The Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib (left) during a press conference with his Greek counterpart in Greece, on April 9, 2024. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib warned on Tuesday from Greece that the "crisis of Syrian migrants has spiraled out of control" in Lebanon.
Bou Habib's remarks come a day after a member of the Lebanese Forces (LF), Pascal Sleiman, was kidnapped in what the army says was a car theft, and was missing for a day before an investigation revealed he had been killed and his body taken to Syria in the trunk of his car. The Lebanese Army arrested several Syrians on Monday on suspicion of having been involved in the incident.
On Monday evening, in various locations across Beirut, witnesses filmed and described scenarios in which Syrians were being beaten in the streets by groups of angry Lebanese.
"The crisis of migrants has spiraled out of control due to the absence of sustainable solutions," Bou Habib said during a joint press conference with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, stating that "Lebanon is no longer able to bear it."
The Lebanese Foreign Minister also warned that "the crisis has come knocking on the doors of Cyprus and perhaps Greece," according to remarks reported by the state-run National News Agency. "Countries that share the same ideas such as Lebanon, Greece, and Cyprus must work together to change EU policy to help migrants return to Syria and support them in rebuilding their destroyed villages and towns," he said.
Lebanon currently has 784,884 registered Syrian refugees with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), according to December 2023 figures. The official estimate remains around 1.5 million, including those not registered with UNHCR, making Lebanon the country with the highest refugee population per capita in the world. The issue of Syrian migrants has been at the heart of a series of discussions this week in Beirut, between Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, after Nicosia requested on Wednesday that the European Union take measures to stem the recent wave of Syrian refugees arriving on its shores.
The situation in southern Lebanon
On the security front, Bou Habib stated that he had discussed with his Greek counterpart the need to "establish an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, protect rescuers and civilians, and deliver humanitarian aid." The two ministers also advocated for the "implementation of UN Resolution 1701 (which ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006) that promotes stability in South Lebanon."
"We have informed our Greek friends that we do not want a war that will enflame the Middle East," the minister concluded.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in deadly fighting at the border of southern Lebanon since the beginning of the war in Gaza.