Women sit by the water at dusk in the Mina area of Tripoli, northern Lebanon. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — In the wake of increasing hostility towards the Syrian population in Lebanon, North Lebanon's mohafez (governor), Ramzi Nohra, announced protocols that risk exacerbating tensions further, calling on municipalities to control the movement of Syrian refugees, to immediately report suspected violations committed by Syrians, and to prevent them from gathering together.
Nohra's statement calls for a "ban on all gatherings of displaced Syrians, efforts to control their movements, and immediate reporting of any suspicious acts in order to carry out the necessary investigations."
Immediately following the arrest of Syrian nationals in connection to the murder of Lebanese Forces official Pascal Sleiman, several municipalities enforced bylaws that restricted the movement of Syrians, and several Syrians in Beirut told L'Orient Today that they felt too threatened by deteriorating security conditions on the street to leave their homes.
The North Lebanon mohafez requested a census be conducted to record displaced Syrians living in the territories under municipal jurisdiction, with procedures established for updating it. Lastly, he called for the ban on displaced persons from Syria driving vehicles without a license to be enforced, and their vehicles seized.
Since Sleiman's murder last week, the country has seen a surge in verbal and physical violence against Syrian nationals and their representatives. Videos circulated online showing Syrians being beaten by groups of men on Beirut streets. On Monday, outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati asked Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi to be strict in applying "Lebanese laws on all refugees and to deal with cases that violate these laws."
Also on Monday, Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Gebran Bassil proposed criteria for deporting Syrians, including prisoners, those who "violate Lebanese law," and those who enter the border through illegal crossing points or who leave and re-enter Lebanon through legal points having previously acquired refugee status.
