The Daily Star - More than 30,000 Syrians cross into Lebanon in 48 hours, July 20 2012

By Rakan al-Fakih

MASNAA, Lebanon: More than 30,000 Syrians have streamed across the Masnaa border in the last 48 hours, according to a source in Lebanon’s General Security, in the wake of the surge in fighting in and around Damascus.

Four lines of cars waiting to enter Lebanon were backed up for nearly a kilometer behind the Customs and General Security offices at Masnaa Thursday afternoon.

The rush began Wednesday evening, hours after the news spread that a bomb killed three high-ranking Syrian officials, and as fighting between government troops and the rebel Free Syrian Army intensified in the capital and its suburbs.

For some, it was nearly a 12-hour trip, due to the difficulty to secure transportation from their homes in various parts of Syria, and the slow processing taking place at General Security offices.

A General Security source said more than 30,000 arrivals had been registered Wednesday and Thursday, with the majority considered “refugees.”

The source said General Security officials were overlooking certain requirements in order to deal with the influx of arrivals, who in many cases lacked the border coupon, issued by Syrian authorities, required to enter Lebanon. In some cases they lacked certain personal identification documents, the source said.

United Nations officials were on hand to note the sudden inflow of refugees, the source said.

The nearby town of Majdal Anjar was pressed into action to receive some of the arrivals, as locals rushed to provide water and other basic supplies in the harsh afternoon heat.

Officials from a range of civil associations and other groups active in relief efforts were on hand in Masnaa to gauge the most urgent needs. Schools in Bar Elias and Majdal Anjar were opened to receive some of the refugees.

The U.N. is officially assisting some 30,000 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon, although activists and organizations involved in the effort say the actual number could be twice that size.

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