Iraq "Returns Syrian Government Forces fleeing rebel forces"

Iraq has decided to return soldiers from the former Syrian government forces who have fled the Syrian rebels' offensive, AFP reported.

Iraq's Interior Ministry said on the 19th local time that it would "work with Syrian authorities to begin repatriating Syrian soldiers."

The Iraqi government's decision is interpreted as a friendly attitude toward Syrian rebels, who have ended the Syrian civil war in 13 years and established a transitional government.

In addition, it seems to mean that it will draw a line so that it does not get caught up in a sudden change in Syria.

Syrian rebels, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, launched an offensive in the northwest late last month and seized major cities and ousted Bashar al-Assad's regime after taking control of the capital Damascus on the 8th of this month.

In the process, hundreds of Syrian government troops broke away from the front lines and entered Iraq at the Al-Qaim border crossing in eastern Syria, some of whom were injured, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

Iraq's interior ministry said Syrian soldiers would return home via al-Qaim checkpoints, just as they did when they came in, and an international organization would oversee the process.