Iraq Expresses Condolences to Syria Over Dam Collapse

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Thursday sent a telegram of condolences to his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad over the human and material losses caused by the collapse of the Zeyzoun dam in Syria's northern Hama Province on Tuesday.

"We received with great sadness the news of the collapse of the Zeyzoun dam which caused the deaths of a number of our Syrian brothers as well as material losses," Saddam said in the telegram carried by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).

Saddam expressed in the telegram condolences to the Syrian president, the Syrian people and the victims' families, the INA said.

Syrian media reported on Thursday that at lease 20 people were killed and four others missing in the dam collapse.

Although Syria joined the United States-led multinational coalition army against Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War, relations betweenthe two countries, ruled by rival branches of the pan-Arab Baath party, have witnessed rapid development in recent years.

(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2002)