BEIRUT, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Syrian refugees have imposed a direct cost of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars and an indirect cost of 3 billion dollars yearly on Lebanon, incurring a total cost of 58 billion dollars in 13 years, said Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar on Friday.
"Lebanon hosts around 1,468,000 registered displaced Syrians and more than 500,000 undocumented Syrian refugees all over the country," the National News Agency reported, citing Hajjar.
Hajjar made the remarks at a conference held in Paris, where the minister stressed that Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, cautioning about potential risks their presence is posing to the country's security and identity.
The minister added that the Lebanese population increases by 1 percent annually, while the Syrian refugee population increases by 4 percent, warning that "the number of displaced Syrians will equal that of Lebanese in the foreseeable future."
He also noted the refugees' presence had caused pressure and a heavy burden on the state's finances.
The minister criticized the international community for attempting to leave Syrian refugees in Lebanon instead of facilitating their return to their homeland, accusing it of "avoiding sharing the burden of Syrian refugees and abandoning its commitments and pledges to secure funding to meet their basic humanitarian needs."
Since 2011, the civil conflict in Syria has resulted in a massive influx of refugees into Lebanon. Lebanese officials have often called on the international community to help return refugees to their homeland as the country has suffered from a deep financial crisis since 2019.
On Feb. 10, Lebanese Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine said Lebanon will soon resume returning Syrian refugees to their homeland regardless of the international community's position. ■
