Lebanon Appeals to Intl Community to Help Return Refugees

Outgoing Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe urged the international community on Wednesday to help return more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees back to their homeland.

“Lebanon appeals to the international community to help the country implement a plan to return refugees back to their homeland,” said Wehbe.

His remarks came at the opening session of a two-day international conference in Damascus on the return of refugees.

He addressed the gathering by video conference.

Lebanon is hosting the highest per capita number of Syrian refugees, who at one point made nearly a quarter of the tiny country's population of 5 million.

A crippling economic and financial crisis is gripping Lebanon, adding to the outbreak of coronavirus epidemic.