Lebanon Restricts Entry of Syrian Citizens

Lebanon has imposed unprecedented restrictions on the entry of Syrian citizens into its territory; the country currently hosts over one million Syrian refugees. According to a report by the Associated Press, under new regulations, Syrian citizens must obtain visas to enter Lebanon, significantly limiting their stay in the country. This regulation is described as one of Lebanon's measures to mitigate the impacts of the Syrian civil war, which has left over a third of Syria's population homeless. The regulations, which came into effect on Monday, January 5 (15 Dey), allow Syrian applicants to enter Lebanon with visa requests, including tourist, business, student, and medical visas, which severely restrict their duration of stay. In past decades, Syrian citizens easily received six-month residency visas in Lebanon or simply entered the country from various border points without necessary documentation. Over three million people have fled Syria to neighboring countries, including Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq. Western countries have accepted a limited number of refugees. In the past two years, hundreds of Syrian refugees attempting to reach European borders by boat have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanese officials state they cannot accommodate more refugees. According to Lebanese government assessments, over one and a half million Syrian refugees reside in the country, equivalent to one-quarter of Lebanon's total population. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has registered 1.1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon so far. The Minister of Interior of Lebanon, Nohad Machnouk, stated in an interview with a local television network, 'This number of refugees is sufficient for us. We do not have the capacity to host more homeless individuals.' Lebanese security officials reported that many Syrian refugees were turned back at border crossings on Monday, but did not provide exact numbers. However, the number of accepted refugees at one of the crowded border crossings on Monday was less than usual. Lebanon has no plans to expel Syrian refugees residing in the country. Lebanon has hosted hundreds of thousands of Palestinians since the establishment of Israel in 1948. The presence of this population was one of the main factors in the Lebanese civil war from 1975 to 1990. The war in Syria has also exacerbated sectarian tensions between Shiites and Sunnis, and some are concerned that the influx of predominantly Sunni refugees from Syria could disrupt the fragile political balance among various sects in Lebanon. Since October of last year, Lebanon had unofficially limited the entry of Syrian refugees, leading to a 50% decrease in asylum applications to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The new restrictions in Lebanon come as the United Nations and refugee rights groups issued an international appeal in Azar, asking countries to find a place for 180,000 Syrian refugees displaced by the civil war. In this context, the UN is seeking a location to shelter tens of thousands of Syrians.