Lebanese Army rescues 27 Syrian migrants from sinking boat
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Lebanese Army rescued on Saturday 27 Syrian migrants from a boat while sinking off near the shores of the town of Chekka, northern Lebanon.
The Lebanese army published on their official website in Arabic that they rescued 27 illegal migrants, all hold Syrian nationality without revealing their destination.
Lebanon is home to roughly two million Syrians who fled from the violence of Syria’s civil war. Since the beginning of April, the Lebanese Armed Forces have forcefully deported hundreds, including some of the around 800,000 Syrians that are under UNHCR protection.
Most of the migrants to Lebanon aspire to head across its coast to western countries.
In August, Lebanese forces arrested dozens of Syrian and Lebanese traffickers in Lebanon who were planning to smuggle migrants via boats to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea.
Migration from Syria is increasing in general due to the deteriorating living conditions and security measures in a country ravaged by warring parties.
In March, a boat carrying 25 people – most of them Syrians – sank off the coast of the city of Tobruk, in Libya’s east, killing 16 Syrian migrants heading to Europe.
On June 4, a boat carrying about 25 migrants, most of them from the city of Kobani, northern Syria, including women and children, sank off the Algerian shores, while they were riding the sea, hoping to reach the Spanish shores.