Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani condemned Thursday “anyone who calls for the deportation of Syrian refugees from Lebanon.”
“The Syrian people in Lebanon are us, and we are the Syrian people… and the Lebanese people, Muslims and Christians, must [join efforts] for the Syrian people,” the National News Agency quoted Qabbani as saying.
The Mufti spoke during the launching of Dar al-Fatwa’s relief and humanitarian aid committee’s relief program for Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
The program will contribute $1.5 million for distribution to 15,000 of the most poor and needy refugee families.
Lebanon is facing difficulties dealing with the increasingly high number of refugees fleeing Syria’s violence. More than 150,000 refugees are registered with the UNHCR in Lebanon; some activists, however, say the actual number is much higher.
More than 60,000 people have died in the Syria conflict which began 22 months ago with peaceful protests that erupted into deadly violence in the wake of a harsh regime crackdown.
