More Syrians Flee War-Torn Syria to Lebanon amid State's Failure to Deal with Crisis

Around 200 families fled the villages of Ras al-Maarra and Flita in the strategic Qalamun region into the border town of Arsal after the Syrian regime controlled the area amid the governments absence.

Arsal deputy municipal chief Ahmed Fleiti said in comments published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday that the 200 families crossed the border.

“Most of the families that arrived in Arsal have resorted to relatives residing in homes or tents,” he pointed out.

Fleiti said that “one tent is now containing two or three families.”

The Bekaa town of Arsal witnessed on Saturday a surge in Syrian refugees fleeing the region of al-Qalamoun.

Around 700 refugees arrived in the town up until noon on Saturday amid the heavy deployment of the Lebanese army in the area, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Arsal residents support the revolt against Syrian President Bashar Assad, and the town already hosts tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.

Smuggling routes used by opposition forces to move fighters and weapons between Lebanon and Syria pass through the Arsal area.

Fleiti told the newspaper that the Lebanese state has so far failed to establish any plan to organize and contain the Syrian refugees fleeing to Lebanon.

“Mosques and tents can no longer accommodate the refugees,” the official said.

He urged the state to swiftly take the necessary measures to relieve the residents of Arsal and the Syrian refugees “who are fleeing death.”

The Syrian refugees now make up 32 percent of Lebanon's population.

The country has in the past three years become home to nearly one million people who have fled Syria's brutal war. Many now live in desperate poverty and rely on overstretched agencies and NGOs for assistance.