Lebanon requests that Turkey exchange data on Syrian refugees

 

Hector Hajjar, the minister of social affairs for Lebanon, has urged Turkey to tell authorities in Beirut about the displaced Syrians who are traveling back to their country from Ankara.

The Minister underlined his concern that the Syrian refugees going home from Turkey will be uprooted once more and swarm into Lebanon during his meeting with Ankara's ambassador to Beirut, Ali Baris Ulusoy, according to the Xinhua news agency.

If a deal between the Syrian and Turkish sides is made, Hajjar added, "We fear that the Syrians returning from Turkey to Syria will flee again to Lebanon."

Hajjar expressed his expectation that Ankara and the Lebanese General Security will share information regarding the displaced Syrians returning to Syria from Turkey.

The two leaders stated that the two nations are equally worried about suffering severe repercussions as a result of the substantial number of Syrian refugees living on their respective soils.

As tensions between the internally displaced and the local population continue to rise, the Lebanese government tightened regulations on Syrian refugees on Wednesday.

The UN Refugee Agency reports that Lebanon is currently experiencing its worst socio economic crisis in decades and is home to the most refugees per person and per square kilometer in the whole globe.

According to government estimates, there are 13,715 refugees from other countries and 1.5 million Syrians. 90% of Syrian refugees, the majority of whom have relocated in the Bekaa region, live in abject poverty.

Nearly half of Lebanese people and two thirds of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees are food insecure despite prices skyrocketing as a result of a severe economic crisis.

Approximately 90% of Syrians, 73% of Palestinian refugees, and more than 50% of Lebanese homes today require aid.

Emergency situations like the blast at the Beirut port, Covid-19, and a cholera outbreak earlier this year have been difficult for Lebanon to manage.