Lebanon resumes plan to deport Syrian refugees
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – The Lebanese government announced on Saturday the resumption of the plan to deport Syrian refugees in coordination with the Syrian government by the end of April.
The Lebanese government intends to classify the Syrians residing on its territory between displaced and non-displaced in order to apply two tracks to them, which is a roadmap set by the government to deal with the Syrian refugees.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, Lebanese caretaker Minister of the Displaced Issam Sharafeddine said that the plan to repatriate Syrian refugees from Lebanon to their country will be resumed at the end of April.
He added that on behalf of the Lebanese government, the Ministry of the Displaced are coordinating with the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment of Syria to develop a new plan for the return of refugees, noting that lists of the displaced who wish to return to their homes have been prepared and handed over to the security authorities.
The Lebanese government intends to implement one of two tracks; either resettlement in a third country, or their final return to their homeland after coordination with the Syrian government, as well as requesting assistance from the international community to stabilize security and prevent encroachments on maritime and land borders.
More than two million Syrians are present in Lebanon, most of whom are displaced and divided between registered and unregistered on the rolls of the Refugee Commission.
Sharafeddine said that “the new program will make it possible to implement the bilateral agreement reached with Damascus in September 2023, the implementation of which was suspended due to the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East, which stipulates that within a year, about 200,000 Syrians will be able to leave Lebanon for their country.”