Lebanon’s General Security Directorate has decided to collect data on Syrian refugees, requiring every Syrian in Lebanon to report to designated centers to determine their status and date of entry, according to sources cited by the “Asharq Al-Awsat” newspaper.
This move could lead to the deportation of half of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, which amounts to over one million people.
The sources explained that the decision was made because the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) did not comply with Lebanese authorities’ requests for detailed data on Syrians in Lebanon. “Sufficient time was given to the UNHCR to provide this data, but they did not respond,” the sources said.
The plan includes setting up centers across Lebanon, where Syrians must present documents proving their date of entry into the country. The goal is to determine whether they entered before 2015, when the government allowed refugees to enter and register, or after.
The sources also mentioned that a central data collection center is to be established in the Damour area. Following this, all Syrians who entered after 2015 without a work permit or official residency will be deported.
