Miqati Says World Must Act to Help Lebanon Confront Syria Refugee Influx

Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati reiterated on Saturday his call for the international community to provide Lebanon with the promised assistance to confront the influx of Syrian refugees.

His press office said Miqati held a series of phone conversations and meetings with diplomats during which he stressed “the importance of the international community's support to provide relief aid to the Syrian refugees.”

“This issue is a top priority for the Lebanese government given its political, social, medical and security repercussions on Lebanon,” Miqati said.

He said that despite the promises and pledges made at the Kuwait donor meeting in January to provide Arab and international aid, “the Lebanese government has so fair received limited support at a time when the number of the displaced is rising.”

Miqati reiterated that the government is incapable of meeting the demands of the refugees, urging the international community to prioritize the issue at a proposed international peace conference on Syria.

Among the caretaker premier's visitors on Saturday was Ninette Kelley, the resident representative of the U.N. refugee agency.

According to U.N. figures, there are 1.2 million registered Syrian refugees who have fled the conflict pouring over the borders into neighboring nations. As many as four million are also feared to have been displaced inside the country.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says nearly 453,000 of them are in Lebanon which has seen the biggest influx of refugees from the Syrian bloodshed.