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Lebanon Seeks to Deport Half of Syrian Refugees to their Homeland

In this Monday, April 23, 2018 photo, Syrian refugee children play outside their family tents at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
In this Monday, April 23, 2018 photo, Syrian refugee children play outside their family tents at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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Lebanon Seeks to Deport Half of Syrian Refugees to their Homeland

In this Monday, April 23, 2018 photo, Syrian refugee children play outside their family tents at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
In this Monday, April 23, 2018 photo, Syrian refugee children play outside their family tents at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanon’s General Security Directorate decided to prepare its own detailed information about the Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon after complaints that the UNHCR has disregarded demands to submit the data about the displaced to Lebanese authorities.
The General Security wants all Syrian refugees living on Lebanese soil to submit their documents at specific centers of the Directorate detailing their entry and current status.
Sources at the Directorate told Asharq Al-Awsat that the UNHCR "was given enough time" to expand Lebanon’s access to more information about Syrian refugees, noting that the UN agency has failed to cooperate.
“We have decided to gather the information ourselves”, said the sources on condition of anonymity. Syrian refugees are expected to present their documents at specified centers of the directorate expanding over various Lebanese regions, they said.
“All this data will be put together at a center in the Damour area. Syrian refugees entering Lebanon before 2015 and those who do not possess work permits or legal residency documents will be deported”, added the sources.
They said more than half the Syrian refugees could be deported after these measures are put in place.
In December, the General Security received, after months of delay, data from the UNHCR listing the names of 486 thousand refugees without detailing their entry dates or registration info. Lebanon requested the agency to provide detailed lists in order to determine their legal status.
About the UNHCR’s rejection to present Lebanese authorities with the required data, the UN agency’s spokeswoman Lisa Abou Khaled, said that discussions are underway regarding the matter, affirming that a meeting has indeed been held with the General Security to discuss the Lebanese government’s request about refugees.
“The UNHCR is here to support Lebanon, while simultaneously meeting its international obligations in the field of data protection and international refugee law,” she told the daily.
She explained that processing personal data is an integral part of the UNHCR’s mission of providing international protection and humanitarian assistance to forcibly displaced persons.
Since 2011, Syrian refugees have randomly flocked into Lebanon through legal and other illegal crossings making it extremely difficult for authorities to have realistic data about their presence.
Lebanon, which has been mired in a crushing economic crisis since late 2019, says it hosts around two million Syrians, the world's highest number of refugees per capita, with almost 785,000 registered with the United Nations.

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Military Forces Amass in Western Libya for Possible Confrontation with Haftar's LNA

LNA forces are seen headed to the southwestern region. (Screengrab from a video released by the infantry command)
LNA forces are seen headed to the southwestern region. (Screengrab from a video released by the infantry command)
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Military Forces Amass in Western Libya for Possible Confrontation with Haftar's LNA

LNA forces are seen headed to the southwestern region. (Screengrab from a video released by the infantry command)
LNA forces are seen headed to the southwestern region. (Screengrab from a video released by the infantry command)

The military continued to amass its forces in western Libya ahead of a possible clash with the Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar.

The LNA has been moving forces to the southwest to “secure the borders and bolster national security,” it said.

Despite the assurances, all security and military forces in the west are on alert over the LNA’s mobilization. Military preparations have been reported in Misrata and Zawiya in anticipation of a possible clash with Haftar’s forces.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said on Friday it was monitoring “with concern the recent mobilization of forces in various parts of Libya, particularly in the southern and western regions.”

In a statement, it said: “We commend ongoing efforts to de-escalate the situation and prevent further tension.”

“The UNSMIL urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint and avoid any provocative military actions that could be perceived as offensive and might jeopardize Libya’s fragile stability and the safety of its people. The Mission calls for continued communication and coordination between forces affiliated to the LNA and Government of National Unity (GNU),” it added.

“The Mission regrets that these developments coincide with the 84th anniversary of the foundation of Libya’s army and recalls the current division of this vital institution,” it noted.

“On this occasion, the Mission reminds all military and security actors of the importance of a unified, accountable, and professional military and security institutions. The Mission stands ready to facilitate dialogue towards that end and provide all technical expertise and support,” it went on to say.

Meanwhile, head of the Presidential Council Mohammed al-Menfi held talks in Tripoli on Thursday with some representatives of security forces in the western region.

His office said they expressed their “support for all of his further steps that aim to achieve stability in the western region.”

The GNU-aligned army command, Joint Operations Command and National Agency for Supporting Forces announced that they have raised the readiness of their forces in anticipation of “any danger”.

In an attempt to ease tensions, the LNA said its forces were mobilizing to secure the southern borders by intensifying desert patrols and monitoring the border.

The mobilization is at the order of Haftar as part of attempts to bolster border security and confront any threats that may target the safety and security of the nation, said the LNA command.

It added that forces have been dispatched to the cities of Sabha, Ghat, Ubari, Murzuq, al-Qatrun, Brak, al-Shati and Adiri where LNA forces are already deployed.

It stressed that the mobilization was ordered given the tensions in neighboring countries and the activity of extremist groups.

The High Council of State expressed its rejection of the “illegal” mobilization, saying it was a “blatant attempt to expand influence and control in a strategically vital region with neighboring countries.”

It warned that the mobilization may lead to armed conflict that undermines the ceasefire and efforts to unify the army, leading to the collapse of the political process.

It called on the Presidential Council, in its capacity as high commander of the army, “to raise the alert level of forces and prepare to confront any possible danger.”

It also urged the UNSMIL and international community to take a clear stance and condemn the mobilization.

Observers said Haftar was seeking through the mobilization to expand the LNA’s control over vital regions close to the Tunisian-Algerian border, including Ghadames airport.

They did not rule out the possibility of the eruption of clashes in the region in the coming days between the LNA and GNU forces.

Every side is trying to consolidate its forces through military allies in the region in order to seize control of Ghadames and its airport ahead of opening a new border-crossing that grants access to Africa, they noted.