Mansour Urges International Community to Assume its Responsibilities, Aid Lebanon
Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour called on the international community to assume its humanitarian and moral responsibilities to help Lebanon confront the burdens caused by the soaring number of Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict in neighboring Syria.
“The meeting of the International Group to Support Lebanon will enable the countries to cover Lebanon's needs and support its capabilities,” Mansour said in an interview with As Safir newspaper on Tuesday.
He pointed out that the international community realizes that Lebanon is aiding the Syrian refugees despite its “modest capabilities.”
Mansour is accompanying President Michel Suleiman, who is currently in New York to attend the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly.
“The numbers of Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon exceeded 1.3 million, which prompted us to deal with the matter with complete seriousness,” the caretaker FM said.
A meeting of the International Group to Support Lebanon at France's initiative will be held on September 25 to help Lebanon cope with the large influx of refugee.
The meeting will include the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, and will be attended by Suleiman.
The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR has registered more than 746,000 Syrians in Lebanon, though many others remain unregistered.
The Lebanese government puts the number of Syrians in the country at 1.3 million, though that figure includes Syrians who were already in the country when the conflict began 30 months ago.
Mansour expressed fear that the repercussions of the soaring numbers of refugees constituted “not only a humanitarian crisis but also affected the security and health care in the country.”
“We need to strengthen the Lebanese army and offer it all the facilities to enable it to confront the security challenges,” he pointed out.
The crisis in Syria has placed enormous strain on Lebanon, politically and economically.
Lebanon has struggled to absorb ever-growing numbers of refugees, who have placed additional burdens on already scare resources including water.
The conflict in Syria has also exacerbated tensions in Lebanon, where Hizbullah backs the Syrian regime, while Lebanon's Sunni support the Sunni-dominated opposition.
On Tuesday, Mansour held talks with with his Bulgarian, Tunisian and Georgian counterparts on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
He also held talks with British deputy Foreign Minister Alistair Burt .
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