The President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Hadi Al-Bahra, has urged the Lebanese government to halt discriminatory policies against Syrian refugees trapped in Lebanon. He stated that Syrian refugees are being denied medical care, shelter, and food amidst ongoing Israeli bombing operations in Lebanon. Al-Bahra called on Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, to demonstrate humanity and moral responsibility toward these refugees.
In an address to the Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, Al-Bahra said: “Amidst your recent statements about the burdens Lebanon faces due to Syrian refugees, it is important to remind you of a fact you are overlooking—tens of thousands of Lebanese cross into Syria daily, and the Syrian people welcome them, despite enduring more than a decade of war.”
Al-Bahra emphasized that this harsh reality, with Lebanese citizens now facing the bitterness of displacement, necessitates an ethical and humane response from the Lebanese government. He also pointed out that the Lebanese government cannot ignore the fact that Lebanese militias, particularly Hezbollah, which has been part of successive Lebanese governments, have actively participated with the Assad regime in killing, terrorizing, and displacing Syrians. These actions, he said, created one of the largest refugee crises in modern history. He added that these militias continue their criminal activities, terrorizing Syrian civilians through bombings and occupying towns, villages, and neighborhoods of forcibly displaced Syrians.
Despite the passage of years since these crimes, Al-Bahra noted, successive Lebanese governments, including the current one, have failed to call for these militias to withdraw from Syria and cease their occupation of Syrian territory. He stressed that this ongoing silence only deepens the suffering of the Syrian people and complicates the refugee crisis.
Al-Bahra further stated that Lebanon’s current humanitarian crisis exceeds its capacity to cope, and that not all Lebanese citizens have had a voice in confronting the situation. He criticized Hezbollah’s actions for exacerbating the crisis and placing a double burden on Lebanon—both for the suffering of its people and for the conditions its militias have helped to create beyond its borders.
He also pointed out that Lebanon and the Syrian people have been facing a humanitarian crisis for 13 years, a result of the long-standing silence of the Lebanese state and its governments regarding Hezbollah’s crimes. This, he argued, has dragged Lebanon into its current dire situation.
Al-Bahra called on the caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, to take responsibility and act with humanitarian conscience, instead of attacking vulnerable groups who have fled the death and destruction that continues to threaten them in areas controlled by the Assad regime and its allies, including Iran and Hezbollah.
Al-Bahra expressed surprise at the Lebanese government’s failure to officially demand that Iran assume its humanitarian responsibilities by providing shelter, relief, and assistance to Lebanese refugees, or at the very least, finance temporary shelters and hospitals in Lebanon. He argued that Iran, as the founder of the alliance with Hezbollah and the Assad regime, should take responsibility for the humanitarian tragedy that has affected both Syria and Lebanon.
He stressed that leaving one’s home is not a choice but a tragedy forced upon people by the injustice and violence perpetrated by the Assad regime, Hezbollah, and their allies against innocent Syrians and Lebanese.
Al-Bahra reiterated his strong condemnation of any military actions targeting innocent civilians, whether by Israeli occupation forces or any other military forces, and called for respect for Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety of its people.
He called on the United Nations Security Council to take urgent and decisive measures to ensure the security and safety of all civilians, without discrimination. Al-Bahra also urged the Lebanese government to end its discriminatory policies against Syrian refugees, citing how local authorities are preventing Lebanese, Syrian, and international organizations from providing shelters, humanitarian aid, and emergency medical services.
Finally, Al-Bahra called on the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to develop an emergency plan to provide humanitarian relief and medical aid to displaced Lebanese, Syrian refugees, and residents in Lebanon.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
