More than a hundred Syrian migrants arrested in Akkar

An army intelligence patrol stopped on Friday two buses and a van, which were carrying more than a hundred Syrian nationals who had entered Lebanese territory illegally.

The operation took place near the village of al-Kornet in the Akkar region, according to L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent. The migrants had entered the country on foot, through an illegal crossing point in the northeast of Lebanon, before being taken in vehicles during the night, passing through the northern Bekaa to Akkar via the Marjahine-Qammouha-Kornet route. The drivers of the two buses, R.M. and K.G., were arrested, while the third, H.K., managed to escape.

The investigation is ongoing with the two Lebanese drivers, and the search continues to find the third and determine the accomplices in this network of smugglers across the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Lebanon has welcomed nearly 1.5 million Syrians, hundreds of thousands of whom are said to have returned to their country during the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah. With the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Dec. 8, many are said to be tempted to return home, some have already done so, but others, who feel threatened by the new authorities, may want to reach Lebanon through illegal means.