UNHCR: operations in Lebanon hindered by deteriorating security

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that UNHCR operations in Lebanon, where the organization had opened a new refugee registration centre two weeks ago, are being hindered by an eruption of fighting in the northern port city of Tripoli. "The registration centre was open until yesterday with reduced staff as about half of them live in areas affected by shooting," said UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards. "In the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon, registration of refugees is also affected because of security concerns in the wake of kidnapping of Syrians in the area." UNHCR is concerned that the deteriorating security will disrupt its efforts to find and prepare shelter for some 500 Syrian refugees who have been temporarily housed in schools but must move before classes resume next month. The continued flow of Syrian refugees into Iraq has slowed over the last week, UNHCR said, but there was a slight increase in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and the total for all Iraq now stands at 15,898. In addition, many Iraqi refugees who had once found shelter in Syria have now fled back to their homeland. Several who were interviewed by UNHCR protection staff reported that they had been robbed on the road between Damascus and the Iraqi border.