Lebanon's ministerial committee set to deal with Syrian refugees

The Lebanese cabinet on Friday decided to form a ministerial committee to deal with the influx of Syrian refugees that has exerted a great amount of pressure on the country's resources. The committee is expected to incorporate efforts from a number of ministries to "take necessary steps to confront the refugee influx," Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said. Specifically, the Interior Ministry will ensure that the refugees return to their home country via international standards; the Foreign Ministry is to set up secure camps inside Syria or isolated border areas; and the Ministry of Social Affairs needs to bear the cost of hosting refugees among local bodies and organizations. According to the latest statistics from the UN refugee agency, Lebanon is now hosting more than one million Syrian refugees, totaling about a quarter of the country's population.