Families escaping the worsening fighting in Lebanon began to flow into Syria on Wednesday, spending hours stuck in congested traffic as they attempted to reach the relative safety of another country devastated by violence.
Thousands of Lebanese and Syrian families were thought to have already travelled by U.N. authorities. These figures are predicted to rise as Israel continues to attack southern and eastern Lebanon from the air. According to local officials, this aerial bombardment has resulted in the deaths of over 600 individuals this week, at least 25% of whom were women and children. Israel claims that it is going for Hezbollah fighters and equipment.
Beginning on Monday, lines of buses and cars stretched for several kilometers (miles) from the Syrian border; some families were observed walking there as well. People had to wait hours at a time in Syria to be processed by overwhelmed border officials, and relief workers handed out food, water, mattresses, and blankets.
The U.N. refugee agency’s Rula Amin said in a statement that “many will have to spend the night outdoors waiting for their turn.”
Amin claimed some of the refugees traveling from Lebanon had evident injuries inflicted from recent attacks.
In light of the fact that Lebanon continues to house over a million Syrian refugees who fled their nation during the conflict that started in 2011, the cross-border movement represented a startling turn-around in events. At that point, a first-phase peaceful uprising against the government gave way to a violent crackdown by the government and an ongoing civil war.
When Associated Press reporters visited the Syrian border village of Jdeidet Yabous, a few families sat glumly on the side of the road. Some waited using their luggage as seats for taxis, buses, or relatives to pick them up. Many said they had spent eight or nine hours in traffic just to get into Syria.
Before crossing the Syrian-Lebanese border, crowds gathered in government offices to be processed by immigration officers and change $100 to Syrian pounds before entering. This measure was imposed to prop up the local currency by bringing more dollars into the country. Due to the sudden spike in demand, the supply of Syrian pounds at the border ran short. Many returning refugees, such as Emad al-Salim, had fled Aleppo in 2014 and were forced to return after three days of bombardment.
Many Lebanese families were also fleeing, with Mahmoud Ahmad Tawbeh from the village of Arnoun coming with an extended family of 35 people to stay in a rented house in a Damascus suburb. Israeli strikes across the country this week have wounded more than 2,000 people. Many Lebanese arriving at the border refused to speak to journalists or give their full names due to the sensitivity of the situation.
While the war in Syria is ongoing, active fighting has long been frozen in much of the country. Lebanese citizens, who can cross the border without a visa, regularly visit Damascus and rent apartments in Syria for cheaper prices than in Lebanon. Many Syrians come to Lebanon for work or family reasons and regularly cross the border. However, many refugees are reluctant to return out of fear they could be arrested for real or perceived ties to the opposition to Syrian President Bashar Assad or forcibly conscripted to the army. If they leave Lebanon, they could also lose their refugee status.
Assad issued an amnesty for crimes committed before Sept. 22, including those who dodged compulsory military service, but it largely failed to convince refugees to return. Lebanese authorities have attempted to organize “voluntary return” trips to encourage refugees to return.
(AP)
