Syrian refugees hastily pack up in Marj, in the Bekaa. (Credit: Photo provided by Rafaat Abdallah)
Two informal Syrian refugee camps were dismantled on Wednesday in central Bekaa, one in Bar Elias and the other in Marj, after three suspects were arrested in the murder of a man in Azzouniyeh (Aley district) on April 16, our correspondent in the region and corroborating sources reported. Bekaa governor, Kamal Abou Jaoudeh, confirmed the information to L'Orient-Le Jour.
According to our correspondent, the murder suspects, who had been living in the Bar Elias camp, had taken refuge in Marj, and this led to both camps being raided by army intelligence and State Security on the night of April 16-17.
According to reports by local media outlets, the 60-year-old man killed on Monday in Azzouniyeh was found strangled to death in an apartment he owned. The reports say he had been showing the property to people who had introduced themselves as potential tenants. They add that theft was the motive for the murder.
On Wednesday evening, the Lebanese Army announced that it had arrested people suspected of murdering "Yasser al-Koukash," "two of whom confessed to participating" in the crime.
The army also said that it will keep investigating the crime "under the supervision of the competent judiciary," and that it will "continue working to arrest the rest of those involved."
Meanwhile, Abou Jaoudeh told L'Orient-Le Jour that "it was the Syrian refugees themselves who left their camps for fear of reprisals after the murderers were identified." He added that he will not "allow these camps to re-form," saying, "These refugees will probably go and rent apartments or stay with relatives."
Other sources in the two villages, who asked not to be named, refuted this version of events and told our correspondent that the Syrian refugees would not have left their tents voluntarily given that they have nowhere else to go. According to these sources, "refugees from both camps were ordered to vacate the premises without delay by Lebanese security services." The sources did not specify which branch of the security services issued this order.
According to our correspondent, the Bar Elias camp consisted of around 15 tents, while the Marj camp was larger, with almost 100 tents housing families.
Tension eases in Azzouniyeh
On Wednesday, L'Orient-Le Jour witnessed a return to calm in Azzouniyeh after the victim's funeral. According to state-run National News Agency, representatives of the three main parties in this predominantly Druze region — the Progressive Socialist Party (led by Taymour Joumblatt), the Lebanese Democratic Party (led by Talal Arslan) and the Tawhid Party (led by Wiam Wahhab) — all attended the funeral alongside local residents. At the memorial, local residents called for the "investigation to be speeded up."
Tension over Syrian refugees in Lebanon has been at a peak since the kidnapping and murder of Lebanese Forces (LF) executive Pascal Sleiman in Jbeil on April 7, followed by the murder in Azzouniyeh. After calling on municipalities to tighten controls on Syrian refugees on April 15, the governor of North Lebanon on Wednesday called on the region's police commander to "dismantle all encroachments on public land, particularly in the city of Tripoli," giving violators a fortnight to vacate the premises.
Around 1.5 million Syrians live in Lebanon, making it the country with the highest refugee population per capita in the world. Some 800,000 of them are registered with the UN. Their presence in Lebanon regularly fuels political debate, with Lebanese officials calling for their repatriation.