Over 30,000 crossed into Syria from Lebanon in past days, says UN
More than 30,000 people, mainly Syrians, have crossed into Syria from Lebanon in the past 72 hours, the UN refugee agency said, amid an escalating conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah that has left hundreds dead in Lebanon, Reuters reports.
About 80% of the people making the crossing were Syrians and about 20% were Lebanese, said Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the UNHCR’s representative in Syria.
About half were children and adolescents, and men were making the crossing in smaller numbers than women, he said.
“They are crossing from a country at war to one that has faced a crisis conflict for 13 years,” Vargas Llosa told a Geneva press conference, calling it an extremely difficult choice. “We will have to see over the next few days how many more do so.”
He said the UNHCR had been working with Syria’s government and partners to beef up the reception and processing of those who arrive, and that Syria was allowing Lebanese nationals to enter for an unspecified time as long as they had some kind of papers showing their name.
