More than 30,000 people, mostly Syrians, have crossed the border from Lebanon into Syria in the past 72 hours, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday, amid an escalating conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah that has left hundreds dead in Lebanon. Reuters, quoted by News.bg.
According to the representative of the UNHCR in Syria, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, about 80% of those crossing are Syrians, and about 20% - Lebanese. About half of them are children and adolescents, with women outnumbering men among the passers-by.
"They are going from a country at war to a country that has been in crisis for 13 years - an extremely difficult choice," commented Llosa at a press conference. The representative added that more people are expected to head to Syria in the coming days.
This influx of refugees comes in the context of an increasingly tense situation in the region after Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon triggered a mass exodus.