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Illegal Migration from Northern Lebanon to European Shores on the Rise

Lebanese soldiers search for survivors of a migrant boat sinking off the coast of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Lebanon, 25 April 2022. (EPA)
Lebanese soldiers search for survivors of a migrant boat sinking off the coast of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Lebanon, 25 April 2022. (EPA)
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Illegal Migration from Northern Lebanon to European Shores on the Rise

Lebanese soldiers search for survivors of a migrant boat sinking off the coast of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Lebanon, 25 April 2022. (EPA)
Lebanese soldiers search for survivors of a migrant boat sinking off the coast of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Lebanon, 25 April 2022. (EPA)

Illegal migration is on the rise from northern Lebanon towards European shores.

The capsizing of a migrant boat off the impoverished northern city of Tripoli on April 23 has not deterred people from embarking on the dangerous journey.

Around 40 people were killed in the tragedy, the latest to strike Lebanon that is struggling with unprecedented economic and living crises.

Army and naval units entered the al-Abdeh-Akkar port in northern Lebanon on Friday, seizing a boat that was suspected to have been prepared to transport migrants illegally.

Two days ago, the army said it arrested a citizen in the al-Beddawi region for preparing an illegal migrant sea operation.

It said it seized a Kalashnikov rifle, 4,000 liters of diesel fuel, 100 life jackets, 46 buoys and two air pumps in his possession.

Activist Omar Ibrahim said the boat sinking in April has not deterred illegal migration.

Two smuggling attempts were thwarted just two days ago, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“We no longer know about the departure of Lebanese boats until they have reached their destination in Europe,” he said.

As for the Syrian migrants, he revealed that “no one knows their numbers or the number of boats that are taking them away from northern Lebanon. No doubt the figures are high.”

Moreover, he said that around a week ago, a boat transporting some 50 Palestinians left the al-Beddawi camp. “We didn’t know about the departure until after the migrants posted photos of themselves after they reached Italian shores,” he added.

“Either the concerned security agencies are facing difficulty in curbing illegal migration or they don’t intend to,” he remarked.

Lebanon may be following Turkey’s approach in extorting Europe to pressure them into providing funds to the refugees and ease the burden they are placing on the Lebanese state, said Ibrahim.

Politician Dr. Khaldoun al-Sharif stated that the dire economic and financial crisis is pushing people to take the treacherous sea journey out of Lebanon, which may be enduring the worst economic crisis the world has seen since World War II.

Unemployment has reached 50 percent and drug abuse 13 percent, he noted. Add to that a recent report that found the Lebanese people to be the angriest in the world.

People are desperate and the officials are continuing their petty political bickering as if nothing has changed, he lamented.

Amid Dandachi, who lost his three children in the April sinking, said the illegal migration will continue in spite of the tragedy.

“The conditions we are enduring in Tripoli and Akkar, from poverty to the dollarization of services while salaries remain in Lebanese pounds, will inevitably force people out to sea,” he stressed.

The migration will continue to rise as long as the state continues to neglect our region, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“We are bordered by Syria and Israel. The former is in a worse state than us, while the latter is an enemy, so the impoverished people have no choice but to put their life in danger at sea to secure a dignified life for their children,” he added.

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Hezbollah’s ‘Statelet’ in Syria’s Qusayr Under Israeli Fire

Smoke billows from al-Qusayr in western Syria following an attack. (SANA)
Smoke billows from al-Qusayr in western Syria following an attack. (SANA)
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Hezbollah’s ‘Statelet’ in Syria’s Qusayr Under Israeli Fire

Smoke billows from al-Qusayr in western Syria following an attack. (SANA)
Smoke billows from al-Qusayr in western Syria following an attack. (SANA)

Israel has expanded its strikes against Hezbollah in Syria by targeting the al-Qusayr region in Homs.

Israel intensified its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon in September and has in the process struck legal and illegal borders between Lebanon and Syria that are used to smuggle weapons to the Iran-backed party. Now, it has expanded its operations to areas of Hezbollah influence inside Syria itself.

Qusayr is located around 20 kms from the Lebanese border. Israeli strikes have destroyed several bridges in the area, including one stretching over the Assi River that is a vital connection between Qusayr and several towns in Homs’ eastern and western countrysides.

Israel has also hit main and side roads and Syrian regime checkpoints in the area.

The Israeli army announced that the latest attacks targeted roads that connect the Syrian side of the border to Lebanon and that are used to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah.

Qusayr is strategic position for Hezbollah. The Iran-backed party joined the fight alongside the Syrian regime against opposition factions in the early years of the Syrian conflict, which began in 2011. Hezbollah confirmed its involvement in Syria in 2013.

Hezbollah waged its earliest battles in Syria against the “Free Syrian Army” in Qusayr. After two months of fighting, the party captured the region in mid-June 2013. By then, it was completely destroyed and its population fled to Lebanon.

A source from the Syrian opposition said Hezbollah has turned Qusayr and its countryside to its own “statelet”.

It is now the backbone of its military power and the party has the final say in the area even though regime forces are deployed there, it told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Qusayr is critical for Hezbollah because of its close proximity to the Lebanese border,” it added.

Several of Qusayr’s residents have since returned to their homes. But the source clarified that only regime loyalists and people whom Hezbollah “approves” of have returned.

The region has become militarized by Hezbollah. It houses training centers for the party and Shiite militias loyal to Iran whose fighters are trained by Hezbollah, continued the source.

Since Israel intensified its attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, the party moved the majority of its fighters to Qusayr, where the party also stores large amounts of its weapons, it went on to say.

In 2016, Shiite Hezbollah staged a large military parade at the al-Dabaa airport in Qusayr that was seen as a message to the displaced residents, who are predominantly Sunni, that their return home will be impossible, stressed the source.

Even though the regime has deployed its forces in Qusayr, Hezbollah ultimately holds the greatest sway in the area.

Qusayr is therefore of paramount importance to Hezbollah, which will be in no way willing to cede control of.

Lebanese military expert Brig. Gen Saeed Al-Qazah told Asharq Al-Awsat that Qusayr is a “fundamental logistic position for Hezbollah.”

He explained that it is where the party builds its rockets and drones that are delivered from Iran. It is also where the party builds the launchpads for firing its Katyusha and grad rockets.

Qazah added that Qusayr is also significant for its proximity to Lebanon’s al-Hermel city and northeastern Bekaa region where Hezbollah enjoys popular support and where its arms deliveries pass through on their way to the South.

Qazah noted that Israel has not limited its strikes in Qusayr to bridges and main and side roads, but it has also hit trucks headed to Lebanon, stressing that Israel has its eyes focused deep inside Syria, not just the border.