Lebanon Thwarts Attempt To Smuggle 69 Syrians To Cyprus

Lebanese military says the country’s troops early Sunday aborted an attempt to smuggle 69 Syrian migrants to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

The Lebanese army said in a statement that soldiers and members of the army intelligence thwarted the attempt in the northern district of Arida near the border with Syria.

It added that the smuggler who took money from the migrants to take them to Cyprus has been arrested and is being questioned.

The attempt to smuggle the Syrian citizens comes as Lebanon is witnessing a severe economic and financial crisis that has thrown more people into poverty.

According to reports, there have been attempts over the past year to smuggle migrants to European Union member Cyprus during which some of the migrants were killed.

The Mediterranean island and Lebanon have an agreement to curb the arrival of boats loaded with migrants from reaching Cyprus.

Last year, numerous boatloads of migrants sailed to Cyprus from Tripoli, Lebanon, alarming Cypriot authorities who stated that the island can’t handle any more migrants.

Cyprus came under fire by Human Rights Watch last year for allegedly pushing back 200 migrants and refugees arriving from Lebanon aboard boats without heeding their claims for asylum while in some instances using violence and coercive tactics.

Lebanon, a tiny nation of six million people, including a million Syrian refugees, is passing through its worst economic crisis in its modern history.