The Lebanese Army will take new measures to control illegal smuggling routes along Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria after 13 Syrian nationals died crossing the mountains into the country Friday, a military source has said.
The source’s remarks came after the bodies were retrieved on the outskirts of the Bekaa town of Suweiri.
The military source refused to go into details of how the army will prevent people crossing at unofficial points, but assured The Daily Star that a plan was being drafted to boost operations in the area.
“They were with a smuggler who left them. The bodies belong to three men, two kids and eight women,” the source added.
The deceased were part of a larger group who were being smuggled into Lebanon. “There might be other bodies near the outskirt’s higher peaks,” the source said.
The army issued a statement Friday saying that a military unit retrieved the bodies of nine refugees and saved six but one later died in hospital. “It also arrested two Syrian nationals involved in the smuggling attempt,” the statement said.
The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said it was “distraught” by the deaths and called on countries to allow safe passage and entry to those in need of protection.
In 2015, the Lebanese government barred the UNHCR from registering Syrian refugees and placed additional restrictions on them entering the country without guarantors, work visas or for transit.
“The victims were trying to cross an arduous and rugged passage in freezing temperatures. Others in the group, including a pregnant woman, were discovered in time and assisted by nearby residents and the Lebanese Armed Forces and Civil Defense to reach hospitals before they froze to death,” the statement said.
“These tragic deaths illustrate the desperation of those trying to reach safety in Lebanon, and remind us that the situation inside Syria remains volatile and that people continue to take huge risks to cross to safety.”
Although Friday’s incident got a lot of media attention due to the number of casualties, the illegal entrance of refugees is a regular occurrence.
A General Security source told The Daily Star that smugglers target “Syrian refugees who aren’t allowed in, either because they don’t fit the criteria of entrance or because they are labeled ‘no entry.’” The source said that smugglers approach refugees waiting near the border crossings, particularly at nearby rest stops that have themselves become a landmark for refugees wanting to meet smugglers and drivers.
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This article has been adapted from its original source.
