Syria Refugees Face Lebanon Expulsion

Syrian refugee Hassan Jaber al-Salloum sells vegetables at the roadside in the Lebanese village of Minyara. JOSEPH EID / AFP
Syrian refugee Hassan Jaber al-Salloum sells vegetables at the roadside in the Lebanese village of Minyara. JOSEPH EID / AFP
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Syria Refugees Face Lebanon Expulsion

Syrian refugee Hassan Jaber al-Salloum sells vegetables at the roadside in the Lebanese village of Minyara. JOSEPH EID / AFP
Syrian refugee Hassan Jaber al-Salloum sells vegetables at the roadside in the Lebanese village of Minyara. JOSEPH EID / AFP

For weeks, refugee Maryam Janhat has been living in fear of deportation as Lebanon cracks down on Syrians, with politicians ramping up calls for them to be forced home.
Refugees from Lebanon's war-torn neighbor face a dilemma: should they stay and contend with stricter measures and growing anti-Syrian sentiment, or should they return home and risk poverty and repression?
Standing at her husband's vegetable stall by the side of the road outside the village of Minyara in Lebanon's impoverished north, Janhat, 38, said she lives in a state of constant worry, reported AFP.
"I am scared when (my husband and children) come to work at the stall. I am afraid they could take my son at any moment... we are afraid to walk the streets," she said.
Syrians make up about half of Minyara's 8,000 residents, the municipality says, with most living in tent camps adjacent to vast agricultural fields.
Janhat, who took refuge in the village a decade ago after fleeing violence in the central Syrian province of Homs, feels lucky to be living in a house rather than a flimsy tent.
But she and her family have been unable to renew their residency in Lebanon, and they fear being deported to Syria where she says they have "no house, no work, and no security".
A few steps away, 70-year-old Ibrahim Mansour is offloading crates of fruit and vegetables from his van to sell.
Syrians "have stalls everywhere, competing with us in every sector", he said.
"When they leave, the situation will improve a lot."
'Open the seas'
Many Lebanese, including politicians, have long pushed for Syrians who have fled 13 years of civil war at home to return, blaming them for exacerbating Lebanon's woes, including a crushing economic crisis that began in late 2019.
Lebanon says it currently hosts around two million people from Syria -- the world's highest number of refugees per capita -- with almost 785,000 registered with the United Nations.
In recent months, politicians have ramped up anti-Syrian rhetoric, with Hassan Nasrallah, who heads the militant Hezbollah group, urging Beirut to open the seas for migrant boats to reach Europe to pressure for more Western aid.
Earlier this month, the European Union announced $1 billion in aid to Lebanon to help tackle illegal migration, mostly of Syrians to nearby Cyprus, the bloc's easternmost member.
Lebanon has long heavily relied on Syrians for manual labor, especially in agriculture and construction.
Minyara mayor Antoun Abboud said Syrians were needed in the workforce but that his village cannot accommodate large numbers of refugees or provide them with basic services.
"We are not telling them to leave. We just want to reduce... and organize Syrian presence" in Lebanon, he said.
'Can't sleep at night'
Lebanese security forces have intensified a crackdown on Syrians without residency permits, shutting down their businesses and forcing them to evacuate their homes.
"Hate campaigns, legal restrictions, and unprecedented measures to make it difficult to obtain residency" are on the rise, said Sahar Mandour, Amnesty International's Lebanon researcher.
This means most Syrians find themselves without legal residency, she said, adding that "voluntary returns are impossible in these conditions".
In one of the informal camps near the village, children play in the dirt, while men sit idle, too frightened to leave.
"Everyone is scared," said herder Hajem, 37, who declined giving his last name for security concerns.
"Syrians cannot move anymore. Even laborers in the fields are skipping work," he said, shearing his sheep near the camp, while women around him collected the wool.
He fled to Lebanon illegally eight years ago, at the height of Syria's war, and cannot return because he says he is wanted by Damascus.
He said he has been too scared to venture outside for work since security forces began to clamp down more forcefully on Syrians.
"I can't sleep at night because the army or security forces could deport us at any moment," he said.
His elderly father is also filled with worry.
"If we leave, we will die of hunger. There are no opportunities in our country," he said.
"It would be better to throw oneself into the sea."



Iran Mulls Iraqi Armed Factions’ Plans to Support Hezbollah in Lebanon against Israel 

Members of a pro-Iran Iraq faction burn an Israeli flag during a rally in Baghdad. (AP)
Members of a pro-Iran Iraq faction burn an Israeli flag during a rally in Baghdad. (AP)
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Iran Mulls Iraqi Armed Factions’ Plans to Support Hezbollah in Lebanon against Israel 

Members of a pro-Iran Iraq faction burn an Israeli flag during a rally in Baghdad. (AP)
Members of a pro-Iran Iraq faction burn an Israeli flag during a rally in Baghdad. (AP)

Leaders of various Iraqi armed factions are studying “preliminary” plans to support the Hezbollah party in Lebanon should a war erupt between it and Israel.

The plans are not final because Hezbollah and Iran have yet to approve them, four informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

They revealed that a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) officer met in Baghdad with leaders of the pro-Iran Coordination Framework and representatives of Tehran-aligned armed factions to discuss their proposals to support Hezbollah against Israel.

On June 13, the factions told Iran they were prepared to fight alongside Hezbollah should a broader conflict erupt in the region over the Israeli war on Gaza, said Iraqi sources.

The sources added that the meeting was held after intense talks between the leaders of the factions about the need to “head to the Lebanon front.” The IRGC saw that it was “necessary to listen to their plans and watch them closely.”

They revealed that the IRGC “agreed to attend the meeting at the pressing demand of Hezbollah in Lebanon because it was necessary to observe the reaction of Iraqi factions, which don’t always have the most accurate assessments.”

Hezbollah ultimately rejected the Iraqi factions’ offer for their fighters to take part in any potential war.

Asharq Al-Awsat elaborated on this issue in a June 20 report. Hezbollah said it had reservations over the involvement of the Iraqi factions in Lebanon due to the sensitive situation in the country and various considerations on the field.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said: “The resistance in Lebanon received offers from armed factions leaders in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and others to send tens of thousands of fighters to help Hezbollah.”

“We are grateful, but we already have large numbers of our own,” he added.

Supply route

The rejection did not deter the Iraqi factions from making their plans, which include supplying Hezbollah with weapons, rockets, drones and fighters “when necessary.”

Two sources who attended the Baghdad meeting said Tehran will have the final say over these plans and it has to take political considerations into account.

The meeting was attended by Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali, head of the Popular Mobilization Forces Falih Al-Fayyadh, leaders of the Nujaba movement, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and other armed factions.

The IRGC officer listened to various proposals, including one by an armed faction that said “all of its fighters were ready to head to southern Lebanon and act as the first line of defense of Hezbollah against Israel.”

The Iranian officer deemed the proposal “too enthusiastic at the moment.” The situation in Lebanon must be taken into consideration, he added.

Other faction leaders proposed setting up supply routes to Hezbollah to send rockets and drones to the South. They even suggested using Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport to transfer these weapons swiftly.

Just days ago, Britain's The Telegraph claimed that Hezbollah was storing rockets at the airport, prompting outrage from Lebanon’s caretaker Minister of Public Works Ali Hamieh, who said the report “damages the image of the airport.”

The proposal was dismissed by the Iranian officer, saying Hezbollah fears that Israel may strike the airport now that “all eyes are on it,” revealed the sources.

Attention then shifted to Syria. A source from the Kataib Hezbollah told Asharq Al-Awsat that a supply route needs the expertise of factions active in Syria and secret warehouses that would not be targeted by Israeli strikes.

One proposal suggested the redeployment of Iraqi factions in Syria in order to support Hezbollah in Lebanon. Kataib Hezbollah said weapons would be transferred by a single truck, instead of a convoy, to avoid attracting Israel’s attention.

On June 22, an “unknown” strike targeted a rocket and drone shipment by a pro-Iran Iraqi faction in Syria’s Alboukamal region bordering Iraq.

Objection

At the Baghdad meeting, Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali objected to all plans on taking the fight to Lebanon, saying: “The best thing we can offer Hezbollah is target American interests in Iraq.”

The position created sharp differences between the representatives of the factions, with an argument ensuing in front of the Iranian officer, said the source.

The officer then called on the factions against acting rashly and to wait for the approval from Tehran, which is currently involved in political negotiations.

Soon after the meeting, Khazali appeared in a televised address on Monday to declare: “America should know that all of its interests in the region and Iraq are now targets and in danger.”

Iran’s reservations over the Iraqi plans are in line with remarks by Israel's national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, who said on Tuesday that Israel will spend the coming weeks trying to resolve the conflict with Hezbollah and would prefer a diplomatic solution, reported Reuters.

The four sources said the Iranians, after consulting with Hezbollah, did not approve of any of the Iraqi plans, but they were intrigued with the supply route proposal, whether a broader war erupts or not.