UN Says Hundreds Of Syrians Exit Lebanese Town Over Tensions

Syrian refugees say they are being forcibly evicted from the northern Lebanese town of Bsharre in the wake of a murder allegedly committed by a Syrian national.

According to the UN refugee agency, at least 270 Syrian families have left a north Lebanon town, as hostility towards them mounted over the murder.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees condemned “collective reprisals against Syrians in the town,” of Bsharre, saying many of the families fled in fear without taking their belongings.

Many of those who fled the Christian-majority town said they were chased out by Bsharre residents after a Syrian on Monday was accused of shooting dead a Lebanese resident, sparking widespread tension and hostility.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported forced evictions of Syrians in the wake of the murder, but Bsharre’s mayor denied that the Syrians had left out of fear.

Lebanon, which is grappling with an economic crisis, says it hosts some 1.5 million Syrians, including around one million registered as refugees with the United Nations.