Ibrahim: Contacts Underway with Syria to Return Refugees
General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said on Thursday that contacts are in progress with the Syrian government in order to repatriate the Syrian refugees back to their homeland.
“Contacts with Syrian authorities are underway in a bid to return thousands of refugees back to their homes. The issue is imminent,” said Ibrahim during the inauguration ceremony of the General Security center in Jdeideh.
He also said that tens more General Security centers will be established specifically to receive Syrian nationals to alleviate the pressure on main centers.
Lebanon is hosting around 1.5 Syrian refugees while its own population stood at just four million before neighboring Syria's civil war broke out in 2011, sending tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing across the border in search of safety.
Lebanese politicians are divided over whether Lebanon should coordinate efforts directly with the Syrian government over the return of refugees.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri stresses that Lebanon will only coordinate with the United Nations to return the refugees.
Source: Naharnet
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