Syrian refugees prepare to return to Syria from Wadi Hmayyed, on the outskirts of the Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon Oct. 26, 2022. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Minister of Social Affairs, Hector Al-Hajjar said Thursday morning that a “second batch” of Syrian refugees will leave Lebanon next week, Thursday during a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Hajjar said that “the first batch of Syrian refugees that left Lebanon yesterday included about 750 people, and these numbers are encouraging.”
However, this figure was nuanced by a statement published by the General Security Thursday that said that "571 out of the 751 refugees that had been decided that they were going back left Lebanon, which assures that their return is voluntary."
Syrian refugees sit with their belongings on a pick-up truck as they prepare to return to Syria from Wadi Hmayyed, on the outskirts of the Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon Oct. 26, 2022. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
General Security added the repatriation process took place "in collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in presence of its delegates."
UNHCR told AP that they are “not facilitating or promoting the large-scale voluntary repatriation of refugees to Syria” and that its role in the returns is limited to “reaching out and counseling refugees, when possible, and being present at the departure points” before they leave.
Syrian refugees in Lebanon have reported facing discriminatory practices including “arrests at checkpoints … raids on camps, adoption of stricter movement rules, and tensions between host and refugee communities, the Access Center for Human Rights, a refugees watchdog group in Lebanon, told L'Orient Today in August.
Lebanese General Security members inspect Syrian refugees returning to Syria from Wadi Hmayyed, on the outskirts of the Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon Oct. 26, 2022. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)