Lebanese Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil has called on concerned authorities for blocking the residency applications for the United Nations refugee agency’s staff over a spat on displaced Syrians.
"Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Jebran Bassil issued instructions... to stop the requests for residency presented to the ministry and inside it for the UNHCR in Lebanon until further notice," a statement said.
The refugees “were scared to return because of questions being asked by the UNHCR ... (and told) that they would be obliged to join the military, (citing) the security situation,” it read.
The agency threatened “cutting off aid to them and (said) that their return was not under international support.”
The UNHCR rejected on Thursday accusations that it was exerting pressure on refugees not to voluntarily go back home.
“When refugees express their intention to return, the agency should verify that they have an idea about the place they are heading to, or whether they need any documents which we can provide,” UNHCR spokeswoman Lisa Abou Khaled told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Last April, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry called for a re-evaluation of UNHCR’s work after the agency questioned the voluntary return of around 500 Syrian refugees, who left Lebanon.
