BEIRUT TARGETS MILITANTS NEAR BORDER
▶ Plan is to hit areas near camps in east Lebanon that host refugees fleeing from Syria
Lebanese security forces will launch an operation against militants near informal refugee camps in the country’s east after coming under attack there, Lebanon’s prime minister said yesterday.
Saad Hariri’s announcement came as the Lebanese president warned against rising anti-refugee rhetoric after government troops were attacked around Arsal.
“The Lebanese army will carry out an operation in Jurud Arsal and the government gives it freedom [to do so],” Mr Hariri said.
Jurud Arsal refers to the mountainous border region around the Lebanese town of Arsal, which is home to thousands of refugees from neighbouring Syria who live in informal camps there.
Lebanese troops carrying out arrests in two of the camps last month were met by a string of suicide and grenade attacks.
A girl was killed and seven soldiers wounded in the attacks, and the army arrested dozens of people.
Days later, the army said four of those detained had died of pre-existing medical conditions, but human rights groups urged an independent investigation after allegations that the men had been tortured to death.
Lebanese security forces have come under attack in Arsal before.
In 2014, extremists kidnapped 30 soldiers and policemen after clashes in the area.
Four of the hostages were killed and a fifth died of his wounds, while 16 were eventually released in December 2015.
Another nine hostages are still being held.
The latest incident in Arsal has renewed tensions in a country of just four million people hosting more than a million Syrian refugees.
But the president, Michel Aoun, said yesterday that antirefugee rhetoric was dangerous for both sides. “If we are working for the return of the refugees, it is because Lebanon is no longer able to carry the burden,” Mr Aoun said.
“But the spread of hatred and incitement are rejected, and their consequences are severe for both peoples.”
Lebanese leaders across the political spectrum have increased their calls for Syrian refugees to be repatriated, citing security concerns and unsustainable pressure on local infrastructure.
But parties differ on how that should happen.
Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, whose group is fighting alongside the Syrian government, has urged Lebanon to co-ordinate refugee returns with Damascus.
Others want to see the United Nations organise the process, although UN officials have said it is too soon to begin returning Syrians home.
More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since March 2011.
Fighting continues in large parts of the country despite international peace talks and tentative ceasefire proposals.