Abkhazian MFA to help to return Abkhazians from Syria

Abkhazia is ready to help the members of the Abkhazian Diaspora in Syria, who wish to return to their homeland. Now, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Abkhazia is planning to send a mission to Syria, composed of members of the repatriation committee.

On December 29, 2011, the MFA of Abkhazia issued a statement expressing concern about the development of the political crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic and about the fate of the Abkhazians living there.

According to Vyacheslav Chirikba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia, in the next few days, the Abkhazian Diaspora in Syria will meet to discuss the help they might need, the "Apsnipress" Agency reports.

"To our knowledge, some 8-10 thousand Abkhazians live in Syria; such Abkhazian clans like Amarschan, Agrba, Kudjba, Gechba, Maan, Chichba, Kaytan and others are represented there. Most of them in their Syrian passports have the surname Abaza, which in Arabic means 'Abkhazian'; in this way they express their ethnic identity. Unfortunately, so far, the situation in Syria has no trend to stabilize," the official website of the local MFA quotes Minister Chirikba as saying.