Sheikh Akel Hajri: Syrians resolve their problems through dialogue

Sheikh Akel of al-Muwahidin Muslims, Hekmat al-Hajri, stressed rejection of any foreign interference in the internal affairs of Syria, voicing support to any initiative leading to halting bloodshed and restoring peace and security. Meeting the World Peace delegation, headed by Mairead Maguire, Sheikh al-Hajri pointed out that the Syrians resolve their problems through dialogue, affirming that "the only legitimate weapons are those of the Syrian Army, and any other weapons are terrorist weapons." The delegation noted that they saw all the Syrian people living together,  and the crisis in Syria is a proxy war imposed on the Syrians from outside the country. The World Peace delegation, currently visiting Syria, is headed by Nobel-Prize Winner Mairead Maguire, and it includes over 16 activists and journalists from Australia, the US, Canada, Brazil and Lebanon, in addition to members of the Syrian Popular Committee for National Reconciliation. Governor of Damascus countryside, Hussein Makhlouf discussed with the world peace delegation currently visiting Syria, headed by Mairead Maguire, the measures to restore normal life to the province and the damage caused by the terrorist groups, and means to make amends to the citizens. Maguire listened to documented accounts by citizens who were harmed by terrorist attacks, urging the international community to ''shoulder its responsibilities to rebuild what has been destroyed,'' and demanding the lifting of sanctions imposed on Syria and exerting efforts to end violence. Makhlouf said that the governorate will continue to offer the necessary aid to all citizens in the province and support the families who were forced out of their homes by the armed terrorist groups. The governor reviewed the damage caused in the province which was estimated at SYP 71 billion, not to mention unrecorded losses, indicating that terrorists completely vandalized up to 375 schools and 41 health centers, in addition to vandalizing and robbing hospitals, ambulances, fire engines, public and private cars, mills, bakeries, cultural centers and infrastructures, and assassinating big number of state employees. He added that the terrorist acts forced around 143 thousand families out of their homes, stressing that the governorate is offering necessary aid to them in cooperation with the Red Crescent and charities. Makhlouf clarified that 20 thousand affected citizens have registered their losses, adding that the governorate started to pay damages to them as equivalent to 30-40 per cent of the value of the losses. He affirmed the citizens' resolve to get things back to normal through ending violence and coming to dialogue, hailing the high ethical values characterizing most of the province's citizens.