13 Syrians Held in Dekwaneh as Army Raids Tyre Refugee Encampment

Thirteen Syrians were arrested Friday in the Beirut suburb of Dekwaneh as the army raided a Syrian refugee encampment in the southern city of Tyre, amid a continued crackdown that had started after the Arsal battle.

“Dekwaneh municipal police and members of the Internal Security Forces raided Syrian refugee gatherings in Ras al-Dekwaneh and Slaf Street,” state-run National News Agency reported.

“Thirteen Syrians were arrested and cellphones and computers were seized,” NNA added.

Earlier in the day, the agency said the army raided a Syrian refugee encampment in Tyre near the Bassel Assad Cultural Center.

It did not report any arrests.

Six Syrian suspects were apprehended on Thursday at places inhabited by Syrian refugees in the northern district of Koura.

The army also carried out raids on Thursday evening at the Abra and al-Alayli Syrian refugee compounds in the southern city of Sidon without arresting anyone.

Earlier on Thursday, troops carried out raids in the Keserwan area of Faraya "in search for fugitives" and inspected "suspicious locations," according to NNA.

On Wednesday, a number of Syrian refugees were arrested during army raids in the southern Jezzine region.

There has been growing resentment in Lebanon against Syrian refugees after militants from the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front abducted in August a number of troops and policemen from the Bekaa town of Arsal during fierce clashes with the Lebanese army.

Hosting more than 1.1 million Syrians fleeing their country's three-year war, Lebanon is home to the highest number of Syrian refugees in the region, and also to the highest refugee population per capita in the world.

Y.R.