BEIRUT: The announcement by General Security head Abbas Ibrahim last week that 50,000 Syrian refugees have returned from Lebanon so far this year has left some observers scratching their head.
The number cited by Ibrahim is considerably higher than both that reported by the United Nations refugee agency and those mentioned in the Lebanese agency’s own previous announcements.
General Security in recent months has been registering Syrian refugees willing to return and organizing their transportation as well as serving as an intermediary with Syrian authorities, who in some cases may reject a potential returnee.
Returnees, in exchange, receive certain assurances from the Syrian authorities, including a six-month reprieve from conscription for men of military age.
In Ibrahim’s statement, made during an interview with Reuters, he said 25,000 refugees had gone back by way of General Security and another 25,000 had returned of their own initiative so far this year, for a total of 50,000. He projected that if the current rate of returns continues, the number could reach 200,000 within a year’s time.