On Wednesday, we reviewed the numbers of Lebanese citizens versus Syrian refugees on Lebanese soil.
It is undeniable that refugees are scattered throughout Lebanon, from north to south. However, some districts and areas are considered red zones due to the high density of refugees, according to the numbers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Starting with the Bekaa Valley, there are 318,000 registered refugees, with the highest concentration in the Zahle district at 17%, followed by Baalbek at 14%.
In Arsal alone, there are over 30,000 registered refugees, while in Bar Elias, there are over 27,000. In Majdal Anjar, there are over 12,000 refugees; in Baalbek, there are over 11,000; and in Ghazze, over 10,000.
From Bekaa to the north, Akkar has 13% of the registered Syrian refugees, with the highest number in towns such as Al Amayer, Jabal Akroum, Halba, and Bebnine.
In the north, the highest concentration of refugees is in Tripoli, with over 50,000 registered refugees, followed by Miniyeh, with over 10,000.
Moving to Mount Lebanon, the largest concentration of refugees is in South Mount Lebanon, with Chiyah having over 27,000 registered refugees and Borj el Brajneh with over 14,000. In the North of Metn, Bourj Hammoud has the highest number of registered refugees, with around 7,000.
In Aley district, there is also a large number of displacements. Choueifat has over 13,000 refugees, more than 6,000 in Aaramoun and more than 3,000 in Aley.
Moreover, the highest number of refugees are in Chouf and Iqlim al Kharroub, and in Barja alone, there are more than 5,000 registered refugees.
In the south, the largest concentration of refugees is in Sahel al Zahrani, specifically in Ghazieh, Bissariye, and Sarafand. In Tyre, there are over 4,000 registered refugees, and in Nabatieh, there are around 4,000 registered refugees in the cities of Nabatieh, Kfar Roummane, and Toul.
In Marjayoun and Hasbaya, the highest concentration is in Al-Khiyam and Chebaa.
Therefore, it is essential to note that these figures only represent registered refugees, which means 814,000 registered refugees by the UNHCR. At the same time, the former head of the General Security Directorate, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, announced that the actual number of refugees is around 2.4 million.
These numbers give a general overview of the geographic distribution of refugees and indicate the urgent need for a capable state to address this issue and the international community's need to recognize its severity before it leads to an inevitable social, economic, and demographic explosion.