Lebanon expects international community to compensate $30bn for hosting refugees from neighboring Syria
Lebanese Social Policy Minister Hector Hajjar said this, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Xinhua.
“We are counting on compensation from the international community to Lebanon, which has suffered losses of about $30 billion,” Hajjar said.
According to him, Lebanon annually spends an additional $1 billion. for energy subsidies and another 3 billion for bread for the Syrians.
The minister added that about 1.5 million Syrian refugees now live in Lebanon (this is 30% of the total population of the country), and they live in tents in inhuman conditions.
Hajjar also drew attention to the fact that the Syrians are depriving the workers of the cities of the Lebanese, since “the majority of the refugees are involved in competitive and illegal economic activities, while not paying taxes.”
As reported, according to Human Rights Watch, the Russian invasion of Ukraine exacerbates the food crisis in the Middle East and North Africa. In particular, Lebanon receives 80% of its wheat from Ukraine.
