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 earlier on Saturday, the Coalition said that the attack resulted in the death of a number of refugees and the detention of hundreds more.
“Refugees were humiliated and treated as hostages by the Lebanese army and the Hezbollah militias,” the Coalition said.
The Coalition held the Lebanese authorities responsible for the safety of Syrian refugees in Lebanon as it stressed the need for accountability and punishment of those responsible for crimes and violations against the Syrian refugees.
“Violations against Syrian refugees also included attempts to forcibly move the refugees to other areas or to force them to return to areas under the control of the Assad regime and its allied terrorist militias.”
The Coalition called on the Lebanese authorities to provide 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.
The Coalition emphasized that it will address the Arab League and the United Nations, as it has done many times before and will continue to do, regarding the grave situation facing Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Following the assault on Syrian refugee camps, personalities representing the refugees from Homs and Qaysir in Arsal held a meeting and agreed to demand that the United Nations provide international protection for the Syrian refugees in Lebanon through the establishment of safe areas near the Syrian-Lebanese border. They stressed that these areas must be off limits to the Assad regime.
The representative personalities added: “We live in Arsal under the flag of the Lebanese and respect the sovereignty of Lebanon. We have resorted to a sisterly country to seek a decent life away from war.” (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
