Picture belonging to the same article: © EPA
Thousands of Palestinian refugees fled to
Lebanon following the March 2011 uprising in Syri
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In a change of policy, the Lebanese government orders
the deportation of dozens of Palestinian refugees back to Syria.
Lebanon's General Security department has forcibly
deported 41 Palestinian refugees back to Syria, despite the fact that they had
entered the country legally.
The move on May 4 ran counter to an earlier decision
by the Lebanese government to not deport any refugee back to Syria under any
circumstances. Lebanese authorities pointed out that the arrests and the
following deportation was due to the fact that the detainees held forged visas
to Libya. After long hours of interrogation at Beirut International Airport, a
decision was made to deport the group.
Human rights activists argue that the move was not an
isolated incident, but rather is part of a larger campaign by the Lebanese
government targeting Palestinian refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict, who now
number 50,000 in Lebanon.
"This has been an ongoing campaign against
Palestinians from Syria fleeing to Lebanon," Metwali Abu Nasser, a
journalist and scriptwriter who fled Yarmouk camp last year, told Al Jazeera.
Abu Nasser explained that the deportation of
Palestinian refugees "should be seen in light of the harsh practises the
Lebanese government deploys against Palestinians, whether it is those who are
residents of Lebanon or those fleeing from Syria".