BAHRAIN: SEEKING REGIONAL SUPPORT TO STOP FLOW OF

S E C R E T MANAMA 000619 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2017 TAGS: PREL PTER BA IZ REGION SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: SEEKING REGIONAL SUPPORT TO STOP FLOW OF FOREIGN FIGHTERS TO IRAQ REF: STATE 91551 Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) . ¶1. (S) The Ambassador July 3 delivered reftel demarche concerning regional support to stop the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq to Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Nezar Al Baharna. Al Baharna said that the MFA had not heard of any specific cases of Bahraini citizens traveling to Syria to fight in Iraq. Although the GOB realizes that segments of the Bahraini population feel very strongly about the situation in Iraq, the government had not identified individual Bahrainis who had attempted to join the fight. He said that the government would be very concerned if it found that Bahrainis were actually traveling to Syria with the intent of entering Iraq. ¶2. (S) Al Baharna said that the issue of Bahrainis traveling to regional conflicts had also arisen in connection with a recent statement by the Lebanese Defense Minister that identified nationals of several Arab countries, including Bahrain, as being involved with Fateh Al Islam in the Nahr Al Bared camp in Lebanon. Responding to the Lebanese Minister's statement, Al Baharna was quoted in the press July 3 saying that the MFA did not have any information about the recruitment of Bahrainis by Fateh Al Islam and that Bahrain had not received any information on the matter through official channels from the Lebanese government. To the Ambassador, Al Baharna said that the Foreign Ministry had contacted the Bahraini Embassy in Beirut to determine if it had received any information about Bahrainis fighting with Fateh Al Islam. The Embassy had not received any information to this effect but was following up with the Lebanese government. Al Baharna questioned how the Lebanese Minister of Defense could make the statement he did unless the army had actually captured individuals or discovered incriminating documents. "They can't tell just by looking at them," Al Baharna said. ¶3. (S) Separately, Pol/Econ Chief July 3 delivered the same demarche to MFA Director for Bilateral Affairs Dhafer Al Umran. Al Umran said he would discuss the issue with the MFA Consular Affairs director and the Ministry of Interior and urge them to review their systems to ensure Bahrainis were not allowed to travel to Iraq to fight. ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ ********************************************* ******** MONROE