Miqati Back in Beirut: Rumors about Halt of Aid to Syrian Refugees Untrue

Prime Minister Najib Miqati arrived back to Beirut from London on Wednesday evening and immediately contacted Higher Relief Council Chief, Brigadier Ibrahim Bashir, asking him to follow up on the humanitarian situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

“Rumors about the halt of aid to the refugees is untrue and falls under political propaganda” Miqati said in a statement.

He stressed: "The Higher Relief Council increased its humanitarian aid recently and the Lebanese government is dealing with this issue in a purely humanitarian way."

He asked all concerned sides to steer this issue away from political debates.

A meeting was held in Akkar on Tuesday at MP Moeen Al-Merehbi’s residence and attended by Akkar Mufti Osama Rifai and deputies from the region in order to tackle Miqati's order to the Higher Relief Council to stop medical treatment of the refugees.

It described the decision as a "violation of all regulations for the treatment of refugees provided by the Human Rights Charter and the laws of the United Nations."

Also on Tuesday, youths in the town of al-Blaneh al-Haisa blocked the international road linking Lebanon to Syria at the Abboudieh border crossing in Akkar in protest to the Higher Relief Council decision to prevent the medical treatment of wounded Syrians arriving in Lebanon.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency reported that the number of refugees in Lebanon has reached 3,580 in September, most of whom entered Lebanon through illegal border crossings.

Miqati estimated that some 5,000 Syrian refugees have entered Lebanon.