Lebanon steps up deportations of Syrian refugees; increases raids, sets up checkpoints

Lebanese officials are cracking down on Syrian refugees against backdrop of a worsening ecomic crisis and political stalemate, an escalation that has caused panic among Syrians in country.

In recent weeks, army has raided refugee camps and set up checkpoints to review documentation of n-Lebanese citizens, arresting and in many cases deporting Syrians found t to have legal residency, according to refugees and humanitarian organizations.

“People aren’t sleeping in ir houses … and are afraid even to go to work,” said a woman originally from Syrian province of Idlib who is living in Leban’s eastern Bekaa Valley. Her husband was deported on April 10, along with 28 or men, after a raid on an apartment building in Beirut suburb of Jounieh, she said, and she hasn’t heard from him since.

Like or Syrians interviewed for this story, woman spoke on condition of anymity out of fear of reprisals.

Her 4-year-old son asks where his far is every day, she said. She fears her husband has been put in one of Syria’s detention centers because — like many men who fled to Leban — he was wanted for dodging mandatory army service.

Pressure has increased in or ways. Municipalities have put in place restrictive measures such as curfews for Syrians. Interior Ministry anunced Tuesday that it ordered municipalities to survey and register ir Syrian populations and make sure y are documented before permitting m to rent a property.

It also asked U.N. refugee ncy to revoke refugee status from Syrians who go back and forth between Leban and ir war-torn country. Last week, a committee of government ministers demanded that UNHCR hand over detailed personal information on refugees in its database.

Leban hosts some 805,000 registered Syrian refugees, whose official status in ory protects m — although those who fail to keep ir residency papers up to date can face deportation. actual number of Syrians living in Leban after fleeing ir country’s 12-year-old civil war is believed to be much higher as Leban's government ordered United Nations to halt new registrations in 2015.

Government officials have given varying estimates of number of Syrians in country, ranging from 1.5 million to more than 2 million. Leban is believed to have a population of around 5 million to 5.5 million citizens, but census has been held for nearly a century.

Since Leban’s ecomic meltdown began in 2019, officials have increasingly called for a mass return of Syrians, saying y are a burden on country’s scarce resources and that much of Syria is w safe. rhetoric has grown increasingly heated; a federation of trade unions recently declared a “National Campaign to Liberate Leban from Syrian Demographic Occupation.”

In recent interviews with local media, caretaker Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar claimed that refugees make up 40% of Leban’s population, which “ country in world would accept.”

Hajjar told Associated Press that Leban's government can ensure that Syrians who qualify as refugees would t be deported, by exchanging data with U.N. refugee ncy.

He referred questions about deportations to General Security, ncy in charge of enforcing immigration laws. Spokespeople for ncy and Lebanese military did t respond to requests for comment and neir has made a public statement on deportations.

U.N. refugee ncy said it has observed an increase in raids taking place in Syrian communities and has received reports of Syrians being deported, including registered refugees. It said it “takes reports of deportations of Syrian refugees very seriously.”

U.N. officials did t give a number of confirmed deportations. Access Center for Human Rights, a group tracking conditions of Syrian refugees, said it documented at least 200 deportations in April.

United States, one of Lebanese Army's largest dors, has expressed concerns about deportations of Lebanese officials, said a spokesperson at U.S. Embassy in Beirut who spoke on condition of anymity as per regulations. Refugee returns should be “voluntary, safe, and dignified,” spokesperson said. "We have questions about procedures followed in recent deportations and extent to which those criteria were met.”

anti-refugee campaign comes against backdrop of stalled negotiations with International Monetary Fund and a six-month deadlock in electing country’s next president.

Meanwhile, several Arab countries have moved towards a rapprochement with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Refugee returns have been on nda of recent regional talks, including a meeting of top diplomats in Jordan on Monday to discuss a political solution to Syria’s civil war.

Mohanad H Ali, a senior fellow at Carnegie Middle East Center, said refugees are serving as a scapegoat for Lebanese politicians at a time of heightened public anger over ir failure to deal with country’s ecomic and political crises.

Refugees are “sort of punching bag that shows up when everyone needs one,” he said. He suggested crackdown could also be linked to Leban’s ongoing presidential deadlock.

A leading presidential candidate, Sleiman Frangieh, is close to Damascus and has promised to use his connections to broker a deal for refugee returns. His likely rival, army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun may be “trying to showcase his ability to forcibly return refugees,” H Ali said.

Lebanese authorities have periodically deported Syrians over past few years, citing a regulation that allows Syrians who entered without legal authorization after April 2019 to be forcibly removed.

However, past deportations mostly involved small numbers and were carried out under formal procedures, giving U.N. and human rights groups a chance to intervene and, in some cases, halt m.

In contrast, recent months have seen increasing reports of Lebanese Army summarily deporting those believed to be in country illegally. Human rights organizations have cited cases of returning refugees being detained and tortured in Syria, allegations Lebanese authorities deny.

A Syrian from Idlib who, along with his bror, was among those arrested in April 10 raid in Jounieh, said army dropped off men in a mountaius area in man’s land between Lebanese and Syrian borders.

He and some ors mand to cross back into Leban on foot. Ors, including his bror, were caught.

last communication he received from his bror, he said, was a voice mess on April 11, saying: “y brought us back and dropped us off in same place and y’re going to turn us over to Syria.”

Many Syrians are lying low, hoping anti-refugee campaign will blow over.

“Many of us are scared that we could be next,” said ar Syrian refugee in Bekaa. “Six of my friends were deported in last raid.”

For some, pressure campaign has had its intended effect.

A young woman living in Bekaa said that after her camp was raided and dozens of men were deported, her family decided to return to Syrian city of Raqqa, which remains outside control of Damascus government.

“re is security (re). We don’t have a house or any money,” she said. “But we don’t have ar choice.”