Aid Groups Urge Lebanese Army to Halt 'Punitive' Refugee Raids
Dozens of international aid groups are calling on Lebanese armed forces to put an end to a campaign of dismantling homes of Syrian refugees, calling it "punitive" and "traumatic."
The statement by 51 groups Friday comes following reports that Lebanese army personnel raided a community of 350 Syrian refugee homes in settlements in the northern town of Akkar around dawn a day earlier.
The groups said military personnel used sledgehammers to partially demolish homes on grounds that they violated a recent military order.
Earlier this year, the military gave refugees until July 1 to remove any concrete walls taller than waist high -- a measure designed to keep their homes temporary.
Lebanon is home to over 1 million Syrian refugees, a strain on the small country's resources.
Source: Associated Press
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