Lebanese premier warns Syrian refugees pose a danger to the small nation’s balance

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister is warning that Syrian refugees could become a threat to the small Mediterranean nation’s delicate demographic and sectarian balance. Over a thousand Syrian refugees each week are fleeing to Lebanon from their country’s worsening economic and financial conditions. A conflict that broke out in March 2011 has killed half a million people and displaced more than 5 million Syrians. Issam Charafeddine, Lebanon’s caretaker minister of the displaced, told a local radio station that 8,000 Syrian refugees entered Lebanon through illegal crossing points since the beginning of August. Syria’s economy has been struggling after years of conflict, corruption and mismanagement, and Western-led sanctions.