Lebanese official pledges to deport more Syrian refugees to homeland
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A Lebanese official pledged on Monday to deport more Syrian refugees back to their country, focusing on those who have no security obstacles to living in Syria.
Minister of Interior and Municipalities of Lebanon, Bassam Mawlawi, said the Lebanese authorities have deported about 29,000 Syrian refugees to their country so far.
Mawlawi pointed out that the focus of the deportation operations was on those with illegal papers and had no security obstacles to living in Syria.
On April 8, the Lebanese army announced that Syrian kidnappers killed Pascal Sleiman, a local Lebanese political official belonging to a party that opposes the Lebanese Hezbollah.
Following the killing of Sleiman, different areas of the country witnessed a series of attacks targeting Syrian workers and individuals, including women.
“The problem of Syrian refugee must be solved, and the Syrians must return safely to their country,” Mawlawi said.
He added that out of 2 million Syrian refugees who currently live in Lebanon, only about 300,000 have legal residency papers.
Lebanon is home to over 2 million Syrians, the majority of whom are refugees, divided into registered and unregistered individuals on the lists of the Refugee Commission.
Figures released by the government of Lebanon in December 2023 estimate that the country hosts approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees, of whom 800,000 are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).