Beirut: The first phase of the Lebanese Government's plan to repatriate Syrian refugees to their homeland began on Tuesday, said the official National News Agency (NNA). The operation is being coordinated between the Lebanese Public Security Directorate General and the Syrian State, with the refugees returning via the Al-Masnaa checkpoint in eastern Lebanon.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Lebanese Red Cross, and other humanitarian associations are involved in the refugees' repatriation. Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Metri stated that the refugees' return would occur in two forms. In one scenario, refugees' names are registered, they are transported on buses to Syria, and each is paid USD 100. In the other, they must set their own return date to Syria and secure their own transportation, but they will also receive the same sum of money.
As a further incentive, the returnees will be pardoned from paying fines for staying in the country with invalid residency papers, provided they do not attempt to return again. There have been recurring calls from various quarters that the Syrian refugees, estimated at around two million, must return to their country, where a new government has been established, and normal conditions are reportedly restored.
While a number of refugees have returned to Syria, figures are contradictory, and there have been reports that some have sneaked back into Lebanon through "illegal border routes."