The Syrian Coalition said that the alarmingly increasing racist hate speech and crimes against Syrian refugees in Lebanon coincided with recent irresponsible statements by some officials of the Lebanese government against Syrian refugees. The Coalition condemned the savage assault on Syrian refugee Mohammed Abdul Jawad by a member of the Lebanese Army.
Abdul Jawad died on Thursday in a hospital in the town of Al-Suwairi of the serious injuries he sustained during the physical assault.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the Coalition said that no investigations were launched into previous attacks on Syrian refugees, some of which targeted children.
The assault took place when Abdul Jawad, who used to work as a bus driver for a kindergarten, pulled off to drop a child at his house. A Lebanese soldier who was driving behind Abdul Jawad stepped out of his car along with a passenger, grabbed Abdul Jawad out of the bus and beat him severely with a stick until he lost consciousness. Abdul Jawad died of sever cerebral hemorrhage on Thursday.
The Coalition said that Abdul Jawad was forced to leave his hometown of Al-Qusair in rural Homs after it was occupied by the Hezbollah militia in 2013. The Lebanese militia killed four of his brothers and prevented him and local residents of the town from returning to their homes. Abdul Jawad used to support eight children along with his wife.
The Coalition urged the Lebanese government to shoulder its legal and moral responsibilities and ensure protection for Syrian refugees. Vicious attacks on Syrian refugees must be investigated and the perpetrators must be held accountable in accordance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The Coalition called on Arab and international human rights organizations to seriously look into the repeated attacks on Syrian refugees by the Lebanese Army, Lebanese security forces, and the militias operating outside the framework of law. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
