Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati chaired on Tuesday a meeting dedicated to discuss the new wave of displacement of Syrian refugees.
Caretaker Minister for the Displaced Issam Charafeddine, acting General Security Chief Major General Elias Baysari and Secretary General of the Higher Defense Council Major General Mohammad Mostafa attended the meeting.
Charafeddine stated that the meeting revolved around the issue of the new Syrian displacement taking place over the past three weeks. He described the phenomenon as dangerous, adding that the Syrian refugees are entering the Lebanese territories via unauthorized crossings.
“Discussions tackled mechanism to deter this situation, involving border monitoring, and coordinating with competent authorities in Syria.”
Charafeddine added that the mechanism also included “imposing instructions to the military, intelligence, and general security centers to coordinate with the governors and municipalities to assume responsibility for anyone hosting illegal displaced individuals.”
The official revealed that the Lebanese authorities are mulling imposing sanctions in this regard, noting that the meeting attendees agreed to hold high-level talks with the Syrian authorities in this context.
“As this issue is related to security, Major General Al-Baysari is the one responsible for conducting such contacts,” Charafeddine added.
For his part, caretaker Social Affairs Minister Hector Al-Hajjar slammed PM Mikati over not calling for a meeting for the governmental committee tasked with this issue of Syrian refugees to discuss the new displacement wave.
علمنا مثل بقيّة المواطنين عبر وسائل الإعلام بتسلّم الدولة اللبنانية الداتا الخاصة بالنازحين السوريين من المفوضيّة، كما علمنا وبنفس الطريقة عن إجتماع عقده رئيس حكومة تصريف الأعمال نجيب ميقاتي اليوم في السرايا خُصّص للبحث في موضوع النزوح السوري الجديد إلى لبنان. أمام هذه المواضيع…
— Hector Hajjar (@HectorHajjar) August 29, 2023
“Just like other Lebanese citizens we knew via media” that the Lebanese State had received the Syrian refugees’ data from the UNHCR,” the minister said in a post on his “X” (formerly known as Twitter) account.
“In light of these delicate and strategic issues, why doesn’t the prime minister officially invite the ministerial committee tasked with managing the Syrian displacement to update stakeholders? Is it possible that delicate and crucial topics are managed in this way? What’s the point?”
Source: Al-Manar English Website
