Refugee crisis at sea: Syrian refugee boats from Lebanon denied entry to Cypriot waters

Report by Maroun Nassif, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

The perilous journeys of death have resumed between the shores of Tripoli and Cyprus, but this time, Cypriot authorities have prevented refugee boats from Lebanon from entering their territorial waters for the first time.

Here is the security narrative obtained by LBCI detailing what happened on Wednesday.

Lebanon's navy received information indicating that Cypriot forces were surrounding three boats carrying refugees in the shared waters between the two countries, intending to block their entry into Cypriot territorial waters based on maritime law.

Consequently, Lebanese army boats escorted the three vessels back to the port of Tripoli just as they had approached the Lebanese shore.

According to sources from the General Directorate of General Security, the boats carried 224 individuals of different nationalities, including 219 Syrians, one Palestinian refugee in Lebanon, one Palestinian refugee in Syria, as well as a Sudanese and two Bangladeshis.

Upon arrival at the port of Tripoli, the Lebanese Army and General Security took charge of guarding these individuals. Through the efforts of General Director Major General Elias Al-Baysari, they received medical and food assistance from the Lebanese Red Cross and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

A team from UNHCR also attended the port, verifying the identification documents of the returnees. It was revealed that out of the 224 individuals, 117 were registered with UNHCR and were subsequently released.

Forty-three individuals, including 16 minors, were referred to the General Security's investigation and procedures department. The remaining 64 individuals entered Lebanon clandestinely.

Hence, based on a decision by the Supreme Defense Council issued in 2019, the Lebanese General Security transferred them to the northern border with Syria and handed them over to Syrian authorities.

Hours before these three boats, security sources following LBCI reported that a fourth boat had returned from the shared waters to the port of Tripoli without the army's knowledge. It was carrying approximately 300 people, with the Army subsequently detaining about 50 of them.

Therefore, the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is escalating from danger to greater peril.

While UNHCR has provided Lebanon with data on registered refugees, totaling 1,482,000 individuals, according to sources from the General Directorate of General Security, the data received in January 2024 is disorganized.

It lacks information on the refugees' entry into Lebanon, the date of their asylum application, or even the date of their acceptance by the UNHCR. These are crucial pieces of information needed for Lebanon to address this crisis effectively.