The Daily Star
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BEIRUT/WADI KHALED: Conflicting reports emerged Friday over the number of Syrian refugees entering north Lebanon in a bid to avoid ongoing security crackdowns, as a contingency plan to accommodate a potential flood of displaced families continued to take shape.The official Bqaiaa border crossing in Lebanon’s northern Wadi Khaled area appeared quiet Friday morning, with one estimate putting the number of arrivals at no more than 120 people – a rate described by one local as “semi-normal,” given the regular transit of Syrian laborers coming into north Lebanon for work.
However, Khodr Obeid al-Hajji, mukhtar of the border village of Amayer, said that the figures of Syrian families fleeing into Lebanon had continued to rise.
“Thursday and Friday witnessed a large influx of Syrian refugees into Wadi Khaled,” Hajji said.
He said up to 130 families had arrived in Lebanon during the past 48 hours and that figure looked set to rise.
The refugees hailed from the Syrian towns of Homs, Tal Kalakh and Shamm, which have seen varying degrees of unrest in recent weeks as months-long protests against Bashar Assad’s regime were countered by heavy-handed security crackdowns.
A security source told The Daily Star that the influx of Syrian refugees was spread along Lebanon’s northern border and many were entering via unofficial channels.
“Every minute people are coming in [to Lebanon] through legal and illegal means. From Hermel to the western Bekaa, people are coming in and a large majority is staying,” the source said.
Many families close to the border have relatives spread throughout neighboring areas in Lebanon and Syria, so movement between the two countries has traditionally been easily facilitated by security forces.
An army spokesperson declined to comment on the situation along the border, although Army Commander General Jean Kawhagi met Friday with Nasri Khoury, head of the Higher Syrian-Lebanese Council, according to the National News Agency.
One resident of the Wadi Khaled area, who wished to remain anonymous, said that figures given in some media reports for refugees entering Lebanon had been inflated.
Some refugees have been returning to Syria during the week, only to flee again to Lebanon to avoid Fridays, thus far the focus of anti-regime demonstrations – and security crackdowns.
“We don’t know if events will develop today during the ‘Friday of Rage,’ whether the migration movement will increase as it did during the first day of the Tall Kalakh incidents,” the resident said.
Ahmad Ali Rajab, mayor of the northern village of Kneisseh, said most Syrians entering Lebanon had families to stay with, and that the majority of refugees were women and children.
“The influx of refugees is increasing, men are sending their women while the men remain [in Syria] to continue in protests,” Rajab told The Daily Star.
The official also denied recent media reports that Lebanese authorities were helping Syrian intelligence services in identifying regime dissidents who had crossed into north Lebanon.
“The Syrians are hassling those who are crossing into Lebanon while the Lebanese government is facilitating the entry of Syrians,” Rajab said. “There were even some soldiers from Tal Kalakh in the Syrian Army who surrendered their weapons to the Lebanese government.”
A contingency plan has been drawn up between the United Nation’s refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Ministry of Social Affairs to deal with a possible large rise in Syrian families entering Lebanon.
A UNHCR spokesperson confirmed a backup plan was in the works. Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Salim Sayegh said that preparations were being made to accommodate a growing number of refugees.
“We are putting that together but it is not finalized yet because we don’t have direction from the government and we don’t want to give the illusion that my ministry is in charge of the situation if an emergency occurs,” Sayegh told The Daily Star.
“We cannot consider that there is now a Syrian refugee issue in Lebanon. It’s completely unpredictable. We have completed mapping the possibilities of welcoming larger numbers. We have the capacity, so we can channel more people if the need arises. But there has been no means delivered yet to really tackle the issue,” he added.
Sayegh said that schools and other municipal buildings in the north were being considered as locations to shelter more refugees.
Nadim Houry, director of Human Rights Watch Middle East and North Africa division, expressed concern that the situation in Wadi Khaled could become unmanageable.
“Most families are staying with relatives. Some have indicated that they are here temporarily; some have said they will stay longer. There is not a humanitarian situation at the moment but some homes are housing multiple families. The situation, if prolonged, would not be sustainable,” he said.
Houry also added that some Syrians claimed they had been discouraged by Lebanese authorities from speaking to reporters in Wadi Khaled. – With additional reporting by Antoine Amrieh
However, Khodr Obeid al-Hajji, mukhtar of the border village of Amayer, said that the figures of Syrian families fleeing into Lebanon had continued to rise.
“Thursday and Friday witnessed a large influx of Syrian refugees into Wadi Khaled,” Hajji said.
He said up to 130 families had arrived in Lebanon during the past 48 hours and that figure looked set to rise.
The refugees hailed from the Syrian towns of Homs, Tal Kalakh and Shamm, which have seen varying degrees of unrest in recent weeks as months-long protests against Bashar Assad’s regime were countered by heavy-handed security crackdowns.
A security source told The Daily Star that the influx of Syrian refugees was spread along Lebanon’s northern border and many were entering via unofficial channels.
“Every minute people are coming in [to Lebanon] through legal and illegal means. From Hermel to the western Bekaa, people are coming in and a large majority is staying,” the source said.
Many families close to the border have relatives spread throughout neighboring areas in Lebanon and Syria, so movement between the two countries has traditionally been easily facilitated by security forces.
An army spokesperson declined to comment on the situation along the border, although Army Commander General Jean Kawhagi met Friday with Nasri Khoury, head of the Higher Syrian-Lebanese Council, according to the National News Agency.
One resident of the Wadi Khaled area, who wished to remain anonymous, said that figures given in some media reports for refugees entering Lebanon had been inflated.
Some refugees have been returning to Syria during the week, only to flee again to Lebanon to avoid Fridays, thus far the focus of anti-regime demonstrations – and security crackdowns.
“We don’t know if events will develop today during the ‘Friday of Rage,’ whether the migration movement will increase as it did during the first day of the Tall Kalakh incidents,” the resident said.
Ahmad Ali Rajab, mayor of the northern village of Kneisseh, said most Syrians entering Lebanon had families to stay with, and that the majority of refugees were women and children.
“The influx of refugees is increasing, men are sending their women while the men remain [in Syria] to continue in protests,” Rajab told The Daily Star.
The official also denied recent media reports that Lebanese authorities were helping Syrian intelligence services in identifying regime dissidents who had crossed into north Lebanon.
“The Syrians are hassling those who are crossing into Lebanon while the Lebanese government is facilitating the entry of Syrians,” Rajab said. “There were even some soldiers from Tal Kalakh in the Syrian Army who surrendered their weapons to the Lebanese government.”
A contingency plan has been drawn up between the United Nation’s refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Ministry of Social Affairs to deal with a possible large rise in Syrian families entering Lebanon.
A UNHCR spokesperson confirmed a backup plan was in the works. Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Salim Sayegh said that preparations were being made to accommodate a growing number of refugees.
“We are putting that together but it is not finalized yet because we don’t have direction from the government and we don’t want to give the illusion that my ministry is in charge of the situation if an emergency occurs,” Sayegh told The Daily Star.
“We cannot consider that there is now a Syrian refugee issue in Lebanon. It’s completely unpredictable. We have completed mapping the possibilities of welcoming larger numbers. We have the capacity, so we can channel more people if the need arises. But there has been no means delivered yet to really tackle the issue,” he added.
Sayegh said that schools and other municipal buildings in the north were being considered as locations to shelter more refugees.
Nadim Houry, director of Human Rights Watch Middle East and North Africa division, expressed concern that the situation in Wadi Khaled could become unmanageable.
“Most families are staying with relatives. Some have indicated that they are here temporarily; some have said they will stay longer. There is not a humanitarian situation at the moment but some homes are housing multiple families. The situation, if prolonged, would not be sustainable,” he said.
Houry also added that some Syrians claimed they had been discouraged by Lebanese authorities from speaking to reporters in Wadi Khaled. – With additional reporting by Antoine Amrieh
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