Beirut: Lebanon’s social affairs minister Rachid Derbas cautioned Friday that the “country is on the verge of drowning” and it cannot bare anymore the repercussions of the Syrian crisis and Syrian displaced.
Derbas said in a radio interview that the Syrian crisis “is the most dangerous crisis Lebanon has faced since its establishment and could lead to its disappearance and the elimination of its borders,” Xinhua reported.
On Aug 2, the Lebanese army engaged in a fierce battle against Syrian Islamist gunmen who infiltrated the border town of Arsal and took 39 Lebanese army soldiers and internal security forces members as hostages after four days of clashes.
At least 16 soldiers were killed and more than 86 others wounded.
Derbas said that the number of registered Syrian displaced is 1. 2 million while “the true number is more than 1.5 million as many Syrians in Lebanon are not on the UNHCR lists.”