President of the Syrian Coalition Riad Seif held a teleconference meeting with representatives of Syrian refugees in refugee camps in the Arsal area in Lebanon to discuss attacks by the Lebanese army on the camps in the area.
Saif stressed that the Coalition will discuss the issue with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and will work with the Lebanese side to find a lasting solution to the issue.
The meeting was attended by vice-presidents, the secretary-general, and members of the political committee.
Member of the Syrian educational committee in Lebanon, Khaled Raad, said that refugees are living in a state of terror in the wake of violent attacks on the camps by the Lebanese army which used heavy machine guns and hand grenades to storm the camps. Raad said that the attacks left many refugees killed. Over 400 others were detained.
Abdel Rahman Akkari, official in charge of following up on the affairs of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, said that the June 30 assault on Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon was not the first. He said that Syrian refugees in Arsal area “had already been subjected to a number of violations,” noting that the area where the refugee camps are built is under the control of the Hezbollah militias that seek to force all Syrian refugees out of the area.
The Syrian Coalition strongly condemned the attacks on Syrian refugees in camps in the Arsal area in Lebanon on Friday. In a press release issued on Saturday, the Coalition held the Lebanese authorities responsible for the safety of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. It also called for the provision of the necessary protection for Syrian refugees in accordance with international humanitarian law until such time as they can return to their homeland.
The Coalition also called on the Lebanese authorities to stop using terrorism as an excuse to attack and harm unarmed civilians and to stop humiliating refugees and detention operations carried out without any humanitarian or legal considerations. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
