Lebanon villages struggle with new wave of Syrian refugees

Lebanese border villages are struggling to cope with a sudden influx of Syrian refugees who had fled the violence which erupted last week in Syria’s coastal regions.

Lebanese officials and residents of the northern border areas have made urgent calls for humanitarian support as thousands of displaced families arrived from neighbouring Syria seeking shelter.

The latest wave of refugees — many from Alawite-majority areas in Latakia, Tartous, and Baniyas — has overwhelmed communities in Lebanon, where resources are already stretched thin due to an ongoing economic crisis.

According to Mohammad Ali Hussein, head of the Union of Akkar Municipalities, approximately 10,000 refugees have crossed into Lebanon since clashes erupted last Thursday.               

With aid efforts still largely reliant on individual initiatives, local officials warned that without immediate international support, their communities may struggle to sustain the growing number of displaced families.

“The new arrivals include both Syrian Alawites and Lebanese Alawites who were residing in Syria,” Hussein told The New Arab‘s Arabic language edition, adding that displaced families were sheltering in various towns across the Akkar plain hills, including Hissa, Talbira, Masoudieh, and Ain Zait.

Hussein said that most refugees were being housed in private homes or public spaces such as community halls. However, he warned that aid was limited as assistance was largely reliant on individual initiatives rather than organised humanitarian response.

“We urgently call on the Higher Relief Commission, UN agencies, and aid organizations to step in,” he said. “The burden is falling on the local population, who are already struggling financially. Most residents here rely on agriculture, a sector that has been severely impacted by Lebanon’s economic crisis.”

Overcrowding and limited resources

In Ain Zait, Mayor Khodr Ibrahim said that his town had received 80 refugees by Sunday evening, with more expected to arrive on Monday – mostly women, children, and the elderly.

“We are facing major challenges finding suitable accommodation,” Ibrahim said. “We’ve distributed families among local homes and repurposed a vacant building originally intended to serve as a medical clinic.”

He said there was an urgent need for shelter, blankets, food supplies, and medical care, adding that Lebanon’s economic hardships had already overwhelmed the local community.

“Our residents are largely members of the Lebanese army or security forces, earning minimal wages since the economic collapse began in 2019,” Ibrahim said. “Without external support, we won’t be able to sustain this.”

Among the displaced is a Syrian carpenter from Tartous who described his family’s harrowing escape.

“We fled on foot with nothing but the clothes on our backs,” he told The New Arab‘s Arabic language edition. “My eldest child is five years old, and my youngest is just eight months. We moved from village to village until someone offered us a ride to the Lebanese border.”

The man, who requested anonymity, said his family was being hosted by Lebanese residents in Ain Zait.

“We have had no support from aid agencies or authorities,” he said. “We barely survived. I watched people being killed indiscriminately – men, women, and children. It was chaos. My family is safe for now, but many relatives remain trapped in Syria, facing extreme danger.”

Despite reports of mass displacement, some Lebanese officials have downplayed claims of a large-scale influx.

Mohammad Hamza, the mayor of Al Sindiyana, alleged that the numbers were being inflated.

“The movement of refugees into Lebanon is still limited,” he said. “The figures circulating are inflated, and this is fueling unnecessary panic.”

He said that those arriving in Lebanon were mainly seeking shelter in Alawite-majority areas or mixed communities known to host displaced Syrians.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Ali Mohammad, a community leader in Hissa, also dismissed reports of a major refugee surge, emphasising that “most arrivals had found shelter with relatives.”

Despite the rising number of displaced families, Lebanese officials and community leaders expressed confidence that tensions between Alawite refugees and local Sunni communities would remain under control.

“We are committed to ensuring peace and stability,” said Mayor Khodr Ibrahim. “Our focus is to prevent sectarian rhetoric from spreading.”

Human rights groups have condemned violence in coastal Syria and expressed concerns over potential forced displacement. The unrest came only three months after the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in an offensive by opposition fighters.

Ahmad Al-Muhyimid, a member of the Syrian Refugee Affairs Committee in Akkar, accused remnants of Syria’s former regime of orchestrating violence to destabilise the region.

“We denounce the massacres being committed and the attempts to uproot Alawite communities,” Al-Muhyimid said. “We’ve suffered displacement before, and we are determined to protect those fleeing violence – no matter their background.”