“Burning the field” … “The Lebanese Foreign Ministry” responds to Syria’s statements

Officials from the Lebanese Foreign Ministry denied, on Monday, in response to statements by Syrian regime foreign officials, that there had been any official contact between Lebanon and the Assad regime regarding the issue of the burning of the refugee camp in Minya, in northern Lebanon.

This humanitarian catastrophe left some 600 displaced from some 100 Syrian families, after their tents in the camp were burned down.

Lebanese officials emphasized that they had not received any communication from any Syrian official in any way, either directly or through the Lebanese Embassy in Damascus, to follow up on the refugee issue, as claimed by the Assad regime.

After the camp fire incident, the Syrian regime’s Foreign Ministry asked its refugee citizens in different countries to return to their homeland, according to a statement attributed to an official source in the regime’s foreign affairs.

This occurs as the King Salman Center for Aid and Humanitarian Aid continues to provide aid to Syrian refugees affected by the fire, which broke out yesterday in the “Hanin Al-Minya” city camp in northern Lebanon.

The King Salman Center provided aid that covered the basic needs of those affected, such as tents, winter bags and blankets, in addition to the distribution of food. This is part of the humanitarian aid provided by the Kingdom to Syrian refugees in various areas of asylum.

According to the army statement, two Lebanese and six Syrians were arrested in the town of Bahnin in Minieh due to what happened in the camp.

According to circulating accounts, the reason for the camp fire was due to a dispute between young Lebanese from the Mir family and Syrian workers living in the camp.

The workers had previously worked for the Mir family and were not paid their wages, and when the Mir family asked them to return to work, they refused and a conflict broke out between the two parties within the camp, which ended in a fight, and then the Lebanese youths left to return at night with more young men and shoot randomly at the refugee tents and burn down the camp.

This incident was followed by a wave of anger in the Lebanese public opinion, and in Tripoli and Minya in particular, in the rejection of what happened, and an affirmation of support for the Syrian refugees, as their main expatriate, the Syrian regime, tries negotiate their case and invite them to return.