Aridi, Charbel Say Lebanon Not Aware of Syria Travel Ban

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi denied that the Lebanese authorities were informed that Syrian men aged between 18- 42 were banned from entering Lebanon.

The two ministers said in comments published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Tuesday that these measures aren’t accurate.

On Monday, media reports said that the Syrian authorities had banned citizens between 18-24 from travelling to Lebanon without a permission obtained from the immigration and army recruitment directorates.

Syrian activist Anas al-Rahma told the daily that the reports are accurate, noting that “these measures will not affect the activists or the immigration to Lebanon, as most of the refugees are entering Lebanon through illegal crossings.”

“We believe that the regime issued such a decision to force its supporters to stay in the country (Syria),” he said.

Over the weekend, a report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees said that around 14,000 Syrian refugees had fled the crackdown in their country to Lebanon.

At least 9,100 people have been killed in the crackdown by President Bashar Assad on protesters across Syria, according to estimates by monitors.