Refugee agency chief warns that the number of Syrians leaving Lebanon is likely to rise
Time:2024-05-01 05:43:46 Source:travelViews(143)
BRUSSELS (AP) — The number of Syrian refugees leaving Lebanon is likely to keep rising, the head of a top international agency working with migrants warned Tuesday, as pressure builds due to their arrival on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration, said that around 3,000 Syrians have left Lebanon since January, compared to 4,500 for the whole of last year. Many of them have headed to Cyprus, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) away.
In response, Cyprus suspended the processing of asylum applications by Syrian nationals earlier this month due to the large numbers. Cypriot authorities have reportedly dispatched police patrol vessels just outside Lebanese territorial waters to thwart refugee boats trying to head to Cyprus.
Pope told The Associated Press that governments are cutting aid funding to agencies working with people who have fled Syria, which has been ravaged by civil war for over 13 years, and that this is making things worse. At the same time, some Lebanese communities are getting tired of hosting them.
Previous:Proof you CAN outrun bad genes with just four lifestyle tweaks
Next:South African boxer Dingaan Thobela, 'The Rose of Soweto,' dies aged 57
You may also like
- Haiti prime minister: transitional council names new leader
- Takeaways from AP's story on the BP oil spill medical settlement's shortcomings
- Arsenal crash OUT of the Champions League after losing to Harry Kane's Bayern Munich in the quarter
- KENNEDY: We all know why blubbery bistro blowhard Keith McPiggy branded perpetual trout
- Scotland Yard to pay 'five
- KENNEDY: We all know why blubbery bistro blowhard Keith McPiggy branded perpetual trout
- Takeaways from AP's story on the BP oil spill medical settlement's shortcomings
- OJ Simpson's remains are cremated in Las Vegas as his lawyer reveals ex
- In unusual push, funders band together to get out grants around election work 'early'