Coordinator of the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) Department of Refugee Affairs, Salim Idris, stressed that the data collected by the Lebanese General Security “confirmed what we have repeatedly said about the number one reason as to why Syrian refugees refuse to go back to their country: namely their fear of the Assad regime’s brutality.” He stressed that Syrian refugees fear arrest, torture and execution if they are forced to return to the slaughterhouses of the Assad regime.
Idris said that Syrian refugees were forced to leave their country, adding that they do not hate their country and none of them likes to be a burden to anyone. He made it clear that refugee are well aware that returning home with the survival of this regime and its allies means walking into a death a trap, not a homeland.
Idris added that ending the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon requires the withdrawal of the Hezbollah militia which is killing Syrians in support of the Assad regime forces and are still seizing the homes and properties of Syrian civilians.
Idris stressed that forcing the Assad regime to commit to UN resolutions, especially Resolution 2254, the formation of a transitional governing body, and the withdrawal of the Russian and Iranian occupation forces and sectarian militias, especially the Hezbollah militia, is the only way for the refugees to return to their homes.
The Lebanese General Security on Thursday revealed the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon who refuse to return to their country. In an interview with Al-Iraqiya News Channel, Director of the Lebanese General Security, Abbas Ibrahim, said that “Lebanon hosts nearly 1.33 million Syrian refugees who don’t want to go back to their country.”
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
