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Lebanese authorities ask Sweden for clarification after man calls on Syrian refugees to take up arms

According to the ministry's statement, the videos, published between 2020 and 2022, show Kamal Labwani calling on ‘displaced Syrians in Lebanon to violate Lebanese laws and incite them to violence, hatred and take up arms in Lebanon.’

Lebanese authorities ask Sweden for clarification after man calls on Syrian refugees to take up arms

Syrian refugees in an informal camp in Arsal. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that it had “requested official clarification” from Sweden after videos circulated on social media platforms of a Syrian-Swedish citizen, Kamal al-Labwani, calling on Syrian refugees in Lebanon to take up arms.

During caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah Bouhabib’s meeting with Sophie Baker, deputy director general and head of the Middle East and North Africa department at the Swedish ministry of foreign affairs, accompanied by Swedish Ambassador to Lebanon Ann Dismor, Bou Habib “requested official clarification” on Labwani’s comments.

Labwani first made those comments in 2020, but has repeated them several times since.

According to the ministry's statement the videos, published between 2020 and 2022, show Labwani calling on “displaced Syrians in Lebanon to violate Lebanese laws and incite them to violence, hatred and take up arms in Lebanon.”

“The Ministry will follow up on this issue that affects national security, pending obtaining the desired clarification from the competent authorities,” the statement concluded.

Neither the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish embassy in Beirut nor Kamal Labwani were immediately available for  comment on the matter.

The videos in question have resurfaced and are circulating again in Lebanon while dozens of Syrians were recently deported from Lebanon to their war-torn country, security officials and a humanitarian source had told AFP last week, as anti-Syrian sentiment grows amid a dire economic crisis in Lebanon.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled to neighboring Lebanon after the country's civil war began in 2011 with the brutal suppression of anti-regime protests.

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Lebanon's government further clamps down on Syrian refugees

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) confirmed to L’Orient-Le Jour that the Lebanese Army had increased operations in Syrian communities in Mount Lebanon and North Lebanon.

“As of April, UNHCR has received reports of at least 13 confirmed raids,” said the agency spokesperson, adding that it had also received reports of detention and forced departures of Syrians, including refugees who were registered with UNHCR.

Since the Syrian regime regained control of most of Syria, some host countries have sought to expel refugees, citing a relative end to hostilities.

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that it had “requested official clarification” from Sweden after videos circulated on social media platforms of a Syrian-Swedish citizen, Kamal al-Labwani, calling on Syrian refugees in Lebanon to take up arms.During caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah Bouhabib’s meeting with Sophie Baker, deputy director general...