Trucks carrying luggage for Syrian refugees returning to Syria, Nov. 5, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Bekaa correspondent Sarah Abdallah)
General Security announced the departure, on Tuesday at 5 a.m., of a “voluntary return” convoy of Syrian refugees and migrants to Syria, via the Qaa and Zemrani crossing points, via the border locality of Arsal. In a statement, General Security said that would-be returnees could go to one of the meeting points, in Qaa, or Ersal-Wadi Hmayyed, before being picked up and taken to Syria.
The security agency was not available to give further information on this convoy.
At the end of January, General Security announced that Syrians wishing to return to their country could start registering at General Security offices throughout the country.
The last convoy of this type left Lebanon on Nov. 5, 2022, as L'Orient-Le Jour was able to confirm with General Security last January. It attracted just a few hundred refugees and migrants, whereas the Lebanese government's ambition at the time was to repatriate 15,000 Syrians a month.
Several “voluntary return” convoys had also been organized between 2018 and 2022, with the aim of “helping” Syrians, refugees in Lebanon since the start of the war in their country in 2011, to return home. Back then, would-be returnees had to register in advance on lists at General Security, which were then sent to Damascus. This procedure has often been criticized by international organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Amnesty International, who see it as a disguised expulsion.
Lebanese politicians of all stripes regularly call for the immediate repatriation of Syrian migrants and refugees, whom they blame for Lebanon's economic crisis. They claim that the security situation allows for such a return, while the United Nations and other rights groups warn that this is not the case.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.