Arsal Municipality Imposes Night Curfew on Syrian Refugees

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The restive northeastern border town of Arsal has decided to impose a nighttime curfew on Syrian refugees, its municipality announced on Friday, two days after one of the town's mayors was critically wounded in an assassination attempt.

“We call for further unity, calm and solidarity between the dear residents of the town and the dear Syrian guests,” Arsal municipal chief Bassel al-Hujeiri said in a statement.

“The crimes that happen every now and then, the last of which was the attempt on Mayor Mohammed Alouli's life, are aimed at undermining unity and harmony and sowing discord among brothers,” he added.

“Out of keenness on everyone's interest and safety, we ask the Syrian brothers not to leave their places of residence at night, between 10 pm and 7 am, as of Monday, July 25,” the municipal chief said in his statement.

Several municipalities across Lebanon have imposed similar curfews on Syrian refugees and workers. Such measures have spiked recently after a string of suicide bombers attacked al-Qaa town on Lebanon's border with Syria.

Reports initially suggested the attackers had come from nearby refugee settlements, though that was later denied by Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, who said they came from Syria's Raqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group.

Lebanese activists say the security fears of citizens are being manipulated by some to justify discriminatory measures against the Syrians.

A gang of Syrian and Lebanese nationals has compiled a hit list that includes the names of ten people in Arsal that the group intends to liquidate, al-Hujeiri told Asharq al-Awsat daily in remarks published Friday.

Ever since the Syrian revolt erupted in March 2011, Arsal has served as a key conduit for extremists, refugees, rebels and wounded people fleeing strife-torn Syria.

Militants from the IS and the Qaida-linkd al-Nusra Front are entrenched in rugged mountains along the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Lebanese army regularly shells their positions while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border.

The two groups briefly overran the town of Arsal in August 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly battles.

The retreating militants abducted more than 30 troops and policemen of whom four have been executed and nine remain in the captivity of the IS group.

Comments 2
Thumb justin 22 July 2016, 23:45

lol

Thumb liberty 23 July 2016, 06:05

I thought you died in the Nice attack?????