Reuters, Beirut :
The Lebanese government has cut back sharply on the number of Syrian refugees it is allowing into the country, the United Nations representative in Lebanon said on Saturday.
Lebanon has the highest per capita concentration of refugees in the world, with one in four residents a refugee, many of them living in the poorest areas.
The government has said it cannot cope with the more than a million Syrians and has asked for funds to help look after them.
Ninette Kelley, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon, said:
“Many fewer people are being allowed in than would normally be coming in to get refugee status.”
Following a constant increase in refugees to Lebanon since the start of 2012, United Nations figures show a decrease of around 40,000 refugees since the end of September.
Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas said in comments published on Saturday in Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper that “Lebanon is no longer officially receiving any Syrian refugees,” except with those with pressing humanitarian reasons.
“Anyone who passes the Syrian-Lebanese border will be questioned and should have a humanitarian reason for their entry. This will be decided by the Interior and Social Affairs ministries,” he said without giving further details.
Reuters could not immediately reach the Social Affairs Ministry and Kelley said “there has been no publication of the criteria used” at the border.
