8/2/2019 CFC- In Focus- Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, 20 March 2012

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C I V I L - M I L I T A R Y F U S I O N C E N T R E

M E D I T E R R A N E A N B A S I N T E A M P R E S E N T S

I N F O C U S

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

This document provides the In Focus excerpt from the MB Weekly 20 March. The In Focus section of the weekly gives our rea dership a moredetailed reporting of an event or topic of particular relevance in the Mediterranean Basin and other regions of interest. In Focus pieces

provide hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining

to the region, please contact the members of the Med Basin Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org.

Comprehensive Information on Complex Crises

In Focus: Syrian Refugees in LebanonBy Amber Ramsey

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is now reporting that the number of registered Syrian refugees has

reached 34,000. As the number of Syrians seeking shelter in neighbouring countries grows, some groups are concerned that past re-

gional tensions will be aggravated and violence and insecurity might erupt. An August 2011 report by the Jamestown Foundation

notes that Lebanon, in particular, is vulnerable to a spill-over of violenceand instability from Syria as a result of the sectarian divide

within the country. According to the report, Lebanon has been home to a vibrant Syrian community for many years, with between

500,000 and 600,000 Syrian migrant workers already settled in the country. Similarly, Syria has a history of hosting Lebanese refu-

gees during years of civil strife and following the Israeli bombing of Lebanonin 2006. Recently, with the uprising in Syria and pre-

dominately Sunni refugees fleeing over the border into Lebanon, concerns over a resurgence of sectarian violence are rife.

Since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in March 2011, Lebanon has seen its own share of demonstrations in support of and

against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al -Assad. The Syrian opposition largely comprises Sunni Muslims, who are fighting

against the ruling Alawite minority, headed by President Bashar al -Assad. Many Syrians fleeing violence in their country have been

hosted by Lebanese communities near the shared border with Syria situated along the north -east border of Lebanon; others have

sought refuge in the large urban cities of Tripoli and Beirut. Five thousand unregistered individuals that have fled Syria over the past

year are believed to be living in Lebanon on the hospitality of local communities, while nearly 8,000 Syrianshave been registered

with UNHCR and the Lebanese authorities. According to an assessmentof the humanitarian situation of refugees in Lebanon con-

ducted by Islamic Relief, many Syrians fear that registering with UNHCR and the governments Higher Relief Commission (HRC)

would expose them to danger if the Lebanese government, which is aligned with the Assad regime, shares their information with the

Syrian authorities. As a result, many Syrians have chosen to forego registering with UNHCR to receive much -needed humanitarian

assistance.

According to an article by Chris Doyle in The Guardian, the Lebanese government has sought to discourageSyrians from seeking

refuge in Lebanon. Doyle claims that the situation of Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon has been downplayed by the Lebanese

government, with President Michel Suleiman saying [t]he influx of some Syrian families [into Lebanon] as a result of the turbu-

lence in Syria does not constitute a major problembecause they can stay with their relatives. Suleiman further stated that Lebanon

is bound with Syria by very deep social ties. There are blood ties between the Lebanese and Syrians. During talks with Czech Presi-

Excerpted fromMB Weekly 20March 2012

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http://www.cimicweb.org/http://www.cimicweb.org/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/16/us-syria-refugees-idUSBRE82F0L820120316http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/16/us-syria-refugees-idUSBRE82F0L820120316http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,THE_JF,COUNTRYNEWS,LBN,,4e3b95352,0.htmlhttp://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,THE_JF,COUNTRYNEWS,LBN,,4e3b95352,0.htmlhttp://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,THE_JF,COUNTRYNEWS,LBN,,4e3b95352,0.htmlhttp://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,THE_JF,COUNTRYNEWS,LBN,,4e3b95352,0.htmlhttp://www.democracynow.org/2006/7/13/israel_launches_heaviest_bombing_of_lebanonhttp://www.democracynow.org/2006/7/13/israel_launches_heaviest_bombing_of_lebanonhttp://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_2866.pdfhttp://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_2866.pdfhttp://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Mission%20report%20on%20Humanitarian%20situation%20as%20a%20result%20of%20confict%20in%20Syria%20external.pdfhttp://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Mission%20report%20on%20Humanitarian%20situation%20as%20a%20result%20of%20confict%20in%20Syria%20external.pdfhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/04/syrian-refugees-homs-lebanonhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/04/syrian-refugees-homs-lebanonhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/07/syria-refugees-tensions-lebanonhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/07/syria-refugees-tensions-lebanonhttps://www.cimicweb.org/cmo/medbasin/Holder/Documents/n047%20CFC%20Weekly%20Sector%20Review%20-%20Med%20Basin%20(20-Mar-12).pdfhttps://www.cimicweb.org/cmo/medbasin/Holder/Documents/n047%20CFC%20Weekly%20Sector%20Review%20-%20Med%20Basin%20(20-Mar-12).pdfhttps://www.cimicweb.org/https://www.cimicweb.org/https://www.cimicweb.org/https://www.cimicweb.org/cmo/medbasin/Holder/Documents/n047%20CFC%20Weekly%20Sector%20Review%20-%20Med%20Basin%20(20-Mar-12).pdfhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/07/syria-refugees-tensions-lebanonhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/04/syrian-refugees-homs-lebanonhttp://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Mission%20report%20on%20Humanitarian%20situation%20as%20a%20result%20of%20confict%20in%20Syria%20external.pdfhttp://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_2866.pdfhttp://www.democracynow.org/2006/7/13/israel_launches_heaviest_bombing_of_lebanonhttp://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,THE_JF,COUNTRYNEWS,LBN,,4e3b95352,0.htmlhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/16/us-syria-refugees-idUSBRE82F0L820120316http://www.cimicweb.org/

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dent Vaclav Klaus in Prague, Suleiman claimed that Lebanese state and humanitarian organisations are providing refugee families

with assistance and these families are being treated as relatives rather than as refugees. However, Doyle notes that Syrian refugees

in Lebanon are given few rights, as they are not permitted to seek employment or travel throughout the country, adding that there

has been little effort by the Lebanese government to establish an official refugee camp. The coordinator of the follow -up committee

for Syrian refugees in the north, Sheikh Abdel-Rahman al-Akkari, told The Daily StarinNovember 2011that [t]he Lebanese state

continues to treat [Syrian refugees] with caution and hesitation and shows no willingness to help by recognising them as refugees.

Support for Syrian refugees in Lebanon has been divided, with Lebanese Sunnis offering the majority of support for fleeing Syrians.

According to Islamic Relief, Sunnis fleeing violence in Syria typically seek shelter in Sunni-

dominated areas of Lebanon; however,out of necessity some have been pushed to larger cities with religiously mixed communities. The intense rivalries between religious

groups has already played out in violent clashes between Lebanese Sunnis and Alawites in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

Clashes that took place in February 2012left three people dead, after Sunni and Alawite militias took up arms against each other.

Tripoli, the countrys second largest city, has been a flashpoint for sporadic sectarian clashes and other political violence in recent

years due to its mixed community and historical grievances. Tripoli is composed of a predominately Sunni community, which sup-

ports Syrias opposition. However, the minority Alawite Muslims, an offshoot of Shia Islam, are loyal to a Hezbollah-led alliance

backed by Iran and Syria. Such emotionally charged sectarian and political divides have many concerned that Tripoli stands as a

powder keg for sectarian clashes, which are easily aggravated by regional events.

Despite these political sensitivities, the Lebanese Government has kept its borders open and has provided a certain degree of medi-

cal support to wounded refugees. The Governments Higher Relief Committee, however, reportedly has limited capacity to deal

with a large influx of Syrian refugees, according to Islamic Relief. Recent reports highlight the dire living conditionsof many Syri-an refugees in Lebanon, particularly in the border area of Wadi Khaled, where refugees complain that they are living in buildings

with no electricity and have no blankets or food for their children. Of the refugees crossing the border into Lebanon, up to 40 indi-

viduals were recently arrested and returned to Syria by the Lebanese authorities, reports The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Meanwhile, Islamic Relief warns that the open support for the Assad regime by some political groups in Lebanon may prevent the

government from offering clear support to Syrian refugees, as it does not want to be seen as supporting any one side. As indicated

by a Human Rights Watch researcher on Lebanon and Syria, Nadim Houry, the Lebanese state has not taken a clear positionon the

status of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. This means they cant know where they stand.

As efforts continue to assist the growing number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, the Governments Higher Relief Commission,

which has been working with UNHCR to register and provide assistance to Syrian refugees in some parts of Lebanon, announced on

16 March that it would be forced to stop all assistanceto Syrian refugees by 23 March if it did not receive additional financial sup-

port from the Lebanese government. UNHCR has called the decision to halt funding the cause of considerable concern, while

noting the UN agencys efforts to expand its operations to reach unregistered refugees spread elsewhere throughout the country.

It has become evident from recent reports that the Syrian uprising has already aggravated political and sectarian sensitivities in Leb-

anon. The recent sectarian clashes in Tripoli illustrate that sectarianism in Lebanon remains a major concern. As Syrian refugees

continue to flood across the border these tensions are only expected to rise. Some individuals call on the Lebanese government to

treat the current refugee situationstrictly in humanitarian terms. However, as indicated by the Jamestown Foundation, competing

factions in Lebanon and beyond appear keen to enter the fray through local and transnational proxy forces eager to resort to violence

and other forms of hostility to further their respective agendasat each others expense, and in this case it is the refugees that will

pay the biggest price.

20 March 2012

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