At the peak of Syria’s devastating civil war, its neighbors took in millions of refugees. A decade on, Lebanon is still housing more than 1.5 million people from that country, according to UN data.
Now though, people are heading in the opposite direction as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates. The UN refugee agency reported Wednesday that the main highway leading to the Lebanon-Syria border was choked with hundreds of cars, as it observed rising numbers fleeing “in desperation.”
“Hundreds of vehicles are backed up in queues at the Syrian border. Many people are also arriving on foot, carrying what they can,” the UNHCR said in an update Wednesday.
“Large crowds, including women, young children and babies are waiting in line after spending the night outdoors in falling temperatures. Some carry fresh injuries from the recent bombardments.”
UN staff deployed to border crossings have been providing supplies including food, water, blankets and mattresses and “guiding them towards support available once in Syria,” the UNHCR said.
Thousands of people have been displaced by Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon in recent days with the UNHCR warning Tuesday that numbers are only set to rise. “Over 27,000 people have been displaced over the past 48 hours, and more are abandoning their homes by the minute,” UNHCR stressed in its Wednesday update.
source :cnn.com