UN body says violence against Syrians in Lebanon on the rise

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N. refugee agency says Lebanese authorities need to stifle soaring violence and discrimination against Syrian refugees in the country. A UNHCR spokesperson told the Associated Press on Friday that tensions have worsened between Lebanese and Syrian refugees at bakeries across the country in recent weeks due to wheat shortages. Cash-strapped Lebanon suffers from a food security crisis, with about half the population food insecure and slapped with high food inflation. Lebanese officials say the country’s roughly 1 million refugees are exacerbating the economic crisis, which was caused by deep-seated corruption and financial mismanagement. Officials have called on Syrian refugees to return, but the U.N. and human rights groups say it is not yet safe.