Report: Aleppo Battle Pushes More Refugees into Lebanon, Presidency Unaffected

The repercussions of the battle in the neighboring Syrian town of Aleppo on Lebanon will not be reflected on the stalemate of electing a president, but will mainly drive a new wave of displaced Syrians towards Lebanon for refuge, foreign diplomatic sources told al-Joumhouria daily on Thursday.

“The presidential file is not linked to the situation in Aleppo. The major impact on Lebanon as the result of the developments in the Syrian town will be a new wave of displaced Syrians towards it,” said the sources.

They that spoke on condition of anonymity and advised the Lebanese government to “focus the attention on the Lebanese-Syrian border and close it infront of any potential new exodus because neither Lebanon can afford more refugees nor the donor countries are ready to double its aid to Lebanon.”

In that regard, the daily said that Prime Minister Tammam Salam might invite the ministerial committee for displaced persons for a meeting to discuss this issue in addition to the latest developments .

“The Lebanese state is determined to stop the influx of new Syrian refugees,” unnamed Lebanese officials were quoted as saying.

The Lebanese army and General Security have taken control of monitoring the borders and implement the state's decision.

The daily obtained information that some advanced contacts were underway between the government and a number of foreign embassies including Canada and countries of Latin America to take a number of displaced Syrians that could reach 100,000 over a period of six months or a year.

However this number does not change the burden of Syrian displacement to Lebanon which is almost 2 million, noting that the number of registered displaced persons has dropped from 1.3 million to 1 million twenty thousand, while the number of unregistered is growing randomly.

This explains the claim of the economic bodies, which met yesterday, the Ministry of Interior to combat the competition of Syrians to business Lebanese institutions and Lebanese workers.

“A meeting between Salam and U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Philippe Lazzarini discussed the prospects of establishing new projects to accommodate Syrian working force,” the daily remarked.

But the Lebanese government has advised him to postpone discussions in light of the current situation in Lebanon and the latest military developments in Syria, fearing of ominous popular reactions.

Fighting between government forces and rebels in Aleppo has intensified in the past month, with both sides sending in reinforcements for an all-out battle that could mark a turning point in the five-year war.