Lebanon faces worsening Syrian refugee crisis
- 10 years ago
The United Nations has issued an appeal for more help as the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is now a million. Although it is estimated hundreds of thousands more undocumented Syrians are in the country.
Officials say a lack of funding for the world body is seriously hindering their efforts to feed and shelter people fleeing the conflict.
Syrian beggars now walk the streets of the capital Beirut and informal tented settlements have sprung up around the country.
Syrian rebels and their Lebanese allies fight openly with the army and militants from the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a war now in its fourth year.
Last month, Lebanon’s foreign minister said the crisis was “threatening the existence of Lebanon”, still recovering from its own bloody 15-year civil war that ended in 1990.
Officials say a lack of funding for the world body is seriously hindering their efforts to feed and shelter people fleeing the conflict.
Syrian beggars now walk the streets of the capital Beirut and informal tented settlements have sprung up around the country.
Syrian rebels and their Lebanese allies fight openly with the army and militants from the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a war now in its fourth year.
Last month, Lebanon’s foreign minister said the crisis was “threatening the existence of Lebanon”, still recovering from its own bloody 15-year civil war that ended in 1990.