS YET: FOREIGN MINISTER

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysian students in Syria are safe and have sufficient food supplies at their respective colleges, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan has stated.

As such, he said, the government currently has no plans to repatriate over 50 Malaysian students from the country.

“The Honorary Consul General of Malaysia in Damascus, Dr Samir Al Kour, is in daily contact with Wisma Putra and directly with me regarding the situation of Malaysian students in Syria, sending photographs and videos of our students there,” he told reporters at the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

According to Mohamad, Malaysia continues to monitor the situation in Syria following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad and hopes that the new government in the country will maintain peace and security.

He expressed Malaysia’s regret over the actions of the Zionist regime, which has taken advantage of Syria’s unstable interim government to expand illegal settlements in the Golan Heights.

“This is an act that violates international law and crosses the borders of a sovereign nation,” he said.

He expressed Malaysia’s regret over the actions of the Zionist regime, which has taken advantage of Syria’s unstable interim government to expand illegal settlements in the Golan Heights.

“This is an act that violates international law and crosses the borders of a sovereign nation,” he said.

Assad is reported to have fled to Russia after his government was overthrown by anti-regime groups that successfully took control of key areas, including Aleppo, Idlib, and Damascus, earlier this month.

-- BERNAMA