Prime Minister Tammam Salam delivered Tuesday a speech at the Kuwait donors conference whereby he thanked Kuwait and its Emir “who had always been a frontrunner in humanitarian aid.” Salam noted that Lebanon is hosting around 1.5 million refugees, adding that the country is already suffering from infrastructure-related difficulties and political disputes. “The Syrian crisis resulted in several repercussions on Syrians and regional countries,” Salam added. He also thanked donor countries and organizations that supported Lebanon in facing the unprecedented challenges caused by the influx of Syrian refugees. Salam stressed that the Syrian refugee crisis has caused a dangerous security situation with gunmen infiltrating into Lebanon. Salam concluded by saying that the problem should not be ignored, adding that the presence of Syrian refugees should be managed through a $1 billion plan prepared by the Lebanese government. Some 200,000 people have died and nearly half the Syrian population has been displaced by the conflict that began with anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into a full-scale civil war. The number of people needing humanitarian aid has increased by 2.9 million in just 10 months.
LBCI/REUTERS