Paul KeenanNumbers to reach 1.5 million by December
The United Nations has warned that the continuing flow of Syrian refugees will see them make up a third of the entire population of Lebanon by the end of this year.
As the tiny Middle Eastern nation continues to receive thousands of Syrians fleeing civil conflict every day, the total number crossing the border now looks set to reach 1.5 million by December
The UN has said that over a million Syrian refugees are registered with its agencies in Lebanon, and 50,000 new arrivals continue to sign up each month. At the same time, however, the UN acknowledges that many other refugees are crossing into Lebanon without registering with the organisation.
Ross Mountain, the UN’s chief of humanitarian programmes in Lebanon said that the ever rising number of refugees now threatened to spark tensions with local Lebanese, especially within poorer communities which are being placed under increased pressures by the added population.
“Already we are seeing signs of tension,” Mountain warned. "There are 225 localities that contain 86% of the refugees and 68% of the poorest Lebanese. The problems that they have had before are of course exacerbated by this influx.”