[ad_1]
The Lebanese army announced on Sunday the arrest of eight people accused of burning down an unofficial camp for Syrian refugees in the north of the country, due to “an individual problem”.
An army statement read: “An Intelligence Directorate patrol in the city of Bahnin – Minya (north), arrested two Lebanese citizens and six Syrians, due to an individual problem that occurred last night in the city between a group of Lebanese youth and several Syrian workers. “
The statement added that the dispute “escalated into shots fired into the air by young Lebanese, who also deliberately set up tents for displaced Syrians,” without giving details on the reason for the disagreement.
On Saturday, fire broke out in the camp that houses 75 families near the northern Lebanese town of Hanin in the Al-Minya area, turning the entire camp into scorched earth.
All 370 residents of the camp were forced to flee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and at least four people were taken to hospital with injuries.
On Sunday, dozens of refugees returned to inspect the camp in an attempt to salvage what was left of their possessions that could have been saved from the fire.
Amira Issa, 45, who sought refuge from Homs to Lebanon with her family to escape the war eight years ago, said while crying: “We returned to inspect the contents of our little shop, so we knew we no longer had anything and that we couldn’t secure alternative shelter while we waited for someone to help us. ”
“We lost everything in a moment, and my four children lived in unparalleled terror as we escaped the fire,” he added, searching the rubble for the remains of their belongings.
The incident sparked sympathy on social media with residents of the camp from Lebanese who condemned this act.
The spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Khaled Kabbara, said that residents of the camp “have been transferred to nearby informal camps … or have been provided shelter by area residents.”
“We saw a remarkable level of solidarity from the Lebanese community, who provided empty hospitals and schools to house them,” he added.
Lebanon says it is home to 1.5 million Syrian refugees, including about a million registered as refugees with the United Nations.
Authorities have called on the refugees to return to Syria, despite warnings from human rights groups that Syria is not a safe country to return to.
In November, some 270 Syrian families fled the city of Bcharre, also in northern Lebanon, after a Syrian was accused of killing a resident of the city, sparking a widespread wave of tension.
