BEIRUT (AP) – More than 300 Syrian refugees were forced to flee an informal camp in northern Lebanon as a fire ravaged and burned tents on the ground, UN and Lebanese officials said on Sunday.
The fire at the end of Saturday lasted four hours while firefighters were trying to put it out, the Lebanese civil defense said.
The blaze came after a fight between a Lebanese family and Syrians living in the countryside in the northern al-Miniyeh district, according to Lebanese media reports.
The Lebanese army said on Sunday that it had conducted attacks and arrested two Lebanese and six Syrians as part of the investigation. The statement said the Lebanese shot into the air and set tents on fire. The army also confiscated weapons during operations and said it hopes to make more arrests.
Khaled Kabbara, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency in northern Lebanon, said about 375 people lived in the informal settlement located on rented land. He said the entire camp was burnt to the ground.
Kabbara said four people were hospitalized with minor injuries from the fire. He said some camp residents returned on Sunday to see if anything could be saved.
Most refugees sought shelter in other nearby informal settlements, and some members of the local community also offered shelter, said Kabbara.
Kabbara said that strife between Syrian residents and refugees often “catastrophically impacts the community as a whole”.
Tensions are common in Lebanon among Syrian citizens and refugees who have fled the war in their country. Lebanon welcomes more than 1 million refugees, almost a quarter of the country’s population of 5 million, overburdening the country’s already decaying infrastructure.
Tensions between Lebanese and Syrians also date back to the days when Syria dominated its smaller neighbor for nearly three decades with thousands of soldiers stationed in Lebanon. They withdrew in 2005 after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which sparked massive anti-Syrian protests.