The Lebanese army has successfully thwarted an attempt to illegally infiltrate around 850 Syrians across the land border between Lebanon and Syria over the past week.
In a statement released on Monday, the Lebanese army confirmed that the apprehension of the infiltrators is part of their ongoing efforts to combat human trafficking and unauthorized border crossings.
Just last Wednesday, the Lebanese military announced the prevention of an attempt to infiltrate nearly 700 Syrians at the Lebanese-Syrian border over the course of a week.
The Lebanese security forces have been trying to crack down on human smuggling in border areas with Syria as the government is facing domestic pressure on the inflow of Syrian refugees.
With an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees residing within its borders, Lebanon bears the weight of hosting the largest number of refugees per capita.
The large presence of Syrian refugees has put a strain on Lebanon’s resources and created widespread discontent among its citizens.
