Syria’s Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali said on Sunday that UN agencies should provide funding to Syria to encourage Syrian refugees in Lebanon to return home.
“We have called on UN organizations several times to offer their financial support for Syrians inside their home country, instead of in Lebanon, to encourage their return to Syria,” the ambassador told the TV channel Aljadeed News.
Syria offers incentives, such as exemptions from military service and other legal obligations, to encourage the return of Syrians living abroad, he added.
Lebanon hosts the world’s largest number of refugees per capita. Around 5.3 million Lebanese nationals live alongside an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees, 500,000 Palestinian refugees, and others.
Lebanon has since late 2019 suffered one of the worst financial crises in 150 years, which has left in its wake skyrocketing unemployment, inflation, fuel shortages, and currency devaluation. Beirut says the influx of refugees has taken a heavy toll on the country’s economy and infrastructure.