Why Does the Lebanese Army Insist on Forced Deportation of Syrian Refugees?

Since the beginning of April 2023, the Lebanese army has been forcibly deporting dozens of Syrian refugees in the country, an ongoing operation that has sparked widespread criticism.

The deportations are taking place in stages, with the army raiding refugee camps and locations where refugees are residing, arresting those who do not possess valid documents proving their legal entry into Lebanese territory.

The army is also targeting those whose residency permits have expired and have been unable to renew them due to the Lebanese authorities’ refusal to do so for some time.

After apprehension, they are then transported to the Syrian side of the border, leaving them at the mercy of the Syrian regime’s army under Bashar al-Assad, from whom they had fled following the revolution in 2011.

In response, international organizations swiftly condemned the actions of the Lebanese army and authorities, warning of the bleak fate awaiting those forcibly returned under the Assad regime.

Some local and international reports indicate that a number of deportees have been subjected to imprisonment and torture upon crossing the Syrian border.

 

Raids and Deportations

The widespread crackdown to apprehend Syrians lacking residence permits or proper documentation focused on refugee camps scattered in the eastern Beqaa region, in close proximity to the Lebanese–Syrian border.

Similar operations targeted neighborhoods in the suburbs of the capital, Beirut, and Mount Lebanon province, where dozens of refugees reside in modest homes.

Information regarding the number of individuals arrested by the army has varied. A report by AFP on April 27, 2023, stated that these operations resulted in the arrest of around 450 people of various ages, including entire families, based on information from sources within refugee humanitarian organizations.

A statement released by the Syrian Network for Human Rights on April 27, 2023, indicated that the Lebanese government is violating the principle of nonrefoulement and has forcibly returned 168 Syrian refugees since the beginning of April 2023.

The network added that these 168 individuals, approximately one-third of whom are women and children, were subjected to brutal beatings and humiliation during the raid on their homes and places of residence.

According to the statement, the forcibly deported individuals were left exposed in the area between the Syrian and Lebanese borders without the Lebanese government registering their names or officially documenting their exit from Lebanon.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, most of the forcibly deported individuals were subjected to looting and extortion by members and officers of the Fourth Division, which is affiliated with the Syrian regime forces and oversees the illegal border crossings with Lebanon.

In the same context, a report by AFP featured testimony from the brother of one of the forcibly deported individuals, stating that the regime forces had detained his entire family.

After a few days, his wife and children were released, but his brother remained detained, causing fear among his family that he would join the ranks of the missing, like dozens before him.

The report cited sources from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stating that there are registered refugees among the detainees and deportees, which represents a violation of international agreements and conventions for the protection of refugees, to which Lebanon is a signatory.

Numerous media reports include testimonies from some Syrian refugees expressing their fear of the recent rising hate speech against them in Lebanon.

Some of them are even afraid to leave their homes for work, fearing arrest, deportation, and falling into the clutches of the regime they fled from.

While Lebanese authorities speak of more than two million Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon, official United Nations figures indicate that their number has slightly exceeded the 800,000 mark.

The forcible deportation campaign carried out by the Lebanese army has been met with criticism and condemnation from many international organizations that advocate for human rights.

Amnesty International, for example, said in a statement on April 2 that Lebanese authorities must immediately cease the forcible deportation of Syrian refugees to Syria amid concerns that they are at risk of torture and persecution at the hands of the Syrian government.

In the last months of 2022, the General Security in Lebanon organized several trips allowing voluntary return to Syria for those refugees who wished to do so. However, the modest number of returnees, which did not reach 1,000 individuals, led General Security to suspend those trips.

It wasn’t until May 4, 2022, that they announced the resumption of these trips and began accepting applications for them at their centers.

 

Scapegoat

In the same context, The Economist published a report on May 6, 2023, indicating that Lebanon’s government is squeezing out Syrian refugees.

It stated that “the recent raid campaign is part of a broader one carried out by the Lebanese government against Syrian refugees, and these efforts are supported by a spectrum of Lebanese parties and local television stations.

Additionally, Syrians in Lebanon have faced a wave of attacks on social media.

The magazine sees Syrian refugees as a convenient scapegoat for Lebanon’s political and economic crises.

Politicians in Lebanon find it convenient to blame Syrians for the country’s problems, as it diverts attention from their own shortcomings.

According to the report, Syrians (refugees) deserve more sympathy than anger. The vast majority cannot cover their expenses, and few of them receive the maximum assistance, which amounts to $80 for a family of five or more.

It quotes the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as saying that this amount is far from covering the basic needs of the family; they are even forced to pay rent for tents in remote areas.

The report reveals that the United Nations will request $4 billion for Lebanon at a donor conference in Brussels in mid-June 2023.

It further states that more funds will go to the Lebanese than to Syrians, but if Lebanon deals harshly with refugees, it may lose the support of international donors.

As many of them work in construction and agriculture, sectors that Lebanese workers tend to avoid, their sudden departure would impose significant costs on the Lebanese economy.

Journalist Radwan Mortada stated: “Suddenly, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun decided to throw dozens of Syrian families at the shared border.” This was done under the pretext that “Lebanon can no longer bear the pressure of displacement, and detention centers under all security agencies can no longer accommodate more detainees.”

In an article published in the local newspaper, al-Akhbar, on April 27, 2023, Mortada revealed that this move “was not coordinated with the government or any other security agencies, which caused dissatisfaction among security officials who were not informed about the situation.”

He pointed out that the timing of the army’s action raised questions, coinciding with the intensification of the presidential battle and the declining chances of General Joseph Aoun. Mortada wondered if General Aoun was striking a sensitive chord to garner widespread support that could potentially elevate him to the presidency.

Lebanon has been grappling with a presidential vacuum since the conclusion of former President Michel Aoun’s term in late 2022.

“Otherwise, does anyone really believe that resolving such a complex issue with regional and international complications can be achieved by expelling a few dozen Syrians?” Mortada added.

He also noted the existence of “serious concerns that there could be a scenario of stirring up a security crisis that would rally around the army commander, making him the consensus leader capable of maintaining security.”

Mortada quoted individuals in contact with the U.S. embassy in Beirut, stating that “General Aoun is still the American choice for the presidency,” leading to the conclusion that what happened was a “coordination between the United States and the army commander to boost his presidential prospects.”

 

Extortion Campaign

On the other hand, former Lebanese Minister of Displaced Persons Affairs, Mouin Merhebi, revealed that “many Syrian refugees who voluntarily returned to Syria were sent by the Syrian regime to Russia to fight in Ukraine within the ranks of Wagner and other militias that Moscow deployed to the battlefield.”

Merhebi added in an interview with Al-Estiklal that “some Syrian students in Belarus and other neighboring countries were offered sums of up to $4,000 to fight in Ukraine.”

Numerous Arab and international media reports published in recent months have exposed the recruitment of thousands of elements from local and partisan militias affiliated with the Syrian regime to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Some Syrian opposition leaders have spoken about how the recruitment campaigns also targeted the youth who were fighting with factions and then returned and settled their situation with the Assad regime.

These leaders pointed out that in doing so, the Syrian regime satisfied the Russians while getting rid of as many young people as possible whose loyalty could not be guaranteed.

Merhebi also mentioned the constant obstruction by the leader of the Christian-right Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, with the support of Hezbollah, to any governmental action aimed at regulating the Syrian refugee crisis.

Bassil served as a minister in all Lebanese governments from 2009 until 2019, and his movement had a significant ministerial share in them.

Additionally, he is the son-in-law of former President Michel Aoun and his political heir.

Merhebi called on “the authorities in Lebanon and political forces to demand Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the areas it occupies in Syria before anything else, and this would lead to the voluntary return of many Syrians.”

Journalist Samer Zurreik commented on the information revealed by Merhebi, stating that it “explains the firmness of the European Union countries and their obstruction of the return of Syrian refugees and the implementation of support packages for them in host countries.”

He believed, in an interview with Al-Estiklal, that they are “concerned that Bashar al-Assad would get rid of the returnees and their burdens by sending them to the battlefields in the heart of the old continent, which threatens the national security of the European Union countries.”

According to Zurreik, “All Lebanese political forces, led by Hezbollah, are well aware of this.”

The campaign against Syrian refugees aims to blackmail countries and donor organizations that provide Lebanon with financial aid. At the same time, it serves as a pretext to initiate close relations with the Assad regime.

In this context, it is worth recalling “the campaign that followed the earthquake in Turkiye in February 2022, in which Hezbollah played a leading role.” It portrayed itself as sympathetic to the Syrians, but the objectives remained the same.