The UN Refugee Agency ( UNHCR) said on Tuesday that an estimated 6,000 people fled their homes in Qarah, Syria, making their way over the border into eastern Lebanon in recent days.

UNHCR and other humanitarian partners have been working with Lebanese authorities to cope with the influx, the acting UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at a daily briefing here.

The escalated violence in the Syrian town of Qarah and surrounding villages was blamed for the rising number of Syrian refugees.

Most of the newly arrived refugees are now in the north-eastern Lebanese town of Arsal, which is home to a population of some 60, 000 people, including 20,000 registered refugees.

More than 1,000 of the newly arrived Syrian families in Arsal registered with the local municipality in the past three days and were provided with emergency assistance, including food parcels, blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets and hygiene kits, according to Haq.

Lebanon is one of several countries that have accepted people fleeing the ongoing conflict in neighboring Syria. The UN estimates there are nearly 800,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

According to UN figures, the fighting between the Syrian government and opposition groups seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad, which began in March 2011, has displaced more than 4 million people inside the country and sent 2 million into seeking safety beyond its borders. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)