Naharnet

Govt. Relieves Syrians Seeking to Leave Lebanon of Residency Taxes

The government announced on Thursday a measure aimed at “encouraging” Syrian refugees to leave Lebanon.

Information Minister Ramzi Jreij revealed after a cabinet session that the government agreed to “relieve Syrians seeking to leave Lebanon of residency taxes.”

This will allow them to leave the country through legal means, he explained after the session that was held at the Grand Serail.

This decree will be effective as of Thursday and will be applied for three months, he added.

The cabinet took such a measure given the rise in the number of unregistered refugees, which is nearung that of registered ones.

According to the United Nations, there are about 1.1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The recent clashes in the northeastern border town of Arsal has prompted the government to take measures to control and limit the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, whose presence is burdening the country on several levels.

Clashes erupted on August 2 between the army and Islamist militants from Syria following the arrest of a member of the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

The clashes that took place in and around Arsal ended with a ceasefire and withdrawal of the gunmen on August 7.

In addition, the cabinet approved a number of measures aimed at tackling solid waste in Lebanon.

The Interior and Environment Ministries have been tasked with following up on this matter, said Jreij.

LBCI television had reported earlier that the cabinet approved expanding the capacity of the waste-to-gas power plant at al-Naameh dump near Khaldeh in order to provide power to nearby towns.


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