Nearly 2,000 Syrians stranded on the Syrian-Lebanese border due to coronavirus
Al-Suwayda' – North-Press Agency
Thousands of Syrians stranded on the Syrian-Lebanese border, at al-Arida and Jdeidet Yabous crossings in the western countryside of Damascus, are suffering from difficult conditions due to the closure of the borders and the prevention of the Syrian government from entering the country, coinciding with the increasing number on a daily basis, amid lack of food and water.
The Syrian-Lebanese border was closed in late March as a preventative measure against coronavirus.
In a telephone conversation with North-Press, Khaled Salam, one of those stranded at the border since about a week ago, said: "We are going through compelling circumstances where money ran out of us, and there is a shortage of food and water…only truck drivers who cross the border give us little food for free and charge our mobile phone batteries."
As a result of coronavirus, the restaurant in which Khaled was working in Lebanon was closed, forcing him to consider returning to his country.
Baha'a Fayyad, a truck driver who crosses the border between Syria and Lebanon periodically, said that the border crossings are witnessing "chaos, as a result of the gathering and stampede of young Syrians to fill out their forms and enter the country."
"I see hundreds of Syrians daily laying in the open without food," he added.
Nidal al-Ali, who is assigned to the Syrian Ministry of Health to supervise the entry of foreign arrivals to the quarantine centers, told North-Press by telephone that the number of those present on the Syrian-Lebanese border is currently 2,000.
Khaled Salam said that on Friday, a group of "angry" youths tried to cross the border into Syria, but Syrian security forces (border guards and members of the Syrian Army's Fourth Division) forced them to retreat and remain in the buffer zone between the two crossings.
Khaled pointed out that the security forces, "used rubber sticks, and thick rubber bullets were fired into the air; some of the youths suffered from bruises as a result of the stampede and fighting with Syrian law enforcement."
In turn, the Lebanese security forces prevented the stranded from returning to its territory, as they had obtained exit visas. However, all stranded people are currently staying within the separation distance of 7 km between the Jdeidet Yabous crossing and the Lebanese al-Masna' crossing, where there are only two stores selling food, some of which say that the owners of the stores "exploit the displaced people and sell at high prices."
Nidal al-Ali, who is an employee of the Ministry of Health, stated that the reason for the prevention is due to the lack of quarantine centers to accommodate the stranded, as these centers only accommodate 150 persons who remain for 14 days.
"Now we are working on expanding these centers," he added.
In a statement to North-Press, head of the consular department of the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Firas al-Hinnawi said that the Syrian embassy in Lebanon asked those who wanted to return to fill out electronic forms.
"The priority of entry is for the elderly, pregnant women, those with special needs, and holders of temporary residency, and then of permanent one," he added.