Lebanon overtaxed
More than half a million Syrian refugees are taking shelter in Lebanon, making up nearly 30 percent of the population of Lebanese towns that share a border with Syria and burdening those villages.
The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has surpassed 533,000, according to the UN's latest report.
Lebanon's Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour said earlier this week: "Lebanon has reached a very critical situation and cannot bear the large influx of Syrian refugees anymore."
The number of refugees is rising daily, putting enormous pressure on Lebanon's villages, a Lebanese official said. "For example, Shebaa village, which has only 3,000 inhabitants, is hosting 1,600 Syrian refugees."
Xinhua
(China Daily 06/21/2013 page12)
