Abou Faour Sounds Alarm Bell on Refugee Crisis, Says Humanitarian Aid Not Enough

Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour has warned that the massive influx of Syrian refugees in the past days could no longer be resolved through humanitarian aid, saying the Lebanese authorities should ask the international community for political or security measures to end the crisis.

In remarks to local dailies published on Tuesday, Abou Faour said: “The situation is very worrying. The continued influx of the displaced is putting an additional burden on Lebanon that it can't handle.”

“The issue has gone beyond requests for development assistance,” he said. “The Lebanese state should ask for a political solution from major powers that are working to find a solution to the Syrian crisis.”

“Pending the Geneva 2 (peace) conference, there should be political or security measures that limit the pressure of the displaced,” Abou Faour added.

The U.N. says at least 6,000 Syrians have poured into Lebanon over the past three days. The refugees are escaping a government offensive that began Friday and aims to dislodge rebels from the mountainous Qalamoun region, which runs north from Damascus along the frontier.

Qalamoun holds strategic value for both sides in Syria's civil war. It serves as a key supply route from Lebanon to opposition forces around Damascus, and it is home to the main north-south highway that links the capital to government strongholds along the Mediterranean coast.

The town of Qara, some 100 kilometers north of Damascus along the highway in Qalamoun, has borne the brunt of the government offensive so far.

Most of its residents have fled to Lebanon's northeastern border town of Arsal which has a long shared border with Syria, stretching along much of Damascus province and part of Homs province.

Abou Faour said that if the Geneva 2 peace conference will not be held soon, then the international community should either call for a ceasefire in Syria, or establish camps for the displaced inside Syrian territories or open humanitarian corridors.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he hoped to convene the conference in mid-December.

He said U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi will try to set the date in a meeting with Russian and U.S. representatives on November 25.

The U.N. has been trying for months to convene talks between the regime and the opposition to try to end the 32-month war which has reportedly killed more than 120,000 people and displaced millions.

Ministerial sources said that Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati has held urgent talks with representatives of regional and western powers on ways to confront the influx.