BEIRUT: The Lebanese army said Thursday it had prevented the entry of around 1,200 Syrian migrants this week, at a time both countries are beset by painful economic woes.
Millions of Syrians have already fled abroad since their country’s civil war broke out in 2011 following the government’s repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests.
Most of them cross the border into Lebanon, which the United Nations says hosts the largest number of refugees per capital in the world.
The Lebanese army said in a statement that it had “prevented around 1,200 Syrians from crossing the Lebanese-Syrian border in the past week.”
It had announced on August 23 that it turned back 700 Syrians attempting to enter the eastern Mediterranean country illegally.
“The Syrian-Lebanese border is porous and the number of soldiers mobilized is not enough,” a security official told AFP.
“Most Syrians come to Lebanon in the hope of finding work, given the unprecedented deterioration in living conditions in their country,” said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The Syrian government’s repression of demonstrations in 2011 escalated into a civil war that killed more than 500,000 people, ravaged the country’s economy and drove millions into exile.
In the early years of the conflict, Lebanon welcomed hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, before banning them from its territory in early 2015.
Since then, many Syrians have used smugglers to cross the border and seek a better life in Lebanon or beyond.
Officials in Lebanon say Syrians have again been pushed to flee at a time of protests over dire living conditions, after the government in Damascus scrapped fuel subsidies.
Lebanon, which has been mired in a crippling economic crisis for years, says it hosts nearly two million Syrians. The United Nation has registered almost 830,000 of them.
Lebanon army says blocked entry of 1,200 Syrian migrants
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Lebanon army says blocked entry of 1,200 Syrian migrants
- Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees per capital in the world
UN, aid groups warn Gaza operations at risk from Israel impediments
- Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations and aid groups warned on Wednesday that humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, were at risk of collapse if Israel does not lift impediments that include a “vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized” registration process.
Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days, said the UN and more than 200 local and international aid groups in a joint statement.
“The deregistration of INGOs (international aid groups) in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services,” the statement read.
“INGOs run or support the majority of field hospitals, primary health care centers, emergency shelter responses, water and sanitation services, nutrition stabilization centers for children with acute malnutrition, and critical mine action activities,” it said.
SUPPLIES LEFT OUT OF REACH: GROUPS
While some international aid groups have been registered under the system that was introduced in March, “the ongoing re-registration process and other arbitrary hindrances to humanitarian operations have left millions of dollars’ worth of essential supplies — including food, medical items, hygiene materials, and shelter assistance — stuck outside of Gaza and unable to reach people in need,” the statement read.
Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement. Under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas began on October 10. Hamas released hostages, Israel freed detained Palestinians and more aid began flowing into the enclave where a global hunger monitor said in August famine had taken hold.
However, Hamas says fewer aid trucks are entering Gaza than was agreed. Aid agencies say there is far less aid than required, and that Israel is blocking many necessary items from coming in. Israel denies that and says it is abiding by its obligations under the truce.
“The UN will not be able to compensate for the collapse of INGOs’ operations if they are de-registered, and the humanitarian response cannot be replaced by alternative actors operating outside established humanitarian principles,” the statement by the UN and aid groups said.
The statement stressed “humanitarian access is not optional, conditional or political,” adding: “Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay.”
