Over 568,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon: UN

Beirut: The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Sunday that over 65,000 Syrian refugees registered with its office in Lebanon in June, bringing the total number to 568,000 since the Syrian crisis that began over two years ago.

The UNHCR said in a report that the refugees are benefiting from aid provided by the UN, the Lebanese government and various non-governmental aiding agencies. With the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan that starts in early July, the agency will have to adapt to the religious habits and shorten the period of registration. Lebanon has called on the UN Security Council and international donors to help it sustain the burden of the influx of Syrian refugees whose number may hit one million by the end of this year. Chief of UNHCR, Antonio Guterres, has said last month that the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon had surpassed 25 percent of its own population and was causing a huge burden on the Lebanese government and people. ANI