UNHCR Says More than 22,000 Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Nearly 22,000 Syrian refugees had fled the crackdown in their country to Lebanon according to a report issued on Saturday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

According to the report “the UNHCR and its NGO partners are working in cooperation with the (Lebanese) government, local authorities, and international agencies to aid more than 22,000 Syrian refugees across the country.”

The statement said that around 9,940 people have been registered in the north and the procedures are still ongoing to register the rest as there are around 3,000 people in Tripoli waiting to be officially registered.

“There are more than 9,000 people stationed in (the Lebanese northern region of) Wadi Khaled and Tripoli, in addition to around 8,500 people in the Bekaa area,” the UNHCR said.

The report noted that U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly’s visited Akkar on Tuesday and met with a number of the Syrian refugees.

Plumbly, also held talks with local authorities and the U.N. agencies working in the Area to “inquire about the humanitarian conditions of the refugees.”

The UNHCR appealed in March for $84 million to support Syrian refugees, saying contingency plans for looking after 100,000 abroad were under way.

Monitors say more than 200 people have been killed in Syria since hostilities were officially suspended on April 12.