LEBANON: SYRIAN REFUGEE CAMP SET ON FIRE FOLLOWING FIGHT WITH LOCAL FAMILY

A Syrian refugee camp was set on fire in Lebanon on Sunday following clashes between two groups.

According to the Lebanese press, armed clashes erupted between Syrian refugees and Lebanese groups in the Minieh area of the northern city of Tripoli, injuring three people.

اشكال بين لبنانيين وسوريين في بحنين بالمنية شمالي البلاد انتهى باحراق مخيم للاجئين السوريين وتشريد مئات اللاجئين #لبنان #سوريا pic.twitter.com/NWL2C4AHyf

— Larissa Aoun (@LarissaAounSky) December 26, 2020

Hundreds of Syrian refugees displaced after Syrian Refugee Camp in #Lebanon was set on fire in Tripoli tonight. The displaced are displaced all over again in this cold night! Heartbreaking .. pic.twitter.com/4piExG1neg

— Amenah Masri (@AmenahMasri) December 27, 2020

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, confirmed a large fire had broken out in a camp in the Miniyeh region and said some injured had been taken to hospital, but did not provide an exact number.

“The fire has spread to all the tented shelters” — made of plastic sheeting and wood — UNHCR spokesman Khaled Kabbara told AFP.

The camp housed around 75 families, he said.

The National News Agency reported that the fire followed an “altercation” between a member of a Lebanese family and “Syrian workers”.

Other youths from the Lebanese family then “set fire to some of the refugees’ tents”, the NNA added.

The Lebanese Civil defense worked to control the blaze while the army and police were deployed to restore calm, according to the report.

A security source told AFP shots were heard, saying the fight in the Bhanine area was sparked when Syrian workers demanded a wage which their employers refused to pay.

“Some families have fled the area out of fear because there were also sounds of explosions caused by household gas canisters blowing up,” Kabbara said.

Lebanon says it hosts some 1.5 million Syrians, including around one million registered as refugees with the United Nations.

Authorities have called on refugees to return to Syria even though rights groups warn that the war-torn country is not yet safe.