Over 553,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Sunday that the number of Syrians who fled their war-torn country to Lebanon has exceeded 553,000, an increase of 23,000 in the past week. The UNHCR's weekly report said there are currently over 473,000 Syrian refugees who have been registered with the agency, while more than 80,000 others are waiting to complete their registration process. The registered refugees are benefiting from aid provided by the UN, the Lebanese government and various non-governmental aid agencies, said the report. Among the registered, some 172,300 are in northern Lebanon, 160, 500 in the eastern Bekaa region, 83,000 in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, and 57,600 in southern Lebanon. Lebanon has called on the UN Security Council and international donors to help it sustain the burden of the influx of Syrian refugees whose number may hit one million by the end of this year. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, said in a report to the UN last month that the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon had surpassed 25 percent of its own population and was causing a huge burden on the Lebanese government and people.