U.S. Official Expresses Concern over Conditions of Syrian Refugees

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Refugees Anne Richard expressed concern of Friday over the conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, saying that her country is aiding the Lebanese state with all the possible means to lessen the burdens of the refugees.

“Funds for Lebanon are provided to aid Syrian refugees as well as Lebanese host communities with shelter improvements for families hosting refugees,” Richard said in comments published in An Nahr newspaper.

She pointed out that establishing safe zones in Syria seems “to be difficult amid the current circumstances.”

The U.S. official, who arrived in Beirut on Wednesday night from Jordan, pointed out that Lebanon has so far received $160 million as the U.S. administration knows the heavy burdens that the country has to deal with due to the refugees crisis.

“We don't want to let the Lebanese people feel that the were abandoned... We are trying to support the country as much as we can as we realize that what we're already doing isn't enough,” Richard said.

The diplomat denied reports saying that her country plans to welcome only Syrian Christians on its territories, saying: “We don't discriminate between a Christian or a Muslim.”

“The Christians in Syria are not oppressed,” Richard told An Nahr.

Over 1.6 million Syrian refugees have sought refuge in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey since the beginning of an uprising against President Bashar Assad in March 2011, the U.N. says.

Germany had agreed to host more than 5,000 Syrian refugees who escaped the bloodshed to Lebanon.

Germany, which is one of the largest refugee-receiving nations in the developed world, made the offer in March as numbers fleeing war-torn Syria continued to spiral reaching more than 500,000 in Lebanon alone, a UNHCR report said.