Britain offers Lebanon financial aid

British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher said on Tuesday that his country will provide Lebanon with financial assistance in light of the rising influx of Syrian refugees into the country.

President Michel Sleiman held a meeting with Ambassador Fletcher at the Baabda Palace in which the latter said that his country will supply Lebanon with $20 million to assist the Lebanese army's abilities and $75 million to support the state with the crisis of the Syrian refugees.

The ambassador hailed President Sleiman's efforts to preserve Lebanon's stability, stressing that Britain will carry out international contacts to spare Lebanon regional conflicts.

More than 600,000 Syrians fled their country to Lebanon, according to the United Nations, escaping a conflict that now entered its third year and has killed more than 100,00 people.

The conflict that erupted in Syria in March 2011 has spilled over the border into Lebanon where supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime have clashed frequently.