BEIRUT – Hundreds of Syrian refugees fled their makeshift camp in northern Lebanon after their tents were set on fire when fighting broke out between local youth and camp residents, humanitarian officials said on Sunday.
At least three were injured in the December 26 incident in the Miniyeh region near the coastal city of Tripoli, which was followed by angry youths who set the camp on fire, the Lebanese National News Agency said.
Lebanon has more than a million Syrian refugees who have fled since the start of the conflict in 2011, but many Syrians have long been migrant workers and the main source of cheap labor for the construction and agriculture sectors.
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Khaled Kabarra, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), said that almost four hundred residents who fled went to other closed camps or found temporary shelter in empty schools and hotels.
The country has seen an increase in tensions between refugees and residents in recent years, which aid workers and politicians say are fueled by the racism and anger of Lebanese hit by a financial crisis that blame refugees for taking their jobs.