A General Security agent in front of a closed business, run by Syrian nationals, in Adloun (Zahrani district) on May 12, 2024. (Credit: Sent by our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)
A General Security patrol in south Lebanon on Sunday shuttered a business selling electrical appliances in Adloun, a locality in the Zahrani district of South Lebanon, on the grounds that the store was "illegally run by a Syrian," our correspondent in the region, Muntasser Abdallah, reported. The closure order was issued by Judge Maher al-Zein.
In recent days, security forces have stepped up their operations to regulate the presence of Syrian refugees in the country, resulting in the closure of several Syrian-owned or -run businesses in various regions.
This mobilization comes against a backdrop of renewed public hostility towards Syrian migrants and refugees in Lebanon, following the murder in April of Pascal Sleiman, a Lebanese Forces (LF) official. According to the Lebanese Army, Sleiman was killed by a gang of Syrian nationals. Since then, the authorities have taken a series of measures to restrict the presence of Syrians and open up the possibility of deporting illegal migrants.
Last week, during a visit to Beirut, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a billion euros in aid to support Lebanon's "socio-economic stability." This announcement was interpreted by some as a misguided attempt to encourage the local authorities to keep Syrian refugees on Lebanese territory, an interpretation denied to L'Orient-Le Jour by a Western diplomatic source and, on several occasions, by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
