Daily Star - ICRC says rise in number of wounded Syrians entering Lebanon, 27 April 2012

BEIRUT: The International Committee for the Red Cross has stepped up its operations in Lebanon in response to the increase in the number of Syrian refugees fleeing unrest in their home country.

"Since January, the number of Syrian casualties entering Lebanon has increased significantly, reflecting the escalation in the violence. In response, we have stepped up our assistance, providing whatever support we felt was vitally needed," said Jürg Montani , the head of the ICRC delegation in Beirut, said in an operational update Thursday.

As part of its efforts, the ICRC has helped Lebanon’s Red Cross in the transferring of wounded Syrian refugees to hospitals by establishing a temporary medical emergency station “that has made it possible for Lebanese Red Cross ambulances to reach arriving casualties much more quickly.”

Among its efforts since September, the international organization said it had provided support enabling Lebanese Red Cross emergency services to evacuate more than 500 casualties and handed out materials to treat 400 seriously wounded patients to three hospitals in north Lebanon treating Syrian casualties.

Thousands of Syrians have poured into the country since unrest erupted in Lebanon’s neighbor in April 2011.

Last week the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it and its partners were now assisting over 22,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, an increase of 2,000 since the previous reporting period.

Less than half of those, 9,940, are actually registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and Lebanon’s Higher Relief Committee, and all in the north of the country, representing an increase of 274 since last week. Activists say the total number of displaced Syrians in Lebanon is much higher than 22,000.

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