BEIRUT: Qatar dispatched emergency assistance for Syrian refugees and host communities who had been snowed in by a violent storm that battered Lebanon over three days last week.
Two planes belonging to Qatar’s air force arrived at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport Sunday night, carrying 26 tons of blankets, warm winter clothes, plastic sheeting, tents, and food, and 2 tons of medicines, airport sources told The Daily Star.
The assistance was handed over to Lebanon’s Social Affairs Ministry by Qatari Ambassador Ali Bin Hamad al-Marri and representatives of Qatar’s Foreign Ministry and the Qatari Red Crescent, who were at the airport while the assistance was being unloaded.
Marri said the assistance, which includes fuel for heating, would be distributed to Syrian refugees and their Lebanese hosts in the areas that were hit hard by the snowstorm, including Arsal and Shabaa, and refugee settlements in the north of Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
Distribution of the assistance will begin Monday, as many roads leading to the snowed in areas had been cleared from snow which had blocked them for days.
Social Affairs Ministry representative Hala Helou thanked Qatar for its generous assistance, stressing that “Lebanon was in need of such support and will deliver the assistance to the most vulnerable Syrian refugees and Lebanese citizens in the regions that were isolated by the snow, as quickly as possible.”
Snow storm Zina swept through the Middle East last week, bringing hail and strong winds that caused damage in agriculture fields, ports and electricity installations in Lebanon where the majority of the 1.2 million refugees live in makeshift unheated tents.
No comments:
Post a Comment