Arsal mayor: Quarter of refugees have left

ARSAL, Lebanon: Insecurity and fear of reprisals have driven scores of Syrian refugee families to leave the border town of Arsal, either relocating in other parts of the Bekaa Valley or returning to their war-devastated villages in Syria’s Qalamoun area, Arsal’s Mayor Ali Hujeiri told The Daily Star Tuesday.

Hujeiri said an estimated 28 percent of the refugees in Arsal, whose number varied between 115,000 and 120,000, had vacated the town, which witnessed heavy clashes between the Army and jihadi militants from Syria’s Nusra Front and ISIS in August.

The refugees began leaving Arsal in the wake of the fighting and due to subsequent Army raids on refugee settlements during which scores were rounded up, tents were burned down and women were harassed, the mayor charged.

“All these acts prompted tens of refugee families to leave the town in different directions,” he said, noting that the few who possessed legal documents and residence permits relocated to the central Bekaa, as it is a safer area than the northern part of the valley.

“However, the overwhelming majority of the refugees returned to their towns and villages in Qalamoun despite the devastation, preferring to die at home instead of dying in camps caught up in crossfire, or under shelling or at the hands of those who are violating their honor under several pretexts,” Hujeiri added.

In another development, Arsal’s police station was reopened and reinforced with additional security personnel, while a new General Security center was set up in the town to oversee the movement of refugees and regulate their presence, security sources told The Daily Star.

The police station was stormed by the Nusra Front and ISIS militants in the five-day fighting in August, and its members captured along with security personnel, who are now being used by the captors as bargaining chips to secure the release of Islamist inmates in Roumieh Prison.

The capture of more than 30 troops and policemen and the execution of three soldiers by the Syria militants escalated anti-Syrian feelings and tensions, triggering reprisals against the refugees in various parts of the country.