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.
At least three people were injured in Saturday’s clash in the Miniyeh region near the coastal city of Tripoli, after which young people set fire to the countryside, the Lebanese National News Agency said.
Tensions between refugees and residents in Lebanon have increased in recent years. Aid workers and politicians say they have been fueled by the racism and anger of people who blame refugees for taking their jobs during a financial crisis.
Lebanon has received more than a million Syrian refugees since the country’s civil war began in 2011. They have become a significant source of cheap labor for Lebanon’s construction and agriculture sectors.
Damascus urged Lebanon’s judicial authorities and security forces to “assume their responsibility” to ensure that their citizens are protected. “Syria regrets the fire … which terrified its inhabitants and deprived them of shelter,” said the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement to state media.
Khaled Kabarra, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, said that nearly 400 residents who fled the camp had gone to other closed camps or found temporary shelter in empty schools and hotels.