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Lebanon’s Govt Accuses Syrian Refugees of Altering Country’s Identity

Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi. (AP)
Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi. (AP)
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Lebanon’s Govt Accuses Syrian Refugees of Altering Country’s Identity

Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi. (AP)
Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi. (AP)

Political and popular campaigns against the growing presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are exacerbating, amid demands to return them to their homeland and counter international community claims that their return is not yet safe to their war-torn country.

Lebanon’s army has taken security measures on the border with Syria to prevent the illegal entry of refugees.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi gave the “green light” on Wednesday to the municipalities to “stop the illegal presence of refugees”, vowing accountability.

After a meeting with mayors and governors, Mawlawi said in a press conference that “a large number of different kinds of crimes are committed by the Syrians in Lebanon”.

He said more than 30% of the total crimes are committed by Syrians, including theft, car stealing, kidnapping, manslaughter, drug smuggling, human trafficking, counterfeit, sexual harassment, etc. “This requires cooperation in order for us to preserve the image of our country”, he said.

The Syrian presence in Lebanon “is causing massive damage to this country, its identity and future”, added Mawlawi.

The Minister stated that Lebanon will accept no assistance whatsoever with the aim of making it turn a blind eye on the illegal entry of refugees. “...Lebanon is not for sale”, he said.

Lebanon is home to some 800,000 Syrians registered with the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) who have fled since the war erupted in 2011.

Lebanese authorities say the real number of Syrians in their country is 2 million.

The international community says the return of refugees is not yet safe to their war-ravaged country. Relatives and rights advocates say that deported refugees are subject to forced conscription upon return to their homeland.

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.