The Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) has strongly condemned the recent mass forced deportations carried out by Lebanese authorities against Syrian refugees. The center expressed concern about the arbitrary nature of these operations, which violate the legal and political status of Syrian refugees and constitute a flagrant disregard for international human rights law. Local media, which usually covers most events in Lebanon, was completely absent during these deportations.
According to a statement released by the center on Wednesday, the Lebanese army conducted mass deportations of 29 Syrian refugees in Haret Sakhr – Jounieh and 35 others from Wadi Khaled in northern Lebanon. The refugees were subjected to ill-treatment during the raids, despite some of them being sick and children.
The Center noted that these measures are part of the Lebanese government’s plan to return 15,000 refugees every month to Syria, a plan that has been widely condemned by human rights organizations. The Center has called on the United Nations to take immediate action to protect the rights of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and put an end to these mass forced deportations.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) also condemned the forced displacement of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and called on the Lebanese authorities to stop sending refugees to areas under the control of the Assad regime from which they fled. The SOC urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to address anything that could pose a threat to the lives of Syrian refugees.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)