Report: Lebanon Incurring $16 Billion in Losses from Refugee Crisis

Prime Minister Tammam Salam chaired on Thursday a meeting of the committee tasked with addressing the case of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Friday.

Sources from talks told the daily that Lebanon has incurred in the past year 16 billion dollars in losses as a result of the crisis.

The losses rose from 7 billion in 2014 to 16 billion in 2015.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas, and Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi were present at the talks.

This is the first such meeting for the committee in around two months.

The gatherers performed a revision of the issues concerned with the refugee crisis, added the sources.

They revealed that Lebanon has only received some 975 million dollars in aid from 2.4 billion pledged to the country from the second Kuwait donors conference held earlier this year to help it cope with the burden of refugees.

The gatherers noted that the dangers against Lebanon from the Syrian crisis have increased in recent months, most notably because “the international community has lost interest in the issue, leaving it up to the poor countries neighboring Syria to deal with it.”

Lebanon is harboring over 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

The Kuwait donors conference was held earlier this year, with pledges up to 3.8 billion dollars being made to help countries that are supporting the refugees.

M.T.

D.A.