Tripoli municipality removes stalls belonging to Syrian nationals in Abi Samra on Thursday. (Credit: courtesy of Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — Tensions boiled over between Lebanese and Syrian nationals in Tripoli and in a village near Batroun on Wednesday night, as reported to our correspondent in the North, Michel Hallak.
In the Abi Samra area of Tripoli, a personal dispute broke out between a Lebanese resident and several Syrians. According to residents' testimonies, the argument resulted in several Syrians "beating" a Lebanese person. The reason behind the dispute is still unknown.
The fight led to further agitation in the region, resulting in the removal by the Tripoli municipality of stalls belonging to Syrian nationals near the mosque of Khadija in the area.
Meanwhile, in the village of Koubba, near the city of Batroun, "Syria the Revolution" was written on the walls and entrances to some of the houses on Wednesday night. Residents of the village told L'Orient Today that they consider this act to be "provocative" and appealed to the security forces to investigate, hoping to discover who is behind the words.
Earlier this week, the acting mayor of Koubba, Roger Toubia, banned gatherings of Syrian migrants and imposed a curfew on them, restricting them to their homes between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Syrians in Lebanon have faced increasing verbal and physical abuse in recent weeks, following the murder of a Lebanese Forces executive for which Syrian nationals were arrested.
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.